Are You My Sister? an adoption story Read online

  I had a lot of questions though. I was wondering how much she knew about the situation that led Mom to give her up for adoption. I wanted to know if she was happy, what it was like to be adopted, and what it was like to know that there was another family out there. I wondered how she found Mom. I remembered that I didn’t know where she lived or even if it was possible for us to physically meet. So I wanted to at least ask her that.

  I turned on my computer just as Holly walked into my bedroom.

  “Are you checking your e-mail?” she asked.

  “I haven’t answered Sarah’s e-mail yet,” I told her.

  “What are you going to say?”

  “I just want to ask her some questions.”

  “Like what?” she asked.

  I told her about the list of things I wanted to know, but I was worried about sounding nosey. I didn’t want to intrude on her privacy, and yet my curiosity wouldn’t quit. I still had one more question—I wondered out loud why Mom gave her away.

  “Sarah probably doesn’t know why,” Holly answered.

  “And what about Gran? She must have known about this.”

  “Let’s go ask her,” Holly suggested.

  “Holly!” I screamed.

  “I’m just kidding. Don’t have a cow.”

  I opened my inbox and searched for Sarah’s message. When I found it, I hit the reply icon and started typing.

  I thought I should start with safe questions so I asked her how old her little brother was. And then I pressed the enter key.

  “Why didn’t you write something more?” Holly wanted to know.

  “I don’t want to ask too much at first. Anyway, we have to get ready for the party.”

  I started to leave my chair when Sarah’s reply popped up.

  “She’s on her computer right this very minute,” I said.

  “See what she said!” Holly screamed.

  I opened her reply and saw that she had written, “Hi! He’s thirteen.”

  “What are you going to write now?” Holly asked.

  I felt a little panicky. I wanted to keep writing, but I wanted some time to choose my words carefully. I wasn’t really sure where the conversation should go—I was totally stumped.

  “Think of something!” I yelled to Holly.

  “Just, just,” she stammered, “ask her what grade she’s in, where she goes to school. Does she even live in this state?”

  “That’s a good question,” I said as I began typing.

  “What state do you live in?” I wrote.

  Holly and I sat motionless waiting for her answer.

  “Same state,” she answered.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Holly said. “Ask her what city.”

  “What city?” I wrote.

  “Sunset Valley,” was her reply.

  Holly and I gasped at the same time.

  “That’s where Gran lives,” I whispered.

  “Should we tell her that?” Holly asked.

  “Heck, no,” I answered. “Think of another question.”

  “Ask her if she knows where we live.”

  “She has to,” I said. “I mean, she found Mom, right?”

  But I wanted to know for sure, so I typed as fast as I could.

  “Yes,” she wrote. “You live in Hanover.”

  “How did you find us?”

  “Believe it or not, I found you on the Internet.”

  “How did you know who to look for?”

  “I saw your mom’s name on a document that I found in the attic.”

  “I wonder how long ago she found it,” I said to Holly.

  “Ask her,” Holly prodded.

  Before I could think of how to phrase my question, another e-mail came from Sarah.

  “I didn’t know until then that I was adopted.”

  “How long ago was that?” I wrote.

  “Last year. It was hard. Greg didn’t know he was adopted either. Mom and Dad hadn’t told us. We’re okay with it.”

  Well, that answered one of my questions.

  Just then, we heard Mom calling us from downstairs; we figured she was ready for us to get ourselves and Kris dressed. She could be on her way up here, I thought. Apparently Holly thought the same thing because she rushed out of my room and quickly returned with Kris.

  “I’ll get Kris dressed!” she said. “You keep on e-mailing Sarah. Let me know what she says.”

  I knew I didn’t have much time left. Holly had delayed Mom’s appearance, I was sure, but as soon as Mom had the kitchen cleaned up, I knew she would be upstairs checking on our progress.

  “I have to go,” I wrote Sarah. “We have to go to the graduation party tonight, and we have to get ready.”

  “Okay,” she answered. “Please write again, okay?”

