Beach Plum Island by Holly Robinson

Author:Holly Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA
Published: 2014-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Ava had just come in from the studio when her cell phone rang, startling her. It was midmorning and she was clammy with clay, sweaty, and hungry. At the sight of an unfamiliar number, she started to silence the noise without answering. She wouldn’t be in a fit mood to speak with anyone until she’d had another cup of coffee and a snack.

Then she remembered the adoption registry. Heart racing, she pressed the talk button. “Hello. This is Ava Barrett.”

The caller didn’t introduce herself, only said she was with the International Soundex Reunion Registry. Then, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Barrett, but we haven’t been able to find a match to your request,” she said.

The woman had the sort of unhurried, melodious voice you seldom heard anymore. Midwestern, probably. Ava dropped onto one of the kitchen chairs with the knees of her muddy overalls drawn close to her chin, her chest constricted with disappointment. “Are you sure?”

“Oh yes. Our organization leaves no stones unturned, even tiny pebbles.”

“I see. Well. Thank you.”

“Don’t be discouraged,” the woman said in her silky tone. “There are other avenues.”

Ava wiped a damp hand across her face, leaving her skin gritty with bits of clay. “Like what? I’m looking for my older brother. I don’t have my mother’s written consent and she’s been dead for ten years. I’m only the adoptee’s sister.” She stumbled a little over the strange words: “adoptee’s sister.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, as if the woman was holding her breath. Then she said, “Let me call you back.”

Ava hung up and stared at the phone, bewildered. It rang a few seconds later, a different number on the screen now. “Hello?”

“Sorry. I couldn’t talk from the volunteer line in the office,” the woman said. “They don’t like us giving out additional information. But I had to do a search for my own son, so I know what it’s like. It’s a scary process and can get very involved.”

“Yes,” Ava said, her eyes brimming. “I’m really not sure what to do next.”

“Well, that depends.”

“On what?”

“On how determined you are,” the woman said. “People say adoption records are hermetically sealed, but that’s bureaucratic BS. You can always find somebody who’ll let you have a peek. But first you need to gather as much information as you can. The most useful thing is the baby’s birth date. Do you have that?”

“No,” Ava admitted. “I spoke to another relative, but she could only guess at the year. She thinks he was born in 1971.”

“Well, dearie, you won’t get far without a better date than that. Over 1.5 million babies were relinquished between 1945 and 1973, so you’re fishing in a big pond. I’d start with the town where your mother was living when she had the baby. The town clerk may have a copy of the long-form birth certificate on file.”

“But wouldn’t he have a new birth certificate on file, listing his adoptive parents on it?” Ava had discovered this bit

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