Chapter 4
Melanie spent most of Sunday morning scrubbing her condo from top to bottom. With two animals in the house, she was constantly vacuuming and dusting. She planned to spend the day curled up with a book and a pot of tea. It was minus three, too cold to venture outdoors. She wanted to get to bed early. Rather than drive six hours to Denver the next morning, she’d hired a private jet to fly her there. She was meeting the pilot and copilot at 6:00 A.M. She’d arranged for a rental car to make the drive from the airport to the adoption agency. She’d scheduled her return flight for two forty-five, so she would be home by early evening.
She phoned her mother asking if she could stop over around lunchtime to let Odie out. As always, her mother was glad to help. When she’d asked why she was flying to Denver, Melanie had clammed up. She didn’t want to tell anyone what her plans were just yet, but she didn’t want to lie to her mother, so she explained that she was taking a personal day to do something she’d been planning on for a while. A generic answer, but it was all she could come up with. Her mother didn’t pry, and, for that, she was glad.
Melanie located her briefcase in her office, then added most of the important documents she would need to prove she was who she said she was and a dozen other papers she might need. She added her passport, just in case. She wanted to be prepared. It wasn’t like they were going to look at her bank statement, and say, “Pick a child.” No, the adoption process was much more detailed than even she could imagine.
Mandatory legal criteria had to be met, plus each individual agency had its own criteria as well. Melanie was amazed at the amount of paperwork required, but something as important as adopting a child should take a lot of paperwork. Once her application was accepted, if it was accepted, then the lengthy process would begin. She wasn’t in a mad rush, but she knew in her heart that it was right for her. Felt it in her bones. Patience was required, and she was a very patient woman. Melanie knew one of the first requirements would be a home study, and if she was lucky enough, she would be able to bring a child home, where she would then be allowed to help the child make the transition from the orphanage to the new home.
Odie and Clovis had positioned themselves beneath the kitchen table. Melanie removed the teakettle from the stove-top, filled it with tap water, then placed it back on the burner. She took three chamomile tea bags from a bright yellow canister on the counter and dropped them in the small china teapot given to her by her grandmother when she was a little girl. In order to keep the tea warm, Melanie placed a cosy, one she had knitted years ago, around the teapot.
Maybe when Amanda and Ashley finished their pot holders, she would teach them how to make tea cosies. She knew that Stephanie loved to drink tea and would appreciate such a gift from her girls.
Melanie’s tea ritual was old-fashioned, but she loved it. Her grandmother had taught her the proper way to steep loose leaf tea, how to pour properly, and also how to hold a delicate teacup. Though she didn’t practice this all the time, whenever she had company, or the occasion called for it, she returned to the ways taught by her grandmother. The kettle whistled, and Melanie filled the delicate china pot with boiling water. She placed the teapot along with a bright red mug on a tray and carried them into the living room. Odie and Clovis followed.
As soon as she settled herself on the sofa with her tea and favorite author, the telephone rang.
“Why did I know this would happen the minute I got comfortable?” Melanie asked her boon companions. As usual, Odie and Clovis answered her question by trailing behind her as she returned to the kitchen to answer the telephone.
“Hello,” she said into the receiver.
“Oh good, you’re there,” Stephanie said.
Melanie smiled upon hearing her friend’s voice. “What’s up?”
“I wasn’t sure I’d find you at home,” Stephanie explained.
Melanie leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen. “Where else would I be?” She looked at the clock and realized she was usually in church at this time. Because of bad weather, Melanie had decided to stay home today. She said this to Stephanie.
“Same here. Patrick and I both took the weekend off. We wanted to take the girls skiing again, but it’s really too cold. You’re never going to believe who’s coming to visit this afternoon.”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Melanie teased.
“Grace and Max are bringing baby Ella. The girls are so excited.”
“Cool,” Melanie said without much emotion. She’d just seen Grace, Max, and Ella a couple of weeks ago.
“Bryce is coming with them. Apparently, he’s taking a month off from teaching, and he’s planning to spend his time helping Grace and Max at Hope House,” Stephanie said.
Melanie knew where this was leading. She had met Bryce, Grace’s younger brother, a few times. He was a professor of history at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He was a couple of years older than she, and very easy on the eyes. With his raven black hair, and sea green eyes identical to his older sister’s, Bryce Landry personified hunkiness if there was such a thing. If she’d met him without knowing his academic background, never in a million years would she have pegged him for a history professor. He looked more like the ski bums that hung out at the ski resorts. Melanie knew he was an avid skier; he’d been a big fan of Max’s when he won the Olympic gold medal. Grace told Melanie how excited Bryce had been when he discovered his older sister was dating such a legend in the ski world.
“That’s nice,” was the only comment Melanie could come up with. She must sound like an idiot, she thought, as she eyed her pot of tea in the living room.
“I’m having an impromptu Christmas party this afternoon. Do you think you can make it? I know it’s short notice,” Stephanie added.
Melanie didn’t really have any plans other than reading and getting ready for tomorrow’s flight to Denver. Why not? Stephanie lived right down the road from her; it wasn’t like she had to travel on I-70, which was treacherous during the winter months. It would take her mind off the adoption and help pass the time.
“Sounds like fun. What can I bring?” Melanie asked, looking around the kitchen for something to bring, a store-bought pie, anything that didn’t require cooking or baking. Seeing nothing, she remembered she had a frozen black forest cake in the freezer, courtesy of a happy client.
“You don’t have to bring anything, just yourself,” Stephanie assured her.
Melanie would bring the cake anyway; she could not eat the entire chocolate concoction herself. It would take hours of skiing to burn off the calories. “I’d love to see the girls. What time are the festivities?”
“Any time after noon,” Stephanie said. “The girls are bursting with energy at the mere thought of a Christmas party,” Stephanie continued. “We’ve never hosted a Christmas party, so I figured the earlier, the better. Amanda is already mixing the ingredients for sugar cookies. If the kitchen’s a disaster when you get here, you’ll know why.”
Just thinking of the visual, Melanie grinned. Stephanie was very neat and tidy, yet when it came to Amanda and Ashley, she was more than willing to allow whatever made them happy. Both girls loved to tinker in the kitchen, just like their mother. In time, they would learn how to clean up as they worked.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few,” Melanie said, and hung up the phone. She gazed longingly at her now-cooled pot of tea and the new book she’d been dying to sink her teeth into. There was always another day to do nothing but lounge around and read.
But maybe not, she thought as she scooped up the tray carefully and placed the treasured old teapot and her mug in the sink.
If she were lucky, soon she’d be too busy to lounge around. Hopefully, by this time next year, she’d have a family of her own to take care of.
She crossed her fingers and said a quick prayer.
A child of her own. Could life get any better? she thought as she raced through the condo like a kid at Christmas.