Chapter 18:Hope

Suddenly, there was hope. My heart thrilled with possibility, a miracle? ―You

mean...you're saying the baby would still be genetically mine, right?‖ Dr. Rasheed

nodded his head.

I was over the moon with joy. ―Amazing! That's wonderful! Let's do it.‖

―Okay. Find your Donor and remember it won't be easy for her. She has to go through

the same kind of rigorous testing, medications and surgery that you go through. A good

place to start looking might be among your family, your sisters and cousins.‖

I don't know why, but right away my sister's face, Tina, flashed into my mind. ―Thank

you, Doctor; I think I know who I can ask. I'll be in touch.‖

I left my doctor's office, picked up Abbey from the receptionist who was keeping an eye

on her and walked to the car, feeling like I was floating on air.

As we started out onto the highway, I glanced over to Abbey. ―You know what, my Love,

we are going to Scranton to find Auntie Tina. We haven't seen her in years, and I'm not

sure if she still lives in the same place, but that's where we will go.‖

―Oh, fun, Mummy. I'll be Nancy Drew, and we'll find her. Can I be Nancy Drew,

Mummy?‖

I chuckled; it might be handy to have a super sleuth to help track down Tina, I thought.

―Of course, you can, Nancy Drew. You're just the one I need to help me find Auntie

Tina.‖

On the drive to Rhode Island, I thought a lot about Tina, our lives together, her life after

she left home pregnant at 16, and the years between that had passed so quickly. Of all my

siblings, Tina had always been my favorite. We shared a special bond. I would do

anything for her. I wondered if she would be willing to help me now. It had been a long

time since we had seen each other.

She was the youngest of us all; Uncle Steve's third child with Ma. Some might refer to

her as my half-sister, but she was like a full sister to me, and because of the common

DNA threads of our fathers being brothers, whom I mentioned in the opening pages,

scientifically she was as much as 85 or 90 percent my full sister. It seems silly

mentioning it again, but I am still fascinated by the extraordinary circumstances that are

the causation of the DNA speculation. Whatever, we were very, very close despite the

sixteen years difference in our ages. Sometimes, it almost seemed like she was my child.

I loved taking care of her.

Tina's adult life has been turbulent, that's for sure. She was sixteen when her first child

was born, Andrew, who is now 18 as I write this. The twins came along 2 years later. The

father of the twins was an alcoholic and a no hoper, but I have to say that his daughters

were two of the most beautiful girls I'd ever laid eyes on, next to my own, of course.

Tina has always been a single parent. She has a ton of guts and has really done her best

for the children without any help from their father. He has rarely given her one penny for child support, ever. We helped out when we could, but she was fiercely independent and

usually reluctant to accept help. She put herself through nursing school and graduated as

a registered nurse.

Moving to Rhode Island was a huge decision. It was totally a selfless act on her part

because she went there for her children's education. She knew that as single working

mother, she would never have the money to send her children to a decent school,

however, by moving to Rhode Island, especially Scranton, and after living there for two

years, the children qualified to go to the Academy for free. This was the only way that

Tina could afford to give her kids a decent education and the opportunity to ever to

amount to anything. Talk about guts. She had it in spades.

As hard as Tina tried, Andrew and the twins hated Rhode Island. They went to the

academy, but all three of them ended up leaving for various reasons. As tough as she was,

the constant struggle of being the sole income earner along with raising her troubled

children gradually wore her down. She went into a depression and kind of isolated. She

wouldn't return phone calls, and finally we rarely had any contact. Most news of Tina

came through Ma, which was how I learned she was working in a hospital and at the time

living with some guy named Jimmy in her trailer park home.

I called the hospital and left messages without telling her what I wanted, but she didn't

call back. I thought about giving up, but Abbey wouldn't let me.

―Please, Mummy, we have to find her. Let's go there. I know Nancy Drew could find

her.‖

―She's not calling me back, my Love. I'm not sure I can remember where they live.

Besides, she might not want to see us.‖

―She does, I know she does. She loves us, and I love her. don't you love her, Mummy?

She is your own sister. She would want to help you, if you asked her.‖

―Of course, I love her. She is my favorite sister, and you're right, Abbey, she would want

to help me.‖

We arrived in Scranton around noon after a three hour drive from Syracuse. It was

summer, and the weather was beautiful.

―I think before we start looking for Auntie Tina we should stop in at the maple store,

Nancy Drew. What do you think?‖

―Oh, yes please, Mummy.‖ Abbey's face was beaming as she clapped her hands

excitedly.

An hour later and still sucking on maple candies, we were turning into the first of

Scranton's motor home parks.

―This doesn't look very familiar,‖ I said as the first signs of the anxiety I was feeling

crept into my voice.

―No, Mummy, this is not it. It's not far from where you can see the hospital on the hill.

don't you remember?