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Finding a Family Page 4
'Though it would
be hard, we knew the best choice was to let some other couple take care of you
because we had nothing to offer. We had next to nothing and were close to living
on the streets.'
'When the time
came, though, my twelve hour labor made it too hard to just give you up. Despite
what advisors had to say and friends of the family recommended, we loved you two
too much to give you up to someone we didn't even know.' Here the girls' mother
paused to wipe tears from her eyes. Katy and Nicole collapsed together onto a
bench in the garden. The four adults seated themselves in wrought iron patio
chairs and picked up the story once more.
'We took the twins
home and named them the most beautiful names we could think of, Kaitlin and
Nicole. We loved you girls more than life itself.
In less than a month, though,
it became clear that we couldn't stay alive at the rate we were going much
longer.' Mom gestured toward her parents. 'Your grandparents offered to take one
of you, so we tragically let them take you, Kaitlin, while we continued to
struggle to care for our other, Nicole. It was only five months after your
birth, and the move was hard on you. I became very sick and almost died from the
stress and pain of it all. Two energetic babies were too much to handle with all
our financial problems.'
'Since we lived
close, we kept you at our house and cared for you as well as any, Katy,' Gran
stated. 'We came to love you as if you were our own. Your brought joy and
meaning back into our lives.'
'Before you were
even seven months old, though, I became very guilty and my conscience pricked me
badly every time I turned around. I thought God was telling me to take you back
and make the best of our situation, so I confronted your grandparents.' Mom
wiped tears away again. 'They refused, knowing that we had just sold most of our
possessions to make the monthly apartment payment. They even offered to take
Nicole under their wings.'
'Don't forget,
dear, that we invited you to come live with us, too, until you got back on your
feet.' Gran looked pointedly at her daughter and son-in-law.
Mom nodded. 'Yes,
that too, but our pride as a young couple was too great, and we refused. We
still wanted Katy back, though. We took a road trip to another town to see if we
could find better housing and a better job. After the two-week vacation, we
returned to find the neighboring house, where your grandparents lived, empty for
days. The neighbors informed us of their departure soon after we left. No amount
of research could tell us where they went. We couldn't even trace the moving
van, because they bought one instead of renting, to omit tracing.
'We moved our
small family to the new town and set up house. With both of us working, we were
able to bring in enough income to move to a more prosperous town, where your
father became entwined with a major business company. They hired him and we
began to live a better life, just about the time Nicole was old enough to have
memories. She was five at the time, and we still sorely missed our second
daughter. Assuming the worst we heard nothing for years, and finally gave up on
ever finding you. We didn't go to court with the case because for a long while
we had no money to pay a lawyer and judge and everything else. Family and
friends did all they could, but it still wasn't enough. We were dependent on the
Lord to supply our needs, and He did, although to a bare minimum.'
Brian Evans sat
back in his chair. 'Last year in December, we got a call from Albany, New York.
We couldn't even begin to guess who it was, but we took the call anyway. Even
though I had a far better and high paying job then, with plenty of benefits, we
had given up on ever finding you, Kaitlin. We had already poured thousands of
dollars into the case, but nothing turned up.
'We devoted nearly
all of our time and energy to you, Nicole, and never told you about your sister.
Although we may never have shown it, nothing had yet completely filled the hole
Kaitlin's departure left in our lives. We were devastated behind the scenes of
everything everyone else saw. Nicole was our pride and joy, but we knew that we
would never forget Kaitlin.
'Anyway, about the
phone call ' I received it one day in my office. It was your girls' mother,
frantic. She had just gotten a call from your grandparents, telling us where
they were. Though they knew it would be hard on you, Kaitlin, they planned one
last move to Idaho so we could all meet up. We felt bad doing the same to
Nicole, but I found an even better job. We had a hard time finding two houses
next to each other, but finally we succeeded. We checked into riding stables for
both of you, because we knew your passion. Karen ' I suppose you girls have both
met her?' their father looked pointedly at the girls. At their nods, he
continued.
'We couldn't risk
meeting beyond phone calls between the states, and we arrived almost two months
ahead of your grandparents, who had a little difficulty getting away from your
grandfather's job. They finally made it, though, today, and we made sure you
both got to the stables. We hoped you would meet there and figure it all out,
and the plan was executed exactly as planned.'
It seemed as if
the adults were finished talking then, and Katy and Nicole were both
open-mouthed in shock. Neither could get over the events that had taken place in
the last two hours. Those hours had changed their lives drastically and forever.
Katy and Nicole
looked at each other and hugged tightly.
'But why didn't
you tell me?' Nicole asked their parents and Katy asked their grandparents.
'We didn't think
it was time yet,' the adults explained. 'We figured that it would only cause
trouble. We thought it best if the whole thing was dropped.'
Gran spoke up. 'We
kept moving all those times, Katy, because we didn't want to be traced and have
to give you up. Finally, though, we decided to stop running and looked up your
parents. It took a lot of self-control, but we made the call and now we're
entirely happy about the decision.'
'I suppose I
should be flattered that you loved me that much, and I can't say that I haven't
been happy, beyond all the moving. I guess the Lord helped with that aspect in
my life, helping me accept what was doled out. I've often wondered, though, what
happened to my parents,' Katy announced to her newly found father and mother.
'Gran wouldn't tell me anything about you, so I was left in the dark for all
these years.'
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