a/n-Sorry for the delay in posting! Time just sort of got away from me and I forgot all about posting chapters. The final chapter should be up within the week (hopefully). Also, just a bit of a disclaimer: I have absolutely no idea what the adoption process was like in New York in the 1940's, so we're all just going to go with it here...
Letter Received #3—A New Beginning
To: Dr. and Mrs. Rory A. Williams
From: New York City Department of Child and Family Services
Dear Dr. and Mrs. Williams,
Congratulations!
I am writing to inform you that your application to the New York Department of Child and Family Services has been accepted. You are now approved to adopt within the state of New York.
Enclosed you will find a list of orphanage locations within the Manhattan area. Additionally, contact information for each orphanage Director has been included so that you are able to make the necessary appointments at your own discretion.
Please be advised that there may still be a waiting period of several weeks and/or months for an actual adoption to be finalized.
Good Luck!
Sincerely,
Cynthia Roberts
Secretary—N.Y.D.C.F.S.
The letter was surprisingly anti-climatic. Honestly, the entire process had been anti-climatic. It was startlingly easy to adopt a child in 1940's New York. It was a shock to a couple that had once contemplated adoption in the twenty-first century, where everything was so much more complicated.
For as easy as the process was, however, it was still a long road for Rory and Amy to get to the point of actually being notified that they were in the clear to stop in any orphanage in New York that they pleased in order to pick out the child that would be their future son or daughter.
The subject of adoption first came up in the summer of 1941. Back then, Rory had still been going through medical school, but they had a steady income courtesy of Amy. And, more importantly, they were ready to finally actually become parents. They had had Melody once and lost so much time with her, and River was a typical grown child who did not visit her parents nearly often enough for their liking. What the Williams' needed was a little boy or girl to complete the life they had finally settled into in New York. And so it was decided that just as soon as Rory finished school and began working as a doctor, they would move out of their tiny apartment and finally adopt.
But then came that fateful letter from River. Bringing a new child into their lives when they needed to work through losing their daughter was simply irresponsible. They weren't ready for it.
And so they put it off.
In all honesty, they put it off for far longer than was strictly necessary. They had always known the day was soon approaching that River would die; they had spent nearly three years dreading the day she would simply stop coming to visit, after all. But Rory and Amy couldn't help but feel as if adopting a child so soon after River's death was disrespectful to their daughter's memory, almost as if they were replacing her.
But for as much as they kept putting it off, that never changed the fact that Rory and Amy had always wanted a family together; the decision to actually adopt had always been lurking in the background, but yet that final decision still snuck up on them.
"So I was cleaning today," Amy began one night over dinner.
"Did the broom win again?" Rory questioned immediately, fighting to keep his expression blank.
"Oh, shut up, you," Amy retorted with a small smile and a roll of her eyes. "No, it did not win. I did find something though…"
At his questioning look, Amy removed the folder from where she'd been hiding it in her lap as she worked up the courage to bring the topic up. Without a word of explanation she slid it across the table to Rory.
Rory did not need an explanation, though. He recognized that particular folder very well, after all. With a surprisingly steady hand, he reached out and picked the folder up, opening it to reveal all of the paperwork that had been completed years ago.
"I think we should turn all of it in," Amy said softly when Rory made no move to speak. "I'd say it's long past overdue. We have been waiting more than fifteen years to start our family, after all…"
A small smile appeared on Rory's face at her words and it quickly blossomed into an all-out grin. "We have, haven't we? Let's go tomorrow."
Amy grinned back. "Tomorrow," She agreed. "Tomorrow will be our new beginning, once and for all."