Part 16 (2/2)

Of course. I should have known.

”It must have been hard on Janine when Destiny left?”

”It was terribly hard on her, poor thing. Every day for month s, she asked if she could go to Destiny's house to play. Every day, I had to explain to her that Barb and Pete were gone and Destiny was with her new family. Twice, I called the church to see if we could go see Destiny a” for both the girls' sake. I wanted to show Janine that Destiny was all right and I'm sure a visit from us would have done Destiny a world of good, a world of good. Both times, those nasty nuns flatly turned me down. Try explaining that to a four-year-old.”

”Did you see Destiny at all after the accident?”

”Only once. Marie let her come over one night to say good-bye to Janine. That was their last night together. Of course, we both knew it, but neither one of us could bring ourselves to tell them. I think they sensed it, though. They played 'house' all night long, like they always did, but when I looked in on them later when they were sleeping, I knew they knew. They were lying side by side in Janine's bed, holding hands. The sight of them made me burst into tears. I'd lost my best friend, and my little girl was losing hers. We never saw Destiny again, and Janine never had another best friend a” until recently. She lives with her friend now, and I'm glad for her. After Destiny, she never showed much interest in having friends.”

”Can you tell me what Destiny was like as a little girl?”

”Oh, she was a feisty one. She had her father's brains and her mother's drive. She was always asking questions, questions there were rarely answers to. She drove Barb crazy with all her questions, and Barb, G.o.d love her, patiently answered them all. I would have swatted her a few times, but Barb never did.”

”When would you have done that?”

'The time she ate breakfast in her birthday suit, for one.”

”You're kidding!” I laughed.

”I'm not! One morning after she'd spent the night here, I called the girls down for breakfast. Barb was here a” she'd come over for coffee. Well, that Destiny, darned if she didn't come downstairs naked. I tell you, she had absolutely nothing on, and she announced she was ready for breakfast. Barb told her she'd have to go upstairs and get dressed first, but that ornery Destiny hopped up on a chair and refused to budge. She was going to eat breakfast just like that, thank you, ma'am.”

Lydia paused to m.u.f.fle a fake chuckle.

”Well, Barb was already running late for an appointment so she didn't have time to argue with her, plus she was laughing too hard. Janine, never one to be outdone, took her clothes off and joined her. I left my robe on, Barb left her dress on, and the four of us ate breakfast. The girls couldn't have been more than two-and-a-half years old then. After we were done eating, Destiny obediently put her clothes on, and Barb told me she never again ate naked. I don't know what got into her, but there was no stopping her when she got an idea into her head. It was a waste of time to even try to change her mind.”

”It sounds like Barbara was a good mother.”

”The best! She was wonderful. She loved to teach her things. She'd explain them to her step by step, and she had to. Destiny wouldn't rest until she had the answers. This may sound odd, but I think Barb appreciated Destiny more than most mothers appreciate their children. She was their gift. They thought they'd never be able to have children, and then Destiny came into their lives. That's why they chose that name. It was Barb's idea to call her Destiny because she thought she was so special. And she was. I missed seeing her grow up. What is she like now, can you tell me?”

I started to tell her about the grown-up Destiny Greaves when the phone rang. Lydia Barton got up to answer it.

While she was gone, I took the liberty of looking around the room. Inside a very large green lacquer entertainment center, I saw the latest in electronics and some family photos. I made a beeline for the pictures.

It seemed like there were hundreds, all of them of the same person, who I could only surmise was Janine. She'd been an adorable baby, a very cute kid, and she wasn't a bad looking woman. Her newborn picture showed a full head of dark hair. Her first school picture showed that same thick hair bobbed and bowed. Now, I noted with approval, she had a short cut that accented her strong facial features and dark complexion. In one picture, she and another woman, the ”best friend” I guessed, were standing quite close. Just as I suspected!

From the other room, I could hear bits and pieces of Lydia's conversation. If I understood correctly, Lydia was about to lose a very large deal because the clients were developing buyer's remorse. When she came back into the room, she apologized for having to cut our time short and said she had an emergency.

She showed me to the door, and almost as an afterthought, said, ”What a tragic life Destiny's had, losing two mothers at such a young age.”

”I'm sure you were as much a mother to her as Barbara was.”

”Not me. Destiny's other mother a” her real mother,” she corrected me.

”But Liz Greaves isn't dead,” I protested. ”True, they don't have a close relations.h.i.+p, but she hasn't lost her.”

”Not the Greaves woman,” she said impatiently. ”Her real mother, the young woman who put her up for adoption.”

I stopped dead in my tracks on the threshold. I felt like someone had hit me in the stomach.

”What woman? I'm not following you,” I said, although I was beginning to suspect a horrible twist to Destiny's life story.

”Marie Kenwood didn't tell you?” she asked, panicked by her own admission.

”Tell me what?”

”I really must be going. Thanks for stopping by....” she said hurriedly and started to close the door.

I gently blocked the closing door with my hand, hoping she wouldn't slam it.

”Tell me what, Mrs. Barton?”

”I thought you knew, or I wouldn't have said anything.”

”Knew what?” I was beginning to get exasperated.

Seeing that I wasn't going away any time soon and that as each second ticked by, she was risking the loss of her precious commission, she let out a heavy sigh and told me the astounding truth.

”I thought you knew Destiny was adopted.”

I did and I didn't.

”By Barbara and Peter?”

”Yes. They couldn't have children of their own and they adopted Destiny.”

”How old was she when they got her?”

”Two or three days old, maybe a week,” she said, clearly not wanting to answer my questions.

”Do you know anything about the mother who gave her up?”

”No, except Barb told me she almost didn't give the baby up,” she said as she looked at her Cartier wrist.w.a.tch. ”Excuse me, but I really must be going.”

”Could I call you later?”

”I wish you wouldn't. I shouldn't have said anything. All of this was a long time ago, a very long time ago,” she said, closing the door another inch.

”Please, for Destiny's sake? She might want to see Janine.”

”I don't think that would be a good idea. My daughter was very hurt when Destiny left.”

”So was Destiny. She still is.”

”All right. The next time I talk to Janine, I'll tell her you stopped by. She's a grown woman, she can make her own decisions. But I really must run now.”

With that, she shut the door tightly.

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