Brown Eyed Girl (43 page)

“
How was the flight?” Daniel asked Melinda.

She closed her eyes in blissful appreciation. “Wonderful, but I believe it’s ruined me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fly commercial again after being so pampered on that flight.”

Tiffany pulled Red forward. “Melinda and Greg Hart, I’d like you to meet my husband Red McAllister.

“
Have we heard some stories about you,” Melinda exclaimed. “You keep my baby girl happy, you hear, or else you’ll have to deal with me.”

Red pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I intend to, Melinda.”

Tiffany and Red sat at the dining room table enjoying coffee with some of their guests, while others watched a movie on the living room’s huge flat screen. “Okay, Melinda,” Tiffany began, “I know you two were high school sweethearts. I never heard the story of why you broke up in the first place. Did you catch him with a cheerleader behind the school bleachers or something like that?”

Greg turned his gaze toward Melinda and gave her a sad smile. “No Tiffany, it’s worse than that. Our parents got in the way, and I was a fool to let them.”

Melinda nodded at her husband. “You see, I got pregnant the beginning of my senior year. My mom was devastated the night we discovered it, and I was terrified. She told me to stay in my room and went out to speak to my dad. They never raised their voices, and by the time the two of them came back up to my room, they had everything all planned out. McCray is a very small town, still under 1,500 people, and they didn’t want anyone to know the
situation
I’d gotten myself into.”

“
We left before I could even talk to Greg, so he had no idea I was pregnant. They drove me all the way to a home for unwed mothers in Dallas, and that’s where I stayed until my baby was born. I had no phone privileges, no letters that weren’t read first, no privacy, and no way to run away. I had it all planned—I was going to grab my baby when it was born and run out of there then call Greg to pick me up.” She shook her head sadly at her husband. “But of course, it didn’t happen like that.”

Tiffany sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Melinda…I had no idea. All these years I thought you couldn’t have children.”

Melinda swallowed with some effort and looked as if she were lost in the past as a memory took hold of her. “I heard the nurse say it was a girl, and I begged them to let me hold her, but they wouldn’t. They took her out of the room and I started to scream. I kept on screaming until they finally brought her back so that I could hold my daughter one time. She had my nose and her daddy’s chin. I couldn’t see her eyes because they were closed, but I always thought they would be green. For years I looked for little girls with curly hair, green eyes, my nose, and Greg’s chin.”

“
Why didn’t you ever tell us, Melin?” Tiffany asked.

“
It was too painful to talk about. After they pulled my daughter from my arms I got hysterical and had to be sedated. When I woke up hours later, they told me that I’d hemorrhaged and they had to remove my uterus. When I left that place I had no baby, and no hope of ever having another child. The only thing I had was the diploma I’d received while I was at the home, the name of the orphanage they’d sent my baby to, and the bus fare my parents had left for me to go back to McCray. When I walked out of there, I went straight to a pay phone. I called Greg’s home and they told me he’d joined the Marines. His mother wouldn’t give me his address to get in touch with him.”

“
You left without trying to find her?” Tiffany asked Greg.

He shook his head, seeming angry. “This is where the real deceit from our parents comes in. Hers told me she wanted to get away from me, and she’d gone to live with a relative in California. They said she didn’t know how to tell me to my face. At first I didn’t believe them, so I sat back and waited for her to contact me…a phone call…a letter…something. After six months I accepted it, quit my job at the mill, and joined the Marines.”

Melinda looked sadly at her husband and put her hand on his face. “I later learned his mother had never told him I’d called or forwarded any of my letters to him. Of course, the orphanage wouldn’t give me any information without a lawyer. I knew she could have been anywhere, but for some reason, I felt this need to stay near the home. So I stayed in Texas, and began to look for her in every child I saw. I worked in cafes, at restaurants, in fast food joints, and as a cashier. I ended up around Houston eventually, and answered an ad for a live in babysitter. I didn’t think I had a chance at that job, but when I spoke to Ms. Mary, your grandmother...” She paused as she looked over at Tiffany and Drake, “I broke down into tears, and told her all about my pregnancy. She gave me a chance.”

“
Mary spent a lot of time with me at first, to make sure I could handle you. Once Drake came along, I had enough money saved up to start the search for my baby, but when I tried to contact the orphanage again, it had burned down and all the records were destroyed. By then I was so attached to you and Drake that I couldn’t leave you. Mary was already gone, and Daniel, well he wasn’t around to watch out for you two. I knew damn well I wasn’t going to leave the care of you to your mother and grandmother. Ugh—those horrible women! Between the two of them, they didn’t have one iota of motherly tendency. So, I stayed on. My mother passed away right around the time Drake left for college, so I went back to McCray to stay with my dad.”

“
You still kept in touch with your parents after what they did to you and Greg?” Tiffany asked.

“
Time has a way of lessening the anger and hurt. Good or bad, they were my parents. They made a bad decision, but it didn’t mean they didn’t love me. They both regretted it later.”

A hesitant voice spoke from the doorway. “Melinda…”

Everyone turned to see Giselle standing there, looking a little lost and unsure of herself.

“
Yes?” Melinda asked her.

“
Giselle, are you feeling all right?” Tiffany asked, getting up to check on her friend. She checked her pulse and frowned. “Your heart rate is sky high, are you feeling any pressure?”

“
No, stop being a doctor, Tif, I’m fine,” Giselle said, waving off her friend’s hands. “Melinda, did I hear you say the orphanage they’d brought your daughter to was destroyed by fire?”

“
Yes, along with all the records and files,” Melinda said. “Why?”

“
Was it in June of 1977?”

“
Y…Yes,” Melinda said.

