Authors: Brenda Kennedy
“
You get to meet your
daughter tomorrow? Can we go with you?”
My belly does a somersault
at the thought.
Stay strong, Leah. You’re
doing great so far.
“I don’t think it’s a
good idea to bombard her with too many people. I don’t want to
frighten her.”
“
I understand that. I
guess you’re right. You and Robert go and meet your daughter in the
morning and next weekend you can find out if you are going to
welcome a son or another daughter into your
family.”
My mother can be very persistent. I tell her,
“Next weekend will be good.”
“
Perfect, I have plans to
put into action, a party to get ready for and a granddaughter to
impress.”
I laugh and we both hang up.
Chapter Two: Meeting Our Daughter
Robert
Leah’s inner strength
started to come out today. I use to see it daily, but since Jamie’s
death, it’s been less and less. I don’t know if it’s pretend or if
she is becoming more like her old self. I don’t know and I don’t
care.
If she can put on a smile and a
happy face, so can I.
Leah and I shop for baby items and things for
a five-year-old girl. We buy items from home and share the laptop.
We each put items in the cart and it turns out to be very
therapeutic. She laughs and in turn, it makes me
laugh.
She tells me that Sue knows the sex of the
baby and that the gender reveal party is being planned for next
weekend. Leah and I are both excited to know the sex of the
baby.
“
Do you think you’ll be up
to it?”
“
I do. I’m not dreading
tomorrow. God gave us another daughter, and we get to meet her
tomorrow. I’m happy about that.”
I want Leah to be able to
handle the emotions that
a day like that
tomorrow will bring. But I don’t want to upset her,
either.
“
It’s going to be very
emotional tomorrow.”
“
I know that and I’m
prepared for it. Ace, don’t worry about me, I can handle
this.”
I look at Leah and she looks strong. I can
see something in her eyes that I haven’t seen in a while.
Determination? Willpower? Strength? I can’t tell. But it does let
me know that she can handle it.
“
Okay, we’ll meet our Lil
girl in the morning and find out if we have a son or another
daughter next week.”
Leah walks over to me and hugs and kisses me.
“I love you, Robert.”
“
I love you too,
Sweets.”
The day is filled with laughter and
happiness. We place stamps on the envelopes and get them ready to
be mailed. I hope the meeting with the attorney and the other
family goes well. After dinner, Leah and I attempt to sneak out
through the gate. We want to pick up a baby doll for our daughter.
We want something to have for her when we meet her. We also wish to
go to the cemetery and spend some time with Jamie. More news vans
are parked outside the gate today than there was yesterday. They
see the dark Jeep with nearly black windows and start walking
towards the gate.
“
Don’t they have anything
better to do than sit there and wait?” Leah says.
“
I guess not, I’m sorry.”
I drive past the gate towards home.
“
It’s like they know this
is our rental car. Where do they get their information
from?”
“
I have no idea. I’ll call
Mom and have her pick us up something for
tomorrow.”
“
That’s nice, but I was
hoping to pick it ourselves.” She looks sad and then adds, “You
know what?” Before I can answer, she says, “A gift from the
grandmas and grandpas will be perfect. I’ll call my Mom and Dad.
Maybe they’ll want to get her something, too.”
“
Problem solved.” I pull
up to the house and I swear I can see something different in Leah.
She’s trying so hard to be strong. We walk to the mailbox and mail
the thank-you cards that she made out for everyone. Once we are
inside the house, she tells me she needs to make some phone
calls.
Good, because I need to make some
phone calls, too.
I call Bruce and ask him
if he can somehow have the cemetery cleared tomorrow of the news
crews so Leah and I can see Jamie without being harassed. I explain
that we aren’t able to leave without being followed. He tells me
he’ll pick us up tomorrow and he’ll do what he can about the
cemetery. I explain that Leah and I will need to go to the cemetery
before we meet everyone at the hospital. He tells me he understands
and it’s not a problem for him to wait. He tells me to take all the
time we need at the cemetery.
Drake Sinclair
“
Be there, and don’t be
late! This is my family we’re talking about and I have no
intentions of giving her up.” I slam the phone down so hard that it
makes my coffee cup rattled against the saucer. I know my temper
gets out of control at times and I am trying to maintain it. I know
it scares my wife and our children to see me mad. Ever since we
heard that the girls who were switched at birth were ours — our
biological daughter and the one we are raising — it has taken all
my willpower to not kill someone. Literally, I want to kill
whatever dumbass is responsible for this fuck-up.
A light tap sounds on the door before it
creaks open. I am reminded that I am at home and not at my office.
I try to replace my scowl and frown lines with a soft smile. I know
from the soft tap on the door that it’s one of my children walking
in.
“
Are you mad, Daddy?”
Madison asks in an angelic voice. I look at her long black silky
hair, dark eyes and beautiful smile and my anger is replaced with
love. She is wearing a floral dress with black patent leather shoes
and ruffled white socks. Ever since we received the news the
Madison was switched at birth, our lives have been turned upside
down.
“
No Madison, Daddy’s not
mad.” I watch as Madison slowly walks further into my office. “Is
Mommy and Caden ready?”
“
Yes, Daddy. Momma wanted
me to come get you. Grandpa’s here to watch
Caden.”
I stand up and button my suit jacket. “Come
on. Madison, we shouldn’t keep your momma waiting.” I take her
small hand in mine and walk out of my office. My three-year-old
son, Caden, and my wife, Chelsea, are standing at the front door
waiting for us. My son is dressed in shorts and a Spiderman
t-shirt. My wife is dressed in a flowery dress, almost identical to
Madison’s.
