Page 30 of Someone Like You
Kari and Ryan’s oldest, Jessie, was pitching. She rolled the ball with a little too much bounce and Dad blew the whistle. “Ball one! Keep it on the ground, Jessie girl.”
Everyone in the outfield clapped. “You got this, Jessie!” someone called out.
Brooke looked at the trees beyond the park. Would Maddie still feel part of the family once she knew the truth? Finally she turned to Ashley. “It happened a long time ago …”
Her sister turned to her again and their eyes held. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”
She won’t believe it.Brooke exhaled. There was no easy way to say it, no words that could soften the truth. “Maddie … Maddie is adopted.”
More cheering came from the field. “What?” Ashley leaned closer. “It sounded like you said Maddie … was adopted.”
A feeling of doom washed over Brooke. If this was Ashley’s response, she could only imagine the terrible day when they would tell their daughter. Brooke nodded. “Yes.That’s what I said.” She kept her attention on Ashley. “Maddie is adopted.”
“No.” A half smile lifted Ashley’s lips. “Brooke, that’s impossible. I was there at the hospital when she was born.”
This was why Brooke hadn’t said anything sooner. “I know.” She took a water bottle from her bag and twisted off the lid. “It’s a long story.”
“Okay … but first it has to be possible.” Ashley pulled water from her purse, too. She drank half the bottle before she looked at Brooke again. “Maddie wasn’t adopted, Brooke. You gave birth to her.”
“It was brand-new technology.” This was the first of many times Brooke would have to explain the story. She tried to be as clear as possible. “We’d been married several years and we couldn’t get pregnant.” She looked out at the field again. “We didn’t tell anyone that, either.”
“Brooke.” Ashley did a slight shake of her head. “I’m so … sorry.”
“We should’ve said something. Back then we didn’t really believe in God or prayer. We … didn’t think it would matter if people knew or not.” Brooke looked down for a few seconds, then back at Ashley. “You didn’t believe back then, either.”
“True.” She waited. “So what happened?”
“A doctor told us about three embryos. Donated from a couple in Portland. They’d been frozen in a canister somewhere for six years by then.”
“Frozen …” Ashley’s eyes grew wide. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.” Brooke gritted her teeth. “We agreed for the embryos to be implanted in me. It’s called embryo adoption and today … well, today it’s more common. Back then there were only a few cases in all the world.”
“This … Brooke, this is crazy.” Ashley ran her fingers through her hair. “Like science fiction.”
“Believe me. It’s real.” Brooke glanced at the field in time to see Kari’s son, RJ, kick the ball down the third base line deep into the outfield. His team shouted for him to run home. Which he did.
Brooke looked at Ashley again. “Anyway.”
“I can’t …” Ashley looked dizzy. “I don’t believe it.”
“We didn’t know what would happen.” Memories of that time flooded Brooke’s mind. “We even wondered if she might have been ours.”
“Maybe she is.” Ashley sounded almost desperate.
“She’s not.” Brooke paused. “Because of our unusual case, the doctor did a DNA test.”
Ashley put her elbows on her knees and folded her hands. For a long moment she hung her head as if she didn’t have any words, or she couldn’t comprehend the news. Finally she sat up straight again and turned to Brooke. “You said … no one knows.” Ashley’s face was pale. “You mean outside your family?” She hesitated. “Maddie knows, right?”
The weight of this felt like boulders strapped to Brooke’s back. She shook her head. “That’s what I’m saying, Ash.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Maddie doesn’t know.”
“You mean … all this time, and you didn’t … you haven’t told her she’s adopted?”
Brooke looked to the sky and then back to Ashley. “No.” The weight grew heavier. “We never did.” She felt tears building in her heart, but her eyes stayed dry. “We always meant to. But every time … something got in the …” The excuse felt too pathetic to finish. She hung her head.
It took a while for Ashley to respond. “I think … think Maddie will understand.” Ashley’s voice was tight, like she was trying not to cry. “She was born from you, Brooke. That has to … it has to mean something.”
A flicker of hope flashed across Brooke’s heart. “Really?” She squinted. “You think so?”
