Chapter 17
Diana cruised down 440 East, exceeding the posted speed limit. She didn’t want to be late for her community service duties. She had worked in the soup kitchen twelve hours a week, for twelve weeks. She had performed one hundred and forty-four hours of community service. With only sixteen more hours to go, she could finally see the light at the end of a seemingly long tunnel.
After three months of enduring Mable’s sarcastic remarks, she finally realized that the older lady was a loving person. Ironically, she’d become fond of Mable and realized she would miss talking to her. Diana actually felt comfortable enough to confide in her about having given her child away for adoption.
Mable confided some highly personal information to Diana also. She told Diana that her husband abandoned her, and that Social Services had taken her three-year-old daughter from her because she was a drug addict. She told Diana that after years of using drugs, she was grateful that God had enabled her to overcome the destructive habit.
She admitted that despite God’s mercy, at age forty-five, she still continued to make unwise decisions that resulted in her having two more sons by another irresponsible man.
She inferred that at her age, sixty-three, she was raising two sons, ages seventeen and eighteen. She reassured Diana that she was truly blessed, because at least she had a husband that provided well for her. After listening to her, Diana realized that her own problems were minuscule. Diana admitted to Kendra that, except for the fact that Mable was a holy roller, she was a pretty decent lady.
Diana took the Capital Boulevard exit and headed for downtown. Her cell phone rang. “Hello,” she answered unenthusiastically.
“Hi, Mrs. Thompson. This is Terry. I know you weren’t too thrilled with me coming back to Nashville, but your husband wanted me to give it one more shot.”
“Terry, I was trying to make peace with the fact that I might not ever find my child, so please spare me anymore heartaches.”
“Actually, this time, I have a lead,” Terry said excitedly. “I went back to that nurse’s house, and she gave me an old newspaper clipping. In it were the names of all the children that had been in the orphanage at and before the time of the fire.”
“What was the purpose of posting the children’s name in the paper? Wasn’t that confidential information?”
“Yes, ma’am, it would have been, but since the records burned with the place, they had to account for the children that didn’t lose their lives in the fire. The only other records were held at the courthouse or the Office of Vital Statistics.”
“So how would that matter where my child is concerned? By the time the orphanage caught on fire, the child was gone for at least three years.”
“That’s true, but in searching through the records of children that had lived there, I ran across a birth certificate that had your name on it.” Terry unfolded the old document that he held in his hand. He spread it out on the bed in his hotel room.
Diana was sitting at a stoplight. When she heard this, she became excited and ceased to pay attention to the traffic. “Oh my goodness, Terry,” she said nervously. “Who, I mean, what, where is the child?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but she lives in Raleigh.”
Diana gasped. “Are you kidding me, Terry? she exclaimed.
Terry chuckled at Diana’s excitement. “No, ma’am. According to my source, she has been living in your city for a while now.”
“Who is she? Do you know her name?” Diana asked impatiently. “Tell me, please. I just want to know her name,” Diana said nervously.
“Okay, Mrs. Thompson. It’—s” Terry heard a loud crash through the phone line. “Mrs. Thompson,” he said into the phone. “Mrs. Thompson, are you okay?” The phone went silent.
Diana’s light was still on red, but in her excitement, she had let up off of the brakes, stepped on the accelerator, and pulled into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer.