I couldn't help myself. “Was he surprised to hear from you?”
“Probably, but it's not like we have deep feelings for each other.”
I handed her the two documents—a health history and the Declaration of Mother, which is the official document relating to parentage. She signed the latter after a cursory glance, and filled out the former with almost equal haste.
“Terri requested medical records after we first met,” Melissa said testily. “She probably knows more about my health history than I do.”
“You sound weary,” I told her. And a little angry, but I didn't say that.
“I guess I am. It's hard to sleep when there's a baby partying inside you.”
“Rough night?”
She shrugged. “And now they're all partying down there, and I'm up here, big and fat and ugly.” She blinked away tears.
“Maybe spending so much time with the Harpers isn't a good idea. You have your own life, after all. Your own friends. Do you see them much?”
“A little. I haven't exactly been a zippy person to be around these last few months. Besides, I like Ted and Terri. I really do.”
Except they were a dozen or so years older, a married couple with interests and preferences that had to be very different from Melissa's. “Another month, right? And then you can reclaim your life.”
Melissa brushed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Yeah, my wonderful life.” Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.
“I can imagine this hasn't been an easy experience. It will be good to have it behind you.”
“Whatever,” she said with a lack of interest, and turned her attention back to the soundless screen.
Downstairs, I was immediately summoned by Terri, who introduced me to her parents, Lenore and Arlo Cross. They were both tall, like Terri, and her mother had the same slender figure and honey blond hair. Her father, however, was a big man, broad through the shoulders and the middle, but solidly built. Even his nose and mouth were large, as was his voice.
“Pleased to meet you,” he boomed, though I was standing not an arm's length away.
“So am I,” Lenore added. “Glad to know that Ted and Terri have finally got an attorney lined up. I don't know why they were so slow about getting this process underway. I've been telling them they shouldn't leave these things to the last minute.”
“Mother, I've explained this I don't know how many times. Throw too much legal stuff at people before they're ready, and they run.” Terri's voice held an edge of irritation.
“Just because that first birth mother changed her—”
Terri interrupted. “We wanted Melissa to feel comfortable.”
“Well, she certainly does feel that.” Lenore Cross gave a little laugh.
“A solid personal relationship is more important than a bunch of meaningless forms anyway,” Terri said.
“Yes, dear, but one can never be too careful.”
Arlo Cross held out his empty champagne glass to be refilled by a passing waiter. “Well, they've got someone on top of things now. That's all that matters.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ted approach. Though I'd never seen him in person, I recognized him in a flash. Dark eyes, dark hair, and shoulders so broad he looked almost top-heavy. He was not quite as handsome in the flesh as on screen, but there was no getting around the fact that he was a man who stood out in a crowd. And he knew it. He eased into our cluster and slid a hand along Terri's shoulder. She turned and smiled at him.
“Ted, this is Kali O'Brien. The adoption attorney. The one who's a friend of Steven's.”
Ted extended a hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Jared would no doubt have appreciated the moment more than I, but I was not entirely immune to the aura of stardom. I felt my skin tingle at the warmth of his handshake.
“Do what needs to be done to make it airtight,” Ted said. “Money's not the object here.”
“The fees are fairly straightforward,” I told him, “as is the law. Melissa is the only unknown in the equation, and you both seem comfortable with her.”
“She's a sweetheart,” Ted said.
A man of similar age and build buddy-punched Ted in the shoulder. “Hey, looking good, Harper.”
“Charlie. Great to see you.” The two moved off toward the deck.
Lenore, who'd been quietly studying her champagne glass, looked at me. “I didn't know you were a friend of Steven's.”
“Friend is probably not the right word. We worked together on a couple of cases.”
A truth of sorts. This was the lawyer's art, recasting facts without actually lying.
Lenore's face grew pinched. Despite similarities in appearance between herself and Terri, the age difference was clear if you looked closely. “Did you know his wife, Caroline, too?”
Even the name, so casually dropped, sent my stomach into spasms. “I'd met her.”
“And Rebecca?”
I shook my head. “I certainly heard about her, though.” Another careful adaptation of reality. Steven had been careful to keep his home life private.
“Such a tragedy. Rebecca would have been twelve next month. Almost a teenager.” Lenore Cross was silent a moment. “It changed Steven.”
I didn't trust myself to say anything. Wasn't sure that if I opened my mouth, I might not blurt out the truth.
“He's coming today, isn't he?” Lenore asked, addressing Terri. “I expected him before now.”
“He said he'd try to make it, but he'd be late. You know how hard it is to pin Steven down to anything.”
I felt panic building in my veins. I didn't want to see Steven Cross again. Couldn't imagine what I'd say.
“I hope he's not bringing Myra,” Arlo said. “That woman brings out the worst in me.”
“Who's Myra?” I asked before I remembered I didn't want to know.
“Someone he's been dating for the last, what”—Terri turned to her mother—”six months?”
Lenore nodded. “Off and on.”
Dating. A tiny bubble caught in my throat. Of course he'd be dating. Did I think he'd put his life on hold?
