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Chapter Two

In his home near Sedona, Arizona, Delilah's father, retired USMC Colonel Charles (Charlie to his friends) Fielding, had been in varying degrees of panic and grief since his wife died. He'd quickly realized he couldn't care for little Eleni by himself. By now the little girl had lived with her adoptive parents for over a year, since Delilah decided she didn't like being responsible for an infant. Charlie was a hands-on daddy, he'd changed diapers, sung songs, told stories, been thrown up, peed and pooped on but his wife had always been there, too.

After Carol's funeral, he went to the minister of his church and was given some helpful advice. Within weeks, he'd found a childcare agency and, after a bit of trial and error, hired a nanny to help them. She lived in the house with them, used Carol's car and had two days off a week. Eleni liked her, Charlie liked her, she liked them. All was well and Charlie's panic slowly dissipated, although the grief still haunted him, for his wife and for the daughter who'd morphed into a seemingly uncaring, narcissistic being.

A few months later, Charlie realized that he and Eleni needed more family. The nanny was wonderful but if anything were to happen to him, Eleni would end up in foster care. Charlie had no false illusions that Delilah would lift a finger to help.

When he found an e-card in his email from Tim McGee, his daughter's former boyfriend, he felt better. Tim offered his condolences on the death of his wife and offered any help the Colonel might need. Although Charlie wondered how Tim knew what happened, he was reassured by the offer of friendship and help. Just knowing someone out there cared, someone who'd been part of his family for a little while and would extend a hand if needed, helped immensely.

Once he started to feel more confident, he gave himself a pep talk. He had family, relatives! He hadn't seen, heard from or talked with any of them in years, but some of them must still be out there in the world. And with that thought, he decided to find them.

Although he had no siblings, he did have cousins when he was growing up. His father, Fergus, was the 2nd of 4 brothers and that's where he started, looking for his uncles. While he remembered the family being close when he was a child, something happened between his mother and one of the aunts that drove a wedge between the brothers. He believed the trouble came from Aunt Jo but he never knew exactly and his father wouldn't talk about it.

While not a master of the internet, he'd learned how to use Google and other search engines from one of the neighbor kids, although the only things he usually searched for were sports scores and the news. Now he googled his uncles, starting with the two younger than his father, leaving the eldest uncle, husband of the difficult aunt, for last.

Charlie's grandmother, Jean Fielding, was a McKenzie by birth and each of her sons' names reflected some part of the McKenzie family. The oldest grandchild, was given the name McKenzie and Charlie's father was named Fergus, his grandfather's first name. The two younger brothers, Charlie's younger uncles were Arthur and Gordon, named for their mother's brothers and both had McKenzie as middle names as did Charlie's father. The middle names now helped in his searches.

Sadly, Charlie found obituaries for uncles Arthur and Gordon. He dug a little deeper to find their children, his cousins. However, Fielding is a not an unusual name and he was quickly lost in pages of listings for 'Jack Fielding', Uncle Arthur's son. When he noticed that there were more than 18 million results for Jack Fielding in the US, he closed out the search, laughing to himself. He'd certainly need more specific information before he tried that again!

Days later, he decided to look for Uncle Mac, the oldest brother of the four, certain there wouldn't be thousands of McKenzie Fieldings listed and then grimaced when there were a few million. Not as many as cousin Jack but enough to add more information, to narrow the search. He knew what year his father was born and that Mac was two years older. He also remembered the two brothers were born in Connecticut in a town beginning with a 'C' but did not remember the rest of the name. He found a list of towns for Connecticut and quickly spotted his quarry: Coventry. His father and his father's older brother Mac were born in Coventry, Connecticut. He added that to his search criteria along with his uncle's year of birth.

When the results popped onto his screen, one item immediately caught his attention, an article about the death of a convicted felon named Joann Fielding. Wondering about the connection between Uncle Mac and a convicted felon, he read the article and was shocked to find the dead woman, the dead convict, was his Aunt Jo. She was listed as the former wife of McKenzie Fielding. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at his failure to recognize the name 'Joann Fielding'. He'd never thought about 'Jo' being a nickname for another name. Of course, he'd been 10 years old last time he saw or thought of her.

He was puzzled when the article concluded with a statement from a "Family Spokesperson" saying no services would be held, although there was a list of suggested charities for donations if one so desired. He thought about the wording, family spokesperson. That indicated Uncle Mac had a family. Surely if it was someone speaking for him only, the article would have read Mr. Fielding's spokesperson or friend. Once again rolling his eyes at himself, he'd forgotten they had a baby with them last time he saw them, his cousin Shannon. Deciding that stress was the cause of his spotty memory and failure to connect the information with what he knew, he soldiered on.

Reading the article again, he noticed a reference to a magazine article that triggered Fielding's actions. There wasn't a link to it, which was unusual. Looking online, all he found was an article about two ranches outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose owners built housing for Evacuees. There were photos of the homes, both container conversions and upgraded mobile homes. That was interesting but didn't give him any more useful information.

He didn't find anything else of interest and finally he googled ranches within the county of Bernalillo, New Mexico, where Albuquerque was located, and smiled at the number of results, he could deal with that!

Looking at each systematically, from the top of the list, he smiled again when he reached an entry with the name of "La Serenidad". He liked the whimsical and peaceful feel to the name; he could imagine his uncle choosing it. The list of owners included a Mac Fielding and a Shannon Fielding Gibbs. He let out a small hurray, he'd found his uncle and his cousin Shannon. The name Gibbs sounded vaguely familiar but he was more concerned with his uncle and cousin.

