Chapter Nineteen

Valerie and Mary arrived the next day a little after one. Kate pointed them to the guest room to drop off their bags and showed them where their bathroom was. As she pulled a batch of cookies from the oven for lunch, Valerie padded into the small kitchen. She was dressed in stylish jeans with embroidery down the front and a layering of T-shirts with a green wool jacket to top it all off.

“We can’t thank you enough for letting us stay here,” she said and ran her hands through her long hair as if to comb it.

“You must’ve started early,” Kate said. She set the cookies on the counter and transferred them to a cooling rack. “I have a snack if you’re hungry.”

“It smells heavenly. The visit to the hospital was quick—just a swab of my cheek. So we were on the road by seven-thirty.”

“So, you and your mom mended fences?” Kate asked.

Valerie fingered a paper napkin on the kitchen counter. “I was being childish, and it was just time that I grew up.”

“I’m glad to hear things are working out between you two,” she said. Kate lifted a steaming cookie onto a square plate and handed it and a glass of cold milk across the counter to Valerie.

Valerie took a bite and closed her eyes as she tasted it. “That’s delicious,” she said.

Kate grinned. “A cook always likes to hear that.”

She led Valerie to the kitchen table, bringing a plate of cookies that had cooled earlier. “So, it’s a big day,” Kate said. “Are you ready for it?”

“Who is ever ready to meet their sister for the first time?” Valerie paused as if to say more, then added, “I’ve decided that I want to meet Patricia too.”

“Really?” Kate smiled. “She’ll be so pleased.”

“When I was talking to Mom, she convinced me that it wouldn’t kill me to meet my birth mother. I don’t know what I thought would happen. But I can’t be afraid to live anymore. I want to meet my birth mom and have her meet the woman who raised me and still loves me.”

Just then Mary Olsen came into the room. Her dark hair was combed back, and her face looked freshly scrubbed and shining. “Your forever mom?” She bent to kiss her daughter on the top of the head.

“Yes,” Valerie said, touching her mother’s hand that rested on her shoulder. “My forever mom.”

KATE WONDERED how Patricia would react to meeting Valerie. They might carry the same blood in their veins, but they were still strangers, after all. Kate had called to tell her that Valerie was asking to meet them both. She could hear the joy in Patricia’s voice when she’d told her—and the fear.

Finally they were there, standing outside Marissa’s hospital room. Kate knocked on the door tentatively and heard a faint “Come in.” She turned to Valerie. The girl held her mother’s hand and drew in a deep breath as she nodded.

The door slowly opened, and Kate entered, followed by Mary, with Valerie behind her. They’d already scrubbed and gowned.

Marissa had a pretty orange and red head scarf tied neatly on her head and makeup on her wan face. The eye shadow, blush, and pale pink lip gloss made her look almost healthy.

Valerie’s dark eyes locked on Patricia’s. Kate could tell that Patricia was holding her breath.

“Hello,” Valerie said in a small voice.

Patricia moved forward, and they shook gloved hands. “I’m Patricia Harris,” she said. “Your—” she stumbled on the word.

“Your birth mother,” Mary filled in for her, her voice gentle.

Patricia turned to this woman who had raised her precious daughter. A track of wetness lined Mary’s cheeks.

“I’m Mary Olsen,” the woman said.

“I’m so pleased to meet you,” Patricia said as tears welled in her eyes. She grasped Mary’s hand. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am...for everything.”

Mary’s eyes smiled into hers. “It’s so good for Valerie to finally meet you. She’s wondered about you for a long time.”

Patricia’s gaze shifted back to Valerie, who was watching from the other side of the bed. Kate silently observed the scene, feeling humbled to be part of this moment, to see the coming together of this broken family.

Finally, they turned to Marissa.

“Valerie,” Patricia said. “This is your sister, Marissa.”

Valerie moved to her bed and extended a gloved hand. “Hello.”

Marissa took it and said, “Thank you for coming.” She was grinning from ear to ear. The two sisters held hands, and Valerie sat down on the bed alongside Marissa.

“How long have you been sick?” Valerie asked.

“A few months,” Marissa said. “But I feel better now.” She lifted a smile to her mother.

“Let’s hope you get healthy real soon.” Valerie lifted her gaze to her mother. “When will we know if the marrow matches?”

