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“Can I help you?” The man says.
It takes a moment for Andi to find her voice. “Is your name Ken? Ken Grady?” She asks.
“Yes.”
“My name is Andi…and I think I’m your daughter.”
The man’s eyes widen, and he takes off his glasses as if trying to get his eyes to adjust properly. “Sarah!” He calls.
Moments later, a woman appears next to him. She’s got red hair, but her hair has the same spiral curls that Andi’s does.
“What is it?” She asks her husband, but the moment she sees Andi, realization washes over her. Her hand goes to her face as though she’s just seen a ghost.
“Andi?” She asks.
Andi nods.
Without warning, both of them step out onto the porch and wrap her in a hug. It takes Andi a minute to reciprocate and hug them back.
All of them are crying at this point, and they stand in their embrace for I don’t know how long. None of them are paying attention, so I snap a couple of photos with my phone. I know Andi will want to remember this moment forever.
Finally, Ken lets go. “Come on, let’s go in the house. I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”
He ushers us inside, and Sarah shows us to the living room. We take a seat on the couch, and she says, “If you’ll excuse me for one minute. I need to make a quick phone call.”
We nod, and she leaves the room.
“You’re doing great,” I whisper. “Your parents seem really nice and super happy to see you.”
All I get is another nod and a weak smile.
It isn’t long at all before both of them reappear. Ken is carrying a tray with four mugs, a full coffee pot, and all the fixings. He sits down and pours each of us a cup.
Andi takes the mug but sets it back down. Her hands are shaking, and I know she’s scared she will spill it on herself.
Ken is the first one to speak. “Andi, I wish that I knew where to begin, but really, I don’t think they make a manual for this type of thing. Or maybe they do, and I just haven’t read it.” He rambles when he’s nervous. I can see where his daughter gets that trait.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Sarah says. “We never thought we would get this chance. When your husband came over all those years ago, he was adamant that you wanted nothing to do with us.”
Now, Andi jumps in, “Wait, Michael came here and met with you?”
They both nod.
“He came over wanting to talk to us before he brought you over. He came over asking us questions about why we gave you up. We answered all of his questions, and when he called a few days later, he said he told you, and you didn’t want to meet us,” Ken says.
Andi sighs. “I’m sorry, but until yesterday, I never even knew you came over. Michael never told me that, and it wasn’t until after his death that this information was brought to my attention. So, I apologize that I am probably going to ask you a lot of the same questions.”
“Of course.” Ken nods. “Ask us anything you want. I imagine you have a million questions.”
Andi clears her throat. “I’m not sure where to start.”
I decide to say something because I feel a little bit weird just sitting here silently. “I think Andi wants to know what happened to make you give her up.”
She nods. “Yeah, let’s start there, I guess.”
Sarah’s voice quivers as she begins to speak. “Andi, when I got pregnant with you, we were fifteen. When my parents found out, they kicked me out of the house. I was staying with Ken, but unfortunately, his parents weren’t exactly what one would call ‘good influences.’ We started trying to get jobs, but most places weren’t looking to hire two kids, one of which was pregnant and both of which couldn’t even drive. We knew until we got older, we couldn’t provide any type of life for you. Hell, back then, we weren’t even sure we would stay together through high school. We considered adoption before you were born, but the moment I saw you, I had second thoughts. I wanted to raise you and be the best parents for you.
“Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Even when we were able to get jobs, they were minimum wage jobs while we were still going to high school. We barely had enough money to buy you diapers and formula, but we made it work for a while. We didn’t have money for a babysitter, so Ken’s mom would watch you while we were in school. One day, we came home, and she was passed out on the couch, drunk. You were sitting in the bathtub.”
