Chapter 27
SOPHIA
Willa’s parents had activities planned on each day of fall break, and while Sophia had enjoyed her time with the Pride family, she never had a moment alone to read over the articles that Mrs. Porter Wesley had given her until she returned to Forest.
Back at school, Sophia made a beeline for the library and was happy to find that the little room Mrs. Fordham had told her about was unlocked and vacant. The room had a round table in the center with an overstuffed chair in either corner. There were no windows, but the air smelled of potpourri.
Sophia opened the folder and flipped through the magazine pieces, reading one after the other. When she had gotten halfway through the stack, she heard the doorknob turn. Christ, she had forgotten to lock it behind her. She quickly gathered the pages into a pile as the door pushed open.
Her face relaxed when she saw that it was just Max. She didn’t know that it was possible, but in the few days they’d been apart he had grown even more handsome. He had gotten his hair trimmed and edged at his temples, and his skin glowed like he had been fussed over.
“Soph, I didn’t know you were back.” He stopped. “Your hair. It’s red.”
Sophia’s cheeks flushed as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Before they had returned to school, Ms. Eleanor had insisted that both girls stop in at Bernice’s Beauty Parlor.
Bernice had scrubbed Sophia’s hair to a shine, and the last of the Ogilvie dye had drifted down the sink.
Then she’d pressed it with the hot comb until it fell to her bra strap in a luster that Sophia had never known.
“Do you hate it?” she asked, tucking loose strands behind her ears.
Max stood with his mouth agape, tugging on the sleeve of his West Oak Forest Academy sweatshirt. “No, you look great. Was that dye before?”
Sophia nodded and then, eager to change the subject, said, “How did you know about my secret hiding place?”
“Mrs. Fordham told me I could use this room to get away from the racket. I was going to review for my calculus exam.”
“I hope I’m not in the way.”
“No, never. What are you working on?”
Sophia hesitated, and in those few seconds, Max reached for her pile of papers and scanned the headlines. “What’s all this?” he asked, frowning.
“Your story piqued my interest. I was at Howard University’s library over break with Willa, and I looked your story up.”
“You told Willa?” The vein in his neck bulged.
“No.”
“Damn.” He dropped the papers. “I thought I could trust you.”
Max grabbed his backpack and reached for the doorknob. Sophia pushed to her feet and jammed herself between Max and the door.
“Max, I promise. I didn’t tell a soul. I had the papers all weekend, and I never even pulled them out of my bag. That’s why I’m in here. I wanted to look them over in private.”
“Why, though? What’s it to you?” He gritted his teeth.
“I can’t explain it. Your story touched me.”
Max shifted on his feet. “My parents would freak out if anyone found out. It’s not even something we talk about.”
As she nodded, Max stepped into the room. She breathed a sigh of relief as he flopped down in the metal chair opposite her seat at the table. He reached for the first article.
“Jet magazine: German ‘Brown Babies’ Arrive in U.S.” Sophia watched his face as he read it. “I didn’t know there were so many of us. I’m not the only one?” He shuffled the papers, reading through the headlines.
“You are not. From what I can gather, there were at least thirty-five children who were adopted from Southwest Germany and brought to America. But that’s only from these few articles. I bet there were more.”
Max sat quietly. “So many of us. Maybe they feel like I do sometimes. Like a misfit.”
“Well, you don’t need to be adopted to feel that way. I’ve never felt as if I fit in anywhere.”
Max cocked his head to the side. “But you know your family.” He reached for the next page.
She wrung her hands. “My folks are not like most. I just spent the weekend with Willa’s parents, who worship the ground she walks on. I’ve never had it like that. All I do back home is work.”
“We all have chores, right?”
She shook her head, conveying that it was more than that. “Ma Deary and the Old Man feel more like employers than parents.” She looked down at the table. Emotions were bubbling up inside her, and she was trying to tamp them down so she wouldn’t erupt.
“I’ve never felt loved,” she croaked. “No hugs. They never bought me a present. Heck, they didn’t even remember my birthday. Never came to school when I won an award.”
“I’m sorry to hear all this,” he said, but Sophia was on a roll and couldn’t stop her thoughts from flowing out of her mouth.
“If it wasn’t for my school counselor, I wouldn’t even be here.
Ma Deary forbade me to take the scholarship.
” She laughed out loud. “What type of parent would do that? She said my job was to work the farm. My brother Walter stole her car and drove me. I forged her name on my documents. That’s why I didn’t go home for break.
I was afraid that she wouldn’t let me come back.
” Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but Sophia willed herself not to cry in front of Max.
His eyes were gentle with concern. “I didn’t know.”
“No one does. I don’t even know why I’m telling you,” she mumbled. “Except it feels as if you’ll understand or at least not make fun of me.”
Max slid his hand across the table and covered her hand with his. His touch was so comforting, so soothing, it made Sophia want to crawl into his lap. When had she been touched with such tenderness? She couldn’t even remember.
“I feel the same way too.” His voice was husky.
“Your story, I just wonder. And it may sound crazy. But I wonder if I was adopted too.”
There, she had said it, and the small confession to Max felt like a weight floating off her chest.
“Why would you think you were adopted?”
Sophia shrugged. “I don’t remember much of my childhood.
Whenever I’ve asked about our family lineage, Ma Deary’s response was always ‘Stop asking dumb questions, we the only family you need,’ ” Sophia mocked in Ma Deary’s shrilly voice.
“And there are no baby pictures of me or Walter in the house,” she said.
That realization hadn’t hit her until she went to Willa’s.
Sophia had been amazed at the many photos of Willa on the walls in her stately home.
On Sophia’s last evening with the Pride family, Ms. Eleanor had taken her into the family room.
As they sipped hot cocoa, they flipped through several photo albums displaying Willa at every stage of her life.
Sophia had cooed, but deep down she couldn’t ignore the blinding pang of jealousy.
Where was her life stored? Who was keeping track?
To Max, she confessed, “It has always felt like a part of me was missing. And then I heard your story. And… I know I’m shooting darts in the dark. But why did those German words just rush out of my mouth the other day? It feels like I need to try this out and see what I come up with.”
“Well, if there is something here, I’ll help you get to the bottom of it. I can study for calculus later. Where do you want to start?” Max was still holding her hand, and Sophia reluctantly pulled it away to retrieve her satchel. She pulled out three sheets and put them on the table.
“The woman who ran the Brown Baby Plan, the one who organized the adoptions of the mixed-race children from Germany, her name is Ethel Gathers. When I was talking to the librarian at Howard, she mentioned that Mrs. Gathers sat on some board with her.”
“So?”
“So she’s alive. And probably lives in D.C.” Sophia held up the three sheets. “I tore these from the white pages when I was at Willa’s house. All the Gatherses in D.C. I’m assuming that the telephone number is in her husband’s name.”
“Do you know his name?”
Sophia shook her head. “No, but I’m going to start with A and go down the list until I find her.”
“You know this is bizarre, right?”
“It’s all I have to go on.”
Max picked up the newspaper clippings. There was one article with a photo of lots of children huddled together. “I’m still amazed that there were so many of us. I really thought I was the only one.”
“This is our little secret. Promise you won’t tell a soul about me, and I won’t tell anyone about you.”
“Ich verspreche.” Max flashed his teeth. “That’s ‘I promise’ in German.”
“Show-off.” She scrunched her nose up at him.
Max stood and reached for her hand again, and Sophia felt her breath stall as he clasped it within his. “You are safe with me, Soph. Ich verspreche.”