Girl in the Spotlight

by Virginia McCullough

  She’d made good, all right. That pleased him. He could have spent the day just following links to all her publications. An interview with a brash but innovative cancer scientist had appeared only a few days ago in the Wall Street Journal. Another piece in a journal for chiropractors focused on nutritional remedies for ten common conditions. He smiled to himself. She appeared to be a walking encyclopedia of nutritional supplements and herbs, and that was just a start. Based on her publications, she was equally conversant with subjects as varied as brain injuries and superbugs. She’d even written a handful of columns to calm parents’ fears about Ebola.

  He clicked back to her home page and stared at the photo, knowing that behind those sparkling eyes and radiant smile lived a woman who’d made one of the toughest decisions anyone could imagine. He flopped back in the chair and ran his fingers through his hair. Over the years he’d never wavered in his conviction that they—or rather, Lark—had made the right choice eighteen years ago. That decision had allowed him to move forward with his life without ever needing to talk about Lark and their baby. He’d always known he’d paid a very small price.

  On the other hand, although Lark also had gone on with her life, she’d obviously never stopped questioning her choice. Maybe that was why she’d married the wrong man. That ex of hers sure sounded like a jerk. Mean-spirited and spiteful. She deserved better than armoring herself against a man she feared would throw her past in her face.

  Shaking off dark thoughts about Lark’s ex-husband, Miles forced himself to refocus on Home Comforts. He grabbed his computer and headed to the hotel conference room. It was probably already filled with the company’s executives and managers milling about and chatting over coffee. Concentrating on his work was usually so easy. Not today. He could picture Lark struggling to keep her mind on migraine headaches or learning disabilities or whatever she had on her plate.

  There she was again. For eighteen years, Lark had rarely crossed his mind. Now she’d taken a front row seat.

  CHAPTER SIX

  EXPECTING A CALL from an editor at Wellness Plus, Lark answered the phone on the first buzz and didn’t bother glancing at the caller ID. “Lark McGee.”

  “Oh, hello,” a woman’s startled voice said. “Uh, I guess I reached you.”

  “Yes, this is Lark. And how can I help you?” She straightened in her desk chair, suddenly on guard.

  The woman laughed softly. “I’d prepared one of those twenty-second voice-mail messages. Anyway, I’m, uh...this is Maxine. Maxine Olson.”

  Lark lurched forward in her chair, light-headed, her vision blurry. She grabbed the side of the desk to steady herself. She closed her eyes, and spluttered, “I’m sorry. I can barely speak.”

  “I can imagine,” Maxine said, her voice low. “I didn’t know any other good way to reach out. Somehow, an email wouldn’t do.”

  Such a pleasant tone. Gentle, even sweet.

  Lark took a calming breath. “Can I assume Mr. Rivers called you? About—”

  “Yes, yes,” Maxine said impatiently, “but let me explain why I’m calling you directly.”

  Lark swallowed hard. “Please...go ahead.”

  “I want to get some things out of the way. It’s true, Declan gave us your names—you and Miles, I mean.”

  Lark tightened her grip on her desk.

  “And I’m not going to keep you in the dark. I always intended to make this easy—when the time came, that is. We’re just a little thrown by how and when this unfolded.” She paused. “You see, I’m quite certain that you are Perrie Lynn’s biological mother.”

  A gasp lodged in Lark’s throat. She struggled to breathe.

  “Hearing the words must come as a shock.”

  “Yes and no.” Lark cleared her throat. “I mean, I wanted it...longed to hear those words at some point in my life.”

  “After Declan made us aware of Miles’s call,” Maxine said, “things started happening fast. You did the right thing.”

  Naturally, Perrie Lynn’s mother would say that. “Yes, I know,” she whispered.

  Silence.

  “I mean that contacting Declan was the right thing,” Maxine explained.

  Of course. “Uh, that’s what we hoped. We didn’t want to...scare you.”