  I told her I would. I closed my e-mail and started changing my clothes. All the while, I was thinking about Sarah and how anxious I was to talk to Jen about our e-mail exchange.

  And then I thought of other questions I wanted to ask Sarah. Do you drive, do you have a car, and have you ever driven to Hanover?

  Chapter 9

  The graduation party was to start at 6:30, but Mom and Dad, as chaperones, were expected to arrive at the school gym no later than 5:30. This was fine with me since I knew Jen and her mom would be checking in at about the same time.

  As soon as we entered the gym, I spotted Jen helping her mom at the long refreshment tables situated near the kitchen at the back of the room. I wanted to talk with her right away, but Mrs. Waters, our principal, caught sight of the three of us girls in our blue peas-in-a- pod dresses and she scurried right over.

  “Aw, the girls look adorable, Mrs. Robeson,” she told my mom. “Where in the world did you find these matching dresses?”

  “Valigura’s,” she replied. “I’ll probably never again get them to wear matching dresses,” she said as she glanced Holly’s way.

  “Hold on,” Mrs. Waters said. “I have my camera.”

  After a brief picture-taking session, Mrs. Waters moved on, and Holly looked as though she was going to vomit at any minute.

  “Oh, well, that’s just great,” she complained. “It’s not bad enough that I have to wear this dress. Now people are taking pictures.”

  “Only one person took pictures,” I reminded Holly. “We’ll be the only ones here in matching dresses—this is going to get us some unwelcome attention, sure, but just suck it up, okay? We do look kind of cute.”

  “No, Kris looks cute. We look ridiculous,” she whined as she followed me across the floor.

  Jen finally saw us coming and met us halfway.

  “Jen, I told Holly about Sarah.”

  She turned to Holly and asked, “What did you think when you heard, Holly?”

  “I was shocked. I don’t know why Mom isn’t telling us. Sandy and I want to know what happened.”

  Jen turned to look at me and said, “You made her pinky-swear, didn’t you?”

  “Of course I did,” I answered. “But wait until you hear what happened this afternoon.”

  Jen’s eyes widened and I could tell she was worried that our secret was out, besides Holly knowing.

  “Don’t worry,” I assured her. “Nothing bad happened. Sarah and I were e-mailing each other before we got here.”

  Her eyes widened again. She slung her hair halfway around her head and looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance.

  “Why don’t we talk about this in the bathroom,” she said hurriedly.

  When we got to the girls’ bathroom, we found it empty. Jen checked the shower pods “just to make sure” and then she pulled Holly and me into the large handicap stall.

  “Well?” she asked anxiously.

  “She found out last year she was adopted,” Holly offered. “She didn’t know until then. Isn’t that sad?”

  “And,” I added, “she found Mom’s name on a document in their attic. That’s how she found us.”
r />   “Wow,” Jen said. “That’s incredible.”

  “And guess what else,” Holly said.

  “She lives in Sunset Valley,” I added.

  Jen’s wheels were turning again, I could tell.

  “Doesn’t your grandmother live in Sunset Valley?” she asked.

  “Yep,” Holly and I said in unison.

  “And it’s only about forty-five minutes from here,” I said.

  Jen’s eyes were practically popping out of her head when she said, “Oh, my gosh!”

  “I know what you’re thinking, Jen,” I told her. “But I’m just not sure it’s a good idea. What if Mom finds out?”

  “Why would she?” Jen reasoned. “You could meet Sarah at the mall. Does she have a driver’s license?”

  “I didn’t ask her. I didn’t think about that until after I closed my e-mail.”

  “Ask her to meet us tomorrow,” Jen suggested.

  “Us?” Holly asked.

  “Well, I want to meet her, too,” Jen insisted.

  Already bound by serious pinky-swearing, we all agreed to keep yet another secret—our plans to meet Sarah at the mall.

