Chapter 7 #2
“Like Ronan said, I met Natalie a few days ago. She came to me hoping to connect with a child she lost. Natalie had been sent to a place called The St. Agnes House here in Salem. It was a home for unwed mothers. Natalie’s plan was to stay here after the child was born and raise the baby.
When she went into labor, the doctor sedated her and when she woke up, was told the child had died shortly after it was born. ”
“Oh, my God,” Hope said. “You said this woman came to you wanting to connect with this lost child.”
“Right, only I couldn’t do it. I brought in two of my similarly gifted partners and neither of them could make contact with the child either.
That’s only happened to me on two other occasions over the course of my career and in each of those instances, the spirit my client was trying to reach was still alive. ”
Hope was silent. Ronan hoped the woman was in shock and not about to end the call.
“Natalie told us where her child was buried and we went to the cemetery the other day. The child’s grave was empty.
As a matter of fact, all the graves from the maternity home were empty.
Tennyson suggested that Natalie send a DNA sample in case this lost child or one of her family members had done the same thing.
This morning, Natalie came to see us because she found a DNA match. ”
“Me?” Hope asked.
“Yes, you.”
“Hold on, let me log in to the website.” Hope’s voice shook as she spoke.
Ronan heard the clacking of keys as Hope typed. “Oh, my goodness, there she is, Natalie Fairchild. The website lists her as my mother.” Hope cried out. Her sobs filled the room.
What Ronan didn’t know was if Hope was happy or sad over finding her mother.
“I knew I was adopted, but I never imagined this was the story behind my being given up. This is almost too much to take in, you know?”
“I understand,” Ronan said. “What we’d like to do is reunite you and Natalie if you’re up for it. In addition to the two of you being able to meet and get to know each other, I’d like to get any information you have about your adoption.”
“My mother is still alive. My adoptive mother, that is. I can see if she’s available to meet.”
“We’re available any time you can make it. If you’d like to set up a meeting, my number is on your phone.”
“Yes, I see it. I’ll write it down.” Hope recited the numbers as she jotted them down. “Have you met her, Detective O’Mara, my mother?”
“I have, Hope. She’s a wonderful woman who’s spent the last fifty-four years loving and mourning her lost daughter.” Ronan smiled at Natalie, who wore a gobsmacked look.
“I’ll speak with my husband and I’ll be in touch. Thank you for reaching out.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Ronan said, before ending the call. “Well, what do you think?”
“I can’t believe it!” Natalie shook her head. “I can’t believe that my daughter is alive and that I just heard her voice.”
To be honest, Ronan couldn’t really believe it either.
He hadn’t been sure how Hope would react to the news that her biological mother was searching for her after all these years.
Just because Hope had set her profile to public on the genealogy website didn’t necessarily mean she would welcome her long-lost mother with open arms. “We’ll be in touch when Hope reaches back out to us, Natalie. ”
“I can’t thank you all enough.” Natalie stood and hugged Tennyson before leaving the room.
Jude and Fitz sniffling pulled Ronan out of his own thoughts. “Are you two okay?”
Jude nodded. “All I could think about was Lizbet and what this day would look like if she ever decided to reach out to her mother.”
“Same,” Fitz said, reaching for a tissue. “We know Aurora’s mother is dead, but she has a grandmother who tried to take her from me and Jace.”
Ronan remembered. He’d never tell Fitz, but he’d been afraid that the grandmother would be granted custody of Aurora over a gay police captain who lived, slept, and breathed his career.
Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case. He couldn’t imagine life without Aurora.
She was Everly and Wolf’s best friend. Lizzie loved it when they sat and read stories together.
Their lives wouldn’t be complete without Aurora.
“I have so many questions,” Ten said.
“Really? Weren’t you reading Hope as she and I spoke?” Ronan asked.
Ten shook his head. “No. I was focused on Natalie. If Hope was angry or didn’t want to meet her, I didn’t want to feel that energy. Hope sounded interested in meeting Natalie. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a win.”
“Agreed.” Ronan grinned at his husband. “Now, who’s ready for lunch?”
“It’s always all about food for you, isn’t it?” Jude asked, smacking Ronan with his notepad. “We just witnessed an incredible moment and all you’re thinking about is the seafood chowder at Lobster Charlie’s.”
Chowder was exactly what Ronan was thinking about. “With all the tears we’ve shed this morning, we need to fuel up for the afternoon. My treat.”
“Damn, skippy.” Jude got up from the table. “I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”
“Me too,” Fitzgibbon agreed.
“They want to pull the kids out of school early, don’t they?” Ronan asked when Jude and Fitz left the conference room.
“Yup. It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. After all, it is Friday.” Ten snickered as Ronan wrapped his arms around him.
“Is this reunion going to work out?” Ronan whispered in Ten’s ear.
“It is,” Ten agreed. “I can see that clear as day. What I can’t see is what Hope or her mother know about what happened all those years ago at St. Agnes House.”
Ronan was afraid of that. When he’d told Cisco this case could rock the foundation of medicine and the church he’d been only partly serious. Finding out that a child who’d been dead and buried was, in fact, alive and raising a family of her own hadn’t been remotely on Ronan’s radar.
If Amanda/Hope was alive, did that mean the other fifty-six babies who’d been laid to rest at Act of Mercy Cemetery were alive too? Where were they now? Would they welcome learning the circumstances of their birth and premature deaths?
More importantly, who or what had contrived to separate these children from the mothers who’d given birth to them?