He thought of calling or writing but decided that with the Joann debacles, past and present, it might be better if he just showed up. He'd take Eleni with him. Although it was a short flight from his home in Arizona, he'd drive the distance instead. It was only five hours and he'd rather have his car with him in case things didn't work out. He was sure that Eleni's nanny would be thrilled to have a week off with pay.

After carefully checking reviews for toddler friendly hotels in Albuquerque, Charlie booked a reservation. The night before he and Eleni left, he packed enough toys, books and DVDs to keep his little girl occupied, clothes for both of them and all the other paraphernalia required for young children. Early the next morning, he packed the car, showered and dressed before waking Eleni, who gave him a big toothy grin. After changing her diaper, she had breakfast while he ate his own, occasionally helping her. After he washed her face, hands, some of her hair, little Eleni had been very enthusiastic with her breakfast this morning, and got her dressed, he told her they were going for a ride. Her eyes lit up, she loved car rides. Charlie hoped she would love a five-hour car ride!

He'd forgotten how easily young children fall sleep in moving vehicles. His daughter fell asleep before they reached Flagstaff and I-40, the interstate highway they'd take all the way to Albuquerque. Passing Winslow about 90 minutes into their trek, Charlie laughed to himself. He'd planned to stop along here at a park in the town of Holbrooke but Eleni was still snoozing and he continued on their journey.

Finally stopping at a park in the city of Gallup, on the western edge of New Mexico, he woke her, afraid she wouldn't sleep that night. She loved the park and after she ran around on the lawn for several minutes, she gave him her sweetest smile, "Swing?" She loved swinging! He pushed her for fifteen minutes in a baby swing and then distracted her by pointing out a squirrel. Once out of the swing, she took off again and he was glad he could still keep up with her.

The truth was she didn't like to be too far from him or her nanny. That was probably not a good thing but the nanny believed Eleni would grow out of it. For now, he was confident that if he told her to stop or to run back to him, she would. He wasn't worried, there wasn't anyone else in the park and few cars drove by.

When he scooped her up, she squealed happily, giggling and calling him silly Papa. They sat on a blanket on the lawn for a snack and then it was time to hit the road again. After a diaper change, they left the park, more than halfway through their journey with only another two hours to go. Before Charlie started the car, he popped one of Eleni's favorite movies into the DVD player and she squealed again when the movie started. She sang along with the music, bouncing in her car seat, knowing some of the words and she announced the appearances of their favorite characters.

When the movie finished, he pressed the remote to play more of her favorite music and Eleni sang along happily. When she quieted, he peeked in the mirror and saw her looking out the window. She bounced a little in her seat when she saw a cow. "Moo, Papa, Moocow!"

"That's right, Eleni love, that was a cow."

"Piggies too?"

"I don't know, honey. Maybe."

A little while later she saw a horsie and that made her very happy. She was starting to doze off again when they reached Albuquerque city limits. Finding the hotel, Charlie parked in front and woke her again. "Come on sweet girl, this is where we're staying! We'll have lunch, a nap and then a swim."

"Pool?"

"Yes, in a pool. You and I will swim together."

She clapped her hands together, "Swim!"

Charlie laughed to himself, they swam nearly every day at home but it was still a treat to her. She knew how to hold her breath underwater, kick her legs and dog paddle, enough so that she would survive if she ever fell in.

Once they'd settled into their room, they ate the lunch brought from home. When Eleni was a little fussy, Charlie put another movie in for her to watch, knowing she'd fall asleep easier that way than if he said it was naptime.

They were in a suite with a bedroom and a sofabed in the outer room. Charlie set the movie up in the bedroom, thinking he'd make his phone call from the other room. Then when she fell asleep he'd put her in the crib provided by the hotel. She didn't need to sleep long, even a rest would do; however, he knew from experience that having a nap or rest in the hotel room now would make her more comfortable, the crib and the room already familiar, at bedtime that evening.

Now that they were in Albuquerque, he thought again about his decision to show up unannounced at the ranch. Calling and chatting with Uncle Mac first, or leaving a message for him, felt like a better idea. Then, if things didn't work out, he and Eleni would visit the parks and zoo in the city, maybe see more of the sights of New Mexico, swim in the hotel pool and drive home in a couple of days.

Finding a phone book in the desk, Charlie frowned when there wasn't a number for Mac Fielding. Then he looked under the name of the ranch, which did have a phone number listed. Smiling, he punched in the numbers and listened to the ring tones. A woman answered, "Hello, Rancho La Serenidad."

"Hello, may I please speak with Mac Fielding?" As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he knew he'd made a mistake. No doubt the media had been calling since Aunt Jo's death. Quickly he said, "I'm not a journalist or in the media, I'm his nephew Charlie, Charlie Fielding. His brother Fergus was my father."

The voice sounded relieved, "Thank you for clarifying, Mr. Fielding. Mac's not here right now. Is this your cell phone? I'll be happy to give him the number and a message that you called."

"That would be wonderful, thanks. He can verify it's me, or you can, I'm in Albuquerque, staying at the Embassy Suites with my daughter."

After adopting Eleni, he and Carol hadn't been sure how to refer to her, as their granddaughter or daughter. Ultimately, they'd decided to follow the legal document which made them the adoptive parents, not grandparents, of Eleni Mae Fielding. They'd added her middle name, which had also been Carol's maternal grandmother's name. Carol wanted Eleni to know as she grew up that she was truly a part of their family and hoped that giving her the name of her own grandmother would help provide a strong sense of belonging.

"Oh, you're in town, wonderful! I'll let him know."

"Thank you!"

He disconnected, exhaling a huge sigh of relief. He'd made the call, now it was up to his uncle. Relieved, he pulled out his tablet, starting a round of his favorite game.