by Various
“Okay?” She stared down the paper in disbelief. Did they have the key to finding her? It had to be.
“The person who gave me this said people often forget to update their information.” She waved at someone across the bar.
“Let’s not waste any more time,” Jordan said, a hint of excitement lighting his voice as he handed Chelsea his cellphone.
She dialed the number and pressed the phone to her ear. “Disconnected.” She decided she hated the automated voice and hoped she never had to hear it again. “But we have her new name. We can start with all of the Muriel Hardens in the city,” explained Danielle. “We’re going to need help.”
“Let’s go,” said Chelsea.
She stood up from the table and looked at Jordan. “You don’t have to go. We can make the calls if you want to stay and watch this guy.”
He shoved his chair back to stand. “No way. I’m not going to miss finding my daughter for anything.”
They were stopped at the door by a frowning Lou. “Leaving already? Don’t you like this guy, Jordan?”
Jordan smiled. “He’s great, but we found our daughter.”
“Daughter?” asked Lou.
“Yes. I’ll explain later, but can you pick me up a copy of his CD? I’ll pay you back,” Jordan said but didn’t even wait for a reply from Lou.
They piled into cars and sped off to Jordan’s house. They went straight to Jordan’s office. She watched as Danielle flipped open her cellphone and pushed one button. Someone on speed dial. Probably Allison.
“Yeah, I’m here with her now. Come over. We need your help.” Elizabeth shot her a smile.
“See you soon.” She closed her phone and slid it back into her pink purse.
“Let’s go kick Jordan out of his office.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Danielle. “By the way, we are not allowed to let anyone know how we got this information.”
His computer was still on so she flopped into the black leather chair and clicked the corner of his document to lower it onto the toolbar of the computer. She opened a new window on the
computer and white pages for Portland. The search brought up pages of combinations of Muriel Harden, M Hardens, and a variety of
male Hardens which could’ve been Muriel’s husband. Allison came in shortly after and snatched one of the papers she had printed off the computer. Jordan joined and they each took a sheet. All had their cellphones out ready to dial except her.
“You need a cell,” demanded Allison.
“No, I don’t,” said Chelsea and picked up Jordan’s office phone. “People don’t answer them half the time anyway.”
“We’d be able to get hold of you when we need you for something, Chelsea,” claimed Danielle while dialing a number.
“Because this town is so big and you could never find me?” joked Chelsea.
Danielle let out an exaggerated sigh.
Once Jordan was updated of the information they had received, he called the numbers listed on the website. Before he had a chance to hang up on the last call with no luck, Chelsea already had several pages of names and phone number printed with M Harden and plain Harden. She’d call every number under that name if she had to. She would find her daughter.
She looked up at Jordan perched against the door frame, focused on the paper in front of him. She had to find the child. Chelsea and Jordan each took pages off the stack to begin their own phone calls. She used the office phone while Jordan punched in numbers on his own cell. Good thing they carry those things, thought Chelsea, it will move the process along faster.
When the number didn’t belong to Muriel, they crossed it off the list. Allison had reached every single person on her page so she tossed it into the trash. She reached voicemail mostly but lucked out when the voicemail said both male and females names. Those were crossed out also.
Jordan reached a mixture of both but asking for “Muriel” told him all he needed to know.
“We’ll find her,” Jordan whispered to the frustrated Chelsea after they’d each gone through several pages.
“I hope so.”
Call after call, they marked the names off the list. Nobody left messages on any voicemails, only made a mark next to the number to call back. Halfway through her list and feeling really discouraged, someone answered the phone.
“Can I speak with Muriel Harden, please?” She crossed her fingers and didn’t care if she looked like a five-year-old. Her heart pounded.
“This is her.” The voiced sounded familiar, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up. Just her imagination.
“Do you have custody of a girl named Elizabeth Markales?”
The woman let out a loud sigh. “Oh, Chelsea, I was afraid you’d never call.”
“Is Elizabeth okay?” Chelsea reached out to Jordan. Her hand clasped his as he let his cellphone drop to the carpet.
“I’d rather talk to you in person. How soon can you get here?”
CHAPTER 19
Muriel’s eyes were still as kind as the last time Chelsea had seen her. Her smile was warm as she held her arms out wide for a hug. The woman’s hands were as soft as she could remember, too. The world around them changed, but she hadn’t much, with the only visible difference being the shade of gray her hair had turned and tiny laugh lines around her eyes.
She pushed those warm thoughts from her mind. She didn’t know what Muriel’s intentions were. It was better to be on guard.
“I thought this day might never come,” whispered Muriel.
“Me, too. I would like you to meet Jordan.” She turned so Muriel could greet him as well.
“Come in, both of you.” Muriel moved to the side in order for them to come in. “I had you come before she got out of school so we could talk about some things first.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jordan said softly. “There’re things to be discussed she shouldn’t hear.”
Muriel led them into a small but charming room.