“
Are we ready?” I ask my
wife. She is holding an envelope and a gift for… I can’t even say
it. The other child may be my biological daughter, but I don’t feel
a connection to her. Madison, on the other hand, is my pride and
joy.
I’ll never let her
go.
“
We are, your dad is here
to watch Caden.” My mom died of bone cancer a few years ago and my
father never remarried. He is very active in his grandchildren’s
lives.
“
Let’s not keep the good
people of Manatee County waiting,” I say,
sarcastically.
“
Be nice, Drake,” Chelsea
says as she loops her arm through mine.
“
Always.” We were informed
by my high-priced attorney we should cooperate with the hospital
and listen to how they plan to correct this. We were also advised
to meet with the other family and possibly we all can agree to the
same conclusion and end this civilly.
You
keep your child and we’ll keep Madison. Case closed!
After the first certified letter we received from
the hospital revealing the baby swap, I haven’t signed for another
certified letter from the hospital, since. There has only been one
that I am aware of. Whatever they have to say to me, they can say
it to my face.
We walk through the house and I pass my dad
in the family room. He is setting up a board game for him and Caden
to play.
“
Dad, do you need anything
before leave?” I ask my father as he shuffles the cards to Candy
Land.
“
No, Drake. Caden and I
have everything we need while you guys are gone.” He walks towards
me and smiles when Madison walks around the corner. “Well, Madison,
don’t you look like a princess.”
“
Thank you, Grandpa,” she
says with an angelic voice.
“
Oh, if Grandma could see
you now.” He picks up Madison and hugs her. “Grandma loved you so
much.”
“
I miss
her.”
“
Well Madison, you know
she is looking down on you from heaven, right
now.”
“
I know Grandpa, I still
miss her.”
“
I do, too,
Madison.”
“
We’ll be late if we don’t
leave now,” Chelsea says.
“
I know, I’m sorry. I’m
prolonging the inevitable, aren’t I?” He kisses Madison again and
lowers her to the floor.
“
I know, Dad. This is
something none of us wants to do, but we have to,” Chelsea says.
Chelsea called my parents Mom and Dad very early in our marriage.
My mom insisted.
“
Well, you best be going.
Take plenty of pictures. I want to see what the new addition to our
family looks like.”
“
Dad?”
“
Oh, relax, Drake. You
can’t change it, so you might as well accept it. Madison will have
a sister.”
Leah
Mom and Dad and Robert’s
Mom and Dad show up at the house bearing gifts
.
Everything is wrapped beautifully.
They must have known that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on
wrapping gifts this morning. I can barely hold it together. I’m
trying, but it’s not working. Robert was working out when I woke up
this morning and he spent most of the morning in the basement. He’s
barely holding it together, too.
“
The gifts look
beautiful.”
“
Thank you, Leah. We each
bought her toy, but we got her a book from you and Robert. We
thought it was fitting,” Margie says.
“
A book, that’s perfect.
Thank you.”
“
You look beautiful,” my
Mom says.
“
Thank you. I’m a bundle
of nerves. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“
I imagine you do. Do you
want us to go with you?” Mom asks.
“
No, I want you all here
waiting for us. I have no idea how this will work
out.”
Margie says, “It’ll be okay. Do you have the
pictures of Jamie?”
“
I do, they’re in my
purse. I also included some newspaper articles of the accident and
the obituary.” I put my hand on my stomach to calm the kicking. “I
think the baby’s upset.”
“
Where’s Robert? You need
to probably get going.”
“
I’m here,” he says,
straightening his black tie.
I hear a car door shut and look out the
kitchen window. Bruce is also straightening his tie as he walks up
to the door.
“
Good morning, Bruce,”
Robert says, as he opens the door.
“
Good morning. How are you
both holding up?” He asks as he walks into the house. “Oh, I’m
sorry. I didn’t realize you have company.”
“
Oh, Bruce, please come
in.” I introduce him to our parents before we leave. On the drive
to the hospital, Robert and I sit in the back of his Mercedes.
Taking deep breaths to try to calm my nerves, I decide it’s
useless. I hold the stack of gifts and drum my fingers repeatedly
on the top gift.
On the drive there Bruce tells us who all
will be in this meeting. The other family and the girl involved in
the baby swap, their attorney, the CEO, president, and the hospital
attorney, and us. I remove the pictures and articles from my purse
and hand them to Bruce. “When you feel the time is right, give
these to the family.”
He takes them and smiles sadly. “I will.” I
watch as he carefully places them in his inside suit
pocket.
We stop by the florist first, and Robert and
I get our flowers for Jamie. We visit with her as Bruce waits in
the car. He constantly looks around and I wonder who he is looking
for. There were no news reporters at the gate when we came in, or
at Jamie’s cemetery plot. Bruce said he called the Chief of Police
at the Police Department and asked them for security around the
cemetery today. I guess being a judge has its
perks.
We kneel down on her grave and I cry. I pray
to God and talk to Jamie. I pray for strength and I tell Jamie how
much I will always love her. I tell her she is my forever, no
matter what. Robert wipes down her granite tombstone and I pick
away the leaves and weeds. Robert says, “We love you, Jamie,”
before we leave.
Robert holds my hand and stares out the
window. He says nothing on the way there.
“
They instructed us to
park in the employee lot,” Bruce says.
I open my eyes and take notice that we are
already here. My heart beats a little faster and the baby kicks a
little harder. Robert places his hand on the spot the baby is
kicking. “His movementsl are strong,” he whispers, “I can see them
through your clothing.”
“
Yes, they are.” I look
down and my sundress moves with every kick. “They are starting to
become painful.”
Bruce parks the car and I scoot out of the
car on Robert’s side. I hand Robert the gifts, and take some deep
breaths, as Robert holds my hand tightly.