‘She’ll come. Just be patient. We’re ten minutes early.’
An excruciatingly slow ten minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Janine.
‘She’s not coming.’ Disappointment flooded Damien’s face ‘I should have known she wouldn’t. It was too much to expect. I don’t blame her.’
Hannah reached across the table and took his hand as a movement outside the window caught her eye. She drew in a breath. The woman who’d just walked past was without doubt Damien’s mother. Tall, with long black hair, high cheekbones and a fine jawline, there was no question who she was. Hannah squeezed his hand and nodded towards the cafe door as it opened.
Damien stood up, his nerves visible by his shaking hands. Tears welled in Hannah’s eyes as she watched his reaction. He walked towards Janine, who immediately froze when she saw him. A shaky smile appeared on her lips, and she took a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes.
‘Damien?’
He nodded and tears instantly cascaded down her cheeks. He put an arm protectively around her shoulder and led her to the table.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she managed. ‘This is incredibly overwhelming.’
Hannah smiled warmly and extended her hand. ‘I’m Hannah, Damien’s wife, and yes, this is overwhelming for everyone. Damien’s been a mess all morning, if it’s any consolation.’
Janine smiled at him through her tears. ‘Really? I’ve been so worried about what you might think of me. I know you’ve been told the reason I put you up for adoption, but I’ve been concerned at what you’ve thought all these years since you were old enough to learn that you were adopted. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t want you or love you. I didn’t hate you either, which someone recently suggested you might think.’
‘I only found out in the last few weeks the real reason you gave me up for adoption. Up until then, I’d been led to believe that you’d died in a car accident taking me back from the hospital. When I learned the truth, I didn’t hate you. I felt awful for what you’d gone through.’
Janine nodded. ‘That’s hardly your fault, and from what I can see you certainly have more Markinson genes in you than Deeks.’
‘I was thirteen when my parents told me. At that time we’d been told it was a closed adoption, so there was no way to find out anything about either of you.’
‘I don’t think there was a day that went by that I didn’t think of changing that on my file, just in case you ever wanted to get in touch. But I didn’t know if finding out the truth would be good for you. From what I know about Calvin Deeks’s family, there’s not a lot to be proud of.’
A flash of anger crossed Damien’s face. ‘There’s nothing to be proud of at all about him. He’s not who I’m interested in getting to know.’ His face softened. ‘But you are.’
Janine hesitated for a moment before clearing her throat. ‘There’s only one question I need an answer to from you, Damien, and then I’m happy to answer anything you might like to know.’
Hannah wondered what on earth it could be. Wouldn’t she have a million questions? She knew that she would.
‘It’s the one thing that has haunted me since the day I handed you to the nurses and honestly believed I would never see you again.’ She hesitated. ‘Have you had a happy life?’
Damien’s face broke into a wide smile.
Janine dabbed at her tears again. ‘I think that answers the question for me. I always hoped you would be placed with a nice family, but I could never be sure. And then to torture myself I’d search for stories about adoption cases on the internet and discover children had been abused or mistreated. I prayed every night that you were happy and safe.’
‘I was. My parents are the nicest people you could ever meet. They couldn’t have children, and they treated me like a gift. I couldn’t have asked for a better upbringing. I wasn’t spoilt, but I was given many opportunities and always knew I was loved with absolute devotion.’
‘Were your parents supportive of you coming here today?’
Damien frowned. ‘They are supportive, but Mum’s a bit worried, I guess. She said it took her years to relax after the adoption went through. She couldn’t believe that she and Dad had been blessed with a newborn. There was a part of her that always worried that something would happen, that someone would turn up one day and tell her it was all a mistake. So even though I’m forty now, and she knows that I can’t be taken away from her like I could have been as a child, I guess she’s worried that someone else might take her place.’
Janine nodded. ‘I’d like to meet her at some stage.’ She blushed. ‘Assuming you want to see me again after today, that is. I’d like to thank her, and your father, for everything they’ve done. I’d also like to reassure her that she is your mother. I’m not here to get in the way of that. I want to get to know you, if you’ll let me, and I thought you might enjoy getting to know me and my extended family.’
Hannah lifted a photo album from her bag and pushed it across the table. ‘Trish, Damien’s mother, put this together for you. She thought you might like to see some photos of him growing up.’
This time it was Damien’s eyes that welled with tears. Hannah knew that he’d be thinking how selfless Trish was, and how thoughtful and generous.
Janine ran her finger over the cover of the album before meeting Hannah’s eyes. ‘What an amazing lady to do something like this.’
Hannah nodded. ‘She is. Now, why don’t I order us some drinks and cake while you and Damien have a look through the album? I’m sure there are plenty of embarrassing photos in there he’d like to cover up.’
They laughed, and it was as if the pressure lifted from all of them. Hannah took their coffee orders and went over to the counter and chose some cakes and slices to share. She looked back at Damien, who was covering his face in mock embarrassment as they looked through the album. There was an undeniable connection between the two; anyone could see it. They might have just met, but they had a shared history that linked them in some unexplainable way.
It was two hours later that they stood and said their goodbyes.
‘I really would love to meet Amy, if you allow me,’ Janine said as they walked to the front door of the cafe. ‘And I’d love you all to make a trip to Tallangetti at some stage so you can meet my family.’
Hannah nodded. ‘I’m sure Amy would love to meet you.’ They’d discovered that Janine had four brothers, all married with children. Amy had many cousins, as it turned out. How strange; Hannah hadn’t thought beyond what having Janine in his life might mean for Damien. Amy also had blood ties to a huge extended family. It would be nice for her to get to know them. With Damien an only child and Nat yet to have a family, Amy often complained that she didn’t have any cousins or lots of aunts and uncles.
‘We’ll organise something soon,’ Damien said. ‘I’d like you to meet Mum and Dad too. I think it would help Mum to feel more comfortable about everything.’ He leaned in and hugged Janine. ‘Thank you for coming today. It means so much to me.’
‘Me too.’ Janine reached into her bag and took out a large thick envelope. ‘This is something my mother asked me to give you.’ Her voice cracked as she spoke. ‘She wanted you to know that you were loved as a grandson from the day you were born. I didn’t know about this until two days ago, when she handed it to me. I only had a little look and then packed it away.’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘I found it too painful to think about all that we lost by not having you with us.’