“Soon, I think,” Mary answered. “They have my cell number.”

“They’ll let our doctor know too,” Marissa said, still holding hands with her sister. “Tell me about you,” Marissa said. “I want to know all about you.”

Valerie looked back down at her, her eyes clouding. Kate sensed the well of emotions Marissa’s simple question brought out in her sibling—the desire to know and be known. It was a powerful thing.

When Valerie lifted her gaze, Marissa added, “What do you like to do? Did you go to college?”

Valerie nodded. “I’m still in college, actually. Studying to be a nurse.”

“No kidding!” Marissa said. “I was studying to be a physical therapist.”

Valerie’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “We could work in the same hospital.”

“Absolutely,” Marissa agreed, then asked, “Do you like to sail?”

“I haven’t been much, but I do like the water. I go whitewater kayaking with my friends whenever I get the chance. I don’t own one or anything, but my boyfriend has a few, so we do that once in a while. There are some great rivers for kayaking in Tennessee.”

“That sounds awesome,” Marissa said, her gaze far away. “I’d love to get back out on the water again...”

Valerie touched her shoulder, drawing Marissa back.

Seeing the gesture, Kate choked up. These girls had missed so much by not being together, by not having shared their childhoods. Kate glanced at Patricia, who had tears streaming down her cheeks.

Just then a nurse came in with a tray of food for Marissa—a boiled dinner of potatoes, carrots, some sort of bland meat, and a cup of milk.

“I should have brought you a fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich,” Valerie said as she squinted at the boring-looking meal.

“Peanut butter and banana was one of Elvis’s favorites.”

Valerie nodded knowingly.

“Oh my goodness! You’re an Elvis fan?” Marissa practically shouted.

Valerie nodded again. “Kate told me you are too.” Then she added, “I’ll have to take you to the Sun Studio Café in Memphis. They have them on the menu there.”

“That’s near where Elvis made his first recording as a birthday present for his mother, right?”

“Next door.”

Filled with amazement, Marissa’s eyes flew to her mother, then back to Valerie. “You’ll have to come see my room,” Marissa went on. “It’s wall-to-wall Elvis. I’ve been collecting since...I can’t even remember when.”

Valerie was intent on Marissa, and in many ways, Kate was grateful for that. She knew Marissa was safe for Valerie. After all, her sister hadn’t caused any of the pain in Valerie’s life.

After the girls had had a while to talk and Marissa began to grow sleepy, Kate suggested they head out for a bite to eat. “No!” Marissa protested, “I want to hear everything!” But the exhausted look on her face said she needed rest.

Patricia leaned over and touched a gloved hand to her daughter’s forehead, even as Marissa’s eyes drooped shut. “I’ll take notes and tell you everything that we say later, okay? You get your sleep.”

“We’ll come back to talk some more,” Valerie promised. Mary nodded in agreement.

Finally Marissa acquiesced. Her eyes closed, and the soft breath of sleep overtook her.

The four of them crept from her room and agreed to meet at the Bristol, the new restaurant at the Hamilton Springs Hotel just east of downtown Copper Mill.

Valerie and Mary rode with Kate, and the trip was painfully quiet. Kate knew this would be the most difficult part of this day, when birth mother and daughter finally had the chance to talk. She’d sensed it in Patricia, the way her body stiffened and her glance kept shifting to Valerie when Kate had mentioned going out to eat. She sent up a prayer for both of them and pulled into the pine-tree-lined lot next to the Hamilton Springs Hotel. Formerly the Copper Creek Hotel, the historic building had recently been renovated after years of disrepair. Patricia’s car pulled in behind them alongside the two-story building. They climbed out and made their way to the hotel.

Wide double doors opened onto a stunning, massive foyer with double staircases that wound their way up to the floor above. The room was a warm honey tone, with a blazing fireplace in its center and mounted deer and elk trophies on the polished wood walls. The floors shone from years of visitors coming and going, and thick beams lifted toward the ceiling. Woven Indian rugs gave the room definition, with seating groups placed around them throughout the space.

Kate led them to the Bristol, which was to the left of the foyer, a sunny room with banks of divided windows on three sides. The waitstaff bustled between tables, and a gentleman wearing an expensive-looking suit showed them to a table overlooking a pond. Sensing her friend would need a boost of encouragement, Kate moved alongside Patricia and took the chair to her right.