  Chapter 10

  As soon as we got home, Mom asked me to get Kris ready for bed, so I hurriedly changed her clothes and tucked her into her favorite spot, my bed. I was anxious to check my e-mail, but Kris insisted on a few minutes of cuddle time. It was just as well since I hadn’t made up my mind what I wanted to say next to Sarah—I needed some thinking time.

  By the time I had my clothes changed, Kris was on the brink of sleep, so I carefully moved the covers so I could slide in beside her. She sighed heavily as though relieved that I was there. Then she drifted off with her hand on my face and her forehead tucked under my chin. My baby sister, such a sweet angel. Sarah will love her, I thought to myself.

  As it turned out, I didn’t have another minute to think about what I should write to Sarah because Holly came bounding into my room.

  “I thought you were going to e-mail Sarah,” she said.

  “I have to wait until Kris is totally asleep,” I answered.

  “She looks asleep to me.”

  I didn’t want to move just yet, so I told Holly to turn on my computer and look for my e-mail. She checked my inbox right away but there was nothing new from Sarah.

  “So do you want to ask her about meeting us at the mall?” she asked as she started typing.

  “I guess so,” I answered though I still wasn’t quite sure. “Just ask her if she wants to meet us sometime at the mall. There’s no point in asking her to meet us tomorrow—she might not even check her e-mail again until tomorrow night.”

  “No need to worry about that,” she said. “She just answered me.”

  I got up so quickly I was sure I had awakened Kris. I rushed to my desk and read her response.

  “Oh, great,” I lamented. “She wants to meet us.”

  “You don’t seem very happy about it,” Holly said.

  “Move over, okay? Let me write.”

  I sat down at my desk preparing to write, but my emotions were so conflicted, I wasn’t sure what I should say. We were taking a real serious chance here. I was sure Mom would be furious about our plans, and yet I didn’t want to ignore the possibility of meeting Sarah in person. We now knew she wanted to meet us, too. I couldn’t tell her we shouldn’t—I just didn’t want to. So I asked her if she had a car.

  “Yes, I do,” she wrote. “Where do you want to meet? And when?”

  I had to pause for a minute because I still wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing. Before I could answer, she wrote again.

  “What about your mom?” she asked.

  I was relieved that she was as worried about Mom’s reaction as I was. And then my apprehension overwhelmed me again. Maybe we should wait, I thought. Again, another e-mail popped up before I could answer.

  “We can wait, if you want to,” she wrote.

  “Sandy,” Holly whimpered. “Are we going to chicken out, too?”

  “Just a minute, Holly.”

  “Sarah,” I wrote, “Holly and I need to talk this over. Wait a few minutes and I’ll write again.”

  I turned to Holly.

  “What if Mom finds out?” I asked her.

  “I’m not going to tell her. Jen won’t either. We pinky-swore, remember?”

  “But what about Sarah? Once she meets us, she might want to contact Mom again.”

  “Sarah never has to tell her she’s already met us. It sounds like Mom doesn’t want to talk to her anyway, Sandy. I want to meet her!” she said emphatically.

  I turned back to my computer and started typing.

  “We haven’t said anything to Mom. We don’t know how she would feel about us meeting you behind her back.”

  “I haven’t told my mom either. I think she would freak out,” she wrote. “I don’t think she would understand how I feel. I know that my birth mother is not ready for this, and I do respect that. I don’t want to be a problem for anyone. But these past few months have been very hard for me. Adoption seems to be a perfect solution for everyone but the adoptee.”

  I looked at Holly and she looked at me. She pulled the keyboard in front of her and began to write.

  “Can you meet us tomorrow at the mall in Hanover?” she wrote.

  “Yes!” she replied. “What time?”

  Chapter 11

  The next morning I woke up to find Kris putting hair bows, barrettes, and clips in my hair. She had been thorough. Obviously, she had been watching Holly who was in my bathroom brushing her hair. For a second, I was wondering what Holly was doing up so early.

  And then I remembered. Today would be the day that we would meet our other sister.

  “I have to call Jen, Holly,” I yelled out.

  Holly stepped into the doorway between my room and bathroom and continued brushing her hair.

