The Black Market Baby Scandal

(Chapter Eight: Sunday Dinner)

Sunday afternoon had finally rolled around and Olivia stood in front of her dresser mirror trying to decide what to wear to dinner at the Jensen's. She stared at the jeans and tee shirt she had on. It was a little too informal, she thought for a moment as the picked up her phone and dialed Elliot's number.

"What are you wearing to dinner tonight?" She blurted out as she heard him pick up the phone.

"What? Not hi, hello, how are you?"

"Elliot, this is important. Tonight is the first time she will see me and actually realize that I am her mother. I need this to be perfect. I need to be perfect."

"I will wear whatever you want me to. This is your big night."

"No, that isn't what I meant. I wanted to know what you were wearing, so I knew what to wear."

"Probably a black slacks and a blue shirt with a tie."

"What should I wear?" She asked placing him on speaker phone to step out of her jeans and pull her shirt over her head. She stood in her bra and panties staring into her closet. "Should I wear a dress? Or is that too formal? It is a special occasion, but it isn't a date. Or a skirt and dressy blouse? God no, that looks like I'm going to a funeral."

Elliot laughed.

"This is serious Elliot."

"I know it is. Olivia, just dress like you do for work. Dressy, but casual. Slacks and a nice sweater or something. Dress comfortably. You know you are going to be nervous."

"I'm already nervous."

"I will be there in an hour to puck you up."

She closed the phone and sat it on the dresser. The slacks were no problem. She pulled a pair of black slacks from the hanger and stepped in to them. Now,, just to find a shirt. She looked through top after top until she heard the door bell ring.

"Great," she mumbled to her self. Elliot was here already and she still wasn't ready. She pulled a tee shirt on and went to answer her door.

"You're wearing that?" He asked looking at her clothes that didn't even match.

"No, I still don't know what I am wearing."

"Come on," he said taking her by the hand and leading her to the bedroom closet. "This one is nice," he said picking up a dark gray argyle sweater.

"That isn't too drab?"

"Layer it with the white button down shirt like you do for work. It looks really nice. Dressy, but casual as well. And it looks very nice on you."

"Thanks. And my hair?"

"Down."

"Yeah, alright. I'll just be a minute," she said stepping into the bathroom to change her shirt. She stood in front of the mirror and combed her fingers through her wavy hair, then put on some small gold hoop earrings. She put on a little lipstick and blotted it, before adding just a hint of gloss and pressing her lips together. "Perfume," she said moving to the bedroom once more. She picked up each bottle from the back of her dresser and smelled it. "This one," she said aloud as she misted the light floral scent onto her body. She took a deep breath and moved to join Elliot in the living room.

"There see, you look nice."

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself."

"Liv, are you sure you wouldn't rather me wait here?"

"No, why would you do that? Do you not want to go?"

"I want go. I feel honored just to be invited. But this is your time with your daughter. Maybe it should just be you and Sarah and the Jensen's."

"No. Elliot, please. I want you there. I am already a nervous wreck. I need you there with me. Besides, you are going to be a very important person in her life as well, I want her to get to know you and be comfortable around you. Please don't back out now."

"Oh, I'm not trying to back out. I just wanted you to know that if you would rather go alone, I understand."

"I would rather my best friend be there with me."

"Okay."

Olivia smiled.

"We should get going. It's getting late," Elliot reminded her. Olivia grabbed her car keys and handed them to Elliot and they were out the door.

At dinner everyone was quiet. The silence was uncomfortable for Olivia, who had really hoped for another conversation like the one she and Sarah had shared in the car days earlier. She stared down at her plate and stirred the food around nervously with her fork. Suddenly she felt Elliot's hand slip into hers under the table. She closed her eyes and a smile crossed her face as she felt him squeeze it gently. Olivia looked up at him as he winked at her, bringing another smile to her face.

"So," she heard Sarah begin to speak from across the table as she and Elliot both looked up at her. "If you are my mother, does that mean Elliot is my father?"

Olivia almost choked.

"Umm, no." She said clearing her throat.

"Where is he? Is he dead?"

"Sarah," Mary Jensen exclaimed.

"No, it's okay." Olivia looked into the girls eyes. "He and I were never married. He is or was a college professor. I have not seen him in years."

"Does he know about me?"

"He knew I was pregnant, yes."

"But did he ever see me?"

"No, honey. You were taken from me, just minutes after you were born."

"Didn't you want me?"