“My house is on this road,” Patricia told Valerie and Mary as she pointed toward the woods to the west. “On the other side of town. I’ll have to show you Marissa’s Elvis collection.”

“Maybe...” Valerie said tentatively.

Kate could see the doubt her response caused in Patricia, who fingered the tablecloth awkwardly.

“I mean,” Valerie went on, “I’d hate to take away from Marissa the joy of showing it to me herself.”

“Oh...of course,” Patricia said. She breathed, catching Kate’s eye, and attempted to smile.

The waitress appeared to tell them about the daily specials and to hand out menus. They stared quietly at the tall laminated sheets for several long minutes before the waitress returned to take their orders. When she scooted off to the next table, Mary took a deep breath and said, “I know this can’t be easy for you, Patricia.” Her gaze shifted to her daughter. “It’s not for us, either. In so many ways, I wish we’d always known you.”

Patricia’s eyes widened. “But it was a closed adoption...”

“That was our mistake,” Mary said. She touched Valerie’s hand that rested on the table between them. “I think it would’ve been healthier for Valerie if she’d grown up knowing you and Marissa, instead of always wondering, having that mystery hanging over her head.”

Valerie raised her head, a tremulous smile on her lips.

“Because I didn’t know who my birth parents were or the circumstances around my adoption,” Valerie began, “I made up a fantasy about you.” Her face turned a deep shade of red.

“That’s normal,” Kate said.

“I always wondered why—that was my biggest question. Why?” Valerie looked at Patricia.

The anger and hurt in her face made Kate cringe. She sent up a prayer for Patricia, that she would be able to speak truthfully without breaking down.

Kate touched her arm, and Patricia gave her a quick smile of acknowledgment.

“I can’t make things right for you, Valerie,” she began. “I wish I could. I’d redo everything, but I made the best choice I could at the time. My options weren’t great.” She inhaled a ragged breath. “When my parents found out I was pregnant with you and Marissa, they disowned me. Till the day they died, they washed their hands of me, even after everything seemed okay.”

Valerie crossed her arms over her chest, but Patricia went on, “That left me with few options. I was eighteen, just out of high school. I had no way of getting a good-paying job, though I tried to keep you and Marissa together.”

Tears streamed down Valerie’s face.

“I wanted you and Marissa to be together. You need to know that.” She lifted her head to the ceiling. “I couldn’t come back to Copper Mill; small towns are hard places to be a single mom anyway—at least in the eighties they were. Still are, I’m sure. I wasn’t keeping up on my rent, not with the cost of day care for two babies. And there weren’t any subsidized apartments available in Chattanooga at the time...I was afraid the county would end up taking both of you. I couldn’t bear that.”

“So, why me and not Marissa?” Valerie swiped at her eyes, and Mary reached for her hand on the table.

“Marissa asked the same thing,” Patricia said. She inhaled, then looked Valerie in the eyes. “You were smaller, frail. I knew an adoptive family had more resources than I had to make sure you were healthy, and loved—” Her voice broke, and she lowered her head to cry.

Kate patted her back, and Mary offered a look of empathy. They sat in awkward silence while Patricia cried and dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue from her purse.

“You gave me the greatest gift of my life,” Mary finally said, her gaze firmly on Patricia. “The ability to be a mother.” She squeezed Valerie’s hand. “My husband and I had tried so long to have kids, but we just couldn’t. Then we finally chose adoption...” She too dabbed at her face with a tissue. “You can’t imagine what a miracle that was for us, to finally be parents and to have this beautiful child to raise. I’ve counted it a privilege every day for the past twenty-two years, and I’m so grateful. I know it was hard for you to let her go, and I appreciate that.” Then she turned to her daughter. “And I know you’ve struggled too, Val, but I love you, and I’m glad you’re my daughter.”

By the time the food came, they were one big sobbing mess. Mascara streaked their cheeks, and used tissues dotted the table. The waitress looked at them curiously, but no one offered an explanation. Patricia gave Kate’s arm a squeeze, and the women exchanged glances. But Kate knew what she meant by the gesture—she’d found the forgiveness she’d been seeking. It had been there all along, but she’d finally taken hold of it.