Chapter 180
Regan was helping Jaz with the dishes. They had all slept late after a very eventful day. The Wilgul girls were excited about the new plans for the business and for Grace's big move. They had stayed up late talking and planning for the future.
Regan's phone rang as she dried the last few plates.
"Hello?" she said into the phone.
"Hi, is this Regan McLeod-Ashton?" the voice on the phone asked.
"It is, who is this?" she answered
"This is Vivienne Kemp, I'm calling from the Burstyn Adoption Center. Is Mr. Ashton with you now?"
"Uh, yes, he's right here." Regan put her hand over the phone. "Dylan, it's the adoption agency, come here." Regan put the call on speaker phone so everyone could hear.
"Wonderful, It's my pleasure to inform you that you have been officially matched with a baby girl. Congratulations. She is a healthy, four week old baby and her mother has just agreed to sign over parental rights to the two of you. How soon can you get to Brisbane? That's where your daughter is. You can come meet her and sign the paperwork as soon as you can get there," said Ms. Kemp, joyfully.
"Is this real? Do we really have a daughter? We will book the first flight there. I thought we would have to go through a meet and greet process with the mother before she could choose us and things became official. Please don't tell us we have a daughter unless she is officially ours. We can't take that kind of heartbreak, so please tell us now if this isn't official." said Regan.
"We typically do have prospective parents and birth mothers meet beforehand, but this is a little bit of an unusual circumstance. She chose your profile, but doesn't want to meet you or be a part of the girl's life. This is official. You will have a mandatory foster period before the adoption becomes fully legal, but that is the standard for all adoptions in Australia. Get to Brisbane and meet your daughter. This is the best part of my job. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ashton."
Regan got the important details she needed and wrote them down. Tears were streaming down her face.
"I guess we need to get to Brisbane," Regan said as she hung up the phone. She hugged Dylan close. "It's happening, it's really happening. Dylan, we have a daughter. And look! She sent a photo!" Regan pulled up a photo from her email of a small baby wearing a tiny pink hat, and showed Dylan.
"That's my daughter! I have a daughter! I have a daughter!" Dylan shouted with joy. "I can't wait to meet her. She's so beautiful."
Grace, Jaz and Ben were sitting there, watching this all happen. It was one of the most beautiful scenes they had ever witnessed.
"This is amazing! You have a daughter! Congratulations!" Grace gave her sister the biggest, tightest hug.
"Congratulations Dad!" Ben gave Dylan a hug. "You're going to be great."
"This is such a beautiful moment. I'm so happy for you both!" Jaz joined in the hug with Regan and Grace.
"We've got to get you to Brisbane!" said Jaz as she let go of her sisters and ran to grab her laptop. "I'm going to find you flights!"