Chapter 6 – Going Home
July 24, 2002
The NICU nurse removed the BILI Lights to the un-named infant. She knew the adoptive parents' last name was Marquand, and that they had chosen a first name, but she had yet to hear what it was. That seemed odd to her. Most children in the NICU have parents, adoptive or otherwise who have already proudly bestowed names on their children. Annie had worked in the NICU in various hospitals, and this was a rare time she didn't know the first name of her patient. This was the first month of her employment here, having been recruited to the new facility from another hospital. She liked working there, but was put off a bit on the detached clinical aspect of care given by Jenner and his nurses whenever an adoptive infant was being cared for. It somehow felt to her that they had no compassion in these cases. As a result, she tried to make up for things by being extra attentive to her little charges. She was even thinking of bringing some suggestions to the higher ups regarding implementing more demonstrated compassion in care. She just hoped Jenner and his team didn't get angry about that. The children deserved it.
With baby Marquand off the BILI Lights, and her blood sugars stabilizing, she was going to be going home with her adoptive parents tomorrow. Annie thought it was too soon since her weight was slow in it's climb, but Dr. Jenner had been persuaded by the parents to release her. Until then, Annie would make sure the child was not touch starved. She would hold her often. She was amazed at the beauty this little life already held. She had tiny curls of auburn hair and cornflower blue eyes. She was a truly beautiful baby.
Carol was relieved when she was informed that the hospital was allowing her to be released tomorrow. She was going stir crazy in her room whenever she wasn't walking the halls. Her sadness was getting worse by the hour from being around all the mothers with their healthy babies. She was afraid staying here would cause the grief she and Daryl felt to intensify. She had been able to convince Jenner that she was more than capable of going home. If necessary, she could continue any postpartum care with her doctor in Atlanta. Daryl was dreading going home with their arms empty of Sophia. He knew both of them were not in a great place with their grief. He could only hope he would be enough to help hold Carol together. They would do it though. They had to.
July 25, 2002
The morning sunlight peeked it's way through the blinds in Carol's hospital room. Today was the day. They were going home to Atlanta alone. Carol was already dressed and sitting upright in the bed. She was awaiting her final discharge papers.
As promised, Jenner had arranged cremation services for Sophia. When Milton came to the room to bid them goodbye, he had promised that Sophia's ashes would be couriered to them in the next few days. He promised once again that he would make himself available to them at any time. Both Daryl and Carol profusely thanked the man for his wonderful kindness and compassion. Milton decided to walk out with them. Daryl pushed Carol in a wheelchair while Milton carried the few belongings they had.
As they waited for the hospital's parking jockey to return with Daryl's truck, they continued to talk amongst themselves. When that same older couple from two days ago walked out carrying a baby to meet their waiting car, Carol stopped talking. She was envious of them with the little life. She could see peeks of the pink dressed newborn while she was being strapped into a car seat. Carol's empty arms tingled where her Sophia was supposed to be. She caught a flash of auburn hair on the child before the car door closed. For reasons unknown to her, Carol followed the car with her eyes until it was completely out of sight.
July 25, 2002
"Here is our copy of the birth certificate that we will be filing with the county." Phillip Blake handed the document to his partner.
"And the adoptive parents are aware of the changes made here?"
"Everything was approved by them Scott. They understand listing one of the state mental hospitals as the place of birth is important in this case. Honestly, I don't think they would have cared what we put on the papers, as long as the papers are judicially approved as part of the adoption process."
"And the judge who is assigned to the family court for the adoption?"
"On board as usual. There will be no challenges to the finalization. Be sure he gets another bottle this year at Christmas though. Gregory has put through more cases for us this year than usual, a fact that he is well aware of. We may have to up his bonus from now on though. He's getting grumpy."
July 25, 2020
Daryl was ready to lose his mind. Since yesterday, Carol was in blaming hell. It was even worse this year. Somehow the knowledge that the infant they lost would now be a legal adult was making the grieving mother extra morose. Sophia would never experience that first thrill of being of age. She would not be going to college or having a first real relationship. She would never need her mother to guide her through the first hesitating steps of adulthood. She would never be moving to her own apartment or getting a roommate. Nothing that parents dream of for their children would be happening with Sophia. He got the loss, he felt it too. But somehow this year was the one that broke Carol even more than past years. He would be lucky if she ever got out of her yoga pants that she had been wearing the two previous days. Daryl had had enough. He had to snap her out of it, at least for a little while. If he didn't, he was not sure she would be as able to pick up the pieces of this week as she had other years.
He went into their ensuite bathroom. He gathered Carol's favorite bath salts, oils and bubbles. The Jacuzzi tub filled while he lit candles and laid out fresh clothing for her. When the tub was filled, he went into where his wife was laying down. He coaxed her up and led her into the bathroom. She followed his direction without emotion, obeying his commands to get in the tub. She hadn't spoken a lot today, and the change in environment only elicited a nod of her head.
