mentioned the high school girl who’d decided to place her baby for adoption.”
Laurel looked at her husband. Zach hadn’t said anything about this.
Sensing her confusion, he glanced at her. “I asked about any babies coming up for adoption, and Mary told me there was a teenager who was working with another caseworker. She said the girl had already chosen the adoptive family.”
“It appears that this family knows you, Laurel.”
“The girl and her family know me?” she asked, folding her hands over her heart.
“Apparently so,” Mary confirmed. “The family name is Bancroft.”
Zach shook his head, indicating that the name didn’t mean anything to him. He looked to Laurel. “What about you? Is the name familiar?”
The scene after the recent school holiday program suddenly played back in Laurel’s head. Tears gathered in her eyes. “Bella,” she whispered.
“Bella?”
“She was in my first-grade class last year. Isabella Bancroft.”
“But how does this all connect back to you?”
“It must be her older sister. I’d met her during the school year. A smart, beautiful girl.”
“You’re right, Laurel. Her name is Lizzy,” Mary supplied. “She’s a high school senior, and Isabella is her youngest sister.”
Laurel squeezed Zach’s hand. “This totally explains what Bella said to me that day,” she said, more to herself than for the others.
Her husband stared at her as though confused.
Laurel closed her eyes and recalled the second-grader seeking her out at the end of the school program. Zach knew the story, but she now shared it with Mary.
“Bella approached me after the school’s holiday program. She looked up at me, and, with a big smile, declared that I would be a good mother.”
A loving smile formed on Zach’s face. “She’s right, you know. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
The tears that had been so close to the surface flooded Laurel’s eyes, and her throat closed so all that she could manage was a watery smile.
Their caseworker cleared her throat. “Lizzy’s parents, John and Abbie, are here. They would like to see you. I wanted to meet with you first to explain a few things before I introduced you.”
“I’d like that,” Zach said.
Still unable to speak, Laurel nodded.
“Lizzy is with her mother in the labor room, but her father is nearby.”
Zach’s hand tightened around Laurel’s.
Mary took the next several minutes explaining the back story. Lizzy had made the difficult decision that she wasn’t emotionally or mentally prepared to raise a child. The baby’s father, also a teenager, had signed over his parental rights. As soon as he’d learned Lizzy was pregnant, he’d broken off the relationship and was no longer in the picture. Mary then detailed the terms of the adoption, explaining that Lizzy and her family would prefer an open adoption, which would help Lizzy deal with the grief she’d feel afterward.
The details flew over Laurel’s head. She heard everything, but none of it felt real. She felt like she was living in a dream.
When Zach and Mary stood, Laurel did, too. She blindly followed behind them, ready at any minute to pinch herself back into reality. Only after she met Lizzy’s father, John Bancroft, did any of it feel real.
“We’re sorry to hit you with this news at the last minute,” John Bancroft said after exchanging handshakes with Zach and Laurel. “As you can imagine, Lizzy, her mother, and I have struggled with this decision. Once it was made, we needed time to prayerfully consider which family would be best for this baby.”
“You chose us?” Laurel whispered.
“Lizzy was the one who chose you to raise her baby. Her youngest sister, Bella, was in your class last year when your first adoption fell through at the last minute.”
That seemed like far longer ago than a year. It was another lifetime.
“My wife was a classroom volunteer and she saw how wonderful you were with the children. When you were forced to give up the baby boy, she and Bella witnessed your grief. When Lizzy recently made the decision to put her baby up for adoption, Bella and my wife thought of you, and suggested it to Lizzy.”
A nurse appeared and looked over to the caseworker and John Bancroft. “It’s getting close.”
John focused his attention on Zach and Laurel.
“Lizzy and my wife wanted to know if you’d like to be in the room for the birth.”
“Very much,” Laurel answered, tears now running down her cheeks.
“Yes,” Zach replied with enthusiasm.
The delivery room nurse indicated otherwise. “Only one of you will be allowed. There’s room for two in the delivery room, and Lizzy