by Maggie Wells
“If Eddie agrees to help, I won’t have to face Allison?” I asked.
“No, the lawyers will handle all the proceedings and the court will appoint a social worker to pick up Orchid and bring her to you.”
The cab pulled up in front of Eddie’s house.
“Wow,” Tadge said. “This place is a mansion. Are you sure you don’t want to sue him for child support too?”
“No!” I punched Tadge in the arm.
“I’m just kidding,” he said, rubbing his arm. “I’ll be waiting at the hotel. Text me and I’ll have a cab pick you up.”
“I love you,” I said. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“We haven’t done anything yet,” he said. “Good luck, sweetie.” He gave me a long, deep kiss.
I walked up the steps to the front porch and rang the doorbell. I held my breath until I heard footsteps.
A man I didn’t recognize answered the door.
“Hello,” I said. “I have an appointment with Eddie.”
“Harold Lessing,” he said. “I’m Eddie’s attorney. Follow me, please.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said. I followed Mr. Lessing down the hallway to Eddie’s study. Eddie was sitting on a leather sofa with his legs crossed, smoking a thin cigar.
“Hi Eddie,” I said. “Thanks so much for meeting me.”
“Jazz,” he said. “Have a seat. How can I help you?”
Once we were all seated, I cleared my throat and started in. “I need a favor, Eddie. I made a terrible mistake. After I saw you in December at your office, when I brought Orchid, do you remember? You told me that I would lose custody because I had no money? Well, you were right. I gave Orchid up for adoption because I couldn’t take care of her on my own, and I didn’t know what else to do.”
“And what do you want from me, now?” Eddie asked.
“Eddie, I assume you know who the father is?” I said. “I need the father to file a petition for paternity with the court to overturn the adoption. I don’t care who the father is—I don’t want any financial support—I’ll sign any waiver that he requires.” I looked at Mr. Lessing as I said this. “When I signed the adoption papers, I stipulated that I didn’t know who the father was—and I don’t. But the father knows who he is and he deserved the right to consent to the adoption. Only the father can overturn the adoption. I want my baby back, that’s all I’m asking for. We’ll pay all of your attorney fees.”
“Do you have an attorney?” Mr. Lessing asked.
“Yes.” I dug Mr. Mullins’ card out of my purse.
He read the card. “Neil Mullins. I know him. I’ve met him at Bar Association meetings,” he said to Eddie. “We can settle this quickly and quietly.”
To me he asked, “You’re willing to release my client from all financial responsibility?”
“Yes,” I said.
“And he will never hear from you or your daughter again without his explicit consent?” he asked.
“Those were Mr. Mullins’ exact words!” I exclaimed. “Yes, absolutely.”
I sat on a wrought iron bench on Eddie’s front porch and waited for the taxi. When the driver pulled up, I saw Tadge in the back seat.
“How did I it go?” Tadge asked as I slid in beside him.
“He agreed to do it!” I said. “His attorney was there, and he took Mr. Mullins’ card and said they would settle everything quickly.”
“So that creep admitted that he raped you?” Tadge asked.
“No,” I said. “Nobody admitted anything. The attorney kept referring to his client. I don’t care about that; I don’t care about Eddie. I just want Orchid back.”
Just then, Tadge’s phone rang.
“Tell Jasmine she did a great job,” Mr. Mullins said. “Harold Lessing just called. Mr. Watson is cooperating. We’ll petition the Martins for a DNA sample on Monday and file the paternity suit. I’ll draft up the waiver agreement. You need to prepare Jasmine—the Martins are going to be very upset when they receive the summons. They may lash out at her. Tell her to refrain from engaging with Mrs. Martin on Facebook. We need to keep all communications at arm’s length. Let the attorneys handle it.”
Tadge hung up. “You did it,” he said. “You’re getting Orchid back.” I leapt into his arms.
“When?” I asked.
“I don’t know, sweetie,” he said. “It could take a few weeks, I suppose. I can’t wait to meet her. Greta is excited too. Will you move in with us?”
TWENTY FOUR
I NEVER HEARD FROM ALLISON AGAIN. SHE HAD QUIETLY unfriended me on Facebook, but before she did I saw that she had removed all traces of Orchid. I felt very sad for her. I hope she knew that I got no joy from her loss. I felt only love for her. It was obvious that she loved Orchid and she was the best possible adoptive mother a girl could hope for.
I think about the Martins all the time. They probably think about Orchid, too.
Her attorney told Mr. Mullins that Allison wasn’t surprised to hear from Eddie Watson. She said she’d always known it was a possibility that he would track Orchid down and claim paternity. She surrendered custody without putting up a fight, but I knew that her heart was broken. I wondered what Griffin thought about everything. I don’t think he ever trusted me and I hope he had steeled himself for the worst.
Tadge and I had to fly to Vegas one last time, several weeks later, to sign all of the paperwork. As promised, a social worker delivered Orchid to Mr. Mullins’ office. She was so big! She no longer recognized me and was fussy all the way home on the plane, which broke my heart and disturbed many of our fellow passengers. But I kept reminding myself that it was only natural. It would take time to renew our bond. I was hoping to breastfeed her, but my milk had dried up long before. She had to settle for warmed-up bottles of formula and lots of walking up and down the aisle of the plane. Eventually, she fell asleep, exhausted from all the crying.
Sometimes life just happens to you and it feels like you are wandering through a maze with no end goal in site. And then you look back and try to make sense of it all—it appears that you can draw a straight line from point A to point B.
I had wanted to be a dancer from the minute I could stand up. Mom had home videos of me boogieing in my playpen to music on the stereo. I begged her to enroll me in ballet classes when I was five and then tap when I was eight and jazz when I was ten. I was star-struck the first time I saw a Broadway show, and I was determined to make it. And I had made it—all the way to Bally’s—picked out of the crowd by none other than the world-famous Eddie Watson.
I did not plan on having a baby, obviously! Who does, when you’re a teenager in college? But I believe I was a good mother, a very good mother, until the day I realized I couldn’t be the mother that my baby needed. So I found a better mother for her. But then, through the love and support of Claudia, Diane and Tadge, I found the strength to fight to get my daughter back.
I wondered what I would tell Orchid about her first year, if anything. That’s what troubles me most. When Orchid asks about her father, and of course she will ask about her father, what will I tell her? Let’s just take for granted that she will be an amazingly talented dancer, or maybe even a choreographer. Sure, I could take all of the genetic credit and tell her that I didn’t know who her dad was or that her dad drove a bus for New Jersey Transit. Or I could show her photos of Eddie. She would know in an instant that she had his eyes. But, legally we had agreed not to contact him. There were probably other Orchids out there—other babies that Eddie had fathered and disowned, having paid off their mothers in one way or another. I only hoped that this wouldn’t scar her for life.
There are no regrets in life. As Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” If I had never met Eddie, I would not have my beautiful daughter, Orchid. If I had not taken that crappy dinner theater job, I would never have met Claudia, who became my closest friend. And I would probably never have run into Diane who became my business partner.