  The tangled mix of thoughts racing around in Lark’s mind began slowing down, but the past and the present fused as questions now piled up, one after the other. And all the while, rising elation traveled up her body, intensifying, gathering strength. She yearned to sing out her news, dance through the cottage waving her arms in the air. Sob in relief. But she needed to hold herself steady because she wanted—needed—every detail.

  “I’ll make a long story short,” Maxine continued. “First, I must tell you our attorney wasn’t thrilled about my decision to make this call.”

  “No, I suppose not.” For the first time, fear crept in. Why would Maxine reach out herself, rather than leave that job to the attorney? What piece was missing?

  “You’ll be hearing from our lawyer soon. Her name is Lisa Mandel.”

  “I understand,” Lark said, finding her voice, “but you have to know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or Perrie Lynn. Nor would Miles.”

  “That’s the thing. I know it sounds improbable, but I trust you. There are other considerations, though.” Maxine exaggerated a sigh. “Let me start at the beginning. The real beginning.”

  Lark winced against her own painful memories of the beginning.

  “This is all sensitive information, difficult to talk about, but I want it on the table,” Maxine said. “I know who you are because I saw your name on the papers you signed. It happened on the day we finalized Perrie Lynn’s adoption.”

  “My name? But...how?”

  “Believe me, I’m aware I wasn’t supposed to see those papers. The fact they were open and spread out on a conference table was our original attorney’s oversight. A big mistake.” Maxine’s voice rose in frustration. “Frankly, he was incompetent, and even the original birth certificate was there in plain sight, along with the new one with our names on it.”

  True enough, someone messed up. But Lark didn’t care. “So, all these years you’ve known my name.”

  Maxine cleared her throat. “To be perfectly honest, I tried to forget it. I willed myself to wipe it out of my memory. But you have such an unusual first name and easily remembered last name that I couldn’t wipe it away. It wasn’t like erasing words on a blackboard. No matter what I did, the name Lark McGee was branded on my brain.”

  “I find myself without words,” Lark said. It was almost too much to think about. This woman, a stranger, had known her name all along. But did Perrie Lynn?

  Now it was Maxine’s turn to clear her throat. “I’m going to make a promise, right now. You will meet Perrie Lynn one day. I can say with confidence that Eric and I will arrange it. You see, a few years ago we assured Perrie Lynn that when she was old enough—and ready—we’d help her find her birth parents.”

  “But does she know—”

  “Who you are? No, no, absolutely not!”

  A definitive answer. But Maxine could reveal the information to Perrie Lynn at any time. The facts were there. They only needed to shine a light on them. Then secrets wouldn’t be secrets for long. Just thinking about that birth certificate and her name there for Maxine to see had transformed her elation into wonderment.

  Maxine exhaled loud enough for Lark to hear. “Frankly, I had a more orderly conversation in mind. I realize now you have a million questions. I’ll answer them, but I need something from you first.”

  “Of course. What is it?”

  “We have terms, Eric and I, which is why our attorney didn’t want me to contact you. She preferred we keep you at arm’s length at all times. And I’ll go along with that from now on. But for some
reason, I wanted—needed—this initial conversation with you.”

  “Thank you,” Lark whispered, the tension in her body melting away, replaced with even more wonderment and overwhelming gratitude.

  “I’m not sure how much you know about figure skating, but Perrie Lynn is on her way to the NorAms in only a few weeks,” Maxine said, her voice low but earnest. “It’s a critical competition for skaters. Winning a medal is one of the biggest dreams for all skaters, and it starts forming the minute these young kids wobble their way onto the ice and begin to have a special feeling about skating.”

  Lark closed her eyes, imagining a tiny dark-haired girl in skates, joyfully finding her footing on the ice.

  “At first it’s the sense of freedom they feel on the ice,” Maxine said. “Many kids fall in love with that, but the hard reality of daily training and skating through pain comes a little later.”

  Just as Miles had said.

  “Perrie Lynn has been working toward this goal since she was seven years old. If she does well at the NorAms she could earn a place on the US team going to the Internationals in February.”

