Ivy’s voice came out a whisper, remembering Reese’s advice. “I love you, Mom. I’m so sorry for the way I—”
Mom ran her fingers over Ivy’s hair, “Shh . . . let’s not do this right now. Let’s just hold on to one another for a minute.”
On the porch swing, Ivy and her mom leaned into each other.
“I thought you and Daddy were traveling.”
“Reese called and asked if I happened to be free. Said you needed me. Insisted you wouldn’t mind. Stuff you were learning about the past. Your dad can handle the conference responsibilities without me for a few days. This is where I belong.”
Again Reese was proving how different he was. While Seth pulled her away from all the people dear to her, creating a scenario in which she relied upon him completely, Reese gathered an army of people to stand beside her. Even after she’d pushed him away. Especially then.
Ivy straightened and lifted her chin to meet her mother’s eye. “Can we talk? Really talk about where I came from?”
“I’m sorry we caused you pain by not talking about things enough. It’s just . . . whenever we did talk about it, you became so tense. Edgy.”
Hearing the words from her mother’s lips, she knew it was true. As curious as Ivy had been then and even now, a part of her didn’t want to lose the fairy-tale ending. It was like she asked questions with her hands over her ears to shut out the answers.
“We thought we were causing you pain by talking about it. Your adoption was . . . different. And the best thing for everyone was to provide a simplified version of what happened. As time went on, we let the story fade to the background, and people finally stopped being so curious.”
Ivy swallowed against the nausea churning her stomach. “I overheard some ladies talking after church when I was about eight. Talking about how I’d been left on your doorstep. It wasn’t true, right? Where did you find me? How did I get to you?”
A corner of her mother’s mouth lifted as tears filled her eyes. “You really did drop into my life, seemingly out of nowhere.”
“And I was what? In a basket? On the ground? In my birth mother’s arms? I don’t understand. None of this fits.”
Mom tilted her head. “None of what?”
“Grandma left a letter about a journal that’s missing. She said it was all about where I came from. I found this picture of an abused young woman named Rose, and she looks just like me. If you know what Grandma was talking about please, please just tell me. Don’t protect me from the truth anymore. Did someone take me from my birth mother? Did you take the journal?”
Her mother shook her head. “I never knew anything about a journal or a young woman named Rose, and I had no idea your grandma kept looking for your birth parents. I always had a feeling your uncle knew more about where you came from than he let on, but I can’t fathom the idea he’d do anything to hurt you. He loves you so much, sweetheart. With a love so tender and sacrificial I can’t explain it with words.”
“How did you and Dad get me?”
“Your grandmother . . .”
“Grandma?”
She nodded.
“Why did Grandma have me? What happened before?”
“Please, don’t be angry when I tell you this, Ivy. I know little more than what I told you. Truly. But you really need to talk to your uncle. I think it’s past time for you to know the truth of who he is to you. I just hope he’s ready to tell it.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-SIX
NOVEMBER 26, 1994
“Miss Pearl. Are you awake?”
Pearl bolted upright at the distress in Harvey’s voice and glanced over to the large digital clock. Two a.m. Her voice came out craggy. “I’ll be right there.” She fumbled in the dark for her glasses and robe. Poor Harvey sounded beside himself. With good reason, of course. No parent could stand to see their child uncomfortable. He was worn ragged watching Ivy battle the cold for the past two days. And with her uncertain guardianship situation, everything was more complicated.
Pearl walked down the hall, pausing at Harvey’s door. Ivy’s cry was raspy and punctuated by a chesty cough. Harvey murmured, “It’s okay. You’re going to be fine.”
Pearl opened the door. “She’s not doing good, is she?”
He edged around her into the hallway, Ivy held close, as though guarding the baby from her. He stepped toward the bathroom. “I think she needs another round of steam.”
“Wait—” She grabbed his arm. “She doesn’t need steam. She needs a doctor. Do you hear how she’s breathing? She’s having to work at it a bit. It’s not too bad yet, but we can’t wait for her to get to that point. She needs medical attention.” Pearl pressed her hand to the baby’s cheek. “And she’s hot. Really hot.”
Harvey clamped his lips and shook his head. “No. The steam will help her breathe. You said.”
“She needs to go to the hospital. Go pack a bag. I’ll change, and we’ll go.” She kept her voice low and soothing. Calm even though she was dying inside for him.
“I can’t take her to a hospital.”
“She needs to be seen, Harvey. Now, not later.”
He looked up, emotions warring on his face. “Hospitals are where kids go only to wake up and find out they don’t have parents anymore. And all that’s left are people paid to care.” His words tumbled on top of each other like rocks in a landslide.
“You need to calm down. You’re not making any sense.”
“Riding home with my parents one dark, rainy night, I distracted my dad when I dropped a toy on the floor, and he didn’t see that deer jump into the road. I woke up in a sterile white place with people who wouldn’t quite meet my eye. No one wanted to be the one to explain what it meant to be an orphan to a five-year-old. If I take Ivy there, she’ll never see me again.”
Pearl, stricken by his story and the urgency of the moment, clenched and unclenched her hands. “No one is going to take her away from you. I’m sure they’ll have questions that need sorting out, but you’re Ivy’s family.”
He panted for breath, eyes wide. “I don’t have a sister, Pearl.”
Pearl froze. “Harvey?”
He squeezed his eyes tight. “I-I found Ivy one night in the woods, all alone. I lied to protect her from being thrown into the system.”
Ivy fussed, and the hoarse sound broke Pearl’s heart. Her mind raced, trying to piece together the truth and search for a solution all at the same time. “Miriam and Thomas are certified foster parents now. If they bring her to the hospital, there’s a chance Ivy will be able to stay in their care while she gets medical attention, and while they work out the legal aspects of her case. And then they could—”
Harvey’s face twisted. “Foster parents? That’s code for keeping a child until it gets too hard or too complicated.”
“You aren’t being fair. You know Miriam and Thomas better than that. Especially Thomas. You’ve worked with him for months, and he never once gave up on you. Ivy must get help. Period. If you love her, there comes a point in which you have to sacrifice your needs for what’s best for her. You said you kept the truth about her a secret to protect her, but you were really protecting yourself.”