Once she was settled in the tub, he turned on the gentle jets and handed her her copy of People Magazine. It took a few moments, but Carol soon became interested enough in her favorite guilty pleasure to actually gaze at the pages. Her interest was not fully there, but Daryl figured it was a start. He left her there while he went to figure out what to do about food today. He was determined to get her to eat something today. He was in the midst of figuring out which takeout place to order from when he heard a scream come from the bathroom. He dropped everything and ran.
He burst through the bathroom only to find Carol standing up in the tub, the magazine in her wet hand. She was staring at the page hard and did not notice him entering. It took him saying her name a few times before she noticed his presence. She didn't say a word. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. He was about to ask her what the hell was going on when she shoved the magazine into his hands. He looked at the page she thrust out to him. There in the People Mystery section was a young woman who was the spitting image of Carol at eighteen, complete with auburn hair and freckles. He read the article through his shock.
Who Is Michelle Marquand?
By Staff Reporters
Michelle Marquand always knew she was adopted. Her adoption itself was unusual due to the fact that her adoptive parents were considerably older than what was commonplace, both at that time and now. That fact is not new. What is new however is the knowledge, or rather lack of knowledge about the circumstances surrounding her birth.
When we were invited into her childhood bedroom, one could certainly see she was well loved. Photos and items of affection were abundant. What sets Michelle apart from her peers however is the fact she was not raised wholly by either her birth or adoptive parents. Her adoptive parents were both deceased by the time Michelle was eight, a common concern that would have blocked most adoptions by people of their age. Instead of family portraits of their family of four, photos displayed are mostly of her and her brother alone. They line the walls in the home. Michelle was raised by her adoptive brother Aaron, an eighteen-year-old at the time of their parent's deaths. Her birth parents? Well, that is why Michelle contacted us. She wants to know who they are, and just as much who she really is.
When Michelle turned seventeen, she found her birth certificate. She decided to launch a search for her birth parents. She quickly learned that nothing on her birth certificate was accurate. The state mental hospital listed on her birth certificate was contacted by her in an effort to learn more about the circumstances of her birth. It was at that time that Michelle learned that there was in fact, no record of her birth with that institution. For almost a year, Michelle has searched for leads in the scant few clues she got from what her parents had told her brother and long-standing family friends. Those clues led nowhere. She did not publicize her search until she was eighteen for fear of being put on the radar of social services. She wanted to remain with her brother, someone who may not even legally be her family. She wanted to stay because he was always there for her.
Now that she is an adult, Michelle is hoping the few clues she has will help to find her birth parents and unravel the mystery that is her life story. She assumes she was born in Georgia as the logistics of an out of state adoption would not fit with the known timetable of her parents during the time frame of her adoption. The same can be said of her printed birth date of July 25th, 2002. From the known time frames of her adoptive parents, she knows this date is either accurate or within a week of the actual date. She knows that genealogically speaking, she is of Caucasian descent with an Irish ancestry. She has AB positive blood, which makes up less than two percent of the population. That means that her parents had to have a combination of A, B, or AB blood. She had at birth auburn hair and blue eyes, both of which she still has today. That sums up all of her knowledge.
Michelle has contributed photos seen here of her at various ages in hopes of finding an answer to her self-identity. She has the full support of her brother who has his own theories regarding her parentage.
"Our parents, while loving, were the sort that felt that nothing was beyond their reach since they had money. They adopted me in their fifties. They adopted Michelle in their sixties. This was not a feat that would have typically passed muster in any courtroom. I believe that Michelle at the least, and possibly myself were black market adoptions. If we were black market adoptions, that means that somewhere out there may be our true parents. I am not searching for my parents until Michelle's search is fully underway. I hope to continue to be a help in her unravelling her mystery. She is still my baby sister. She doesn't deserve to have the black-market label assigned to her forever. Our research tells of some famous cases in the not-too-distant past involving children being for lack of a better term sold. Michelle does not deserve the label of being a black-market baby forever."
People attempted to get in touch with the judge assigned to Michelle's adoption, only to find out that he too is deceased. All that is known is that he presided within King County, Ga. It is therefore likely that Michelle's birth took place within or not far from said county. Without knowing any further details surrounding her birth, Michelle is left to the mercy of the public. She is hoping somebody will recognize her and contact her through the staff at People. You can help by contacting us at ….
Daryl had stopped reading. He had zeroed in once again on the main photo, then stared in abject wonder at the other photos. He had known Carol since he was six and all of these photos could have been of her. His intense gaze broke however, when he heard his wife keen a single word.
"Sophia …."
Then Daryl had to catch her on her way down as she promptly passed out from shock.