  Tears stung Lark’s eyes. How easy it was to slip into Maxine’s shoes. “You must be so proud.”

  “Yes.” A long sigh followed. “I can’t even describe my thrill over what she’s accomplished. This kind of commitment is bigger than anything I’ve ever experienced.”

  For the next few minutes, Lark listened while Maxine supplied the answers to so many questions that had run through her mind. The information tracked what Miles had said, right up to Perrie Lynn leaving Minnesota to train with Declan.

  “So, you understand why Eric and I will do whatever it takes to withhold this information from Perrie Lynn for a while longer.”

  “It’s about focus, isn’t it?” Lark asked, grateful her normal voice had returned. “I’ve watched so many online clips of Perrie Lynn performing. They’re not hard to find, and Miles and his little girl had watched Perrie Lynn’s performance at the Grand Circuit. He repeated everything those TV commentators said about focus. And there’s no room in Perrie Lynn’s life now for anything but training. That’s what you’re saying? No distractions?”

  “Yes. I’m glad you understand why meeting her biological parents is the last thing on her mind right now.”

  Tears rolled down Lark’s cheeks. Why did Maxine trust her? She gulped back a sob before she spoke. “Miles and I agreed together that we’d never interfere.”

  Lark both meant and didn’t mean what she’d just said. A little voice, irrational and demanding, urged her to beg Maxine to let her see Perrie Lynn now. Stupid, stupid. So ironic, too, since Lark was acutely aware Maxine was being nothing more than a wise mother. Lark would have drawn these same lines herself.

  “Thank you,” Maxine said. “It means a lot to me that you aren’t asking for something we can’t give.”

  “I should be thanking you.” Lark felt the strength return to her muscles, along with a normal heartbeat. She chuckled softly. “I am thanking you. It’s such a relief, you see, not only to have our hunch be right, but knowing that our... She is okay. Better than okay. Her life, I mean, has been good.”

  “Hmm...yes, I can imagine that’s a relief.”

  “Miles feels that way, too,” Lark said, quickly adding, “and really, all this is his doing.”

  “His little girl’s doing, according to Declan,” Maxine said, her tone amused.

  “That’s true. His eight-year-old is Perrie Lynn’s biggest fan.”

  “So I hear. She’s not alone, I can tell you that for sure. Once the kids start following the skaters they eat up information for breakfast.” She hesitated. “Uh, that’s why I manage the social media. We keep Perrie Lynn away from it, although now that she’s eighteen that won’t last much longer.”

  “Good choice,” Lark said, suddenly realizing that she was speaking in a mom-to-mom voice. “I mean, I have a son, but he’s not in the public eye. Even so, we keep close watch on his computer and phone.”

  “Yes, Declan mentioned your son.” She cleared her throat again. “Before I go, I need to set some conditions.”

  Lark touched her chest in the vain hope she could remain calm. “I’m listening. Whatever you need.”

  “This will be the last time you’ll hear from me for quite a while. Speaking of focus, all of mine is on Perrie Lynn now, and so is her father’s. As I mentioned, if she does exceptionally well at the NorAms, she’ll be on the International team, with all the intensity that goes with it. The world championships follow that.” Maxine took in a breath. “At some point when the competitive season is over, Eric and I will approach her and tell her what we’ve learned about you and Miles. What happens after that is up to her.”

  “I see,” Lark said, closing her eyes to hold back tears.

  “So, I won’t contact you until the time is right. If things go well, we’re talking about several months.”

  Months...not what I want to hear. She considered her words carefully, because based on Maxine’s actions thus far, she was Lark’s ally. And I need to keep it that way.

  “I’ve been thinking about Perrie Lynn for all these years, Maxine.” Her voice broke, but she didn’t care. “Knowing where she is and what she’s become is...miraculous is the only word strong enough for this. Relieved, ecstatic, grateful. Those words all fit, but are still inadequate.”

  “I suspected that would be the case.”

