The Giveaway

He watched the young lady tearfully hand over her baby to the new parents who would adopt the baby. The Young Lady peered at the man standing just outside her room. He had such distinct facial features, she thought, noting the chiseled cheeks, his deep blue recessed eyes, and scruffy beard.

As she watched, The Tall Man started to write something in his little black book. When they accidentally made eye contact, she quickly turned away; when she looked again, he was gone.

The Young Lady was hidden as soon as her pregnancy began to show. She would be the talk of the town, the disgrace of her family – even though she did not willingly participate in becoming pregnant. Certainly, in this era though, a young woman would be stigmatized for having a child out of wedlock – even though he forced himself upon her.

She had no choice but to put the baby up for adoption. Tears streamed down her face as she signed the final papers - Theresa, she named her baby… and then handed her daughter away.

The Young Lady looked intently at the couple and at her daughter, perhaps trying to imprint the memory like a photograph in her mind. March 13 - a day The Young Lady would never forget - Theresa’s birthday and her taken-away day.

At the Christening

It was a lovely christening. Mother and Father, the adoptive parents of The Young Lady’ baby, were thrilled to finally become parents. Friends and family knew The Parents passionately wanted a child – and the christening would be a grand celebration to show it.

Her parents liked and kept the name that The Young Lady had chosen for their baby, Theresa, named after Saint Therese, nicknamed “The Little Flower of Jesus.”

Among those at the church was The Young Lady. She was so honored that The Parents allowed her to attend the christening, to at least be able to see her daughter being dedicated to God. The Young Lady promised to keep her distance and then leave their lives forever.

As the Young Lady looked around the church, she saw him… The Tall Man from the hospital. Curious if he was friends of The Parents, she asked if they knew him; neither did. When The Tall Man realized the three people were looking at him, he made a quick escape out the doors.

At First Holy Communion

A few years later, Theresa and her parents had finally been able to move from an inner-city apartment to a house with a yard in the suburbs. The serenity of the suburbs took a bit of getting used to, but Theresa could play outside in her yard… and did so often. Many a day, Theresa would lay in her backyard looking up at the clouds, trying to see objects in the shapes of the fluff in the sky.

Running outside, finally finding Theresa, her mother scolded her for almost getting grass stains on her First Communion Dress. Theresa’s hair was every which way and the dark dirt stood out from the knees of her new white tights. They scurried in to get ready – again. As Theresa got into clean tights, her mother brushed her hair into a pony tail. Mother then licked her thumb and rubbed the dirt streak from Theresa’s face. As Theresa complained, her mother reminded her daughter that she had been cleaned up once already.

Father was waiting at the car. Standing proud, he opened the car door for his wife and his daughter. Today would be a blessed day.

The church glimmered as the children wore their ceremonial white communion outfits, lined up and ready to walk down the long red carpet that adorned the aisle. Family, friends, and congregants filled the pews. The old people noted that these children would one day grow up to be leaders of the church; so proud to see so many children methodically walk down the aisle to their assigned seats.

That’s when she noticed him… that man, with the recessed eyes and the chiseled cheeks, looking down as he wrote something in a small black book… Mother was certain she had seen him somewhere before. She faintly remembered the set-back eyes and his strong cheek bones – he was noteworthy. Mother pondered and stewed…. And then remembered where she had seen this man before – at Theresa’s christening!

THIS was the man The Young Lady asked if we knew! “Why is he here,” she thought, “we moved more than 50 miles from where we last saw him. How did he find us?” she anxiously asked herself.

Mother told Father her concern, who really paid it no mind. The church was a public place where everyone is welcome to attend any time they wish. “So, he coincidentally appears, both times, at two different churches, 50 miles apart?” she reminded him. He hushed her as the organ began and the children processed down the aisle. Seeing the children’s processional, completely erased thoughts of anything else. The Tall Man was quickly forgotten about.

At the Ballet

Years passed. Today would be a special day – Theresa would perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the local production of the Nutcracker. She looked beautiful with her hair in a high bun, her light purple bell tutu with so many sequins. With a little bit of trepidation, the Prima Ballerina and her family headed off for the production.

The auditorium was buzzing with excitement; people taking pictures of the girls radiant in their outfits and the boys in costumes of around the world. As Mother was looking to see friends she knew in the crowd, she stopped suddenly and took notice of a man making notes in a little black book… and taking pictures of Theresa! When he looked up, she tried to place where she recognized him from, “His eyes – they just looked so familiar….”

