FORGET ME NOT (Mark Kane Mysteries Book One) Read Online Free PDF

just one of those things. I
know that Gloria felt that maybe she was being punished for giving
her own child up for adoption, but of course that’s silly. Still, I
think Gloria felt that she was responsible in some way. Not that it
mattered in the grand scheme of things; our children were always
treated the same as if they were our blood. But…”
    There was a long pause while he thought about
how to phrase what he wanted to say. I waited patiently. Eventually
he sighed deeply and said, “But we never told the boys about
Susan.”
    “Until when?”
    “The boys were never told that their mother
had an illegitimate daughter who was adopted. I mean it isn’t
something that’s easy to deal with. It’s easy to be wise after the
event, but there never seemed any need to tell them. I’m sure that
as the years passed it never occurred to Gloria that she would ever
hear from her adopted daughter; it certainly never occurred to me.
It was a chapter in their mother’s life which was closed the day
that Gloria agreed to marry me.”
    Greg leaned forward, picked up his coffee and
took a sip. He sat back in his chair, his legs stretched out in
front of him and crossed at the ankles. He arched his hands,
placing his finger and thumb tips together.
    “As the adoptive father of two boys you’ll be
well aware of the problems associated with closed adoptions,” I
said. “As you know the original birth certificate is sealed by the
court and the amended certificate doesn’t reveal the names of the
natural parents.”
    “I know about the limitations imposed by the
legislature on disclosing the original birth mother and father,
yes. Fortunately no problems arose in relation to our children
because their birth mother and father had already passed away
before their adoption. I don’t need to go into the details. Suffice
to say that both boys knew from an early age who their birth
parents were, and they never had any reason to want to see
documentation to prove it.”
    “What it means in this case is that it may be
difficult to find a probative genetic link between Susan and
Gloria,” I said, “and it would be unreasonable to ask Susan to
prove it because she won’t be able to. Assuming she has a copy of
the amended birth certificate that will establish where and when
she was born, of course. Do you happen to know where Gloria gave
birth to her illegitimate daughter?”
    “I know she was living on the West Coast
before she met me, but we never discussed where the birth had taken
place. Let me tell you the story; I’ll try to keep it as brief as
possible.”
    I sat back on the sofa and studied his face
as he framed the account in his mind so as to keep it relevant and
succinct. He tilted his head back and briefly closed his eyes,
journeying back in time, before continuing.
    “I met Gloria in Vermont in the early
seventies. She was living with her parents then. We were both in
our early twenties and both single. About a year after I met Gloria
I asked her to marry me. It was then that she told me about her
daughter. She told me she simply couldn’t accept my proposal
without my knowing the truth. Her daughter had been born about
three years before that. She had planned to marry the father, but
he went missing in action. She couldn’t cope by herself and
believed that the child would have a better life if she was
adopted. She went through the usual court proceedings I suppose,
but she never told me where the birth had taken place, nor the
exact date. She didn’t tell me who the adoptive parents were
either. I didn’t ask her for any of these details because it was
the fact of the birth, not the details, that was important. I know
her daughter’s date of birth now, though; it’s mentioned in
Gloria’s will.”
    I nodded to show that I was still alive but
didn’t say anything to interrupt him.
    “For my part I assured Gloria that it made no
difference to my feelings for her and I said that as far as I was
concerned the