  “Miles and I will watch Perrie Lynn from a distance.” Lark let out a quick, happy laugh. “But we’ll be cheering her on, you can bet on that.”

  “You better.” Maxine’s tone was light, almost teasing. “Okay, so that’s it for now. Our attorney will call you. She’ll take it from there. All communication will go through her.”

  Lark grimaced. Lawyers and agreements aside, she couldn’t get her mind off how many months would pass before she could see Perrie Lynn in person. Christmas and Valentine’s Day would come and go and the daffodils would bloom in the spring before she spoke with Maxine again. Assuming the best happened and Perrie Lynn continued winning medals.

  “Whatever you want, we’ll do,” Lark said, simply, taking on a businesslike tone to end a conversation she wished would last and last. She yearned to learn so much more.

  And with that, Maxine said goodbye and ended the call.

  Alone at her desk, Lark bent over and buried her face in her hands and wept. Relief and joy fueled her tears in equal measure. She made no attempt to hold them back. Minutes passed, until at last she caught her breath and smoothed her palms over her cheeks to clear the tears. She straightened up, but immediately flopped back in her office chair. Eighteen years of emotion, regret, loss, hope and longing had jumbled together inside and become a living being. And now it caught up with her, larger than life, and transformed into overwhelming relief—and release. At least in that moment, it had left her weak. As her breathing eased, a sense of peace gently seeped into her cells and soon filled her body, energizing her. At last, healing peace.

  As much as she longed to see Perrie Lynn that very minute, Maxine’s reassuring voice had acted as a balm, soothing Lark’s deepest wound. For the moment, that would have to be enough.

  * * *

  MILES SAT IN the airline’s lounge in Richmond, working on the text of a luncheon speech he was giving at a small corporate training session in Milwaukee the next day. Concentration wasn’t coming easily. He caught himself watching icy rain batter the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, his mind nowhere close to training topics. No telling how long his flight would be delayed.

  When the phone buzzed, he quickly looked at the screen, hoping it was Lark. Instead, the name stunned him. “Miles Jenkins here,” he said.

  “And Eric Olson here.”

  Miles jolted at the clipped tone. “Hello. I’m kind of shocked. I mean, I wa
sn’t expecting—”

  “My wife spoke to Ms. McGee a little earlier,” Eric said, “but I thought I should be the one to talk to you.”

  What? Maxine contacted Lark? Blindsided, he searched for words and couldn’t find them, other than wondering why Lark hadn’t left a message.

  “Uh, I haven’t spoken to Lark today. So, I didn’t know they talked.”

  “I see. Well, then, she will tell you all about it, I’m sure,” Eric said, his tone matter-of-fact. “Look. I’ll be brief. We—my wife and I—know that Ms. McGee is Perrie Lynn’s biological mother.”

  Another jolt of energy shot through him. “You do? But how?”

  “It involved a mistake—papers left out where they shouldn’t have been. Ms. McGee can fill you in.”

  Mistake? What did that mean?

  “But that’s not why I called you.” Eric spoke as if in a rush, leaving the impression he couldn’t wait to get off the phone.

  “At this time, we’re assuming you’re Perrie Lynn’s biological father. But we’ll need to verify it. You know, make it official. That’s easily done—when the time is right.”

  “Whew...this has come out of left field.”

  “Ha! Tell me about it,” Eric said with a huff. “It’s not exactly the way we’d have chosen to handle it. Especially me.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Maxine and I are a team,” Eric said, “and years ago, Perrie Lynn started asking about her birth parents, you know, typical stuff. At that point, we assured her we’d help her locate them when she turned eighteen—if that’s what she wanted. That satisfied her at the time. But we wanted to do it on our terms.” He paused. “And speaking of terms, Maxine and I have some.”

  “Yes, I understand that you would. Tell me what you want,” Miles blurted, running his hand down his cheek. “Lark and I have no intention of causing trouble. And we’ve told no one that we’ve reached out to you. No one.”