Adopted Parents. Candy Halliday

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СКАЧАТЬ said, glancing briefly at Hallie, but talking directly to Nate. “David and Janet were beautiful people.”

      “Thank you,” Nate said.

      Hallie mumbled her thanks, too.

      “Greg wanted me to meet with you because he knows what a difficult situation you’re in. He felt my insight could help you with your parent selection as you go through the readoption process.”

      “Thank you, Dr. Langston,” Nate said. “We need all the help we can get.”

      Hallie almost kicked him.

      Amazing, how chatty Nate had suddenly become.

      What happened to brooding and silent?

      “Please,” she said. “Call me Deb. And if it’s okay, I prefer to use your first names, too. I find the less formality between us, the better.”

      Hallie fought back a gag.

      “How involved have you been in Ahn’s life since the adoption, Nate?”

      “I’m afraid not at all,” Nate admitted. “I flew home for Ahn’s christening. But I’ve been out of the country since then.”

      “And you, Hallie?” Deb asked, looking directly at Hallie for the first time.

      It hurt Hallie to admit that before the accident she’d only seen Ahn four times. At the airport when Janet and David first brought her home. At Ahn’s christening. The one weekend she had made time in her busy schedule to stay with Janet and Ahn while David was out of town. And at Ahn’s second birthday party—the weekend before the accident on May 2. The last time Hallie had seen Janet and David alive.

      “My contact with Ahn has been limited,” Hallie said, though she couldn’t keep from adding, “but if I remember correctly, that was partially due to advice Janet and David received from you.” Down went the gauntlet. She was not going to let this woman push her around.

      “That’s true,” Deb said, apparently unruffled by the challenge. “During the first two months after the adoption it was important for Ahn to have time alone with Janet and David in order for them to bond as a family. But I apologize if the question sounded more like an accusation. I was only trying to gauge how much time each of you had been able to spend with Ahn.”

      Now she was trying to make Hallie look like a bitch.

      And okay, she was being a bitch. But she was an honest bitch.

      “And I apologize for being defensive,” Hallie said. “But we all have our regrets. And my regret will always be that I didn’t spend more time with my sister and Ahn when Janet was alive.”

      “And how is Ahn?”

      Hallie and Nate looked at each other.

      It took Hallie a second to realize Nate was waiting for her to answer the question. As if she could. She was no more qualified to answer the question than Nate.

      “Since the accident, my stepmother has been staying at Janet and David’s and taking care of Ahn. Nate and I are staying there, too,” Hallie added quickly. “But…well, under the circumstances…”

      “I understand completely,” Deb said. “But I’m pleased to hear Ahn isn’t being bounced around from one family member to another while you and Nate are trying to recover. It’s very important that she stays in her own home where she feels safe. She’s too young to understand what’s happened, of course, but you should be prepared for drastic mood swings while she’s trying to cope with Janet and David’s sudden absence from her life.”

      Hallie nodded that she understood.

      And okay, maybe she’d been too quick to judge.

      “And is your stepmother going to stay and help you take care of Ahn until you find new parents?”

      “No,” Hallie said, shuddering at the thought. She loved Roberta. And she was going to make an effort to get along with her better. But Roberta’s overbearing personality had always driven Hallie up the wall. “We’re beginning interviews for a full-time nanny this week.”

      Deb looked surprised. “I strongly advise against hiring a nanny.”

      Hallie sat straighter in her chair. “Excuse me?”

      “I strongly disagree with you leaving Ahn’s care to a nanny,” she repeated. “Ahn is slowly making progress, but she still has a lot to overcome in order to catch up developmentally. Unless you get to know this child, and I’m talking really get to know Ahn’s wants, her needs, her temperament and especially her shortcomings, you’ll struggle to choose the best parents for her.”

      The magnitude of what Deb implied momentarily staggered Hallie. She couldn’t take care of Ahn on her own. She didn’t know the first thing about child rearing, especially with a child who’d experienced a lack of early stimulation and now needed particular attention. Deb couldn’t possibly mean that. “So what are you’re suggesting? That I quit my job and take care of Ahn, possibly for months, until we find new parents?”

      “If at all possible, yes,” Deb said, as if that were a completely reasonable request. She looked over at Nate. “And, if possible, you should do the same, Nate. As Ahn’s guardians and as the two people who will decide her future, both of you need to take full responsibility as Ahn’s primary caregivers so you will be qualified to make such an important decision.”

      Nate looked shocked.

      Hallie was speechless.

      But she already knew what Nate had to be thinking. Of course it was possible for both of them to put their careers on hold until Ahn was readopted. Janet and David had made it possible.

      But money wasn’t the issue here.

      The issue for Hallie was becoming a full-time parent. Hallie couldn’t even fathom it. A claustrophobic sensation rose in her. Every day spent locked in a house with her only focus a child with limited communication skills? And she couldn’t fathom someone as restless as Nate being stuck at Wedge Pond and helping her take care of a baby.

      “I appreciate the advice, but we will be hiring a nanny,” Hallie told her firmly. She reached into her purse and handed over the form Greg had given them. “Greg said you would help us fill this out for the adoption agency.”

      Dr. Langston took the paper but the look she gave Hallie said she wasn’t through. “I’ll be happy to help you. And maybe as we go over the parental requirements Ahn will need, you’ll reconsider your decision about the nanny.”

      Don’t count on it.

      If Janet and David had thought Hallie and Nate were capable of raising their daughter, they wouldn’t have assigned their siblings the role of guardian with the task of finding new parents. But Janet and David hadn’t and that, to Hallie’s way of thinking, was proof enough that she couldn’t provide the care Ahn required. So Dr. Langston was not going to lay some guilt trip on her sufficient enough to make Hallie embrace a role she knew absolutely zero about. She’d never even been a babysitter as a teenager. Kids had always been Janet’s thing, not hers.

      Dr. Langston reached for СКАЧАТЬ