“
Was your daughter born in 1975?” Giselle asked, clutching Jackson’s arm.

“
April 24
^th
,” Greg answered.

Everyone gasped as Giselle’s knees buckled out from under her. Jackson scooped up his wife and sat her on one of the dining room chairs. He looked at Melinda. “That’s her birthday. She’s adopted and we’ve been trying to find her birth parents but the orphanage burned down…along with all the records. All we have is her birth certificate.”

Melinda crouched to her knees in front of Giselle and stared into her eyes…green eyes…dotted with specks of gold. “Like Greg’s,” she said, absently.

“
Wh…what?” Giselle asked.

Melinda shook her head, unable to believe there could be a chance. “It’s just that the gold specks in your eyes…Greg has those.”

“
Their chins are very similar,” Vivienne added.

“
My God…her hair is just like yours, Melin,” Greg added as he leaned down next to his wife. They faced each other. “Is it possible?” he asked.

Giselle rose slowly from the chair, with Jackson’s help, took Melinda’s arm and brought her to the mirror in the foyer. The stood there, the two of them and their husbands.

“
My God,” Melinda breathed, “Can this be possible?”

Jackson pointed out the freckles across Giselle’s nose. “Melinda has the same spattering of freckles.”

“
She does have my chin,” Greg said.

“
My hair,” Melinda added.

“
Our faces are shaped the same,” Giselle sniffed, and rubbed her belly.

“
Is everything going well with the pregnancy?” Melinda asked.

Giselle nodded. “Very well.”

“
We’re having twins,” Jackson said.

“
Every third generation woman in my family has twins.” Her and Giselle’s gazes locked in the mirror. “You’re third generation. They’ll be identical, not fraternal.”

“
Excuse me, do you mind?” Vivienne said, pushing gently through the two men. “I noticed something earlier,” she said, moving next to Giselle.

“
What is it, Mrs. Vivi?” Jackson asked.

“
Giselle’s ears,” Vivi said, checking the shape of the cartilage. “Look at that little projection she has on both ears, and the shape of the lobe,” she said to Jackson as he nodded. “Now look here,” she said, pointing out the exact same thing on Greg’s ears. “Those are both very unique genetic traits. I have eight children and I’ve always been amazed how certain features get passed down from parent to child.” She stood back and crossed her arms while smiling at the two couples. “I say you need to have DNA tests done right away, to confirm it, of course, but I’d bet my last cent even without it that she is your daughter.”

Giselle’s hand flew up to her mouth as she began to sob openly.

<><><>

Drake had listened to the entire exchange, all the while watching Annie grow more and more emotional. She finally broke away from the crowd that had gathered around the two couples and rushed out to the patio. Drake wasted no time in following her out.

“
Are you okay?” he asked, seeing her jump at the sound of his voice.

“
I’m fine, damn it, but
must
you follow me wherever I go?”

“
Well, you ran out of there like a thoroughbred draggin’ a tail full of barbed wire…I was concerned.”

“
You don’t need to be,” she said, turning her back on him. “Now, go away. You’re annoying me.”

Drake ignored her and walked closer. “That’s some story, isn’t it?” He waited for a response from Annie, who remained silent, for a rare change. He crept nearer and realized she was crying quietly. Without saying a word, he wrapped her in his arms and did his best to comfort her. Damn it felt good holding her again. It felt so right, and just for a moment, he thought she’d give in to it—accept that they could be good together. But then she pulled away from him.

“
Let go of me,” she said.

Drake smiled as she turned away from him. “I only want to help, Annie. I didn’t realize you were so soft-hearted.”

“
Well, I am—I get it from my mom, so there,” she said, sounding as upset with herself as she was at him. “Things like that,” she waved her hand at the house, “it’s just so
sad—
what their parents did to them.”

“
But Melinda and Greg got back together. And if your mother is to be believed, and personally I think she knows what she’s talking about, it looks like they may have found their daughter.”

“
But look at all the time they lost! Giselle is thirty-three years old for God’s sake. They’ve missed out on a lifetime of seeing their child grow!” She swiped uselessly at the tears running down her face. “It’s just so sad,” she said, taking the tissues he offered.

He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her sniff and dab at her tears. “Yeah, it’s a sad thing when people miss out on a chance for happiness, but at least they can say that it was out of their control. It wasn’t because of his or
her
stubbornness,” he said quietly, hoping to get his point across.

She turned her back on him again. “Just give it a rest, would you?” she said between sniffs.

“
Not if there’s the slightest chance of wearing you down.”

“
It’s not going to happen, Drake,” she said, turning angrily on him again. “You need to face that—and stop tormenting me!”

“
What are you so damned afraid of Annie?”

“
I’m
not
afraid.”

“
That’s not what you said at the club that night in the parking lot. You said I scared the hell out of you.” He walked up to her and put his hands on her arms then bent down to look into her eyes. “So what is it? Are you afraid of being happy?”

“
I
am
happy!” she said, twisting out of his hold. “I’ve got a wonderful career just starting and a full life ahead of me. I don’t need to be side-tracked.”

“
But we could at least be friends,” he said, willing to take that…for now.

She snorted. “We couldn’t just be friends if our lives depended on it, and you damn well know it. This is how it has to be. I’m not putting my life on hold for you, or anybody.” She walked back inside, leaving Drake to stare after her.

<><><>

Inside the house, it was a regular tear fest as Melinda and Giselle both tried to console a sobbing Tiffany.

Red, seeing his wife from across the room, rushed over to her. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“
Red—they’ve been separated for so long. First, Melinda and Greg, then the baby…wh…who…could be Giselle…your mom thinks she is and she’s never wrong. I just feel so…oh, I don’t know!” she babbled before breaking down again.