I reminded myself that my mission at this gathering was purely business. Get it done, get out.
Ted rejoined the group. “Sorry to run off like that. But it wouldn't do to snub Charlie.”
“Ted,” I said, turning toward him, “if you've got a few minutes, I'd like to run through the adoption procedures with you. I explained them to Terri last week, and I'm sure she's filled you in, but just to make sure there aren't any loose ends ...”
“Sure, no problem. Just let me get a fresh glass of champagne. Would you like one?”
“I'll pass for now.”
“Meet you in my office at the end of the hallway then. I won't be but a minute.”
When he joined me there maybe five minutes later, I'd already made my way down the wall of photographs—mostly publicity pictures of Ted and society shots of Ted and Terri, but there were a few of family as well. I lingered over one with Steven, Caroline, and Rebecca at the beach.
“Terri calls that my ego wall,” Ted said, setting his glass on the polished wood credenza next to a bronzed trophy cup.
“There are some striking photos of Terri, too.”
Ted laughed. “I think she'd say that was part of the ego trip.” He sat at the desk and propped his feet on an open file drawer. “So, what did you need to tell me?”
There was a smooth assurance about his manner. Not arrogance exactly, but close to it. Impatience maybe. It didn't surprise me, in any event.
“I want to make sure that you and Terri are in agreement—”
“Absolutely.” He gestured with his hand, a knifelike movement that underscored the point.
“And you have no concerns about Melissa's role down the road? About sending her pictures and so forth.”
He shook his head. “She's a sweet girl. It's like she's become a friend of the family.”
I went over the steps we'd be taking. “T
he baby will come home from the hospital with you and Terri,” I concluded. “As soon as she's released, Melissa can waive her right to revoke consent, and that's it. The adoption won't be final legally until there's been a court decree, but that part is pretty much a formality.”
Ted crossed his arms behind his head and grinned. “We're ready.” He laughed. “Even if it does mean more visits from the in-laws.”
Just then Melissa appeared at the doorway looking as white as a sheet.
“Hey, Mel, what's up?” Ted straightened, put his feet on the floor.
Melissa clutched her belly. “I feel kinda funny.”
“Funny?” Ted asked.
“I think it's ...” She grimaced and bent forward at the waist. “I think I'm in labor.”
CHAPTER 4
I was home watching The X-Files when the phone rang later that evening. I sprinted to answer it, sure it would be one of the Harpers calling to announce the birth of the baby. Instead, it was Jared.
I was both annoyed and amused. “Couldn't you wait until tomorrow morning to hear about the party?”
“I've got a dentist appointment.”
“You aren't going to spend all day at the dentist, are you?”
“Maybe half the day. It's a double crown and—”
I sighed heavily into the phone. “Please don't tell me you are one of these people who goes ga-ga over famous names.”
He laughed. “Not the male ones, for damned sure. I'm not calling to hear about the party anyway.”
“That's a relief.” Jared had been working for me only a couple of months. So far it was an easy relationship, but I often found myself braced for surprises. “There isn't much to report, in any event,” I told him. “No starlets or Hall-of-Famers.”
“Not that you'd have recognized them.”
My turn to laugh. “So true.” I told him about Melissa's labor and could practically feel him recoiling over the phone line. Jared hadn't sweated through three years of law school to talk about babies. “So why'd you call?”
He hesitated. “Since I won't be in tomorrow morning, I thought I'd better let you know now about the Coles.”
I punched the remote to lower the volume. I had the feeling this was not good news. “Who are the Coles?”
Another pause. “The couple who think they're adopting Melissa's baby.”
“What?” I switched the phone to my other ear, in case I'd simply misunderstood. “How can they think that?”
“Well, they shouldn't be thinking it anymore since they haven't seen her for two months. But you know how it goes, desire springs eternal.”
“Hope. Hope springs eternal.”
“Same idea. They want the baby and they refuse to believe she's changed her mind about them.”
“Whoa. Back up. How do they know Melissa?”
“She answered their ad. One of those Loving couple want to adopt things. They talked on the telephone, met face to face, and hit it off right away. Or so Mrs. Cole says. Melissa apparently told them she wanted them to have her baby. Then out of the blue, she sent them a note saying she'd changed her mind and chosen another couple.”
“She's within her rights to do that.” Though I wished she'd told me about it herself.
“I know,” Jared said. “And so should the Coles, but they found some hotheaded lawyer and they're threatening to sue.”
“On what grounds?”
“I'm not sure. Probably fraud or emotional distress or something.”
“That's crazy. It will be tossed out of court.” Or it would be if the system worked as it was supposed to. “Who's the lawyer, do you know?”
“Thatcher. She sounds like one tough cookie.”
“You talked to her?”
“I was in the office this afternoon, working on the pleading for the Nelson case, when she called. Didn't seem at all surprised to find someone there on Sunday.”
“Maybe she's one of those lawyers who doesn't know what the word weekend means. Do you know anything about this couple?”
