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I decided to break the ice. “Where should we start?” I glanced back and forth between Liv and the Andrews.
Liv dug in her purse and pulled out her list. “How about we start with this?”
“Good idea.” When the older couple looked at us with furrowed brows, I explained, “Liv made a list of questions to ask Piper.”
They both nodded and smiled as Liv unfolded the paper. Liv directed her attention to Piper as she asked, “What’s your favorite color, Piper?”
“Blue,” Piper answered.
“What about favorite subject?”
“Science.”
Liv beamed with happiness. “Science was my favorite subject, too. I became a scientist.”
Piper’s eyes widened in excitement. “Really? You’re a real scientist?”
“I am. I actually came here for work. And to meet you, of course.”
Piper’s forehead creased. “You don’t live here?”
“No. I live in Charlotte.”
“Oh.” She turned her attention to me. “But you live here. I thought moms and dads were supposed to live together.”
Liv and I looked at each other, then back at Piper. “Well, sometimes things don’t work out between moms and dads, and they don’t stay together.”
Piper nodded, seeming to accept my answer. “Some of my friends’ parents are divorced. They don’t live together anymore either.”
I glanced back at Liv, and the sad expression in her eyes mirrored how I felt. I wished we would’ve worked things out way back when.
Liv cleared her throat, then changed the subject. “Favorite ice cream?”
“Just one?” Piper groaned. “It’s so hard to choose.” We all laughed, then she continued, “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.”
We continued down the list, finding out that our daughter loved dance and art, her favorite animal was a horse, and she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up.
“You know, I have a horse at my farm that would probably love you. Her name is Buttercup.”
Piper’s blue eyes lit up. “Can I meet her?”
I looked up at her parents, and Mrs. Andrews frowned. “Maybe one day, sweetheart.”
My happiness deflated. It sucked that I couldn’t decide things for my own kid, but I’d given up that right when I’d signed the adoption paperwork.
“Do you have any questions for us?” I asked.
Piper didn’t speak for several moments, then she asked, “Why did you give me up for adoption?”
The million-dollar question.
A lump formed in my throat, and I heard Liv sigh. I glanced at her and could tell by the look on her face that she wouldn’t be able to explain without breaking down. “Well, when your mom got pregnant with you, we were still in high school. We were both young and didn’t have jobs or a way to support you. We wanted the best life possible for you, and we wouldn’t have been able to give that to you then.”
I felt Liv’s hand slide into mine under the table. She interlocked our fingers and squeezed as we watched our daughter nod her understanding, looking down at the table.
Liv reached across the table and grabbed Piper’s hand. “We wanted to keep you so bad; so much that it hurt. But my dad wouldn’t let me, and you have to listen to your dad, right?”
Piper glanced up at Liv and nodded again. Her eyes were glazed with tears, and it broke my heart.
