Before I could ask for a Coke, though, the lawyer left. I wondered if India would mind if I shared her water.
I could tell she was nervous. She sat with her shoulders hunched forward and her hands clasped in her lap. Her eyes were open wide, and she was blinking rapidly.
Mike returned to the conference room. “My assistant will bring your water right in.” He looked at me. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”
“If you have a Coke, that would be great,” I said.
“Sure,” the lawyer said, and left again.
India gave me a slightly exasperated look.
“What?” I asked.
“Why didn’t you just ask for a drink the first time he asked?”
“I wasn’t thirsty then.”
Mike returned and took a seat across the table from us. “You’re interested in a domestic adoption,” he said.
“I think so,” India said, glancing at me. I nodded encouragingly. “To be honest, we’re just starting to look into adoption.”
“There are a lot of factors to consider. So many it can be overwhelming,” Mike said.
“Yes,” India and I said together.
India hesitated. “I’ve heard that it can take a long time to find a birth mother,” she said.
“It depends. There’s no hard-and-fast rule, but I’d say that normallyit can take anywhere from nine to eighteen months,” Mike said.
India let out her breath. “That seems like a long time,” she said. “I mean, I know you don’t have a nursery full of babies here in the law firm—”
Mike chuckled. “No, I don’t. That would make things easier, wouldn’t it?”
“I just didn’t know it would take so long,” India said.
“It might not,” Mike said. “It all comes down to the birth mother. One who thinks you two are the perfect adoptive parents could walk in here tomorrow. Or it could take quite a bit longer. There’s no science to it. All I can say is that for a standard adoptive couple—and by standard, I mean there aren’t any other issues we have to deal with—the average waiting time is usually around nine to eighteen months.”
“Would you mind telling us a bit about your background?” India asked.
While Mike outlined his experience (extensive) and the services that he offered (finding a birth mother, taking care of the necessary paperwork, clearing any legal impediments that might spring up along the way), Mike’s assistant came in with the drinks. She placed the bottle of water in front of me and the glass of Coke in front of India. India, who was listening intently to Mike, didn’t seem to notice the mistake, and took a sip out of my soda. When she put it back down, I quickly switched our drinks and then guzzled my Coke.
“Do you have any questions?” Mike asked, after he’d been talking for what seemed like an inordinately long time.
India looked at me expectantly. I tried to think of something intelligent and insightful to ask.
“Can you give us a basic overview of the process?” I asked.
India gave me an approving look. Excellent. I was acing Lawyer Interviewing 101.
“First you’ll fill out a placement profile for me. It has a number of detailed questions about your tolerance for various situations. For example, if you want to work only with birth mothers who don’t have health issues and whether you’re comfortable staying in touch with the birth mother after the adoption is finalized,” Mike said.
“What do you mean by ‘staying in touch’?” India asked quickly.
“Almost all private adoptions are open these days. That basically means that the birth mother knows who you are, and vice versa. Some birth mothers want it stipulated in the contract that they will get updates and pictures. Some even have it written into the adoption contract that they will be allowed to see the child at set intervals,” Mike explained.
India and I exchanged a nervous look.
“But other birth mothers prefer not to stay in touch. They find it easier to move on with their lives that way. And you get a say in it, too, of
Lauraine Snelling, Alexandra O'Karm