"Of course I wanted you. You were my baby, my daughter."

"Then why did it take you eleven years to find me?"

Olivia took a deep breath. She knew Sarah was smart. And she knew that eventually this exact conversation would arise. She just didn't think it would be their first conversation as mother and daughter and in front of a dining table full of people. But Sarah needed to know the truth. She deserved to know. And now was the time.

"Sarah, I would have searched forever to find you. But it wasn't until recently that I knew you were even alive. The man that took you was the doctor that delivered you when you were born. The Fosters, the parents who raised you could not have a baby of their own. So they gave this man money to get them a little girl. That doctor stole you from me while I was sleeping the night you were born. He told me that you were born sick and that you had died. Sweetheart, if I had known that you were really still alive I would have tracked you down years ago. Nothing would have kept me from finding you."

Sarah sat quietly for a minute looking as if she were about to cry. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and placed it on her plate.

"May I be excused?" She asked looking across the table at Mary.

Mary looked up at Olivia and she nodded in agreement.

"Yes," Mary answered the girl.

Sarah picked up her plate and glass and cleared her place from the table and went upstairs to her room.

"This is all too soon for her. She needs more time to adjust." Olivia said. "I never should have told her all of that."

"She asked. She wouldn't have asked if she wasn't ready to know," Elliot said looking into her eyes.

"I know Sarah. She is a strong little girl. She just needs a little time to allow this to sink in. She will come around. How about some pie and coffee? Homemade Southern Pecan?"

"That sounds nice," Elliot said softly smiling at her hospitality.

"Let me help you with those," Olivia suggested as she gathered she and Elliot's dishes and followed Mary into the kitchen. She stacked the plates in the sink and stared out the window into the back yard.

"She will come around," Mary said handing Olivia a cup of coffee. "She is a child, it takes a little time for her to adjust to big news. Especially news like this. Until last night, she thought that her parents were killed in that crash. She had no idea that they were not her biological parents."

"How did she react when you told her?"

"She was quiet for a little while. She went up to her room for a bit. Then she came in and started asking questions about you. If she was going to live with you, if we were still going to adopt her, stuff like that. She is curious, but she is also a little shy. But she is a very resilient child. I guess after what she has been through at such a tender age you would have to be."

Olivia looked down at her watch. It had now been nearly forty minutes since Sarah had gone up to her room.

"I wonder….could I maybe go up alone and try to talk to her? Just she and I. Maybe it would be easier for her to ask her questions if we had a little time alone to discuss things."

"You are more than welcome to try." Mary slid a slice of pie across the counter to Olivia as she poured Sarah a glass of milk. "Top of the stairs, second door on the left."

"Wish me luck," Olivia smiled as she walked through the living room and headed up the stairs.

Elliot sat quietly and nervously waiting.

Olivia tapped gently on the bedroom door. "Sarah, Mary made pie. I thought I would bring you some up."

"I'm not hungry, thank you."

Olivia smiled. Even upset, she was so polite.

"Okay. I was thinking that maybe I could come in and we could talk for a little while. Just you and me. Honey, I know you have questions. You can ask me whatever you want. And I will try my best to answer. Sarah, may I come in. I really want to come in and see you. But I wont come in unless you say it its okay."

It was quiet for a few moments then Sarah opened the door.

"You can come in if you want to."

Olivia smiled at her and Sarah smiled back.

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

Olivia entered the bedroom and sat the plate and glass on the desk near the door. She looked around the room. There were trophies and ribbons and different awards. A keyboard in the corner and music notes painted on the walls.

"You play?" She asked pointing at the keyboard.

"I play piano. I used to do competition, but I haven't for a while now."

"You must be very good to have won all of these awards."

"I have been playing for a long time. My mother…." Sarah raised her eyes to look at Olivia as her bottom lip quivered. "I'm sorry, Claire taught me when I was three."

"It's okay, Sarah. This is all going to take a little getting used to. I know that."

"Do you want me to call you my mother?"

"If you want to. That is okay. Or you can call me Olivia or Liv."

Sarah nodded her head.

"Am I going to go live with you Olivia?"

"Eventually, yes. If you would like to. But for now, I just thought we could get to know each other a little better."

"Okay."

Olivia sat down beside Sarah on the bed as conversation unfolded. Sarah began to ask questions and open up to Olivia. And Olivia began to reveal things that she never would have thought she would. They talked about why Olivia had never married Sarah's father and where he was today. They talked about Olivia's work and her apartment. They even discussed the possibilities of a custody arrangement between Olivia and the Jensen's.

