Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

want to hear about another child who would almost certainly,
positively, practically, for sure be theirs if only they were willing to
258
de out the process. She held her breath and waited.
"We have a healthy baby boy, an infant. He's been cleared for
adoption, Mrs. Bronzan. No foster care involved. You're the first
person I've called."
Hannah could feel the blood draining from her face. A healthy :baby boy? Could it be...
It wasn't possible.
The woman couldn't be talking about the baby from the hospital the other day, the little boy who had
grabbed so tightly hold of her heart and held it every day since?
Hannah closed her eyes and reached for Matt's hand, her grip on the phone tighter than before. There was
no way it could be the same child. Thousand Oaks had become a big city, and besides, Mrs. Parsons
worked with families from all over Ventura County.
She blinked back tears and ordered herself to be calm. Mrs. Parsons was waiting for an answer. "What
...what do you know about him?"
"Well... he's six weeks old and very healthy. His mother's name was Milly Wheeler; she was a teenage
runaway from San Francisco..."
Hannah squeezed Matt's hand while Mrs. Parsons continued. "Apparently the mother was a drug addict.
She stayed clean through the pregnancy, but took an overdose of drugs early one morning last week. On
Thursday morning she showed up at Los Robles Medical Center, barely alive. Her baby was on her lap
and-"
"Dear God, it can't be..." Hannah's hand flew to her mouth and she hung her head, her mind spinning. It
was a dream; it had to be. The baby, the one she'd loved through the most defining moment of his life,
couldn't possibly be the one Mrs. Parsons was talking about.
261 Could it?
"I'm...I'm not sure I follow you, Mrs. Bronzan."
"Thursday morning? At Los Robles Medical Center?"
"Yes. His mother died in the emergency room. He's been in foster care ever since. I've checked out his
background, and he has no one. Late Friday afternoon, the judge made him a ward of the court and cleared
him for adoption."
Matt leaned back, searching Hannah's face for clues. She held
up a single finger and closed her eyes. She had to hear it for herself
before she could tell Matt. "He...he was wet. He needed a diaper
and a blanket and a bottle."
Mrs. Parsons paused. "Who?"
"The baby I was there that day. I held him while his mother
died in the next room. I prayed for him and sang to him and told
him everything would be okay I wanted to take him home and
never let him have another day like that again in his life."
There was a long pause, and when the social worker spoke, Hannah could hear the tears in her voice.
"Then I guess God really does answer prayers. Yours and Milly Wheeler's."
Hannah moved her chair beside Matt's and rested her forehead on his shoulder as her tears soaked through
his shirt. "What did Milly Wheeler pray?"
Mrs. Parsons cleared her throat. "She prayed her son would