Frustrated, Natalie closed out the web page and opened a fresh tab. She remembered Gina’s words about the various online adoption registries, so she did a search for the largest, most reputable one. Natalie clicked on the link at the top of the list and saw that it was a mutual consent registry, meaning that if her sister—or even her birth mother—was already registered on the site, Natalie could be contacted within a couple of days of when a data match was found. While the site didn’t have access to court records and couldn’t confirm a relationship as authentic, it could at least provide first contact with a possible blood relative. The FAQ page recommended that if necessary, once the two individuals connect, they could petition the court to open their records, or voluntary DNA testing could be done.
This could be it, she thought as she eagerly used her email address to create a log in and filled out her own profile with as much information as she could about herself. She listed her maiden name as Natalie Walker, thinking that would be the name Brooke might search for if she was, in fact, looking for her sister, too. She filled in her date of birth and the dates and details of her infancy as best she could, using the same story her mom had told her and Natalie had passed on to Hailey. She noted her brief stint at Hillcrest before she had been adopted, she described her physical characteristics, and then she went on to fill out the limited information she knew about her older sister. She entered her name, and all the information about how they had both lived in a car with their mother, how she had signed over her parental rights to the state. She entered the fourteen years Brooke had stayed at Hillcrest, as well as Gina’s name and contact information, in case Brooke had included that in her profile.
Natalie was just about to hit submit when there was a knock at the front door. “Mommy, I’m ho-ome!” Hailey called out from the porch. “Let me in!”
Natalie stood up and stared at the screen as she pressed her index finger down on the mouse, and then a box popped up informing her that her profile had been successfully posted to the site. Please, she thought. Let this work.
“Coming!” she said as she jogged toward the foyer and opened the door. Hailey hugged her legs as Natalie waved at Ruby’s mom, who had stayed inside her car in the driveway, waiting until Hailey was safely in the house. Ruby’s mom beeped the horn once before backing out and driving away. Another car pulled up in front of the house then, and Natalie recognized Katie at the wheel.
“Hey!” Katie said as she climbed out of the car and walked around to the other side. She opened the back door and helped Henry release his seat belt, and Natalie watched as her son raced up the walkway and into the house.
“Hi, Mama!” Henry said as he pushed past both her and Hailey, dropping his Buzz Lightyear backpack on the bench next to the door. Buzz was Henry’s latest obsession; he’d watch all three of the Toy Story movies every day if Natalie let him. At night, he slept with a hard plastic, electronic Buzz doll, something she’d found at a consignment store for just a couple of bucks and sometimes regretted buying because of the toy’s irritatingly loud mechanical voice. In the morning, Natalie knew Henry was awake and pushing buttons when she heard “To infinity . . . and beyond!” coming from his bedroom.
“Thanks for bringing him home,” Natalie called out to Katie, who stood next to her car. “I’m happy to return the favor when Logan plays over here.”
“Sounds good,” Katie said, smiling. She gave Natalie a short wave and then climbed back in the driver’s seat and drove away.
Natalie ushered Hailey inside and shut the door behind them. Henry was already lying on his stomach on the couch, propped up on his elbows and scissoring-kicking the cushions as he played with two small action figures, Buzz Lightyear and Woody. His head was bent down and his shoulders were hunched, intent on whatever story he had them acting out, narrating their conversation under his breath, first in Buzz’s voice, “I’ve set my laser from stun to kill!” and then, in Woody’s slow drawl, “Reach for the sky!”
“Guess what?” her daughter said as she pulled off her bright red jacket and dropped it to the floor. “Ruby has a new kitten! His name is Tux because he’s black and has white fur shaped like a bow tie on his neck!”
“Hang that up, please,” Natalie said. Hailey groaned as though she’d just been asked to carry a load of bricks across a desert, but then hung up her coat on one of the hooks by the door.
“But did you hear me?” Hailey said as they walked together into the kitchen. “The kitten’s name is Tux! Like Tuxedo! Because of the bow tie. Get it?”
“I get it,” Natalie said, waiting for her daughter’s inevitable request.
“He is sooo cute,” Hailey said. “I wish I had a kitten.” She looked at Natalie sidelong and raised her eyebrows. “It’s almost my birthday, you know.” Her birthday was actually in March, five months away, so “almost” was a bit of a stretch.
“I’m sorry, honey, but you know with my baking I can’t have animals in the house,” Natalie said. Her kitchen was licensed commercial, and even though she’d soon be moving her work space out into the more spacious and fully remodeled garage, state regulations still forbade any animals on the premises.
“I know,” Hailey sighed. “It’s not fair.”