Sarah asked Olivia questions like what she was like in school. What books she liked to read and movies she like to watch. She asked her favorite color and if she had a boyfriend and why she wasn't dating anyone. And Sarah even played her a couple of songs on the keyboard.

Nearly two hours after Olivia had gone upstairs, she and Sarah returned to the living room to join Elliot and the Jensen's.

"Sarah and I were just talking upstairs and we were wondering if maybe one night this week I could pick her up and take her for dinner. Just she and I."

"I think that is a great idea," Scott Jensen stated.

"I can go?"

"Of course," he answered.

"We were also thinking maybe if things go well at dinner and Sarah is comfortable with the idea, she could spend next Saturday night with me."

"Please, Mary. I really want to. Please."

"Honey, don't you want to wait and see how things go first?"

"Well, yeah. But I'm sure they will be fine."

For the first time Olivia sensed the hesitation from Mary Jensen. This made her nervous. For some reason, Mary wasn't wanting to agree to let Olivia take Sarah over night, just yet.

"I'll tell you what Sarah, why don't we just plan on dinner for right now? And that will give everyone a little time to think more about Saturday. Maybe it is a little too soon. But I am sure we could still do something, like spend the day together."

Sarah looked heartbroken. "Okay."

Olivia smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Well honey, it is after eight o'clock. You have school tomorrow. Elliot and I should probably get going. But I gave you my phone number and I will call you every night."

"Okay. I wish you didn't have to leave."

"I know sweetheart, but I will be back soon. I promise." Olivia knelt and brushed a strand of Sarah's hair behind her ear as she watched the tears well up in the girls eyes. "Hey now, I have found you and I you are never going to lose me again. Okay?" Olivia felt her own tears rising. She wasn't ready for this night to be over, either. She placed a soft kiss on Sarah's forehead and stood to go.

"Olivia?" Sarah called to her.

When Olivia turned to face her, Sarah wrapped her arms tight around her and nestled her face against Olivia's sweater. Olivia knelt and wrapped her arms around the girl. This was the first time in nearly twelve years that she had held her daughter. She lowered her head to kiss the top of Sarah's head. Olivia took a deep breath taking in the scent of the girl. She smelled like a warm summer breeze. And it felt so good to hold her.

Olivia felt a tear roll down her cheek at the thought of leaving this place without her. She took a deep breath and regained her emotions as Sarah looked up at her, now crying.

"Hey, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay," Olivia tried to comfort her as Elliot watched his partner transform into a mother right in front of his eyes. "I'm going to call you tomorrow night. How about seven o'clock? And I want you to tell me all about your day at school. And we can talk for a whole hour if you want to."

"I love you, Olivia." Sarah said softly.

"I love you too, honey." Olivia replied with a smile as another tear fell. "And I am not leaving you. Okay? I have to go for now. But I will see you in a couple of days. You be thinking of where you want to go for dinner. I will pick you up here Wednesday after school."

"Okay," Sarah agreed. She turned and looked at Elliot. "Bye, Elliot."

"Good bye, Sarah. I hope to see you again soon."

On the way home Olivia sat quietly staring out the window into the night.

"What's on your mind, Liv?"

"I need to call a lawyer. A good one."

"Why do you say that?"

"I just have a feeling this isn't going to be as simple as it seems. Did you catch the hesitation from them when I mentioned keeping Sarah over night?"

"Liv, this is all so new on everyone. Maybe she didn't mean anything by it. Maybe she just thought it was a little early. I'll have to admit it was a bit of a shock to hear."

"Sarah asked me if she could. And I want her to. I didn't see any reason in telling her no."

"I'm just saying, they have to adjust to this, too. Maybe it is too soon for them."

"Maybe. I just think that now would be a good time to get a lawyer. I want to get in and get some sort of custody agreement down on paper and through a judge. This woman is starting to make me nervous. And there is no way she is keeping me from my child."

"I think seeing the lawyer is a good idea. Infact I can give you the name of the woman who represented me in my divorce. She does really well in custody battles."

"I am hoping that this won't become a battle."

"Yeah, but if it does you are going to need a damn good lawyer."

"You're right. The sooner I bring her in the better. I just don't want to take any chances on losing her again, Elliot."

"I know. I'll give you the number and you can call her in the morning."