Page 45 of Freedom's Kiss
“Uh…” Words failed him. He couldn’t even think of a response, much less speak one.
Olivia started giggling softly, then louder. Before long she was holding her side, gasping to draw in breath through her fits of laughter. “I’m sorry. It’s just…you should have seen your face…and Lily…what kind of apology was that?” She sighed loudly and pushed her carton of frozen yogurt away. “Oh man, I needed that. Worked even better than the ice cream therapy.”
Adam reached over and tilted her container toward him. Chocolate yogurt, chocolate chips, brownie pieces, chocolate syrup, and strawberry slices. Wow. He usually went for the tart, fruity flavors himself, but a woman who thought she needed to consume that much chocolate? “I take it your talk with your parents didn’t go well?”
One shoulder lifted and fell. “I wouldn’t say it went poorly. It was just hard, you know?”
He moved his hand over and squeezed her fingers, his gaze snagging on an open notebook. Meeting Olivia’s gaze, he asked, “May I?”
She waved her consent.
Using his index finger, he spun it in front of him so it was right-side up. Two columns filled the page with a line drawn down the middle. One column titledProsand the otherCons. He scanned the list.
PRO
-Accurate medical history
-Know my cultural history
-Answers to questions
-Why did they put me up for adoption?
-Do I have any siblings?
-Do any of my quirks come from heredity?
-Will I truly know who I am if I never learn where I come from?
-What if they regret their decision and are looking for me?
Obviously, she was weighing her options, deciding if she should start to look for her birth parents. If he could scoop Olivia up and shield her from this heartache, he would. His own chest ached just reading this list. He couldn’t imagine everything she was feeling and thinking right now. He needed to touch her, comfort her somehow. The hurt and adrift look in her eyes killed him.
Pushing aside the warning that his family would start to badger him with questions and conclusions, he scooted his chair to her side and wrapped an arm across her back. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing in pure exhaustion. He lifted the pad of paper back up to read theConscolumn.
Cons
-I was rejected once before. What makes me think I won’t be again?
-It could possibly break my parents’ hearts
-It could turn my birth family’s lives upside down
-Costly?
-Legal ramifications/roadblocks?
-Real life rarely gets a happily ever after. This could be more like Pandora’s box
The line about legality had him pausing. “I take it the adoption was closed?”
Olivia nodded against his shoulder.
“So…did the list help? Have you made your decision?” He wasn’t well versed in this type of law, but he knew his way around the courthouse and could help her file the necessary paperwork to get her birth certificate if that’s what she wanted to do. Once they had some names, it shouldn’t be too difficult tracking them down. One just needed to know where to look and whom to ask. Two things he’d been fairly good at before he’d walked away from that life.
She shrugged her shoulders weakly. He got it. Something this big required a lot of consideration.
The door to the place opened, and Adam lifted his gaze.