“Only that they live in San Jose and they're bent out of shape about losing the baby. I suspect they're hoping Melissa will decide to give them the baby after all just to avoid the legal hassles. Even if there's no chance in hell they'll win, it kinda puts a kink in things.”
“It's Melissa's choice who she wants for parents. The Coles can sue her all they want but it won't affect the Harpers' adoption.” Nonetheless, it was a discomfiting twist.
“Thought you'd want to know,” Jared said. “Thanks.”
He paused, then asked sheepishly, “Seeing as how you're on the line anyway ... uh, how was the party?”
<><><>
The phone was silent for the remainder of the evening. I paced around the apartment like an expectant aunt, too nervous to settle into anything for long.
The house felt empty without the company of my housemates Bea and Dotty, two retired sisters to whom I'd rented the house during my sojourn in Silver Creek. Since my return to the Bay Area, they'd graciously sublet the downstairs in-law unit back to me with shared kitchen privileges. I'd been unsure about the arrangement at first, but with housing prices being what they were, I'd given it a try—and grown to appreciate their companionship, not to mention their cooking.
They'd taken the Gambler's Special to Reno for the weekend, as excited as school kids before summer break. I couldn't imagine the trip would live up to their expectations, but then I couldn't imagine anything pleasurable about forty-eight hours of stale, smoky air and raucous noise either. A casino is not my idea of a good time.
I tried calling the Harpers about ten that night and got the answering machine. I called again the next morning from work and this time reached Ted, who sounded exhausted but happy.
“Six pounds, two ounces,” he said. “The cutest little thing you ever saw.” I could practically hear him grinning over the telephone wire.
“So everything's okay?”
“Melissa had to have a C-section and they wouldn't let us be present for that, even though they routinely let biological fathers attend.” There was just the briefest trace of bitterness in his voice. “The baby is doing fine and so is Melissa, but she's still pretty doped up.”
“I guess congratulations are in order.”
“The doctor says the baby should be able to come home in a couple of days. Her lungs are real well developed and everything. God, she's beautiful, and so tiny. Terri and I each got to hold her. It was an incredible high.”
“Does she have a name?”
“Hannah Elizabeth Lenore Harper. A big name for such a little thing, but she'll grow into it.”
“I'll see if we can expedite the signing of the waiver.” Generally it couldn't be signed until the mother had left the hospital, but there was an exception for cases where she remained after the baby had been released.
“That would be great,” Ted said. “We don't want this to drag on any longer than it has to.”
<><><>
I decided the best way of dealing with the Coles was to ignore them. Now that the baby had been born, Melissa had only to sign the waiver of consent, and the matter would be settled for good. To that end, I stopped by the hospital that afternoon. Melissa was still pretty groggy and was clearly in no state to sign anything.
Hannah went home with the Harpers the following day, and on Thursday Terri called.
“Have you seen Melissa yet?” she inquired.
I'd seen her three times in as many days, but what Terri was asking, I knew, was whether Melissa had signed the final adoption papers.
“She's not a happy camper at the moment,” I explained. “It's not only the Cesarean, but she's developed an infection as well.”
“Does that mean she hasn't signed them?”
“Not yet.”
“How much concentration does it take to sign your name, for God's sake.” There was a harshness to Terri's tone I'd not heard before.
“It doesn't mean she's changed her mind, Terri, just that her
mind is on other things.”
“Can't you nudge her a little?”
“She could always claim duress. The law is pretty clear about the mother's state of mind. Besides, pressuring her might backfire.”
There was a moment's silence from the other end of the phone. “Until she does sign,” Terri said, “Hannah isn't really ours.”
I was as eager as Terri to see things handled expeditiously, but it was also important they be done correctly. “Don't start imagining trouble where there isn't any. This is a process that has to move at its own pace.”
“I just want everything to be settled.”
“I can understand that.”
“Come see Hannah, why don't you. She's amazing.”
We set a time for later that afternoon.
<><><>
I skipped lunch and went shopping for a baby gift instead. The move struck me as totally illogical on a number of fronts. I was a lawyer not a godmother, for one. And babies had never held much fascination for me. But I did it anyway, and didn't even try to figure out why.
Afterward, I stopped by the hospital again to see Melissa, who was looking better than she had the previous day. She was propped up in bed, leafing through People magazine. A large and colorful bouquet of flowers rested on the small dresser across the room.
“They're from Terri and Ted,” Melissa said when she saw me looking.
“They're lovely.” There were no other flowers or cards in the room.
She nodded, and made an effort to sound sprightly. “The doctor says he'll probably release me on Monday.”
“That's good.”
“Except it's going to be lonely living by myself.”
“You've got friends. And you'll meet new people once school starts.”
She looked skeptical. Her eyes began to tear up.
“You're doing the right thing, Melissa. Giving the baby a happy home with two parents who love her and can care for her.”
“I know that. It's not that I have doubts about what I'm doing.”
“Do you think you're ready to sign the final papers?”
Given her mood, I expected her to hesitate. But she didn't. “Then it will be official, right?”
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