  “Well, hurry,” she said. “If we’re going to get to the mall by noon, we’ll have to leave by 11:15. Tell Jen to meet us here.”

  “Okay,” I replied. “Kris, let’s go find Mommy.”

  I scooped Kris into my arms, carried her downstairs, and then took her to the kitchen where Mom was already preparing breakfast. Dad was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. Everything looked so normal, just a regular day, I thought.

  Mom took Kris out of my arms and sat her down at the table.

  “Has Kris been fixing your hair again?” she asked. “Quick, Dad, get the camera.”

  Without raising his eyes from the paper, Dad replied, “She’ll never speak to me again if I do.”

  “Thank you, Daddy,” I said. “Mom, Holly and I want to go to the mall today.”

  “Oh, honey, I’ve got so much to do today. What about Monday?”

  “We can go by ourselves,” I suggested. I tried to sound as casual as possible. “We can walk—it might be fun. Jen will probably want to go with us.”

  “It’s so hot out already, and it’s getting hotter by the minute.”

  I was glad when Dad contributed his opinion.

  “Let them go,” he said. “Good exercise.”

  I watched Mom place a bowl of dry cereal in front of Kris, but the little sweetheart pushed it away. I could have sworn I heard her say “pancakes” without the “p,” but I wasn’t sure until Dad mentioned the same thing. She had never been verbal up to now though it was expected that she would be a late talker. Mom was ecstatic.

  “I think I heard it, too!” she said excitedly. “She said ‘pancakes.’”

  Dad looked up from his paper and said, “She doesn’t say ‘mom’ or ‘dad,’ and her first real word is ‘pancakes.’ Weird.”

  They were still talking about it when I left the kitchen to go upstairs. I was anxious to call Jen so I rushed up to my room where Holly was still brushing her hair.

  “If you don’t quit that,” I told her, “your hair is going to fall out.”

>   She clicked her tongue and sighed heavily just like Mom does when she gets exasperated with us.

  “Did you call Jen yet?” she asked.

  “I didn’t want to call her from the kitchen. Mom and Dad are in there having breakfast.”

  Within a few minutes, I had Jen on my bedroom phone. I told her that I had written to Sarah and our plans were set to meet together in the food court at around noon.

  “I’ll bring my camera,” was all she said and she hung up the phone.

  By the time Jen arrived at our house, Holly and I were ready to go. Mom and Dad were still in the kitchen so we decided to leave the house by way of the front door. When Mom heard the door, she yelled out that she wanted us home by four.

  “Okay,” I responded, and I slammed the door shut.

  I couldn’t wait to get away from the house. My heart was racing and my knees felt weak. Again, doubts were creeping into my thoughts. I still wasn’t comfortable keeping secrets from Mom, and this secret was huge. Jen could tell I was having second thoughts.

  “It’ll be okay,” she assured me. “Sarah’s probably on her way already.”

  “I know,” I said. “I wouldn’t back out now. I’m just worried about Mom.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re going to have a great time today. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  I wanted to believe her.

  Chapter 12

  We reached the mall almost thirty minutes early. Jen wanted to stop by a restroom to check her hair so we dashed into the nearest one we could find and stayed there for about fifteen minutes checking and rechecking. Satisfied that we looked presentable, Jen reminded Holly and me that it was nearly time for us to meet Sarah.

  “She might already be in the food court,” she said.

  I looked at Holly and she returned a momentary glance. I was sure I looked as petrified as she did.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” I said as we all quietly and slowly left the restroom.

  The mall was a little crowded so we had to weave our way closer to the food court. I was glad that we didn’t see anyone we knew and I was hoping for the same once we got to our destination.

  As expected, the food court was crowded, too. Almost every chair was occupied and it was difficult at first to determine which patrons might be solitary visitors.

  The three of us surveyed the entire space. Holly asked me if I could see anyone I thought might be Sarah.

  I was just about to say no when I saw a girl standing alone near a pillar in the center of the court.