Moonlight Road (Virgin River #11)(87)

“Well,” Marley said, scooting forward. “We were thinking of an adoption. But we don’t want the usual kind of adoption. We were wondering if it would be possible to have the kind of adoption where we know our baby is okay. I mean, it probably wouldn’t be fair to be real involved in its life, we get that. But if we could know the parents first, maybe even pick the parents…”

“And get pictures,” Jake said. “And then later, if he wants to know us, wants to know his brothers and sisters, if there are brothers and sisters…well, we’d be open to that because we don’t want to give him up. I mean, we’d do about anything…”

“But we decided we have to think about him, too. We grew up pretty poor, both of us, and believe me…If he can just grow up in a good family, like maybe one where he’s gonna have his own room, get to do things like sports and lessons, get a little help with college. You know, parents who will love him, protect him. That’s the kind of thing we want for our kids.” She reached over to Jake and grabbed his hand. “If we can’t do an adoption that way, then we already decided, we’re not going to do it. We can’t live never knowing if he’s okay. We can’t just give him to some adoption agency and walk away and never even know.”

“Is there any way?” Jake asked. “Any way at all?”

Mel smiled patiently, calmly, but inside, her heart soared! “Yes, Marley, Jake. Yes, it’s usually called an open adoption. A lawyer handles the details, you meet prospective parents, get to know them a little and—”

They exchanged worried looks. “Lawyer?” Jake said. “We don’t have any money. I mean, I can pay for the doctor’s appointment, but—”

Mel was shaking her head. “The expenses are usually covered by the adoptive parents. But it’s important to realize that you have to make some commitments, also. You would have to promise to guard your health and the health of the baby—no alcohol, tobacco or drugs during your pregnancy, regular prenatal checkups, and once you’ve decided on an adoptive family and have a contract, you can’t just change your minds while they absorb the costs, which are considerable. You have to be sure about this—and if you think you are, I can help.”

“Oh, I want the baby to be healthy and I don’t drink or smoke or anything,” Marley said earnestly. “I just want him to be in a good family, and a safe home. How can I be sure of that?”

“Besides meeting the prospective parents, your lawyer would do a background check for you, make sure there are no problems like health issues, convictions, allegations of abuse, bankruptcy, all sorts of things.”

“Would anybody out there like that want our baby?” Marley asked.

“Sweetheart, most adoptive parents wait a long time for a baby. Not very many young people are able to make hard choices like this.”

“Even though we want to know about the baby after? Would anyone be willing to do it like that?”

“You sit down with your lawyer and plan to talk to only potential parents who can agree to those terms.” She smiled. “They’re not unreasonable or unusual terms. Of course, you do understand, an open adoption isn’t the same as joint custody. You would have to sign off on parenthood, let the new parents raise the child in their way, as their own. It could mean never visiting your child, but yet always being up-to-date on how he’s doing.”

Jake scooted forward a little. “Like, would it be totally out of the question to watch him play ball if he was playing ball on a team? Or—”

“Or see a dance recital, if she was in a dance recital?”

“As long as you understand about things like custodial interference—the parents might not be freaked out by your presence at a single ball game or recital, but the child, depending on his age and the amount of knowledge he has about his biological parents, might be confused or upset by running into you everywhere he goes. I know you can create a scenario in your mind—this strange couple shows up at every Little League game, taking pictures of the same ten-year-old, cheering him on…He either realizes there’s something off about that or you get arrested as potential kidnappers. Right? You have lots of time to think about issues like that and decide if you’re still comfortable.”

“We talked about that a lot,” Marley said. “We don’t want him upset or anything. We want him happy. Then, when he’s, like, eighteen or something, if he wants to know us, if his parents don’t mind too much, maybe we could…you know…be involved in his life a little. If that’s not too crazy?”

God, Mel was thinking—what adoptive parent could argue with kids as conscientious and caring as that? She would sign on for that deal. In fact, right now in her head, she already had signed on.

“I don’t think that sounds crazy at all. But listen, before you get ahead of yourselves, let’s do a history and physical, the exam, start a patient file. Oh, and if you’re interested, my sister-in-law is an attorney. You could consult with her for free, then decide if you’d like her to handle the adoption for you. If it all works out, I could help you locate potential adoptive parents who are flexible about your terms.”

Marley let out her breath. Then she leaned against Jake in relief and perhaps exhaustion. He held her close and said, “It’s going to be all right, baby. Everything is going to be all right.”