Dancing Naked by Shelley Hrdlitschka

Author:Shelley Hrdlitschka [Hrdlitschka, Shelley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: JUV000000
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2002-02-28T20:00:00+00:00

They sat in the Hazelwood living room, Reverend Petrenko, Kia’s parents, Kia and Sadie the social worker the Reverend had invited to join them.

“So when is the baby due, Kia?” Sadie asked after accepting a cup of tea from Kia’s mom.

“The end of August.” Although she didn’t want to talk to her, Kia liked the friendly look of this woman, with her gray ponytail and softly lined face. She’d told the Reverend she wasn’t ready, but her parents were pressuring him.

“Just talk to her, Kia,” he’d said. “You’re not committing to anything, but we need to get the ball rolling.”

“And you’re considering adoption?” Sadie asked.

Kia glanced at her father. He stared back at her. She nodded, but didn’t meet Sadie’s eyes.

Sadie regarded her thoughtfully, then reached into her canvas satchel. “I have a binder here I can leave with you to look over. It contains information on couples who want to adopt a baby. You’ll find out about their work, their hobbies and their religious beliefs, if they have any.” She flipped through the pages. “They tell a bit about themselves, their values, and there’s also pictures of them. Make a shortlist of the ones who you think would make the best parents and then I can set up interviews with them. Meeting them in person will give you a much better idea of what they’re like.”

Kia nodded, but she didn’t reach for the binder.

“It must be hard for the couples who get interviewed and are not chosen,” Kia’s mom commented. “They would get their hopes up, I guess. But not all of them ...”

Sadie nodded. “It is hard for them, but I guess it’s like any other game. You know before you start that someone is going to win and everyone else is going to lose. And to get interviewed means you’re one step closer to possibly realizing your dream of having a child. Adopting couples like to meet the birth parents too. It takes some of the mystery out of the process.”

“What if the birth mom changes her mind at the last minute?” Kia asked. She felt, rather than saw, her father tense.

“The birth mom does have a few weeks to change her mind.” Sadie sighed. “It’s never easy, Kia, but it does help when you’ve chosen the adoptive parents yourself. At least you know where your child is going. Not knowing is very painful for many mothers.”

“Birth mothers had to rely on blind faith in the old days,” the Reverend added. “And we all know how hard that can be,” he said, smiling.

“The father will have to sign the adoption papers too, Kia,” Sadie said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Good. I know we’ve still got a few months, but it will go quickly. It takes time to set up interviews, and often you’ll want to meet with couples more than once, so the sooner you get a shortlist to me, the better. Okay?”

Kia noticed that her hands were resting on her stomach again.

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