Page 61 of Two Weeks
It all felt like the worst possible scenario. Lucy’s head hurt. Why were they doing this? Taking time off work only to get their hearts broken? She looked at Aaron, and she knew what he was thinking. They’d already talked about this possibility. Even if Elise changed her mind, they wanted to be the adoptive parents on record until the last possible moment.
Even though it meant no other birth mother could choose their profile in the meantime.
Lucy hated the pain in Aaron’s expression. All this time he’d been the strong one, the guy praying in the nursery and counting on God to bring them a baby. But now he looked sick, like this final loss was too much for him. Lucy turned to the lawyer. She stopped shivering.God, let me be strong for my husband. This one time. Please.
She took a deep breath. “Mr. Green, my husband and I have discussed this. We are certain about this baby.” She forced a smile. “We still believe the child is supposed to be ours.” There. She’d done something positive. Which was only right after all the times Aaron had been strong for her.
The attorney’s countenance lifted some. “I like that attitude.” He sat a little higher in his chair. “It’s very possible.” He hesitated, as if he hadn’t planned on telling them what was coming. “She changed her mind because of the car accident the other day. The one where the two high school girls were killed. She thought maybe she was supposed to keep her baby because of that.”
“Hmmm.” Aaron looked upset. Again, his eyes told her he was struggling here, grasping to find the faith he’d come through the door with.
So the accident changed her mind? The reasoning made no sense to Lucy. But it didn’t have to. Ultimately this was Elise’s choice, no matter what prompted her decision. The wreck was tragic. Both girls had died on the scene.
Mr. Green was talking about the other part of his idea, how they needed a way to protect everyone if Elise did, in fact, choose adoption again.
Lucy liked this. A positive plan. Something the attorney wouldn’t have done if he didn’t believe there was at least a hope the adoption could still go through.
The attorney explained the situation. The process was simple. If Elise chose to place her baby with Aaron and Lucy, then she would still have the two-week window in which she could change her mind. “What we do in cases like this is pay the state for the baby to be placed in foster care. Just for the fourteen days.”
On the roller coaster that was infertility this was another drop. “So... even if Elise wants us to adopt her child”—Lucy heard the frustration in her voice—“we can’t bring the baby home until after two weeks?”
“It’s the best option for everyone.” Empathy colored the lawyer’s face. “I know it’s not ideal. But it gives legal protection to us all. It’s typical protocol when a birth mom changes her mind at some point in the process.”
Aaron looked pensive. “You’re saying you don’t want our hearts broken.” He sat a little straighter. “What if we’re willing to take the risk?”
“It isn’t just for you.” The attorney clearly wasn’t budging. “You have several parties at risk. You two, certainly. But also Elise and the baby. If her little one is placed with you from birth, she’ll feel pressured to go with the adoption. Or she could say she was forced into her decision.” He raised his brow. “When a birth mother feels backed into a corner, a judge could reverse the adoption. Even a year or two later.” He nodded. “It’s happened before.”
Another blow. Lucy folded her arms tight against her stomach. “So we don’t want her to have a reason to feel coerced. Is that it?”
“Exactly.” Mr. Green frowned. “Another party at risk is me. I have to do everything in my power to give the birth mother room to make the best decision for her and the baby. Those two weeks absolutely belong to the birth mother. Foster parents give the baby a neutral location, so whatever choice Elise makes will be binding.”
“Couldn’t she still try to get the baby back?” Aaron’s face looked pale.
Lucy stared at her hands. Neither of them had any idea about these possibilities. Private adoption was new to them. Even still, it wasn’t so different from the foster-adopt program in Atlanta, the one that had placed baby Rio with them and then taken him away again. Either way the pain was real.
Mr. Green seemed to think about Aaron’s question. “She could try to get the baby back, but she wouldn’t win. No lawyer would take her case.” He sighed. “As long as we place the baby in foster care during the waiting period.”
It was a lot to consider. Mr. Green gave them a few minutes to talk about their wishes, whether they would be okay with the two-week foster care, or whether they’d rather back out and make their profile open to another birth mother.
In the end the decision was an easy one. Aaron still believed God had led them here, still thought this baby was supposed to be theirs. Still trusted that Elise would change her mind again and want the two of them to raise her child. If that happened, then they couldn’t let two weeks of foster care scare them.
They signed the final papers acknowledging they approved this newest plan. The meeting had taken their lunch hour plus some, and now they had to get back to the hospital.
In the attorney’s parking lot Aaron took Lucy in his arms. “Thank you.”
“For what?” She gave him a tired smile.
“I was losing it.” He searched her eyes. “And you were there for me.” He kissed her forehead. “You’ll never know how much that meant to me.”
His compliment felt wonderful. She was glad he’d noticed. “All this time, you’ve never wavered.” She stepped back and took his hands in hers. “You believed God would do this, and you still believe. It’s time I have that sort of attitude. Especially now.”
“Yes.” He looked serious, troubled again. “But what if God’s will is for Elise to keep this baby?”
“Then He has a different child for us.” Her strength had to be coming from heaven. It certainly wasn’t her own. “I really believe that, Aaron.”
“Amazing.” He hugged her again. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” They held each other for another minute before climbing in the car and heading to the hospital. There they took the elevator to their separate floors. Lucy signed in to the maternity ward and checked the charts. She was needed in the NICU again. The heroin-addicted baby had somehow survived, but she was sicker. Pneumonia. Probably from the weeks of morphine. The painkiller meant the infant wasn’t moving much, and the stillness had most likely caused fluid to build up in the baby’s lungs.
