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Uh-oh, this was potentially dangerous territory, and it meant they’d spokenveryrecently, like this morning.
“Yeah, uh…Madelyn and I have known each other since we were kids. You could say it was inevitable.” I sure as hell wasn’t going to say why.
“You’re a good match,” she said, making notes on her paper as we stood in the middle of Daniela’s nursery. “You’ll ground her; be the stabilizing force in this household. Children need that, to know they’re loved unconditionally.” She drew in a breath through her nose before tipping her head a little to the left, toward the door, in a nod. “That one needs to know it too.”
She drifted out into the hallway and I heard her call to Madelyn. The two of them talked quietly in the kitchen for a moment, before all three of us settled in the living room to go through Amanda’s questions.
Madelyn reached for my hand, something I thought meant she was nervous, and I squeezed her fingers gently when I folded her hand into mine, something that made her melt into my side. Maybe she hadn’t forgiven me, but whatever this was, I’d take it.
“Thank you so much for your time today.” Amanda stood after a volley of questions and answers, and Madelyn’s arm went around my waist like she needed help standing when we got to our feet. “I’ll present my report and I’m sure you’ll hear from Sacred Heart shortly. You would be wise to engage a lawyer to review any documentation before you sign, even if it is a religious charity.” She gave me a significant look. “It’s always wise to play it safe.”
If that was a hint, I hoped it meant we’d passed her test.
“Best of luck to you both.” She reached across the space to squeeze Madelyn’s arm. “It’s not for everyone, but it’s rewarding.”
What wasn’t for everyone, adoption? Marriage? Cats? Yeah, maybe cats.
To her credit, Lucy had settled right next to Amanda while she grilled us, the little cat happy to soak up all the love and affection she could. I watched her slow-blink up at Amanda and the thought ran through my mind that Lucy was such a different cat from the feral beast I’d pulled out from under Mrs. Ballard’s back deck. That cat had wanted me dead and had set to it with tiny claws and vicious teeth, attacking me every chance she got for the first five or six weeks she lived in my home.
The two of us stood in the doorway, hands lifted in a wave as Amanda backed her tiny Prius down the long driveway and Madelyn blew out such a huge breath, it seemed like she’d been holding it all morning.
I knew what she was dying to do and I leaned over to kiss the side of her head, something she leaned into like she needed tenderness, and I kept my arm around her for as long as she let me.
Yeah, that was me: Mr. Poor Boundaries. Amanda saw right the hell through me.
“Get your shoes,” I said into her hair and she looked up at me.
“Go on.” I swatted her backside gently. “Let’s go see our sweet girl.”
No one knew Daniela’s actual birth date. Madelyn’s Italian was impressive, but her only Spanish was still fairly rudimentary, and the fact Daniela’s parents arrived in distress meant some important things had been overlooked, like birthdays and home town and last name. The baby’s name was truly the only thing Madelyn had been able to rescue, along with the tiny infant, from the situation.
According to Madelyn, doctors in the camp placed Daniela at only a few days old, so Madelyn had taken a stab at a birth date and rushed through paperwork in order to have the girl placed with Sacred Heart as quickly as possible. It reduced the burden of care in the camp, but it also put Daniela in a safer situation, on transport to upstate New York after only a few days in the camp.
Madelyn admitted to me that afternoon, as she rocked the small girl to sleep, that she’d spent every spare moment of those days with the tiny baby.
“Grams had nothing to do with it,” she said, out of nowhere, and I looked up from where I was folding the fresh baby laundry one of the sisters had brought to the room. “The picnic…last summer, when she announced that I’d wasted my life on nothing and no one.”
I remembered that all too well and I set aside a stack of tiny onesies before answering.
“Because of what you sacrificed you saved countless lives, Madelyn. What you gave up to save others could never be considered a waste.”
“She’s going to ask me what took so long.” Her mouth pulled up on one side. “That will be the least offensive thing she’ll ask.” Her lips tipped up into an evil grin. “She’ll want to know whether you’re any good in bed.”
Despite myself, I blushed. I knew the old woman had no filter whatsoever, in addition to being unable to keep her hands to herself, and I’d never admit it to Madelyn–or anyone else who asked–but the fact she was constantly belittling Madelyn upset me far more than the fact her hands were always on my ass.
“Congratulations.” Sister Theresa’s face was all smiles when she delivered a load of fresh bed linens to the room and caught sight of my wedding band. “Marriage is such a gift.” She looked to the ceiling when she said it, and her implication was plain.
“It is.” I agreed, and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “So is that.” I inclined my head toward Madelyn in the rocking chair, Daniela snuggled in her arms, and Sister Theresa’s eyes softened.
“The only things of value in this world,” she said softly, and I sent up a prayer like a gunshot:Please bring Daniela to us; to lose her would break my girl’s heart.
My girl…yeah, I’d marched right across that boundary too.
I thought of what would happen if Sister Emanuelle didn’t approve the adoption. What if the home study report was negative? It would kill Madelyn if she had to stop visiting Sacred Heart because Daniela had been placed with another family.
“Sister, may I speak with you for a moment?” I asked quietly, and she nodded her head, gesturing we should take our words out into the hallway. We slipped from the room almost silently and I half-turned to take another look atmy girls, Madelyn’s eyes closed as Daniela rested contentedly against her chest.
Sister Theresa stood, looking at me expectantly as I chewed the inside of my cheek, and I ran a hand over my face as I tried to gather my thoughts.