Chelsea looked around, amazed at the place her daughter had been raised for the past few years. At least Muriel loved her. The room had kid drawings all over. There were even a few awards in frames hanging above the couch.
“Those are Elizabeth’s. She’s been on honor roll and has had perfect attendance since she got here. She didn’t do so well in her foster home, though.”
“I imagine she didn’t.” The sadness in Jordan’s voice was evident to everyone in the room.
“I’m sorry to have been so abrupt on the telephone. Please, sit down,” Muriel said as she motioned for them to sit on the couch while she took her place on the recliner. “You sure know how to surprise an old woman.”
“It really is great to see you, Muriel. During this time searching for Elizabeth, I had to think about things I hadn’t wanted to in the past.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“And I realized you were the only person in the household who cared about me.”
“Sad but true. You heard us argue the morning you left. Didn’t you?”
For some reason the accusation made her blush. “Yes. How did you know?”
“I saw you walk away. I felt so bad for you, Chelsea. The question is, are you going to take Elizabeth with you?”
“I’m sure hoping so, Muriel,” said Jordan. “There were a lot of untruths told. Chelsea claimed she didn’t know who the father was. You see, she ran away without anyone knowing about the pregnancy. I’m Elizabeth’s father. I’ve missed out on the first ten years of her life and want to make up for all the lost time.”
“I understand, Jordan. You can have her, but I want one thing.”
Jordan’s face flushed as he got up from the couch. He paced over to the awards again.
She knew he wanted to see his daughter bring the next one from Wilson Elementary. She wasn’t surprised when he turned around and asked, “How much?”
“What do you mean?” The ridges around Muriel’s eyes deepened as the frown spread across her face.
&
nbsp; “How much money do you want?” He reached for his wallet.
Muriel put up her hand as if to stop him. “I am not like my brother or his nasty wife. I don’t want money.”
“Oh?” Hope seemed to deflate out of Jordan. He sat back down on the couch by her. “I’m sorry to have offended you, but what is it you want, Muriel?”
“It’s for Elizabeth. She wants to visit the graves of Zack and Monique to say goodbye.”
“We can go there.” She looked from Jordan to Muriel. “What’s Elizabeth going to say about leaving with us? How much does she know?”
“I explained my brother and his hateful wife were not her real parents. She knows you’re coming for her, Chelsea. She’s has been prepared for it.”
“Does she know the illegal activity involved?” she asked. She hoped the little girl had been kept in the dark about that aspect.
“Oh, heavens, no. This has haunted me for ten years. It was wrong, but not your fault, Chelsea.”
“Just as much my fault as anyone else’s. I took the money.”
“My brother and Monique took advantage of you being a confused and ashamed young woman. I committed the fraud it took to do the birth certificates in their names. I should’ve never done that.” Muriel wiped tears from her cheeks. “I have regretted it the whole time. Even before the actual act had taken place.”
“For years, I tried to not think about it. I guess you can say I lived in denial until Jordan found me. Is that wrong?”
“No. You coped with what worked best for you. I always felt you would’ve kept her. Is it true?”
“I don’t know. I can’t say I wouldn’t have kept her. Walking away was the easier thing to do.”
“I understand. I walked away too. I quit being a midwife. But there’s something you need to know.”
“Yes?”
“Monique lied to you about not being able to have children. She chose not to because she didn’t want to ruin her figure.”
“Oh my God.”
“Yes. I felt like I was condoning her actions.” She looked away.
“She also knew you were a runaway. They hired an investigator who was able to pick up the police report right away. That’s why they offered you so much money to force you into the situation.”
“That explains why they kept me shut up in the house, right? During my pregnancy, I wasn’t really encouraged to do anything but go to school.”
Muriel nodded. “They could have gotten in trouble for having you there. As long as nobody found out, they were in the clear. They made sure there really weren’t any witnesses to you staying with them.”
“I never realized any of that. Thanks for being honest about it all.”
“I’ll be the first to admit they were good parents to Elizabeth, but they were horrible people in everyday life. When they died, I decided they didn’t deserve a fancy plot in a ritzy cemetery.”
“Where are they?”
“Elizabeth has a map to the place. I want to warn you because it’s shocking they would be buried in such a place. They don’t even have a headstone but she knows which ones they are.”
“Why did you do that?”
“They were vain people. I guess you can call it revenge. I also got their businesses, which I didn’t want. I closed them down and put the money in Elizabeth’s trust fund along with the other money. All of the information is in her suitcase. I’m so sorry for all that has happened.”
“You’re forgiven, Muriel. You loved my little girl with your whole heart. You were a mother when she didn’t have one,” said Chelsea.
“She has always had one. You needed to find her in your heart.”
“Can we see her room?” asked Jordan.
“Of course you can, Jordan. I already have her clothing packed,” she said as she opened the door off the living room and led them inside. Jordan walked in and did as he had done to her apartment. This time, however, she did the same.
She fingered the delicate lace of Elizabeth’s comforter and patted the pillow where her daughter laid her head every night. She touched the pink lamp sitting on the end table, in easy reach of Elizabeth’s grasp.