During the Battle Scene between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Theresa’s mother remembered exactly where she had seen this tall man with such distinct facial features – at Theresa’s christening AND her First Holy Communion. Why was he at the same place as are are…again? At intermission, Mother and Father tried to move quickly through the sea of people who flooded the auditorium; once again, he disappeared.

At Graduation

It was a shining moment, graduation. The students looked so grown up. “Wasn’t it just yesterday that they were in pre-school,” Mother mused. Father noticed how tall the boys had all grown – far taller than any of the girls; he remembered when the boys and girls were all roughly the same size.

Watching for Theresa’s grandparents, Mother and Father frequently scanned the auditorium. Mother could NOT believe her eyes. Although certainly aged, THAT man… the one with the recessed eyes and chiseled cheeks who always showed up at major events, was here AGAIN. Theresa was graduating, two towns away, from St. Rose High School, not the public school in their town. How could he possibly have known she was graduating and WHY was he here?

Now Mother was furious. She was determined to get to the bottom of his business. … and then the music started. The crowd rose to their feet; parents and family members beamed with pride as the graduates promenaded to their seats. This time, though, she would not get distracted. She was determined to end this.

At the end of the ceremony, watching the graduates parade out the door – Mother and The Tall Man made eye contact! “FINALLY!” she thought. She held up her hand motioning with one finger to wait.

She was shocked that he acknowledged her – even more shocked that he nodded his head in agreement.

Theresa made her way through the auditorium to meet her parents, as the man started walking towards them. Mother pushed Theresa beside her father, placing herself between her daughter and this man that had stalked them at all their major events. Mother started throwing all of the questions she had for decades: “Why were you following us?” “What do you want with Theresa?” “Why us?” and so on.

Finally, when Mother ran out of breath, The Tall Man asked if he may speak to Theresa. Of course, Mother’s first instinct was “Absolutely not!” Father, being the voice of reason, reminded his wife and daughter that they were in an auditorium full of people - nothing bad could happen. Hesitantly, they all shifted positions so The Tall Man could speak directly to her.

“Theresa, your mother – your birth mother,” he corrected himself, “hired me.” Suddenly a SLEW of emotions boiled up in Mother and just as she was about to unleash them, he continued. “She always loved you – she never stopped loving you. She PROMISED your parents that she would keep her distance and stay out of your lives – and that is what she did. She hired me to give her updates on milestones of your life. I did not mean to scare you, but I was obligated to not tell who I was working for.”

“So why are you telling us now?” Father firmly asked, as Mother was still trying to get her emotions under control.

“I am telling Theresa,” The Man corrected Father. “Because you are 18 now, Theresa, you are an adult and are able to begin to search through adoptions records. I will, however, save you the trouble. Your mother died not long after your performance in The Nutcracker.”

By now, Theresa and her parents were juggling the plethora of emotions running rampant in their heads.

The Tall Man handed Theresa a box. “Please open it so that I may explain its contents.”

With tears in her eyes, as she lifted the lid, she saw… a little black book. Inquisitively, she looked to the man for an explanation. “This is the notebook I wrote about your milestones for your mother. I gave her as many details as I could about you and your big day. In turn, she wrote the message about that day that she wished she could have given you.”

Theresa could no longer hold the tears back; Mother and Father wept with her. Such a dear thoughtful gift to their daughter – all three parents, the one who gave her birth and the two who gave her a good life.

He proceeded. “There is something else inside that box for you.” As Theresa opened the envelope, she saw a graduation card, the man recognized the confused look on her face. “Please read the note inside.”

“Dearest Theresa,” the card began. “You are reading this because you have graduated from high school today. I am so proud of you. I wish I could have been there in person with you, but please know I am with you every moment - from heaven.”

By now the tears were uncontrollable and Theresa’s ugly sob started; the man waited a minute or so, asked if she was okay, and asked if he could continue. Theresa could only nod her head.

Theresa could not imagine what ELSE could POSSIBLY be given to her. Theresa briefly pondered her birth mother, who had given her the gift of life. But… the journal - showing Theresa that although her birth mother may have given her up, her birth mother never gave up on her. What else could there be?

The man handed Theresa a long, thin piece of paper, folded in half. He had come to expect Theresa’s confused look, so he explained: “Theresa, your mother had wanted to be a part of your life; but she honored the agreement with your parents not to be. She wanted to contribute to your well-being and took out a life insurance policy with you as the sole beneficiary. Theresa, this is a check for $20,000.”

People in the auditorium rushed to the three loudly-crying people, and tried to understand the words between sobs… but soon understood those were happy tears.

Today was an exceptional day.