A white desk in the corner of the room was littered with children’s drawings and preteen novels. A few notes lay folded on a journal. She brushed her hands over the furry fabric of the journal, but didn’t pick it up or try to read those precious and private thoughts of her daughter’s.
Movie star pictures dotted the white walls. A photo on a shelf caught her eye. It had been turned backward. She walked over to lift the photo off the shelf. Monique’s and Zack’s grins smiled up at her from the photograph.
“She turned it backward once I told her they weren’t her real parents. She said she’ll always love them because they took good care of her, but it changes things. She asked for a picture of you.”
Muriel smiled, but her eyes remained sad. “I looked all through the pictures from Zack’s house in case Monique had snapped one of you during your pregnancy. There wasn’t any.”
Neither said anything. Jordan walked over and ran his fingers over the glass and then yanked them away as if the couple’s grin had turned into fire and scorched his skin. He looked up at Muriel.
“When will she be here?”
Muriel glanced at her watch. “Any minute now.”
As if on cue, the front door clicked open and then slammed shut,
sending the bang through the house like thunder. “Aunt Muriel?” The sound of dress shoes against the tiled floor grew closer.
She is here. Chelsea sucked in her breath at the realization she would see her daughter for the very first time. She wanted nothing more than to run out of the room to hug the little girl but pushed aside the urge. Since she wouldn’t be sticking around very long, she couldn’t allow herself to get attached to her daughter.
“In here, honey.”
“Whose car is outside?” She appeared then, Elizabeth, with her dark curly hair flying free, her bright perfect smile, and her eyes. Elizabeth looked from Jordan, then Chelsea, and back to Muriel. “Is that them?” she whispered with her ten-year-old innocence.
CHAPTER 20
“I would like you to meet your mom and dad.”
“My mom and dad?” Elizabeth screeched. “Wow. I didn’t know I would have a dad! This is fantabulous!”
Jordan gave a slight wave, as if unsure what he should do.
Chelsea smiled at her daughter and stepped forward. Her hand gently took hold of Elizabeth’s. She gave it a gentle squeeze.
“It’s wonderful to meet you,” said Chelsea. Elizabeth went directly into her arms as if they hadn’t ever been out of each other’s lives. She opened her eyes to see Jordan standing next to them,
wiping tears from his cheeks. She smiled up at him. He had done it. All of the credit for finding this wonderful child belonged to him. “Thank you,” she mouthed to him.
“I hope it’s okay to come in your room when you weren’t here,”
Jordan said to Elizabeth. “We were so excited to see it. It sure is pretty with all of the pink stuff.”
“You like pink?” Elizabeth asked, raising her one eyebrow—a gesture so like her dad’s.
“Yes. I do.”
“But you’re a guy.” Her eyes were wide with shock.
“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” They erupted in giggles as Elizabeth went over to give him a hug.
“I look like you,” she said softly as she looked up at her father with her big green eyes. “We have the same kind of hair. My face looks like yours, too.”
“Yes, it does.” He smiled at her. “You’re one beautiful girl.”
“What should I call you?” Elizabeth asked in a small voice. “Do you want me to call you Mom and Dad?”
“Whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you want to call us Mom and Dad, then you’re welcome to. Chelsea and Jordan is fine too.”
She looked from Jordan to Chelsea. When she looked back at Jordan, she said, “Mom and Dad.”
She was his little girl and the bond was there instantly.
He’d be a good father. The thought of not being around to see it broke her heart. How was she going to be able to do it? Would she have the strength to turn away from the two most important people of her life? Walking away would be easier, she’d been doing it for years now. She didn’t have the courage to say she wanted to stay with them.
Muriel cleared her throat, which broke into Chelsea’s thoughts. It also brought Elizabeth’s head up from Jordan’s shoulder while he put her back onto the floor.
“You have a beautiful family. It’s time for you to start it,” Muriel said while she picked up two suitcases off the bed. “Goodbyes are going to be hard enough. There’s no need to prolong
them.”
“Will I see you again, Aunt Muriel?” asked Elizabeth. Then she frowned. “Are you still my aunt?”
“Honey, you have asked me a million times,” Muriel said with a forced laugh. “Of course, I’m still your aunt, but you’ll have to ask them if you can see me.”
Jordan bent down and took Elizabeth’s hands. “She can come and see you whenever she wants. She’s your family, too. You’re one lucky girl. Do you know why?”
“Nope.”
“Because you have a lot of people who love you.” Jordan stood up. “I’m going to take this stuff out to the car.” After a quick goodbye, he took the suitcases from Muriel and walked out of the room.
“I love you, Aunt Muriel,” cried Elizabeth, running over to wrap her skinny arms around Muriel’s waist.
Muriel stroked her hair and murmured the sentiments back to her. They all walked to the front door and her heart swelled with love. Love for Elizabeth, love for Jordan, and a part of her even loved Muriel because she’d taken care of her child.