A Family Connection
by
Louisa Martin Stanley was sitting at the kitchen table, a stack of file folders and papers spread out in front of her. She looked up and smiled when her husband, Hank, came through the front door.
"How was your shift, honey?" she asked.
"Pretty quiet," answered Hank, leaning down for a kiss. He gestured to the papers covering the table. "What's all this stuff?"
"Some old papers that Mrs. Johnson sent down for me. When I told her that I was thinking about writing a history of their ranch, she contacted the local library and they sent this down."
"You mean like newspaper clippings and that kind of thing?" asked Hank as he poured a cup of coffee.
"Mostly, but there's a few property agreements and old deeds in here, too," replied Louisa , sorting through the piles. She grinned and held up a yellowed parchment document. "Look at this, honey. It's the original homestead-claim certificate for the land."
Hank carefully took the paper and studied it. "Amazing," he commented. He handed back the document then picked up a thick folder and opened it. "Is this the Johnson family tree?"
"Yup," said Louisa . "It dates all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Have you ever thought of researching your family's history?"
"My Mom started to a few years before she died. I think it's in a trunk up in the attic," said Hank. "I packed it away with the rest of her belongings after the funeral."
"I wish I could have known her, Hank. That way, I could thank her for raising a wonderful son," grinned Louisa .
"She would have loved you, sweetheart. You're a lot like her. Stubborn, sassy, a good cook, and a great mother," replied Hank.
"Stubborn, huh?" teased Louisa . "Now I know where you get your stubborn streak from."
"I get that from my father's side of the family. At least that's what Mom always told me," grinned the Captain. "I'd say I got an equal portion from both sides, myself."
The young woman sighed wistfully. "I always wondered what my birth parents were like," she said softly. "I was three years old when they placed me with the agency, but I don't really remember much about them."
"Are they still living?" asked Hank, refilling his cup.
"I'm not sure. I didn't have any contact with them after they have me up. I wonder if the adoption agency still has my records?"
"Would Maria have anything like that?"
"She has my birth certificate," replied the young woman. "It might have the names of my parents on it. I never really looked that closely."
"Well, why don't you go over and get it, sweetheart? I can watch the twins for a few hours."
"Great idea!" exclaimed Louisa . "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do some research on my birth parents, either. You know, just to see if any medical problems run in the family."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
An hour later, Louisa was pouring over a stack of papers Mrs. Lopez gave her. " Mami , did the people at the agency tell you anything at all about my parents?" she asked.
"Not really," answered Maria . "I suppose we could call them and see if they still have your file. Why this sudden interest in your family?"
"I was looking over the family tree Mrs. Johnson sent down and thought it would help to know if any diseases run in my birth family, just in case."
Mrs. Lopez flipped through the papers, finally finding the adoption agency's address and phone number. She handed it to her daughter and smiled. "I do remember that your case worker was Katherine Sutton . I don't even know if she still works there, though."
"It's worth a shot, Mami . I'll always consider you and Papi my parents, but I can't help being curious."
"I understand, dear. Go ahead and call from here."
"Okay," answered Louisa . She picked up the phone and dialed the number on the paper she was holding. "Hello? Yes, I'm trying to locate one of your social workers. Her name is Katherine Sutton . Is she still there? She is? Wonderful. Can you connect me, please?" The young woman flashed her mother a thumbs-up sign. "Hello, Ms. Sutton ? My name is Louisa Stanley . You handled my case when I was adopted by Armando and Maria Lopez in Los Angeles , California about 12 years ago. No, nothing's wrong, I'm just trying to locate my adoption records. Yes, I could fly out there. Yes, ma'am, thank you." Louisa turned and hung up the telephone. "She said she would dig them out of storage, but I'll have to go to St. Louis to pick them up."
"Would you like me to go with you, honey? They might need me to sign a release or something," said Maria .
"I never thought of that, Mami . I'll call the airport when I get home and book us a flight."
The young woman gathered up the stack of papers and left. When she got home, she told her husband about her phone call to the adoption agency. Louisa then called the airline and booked two tickets on the next flight to St. Louis .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
St. Louis , Missouri .
Louisa and Maria walked into the adoption agency. Louisa was clutching a folder containing the records Maria had found. She approached the reception desk and asked to see Ms. Sutton .
Ten minutes later, the two women were ushering into a spacious office. A woman sat at the desk, looking up when they entered the room.
" Mrs. Stanley ? I'm Katherine Sutton . Please have a seat."
"Thank you. This is my mother, Maria Lopez ," said Louisa . "Were you able to locate my file?" she asked nervously.
"Yes, I was. Mrs. Stanley , I looked at your records and found your original birth certificate." Ms. Sutton removed a yellowed document from the folder and handed it across the desk.
Louisa scanned the paper, trying to find her birth mother's name. The ink was faded and hard to read, but she finally found the correct line. " Constance Weber ," she read. "And my father's name was Samuel ." She looked up. "Do you know if they are still alive?"
"It's not our policy to keep track of our clients, Mrs. Stanley . We have an address for the Webers in this area, but I have no idea if they still live there."
"Do you have a phone book, Ms. Sutton ?" asked Maria . "There might be a listing in there."
Katherine Sutton nodded and opened a drawer. She pulled out a thick book and laid in on the desk. Louisa thumbed through it, scanning the lists of names, but found no listing for neither Samuel or Constance Weber . "They probably moved a long time ago," she said, trying to hide her disappointment. "I knew it was a long shot anyway."
" Mrs. Stanley , many adopted children search for their birth parents. Sometimes things work out, but I've seen many of these cases end in heartbreak," cautioned the social worker.
"I understand. Will you release my records?" asked Louisa . "I'm not saying I want a relationship with my birth parents, but I would like to know where I came from."
"I'll need you sign some forms first, but the file is yours. I wish you luck in your search." She handed the young woman a form to sign, then handed her the thick file.
"Thank you, Ms. Sutton . I appreciate your help," said Louisa , getting up. "I'll leave you my address and phone number in case you find anything else pertaining to my case." She gestured to her mother and they left, carrying the thick sheaf of adoption records.
Katherine waited until the women were out of hearing range, then picked up the phone and dialed a number. She tapped her fingers impatiently on her desk blotter as she waited for someone to answer.
" Connie ? It's Katie . Your daughter was just here, asking for her records. No, no, I didn't tell her where you are. She's living in Los Angeles , just like your son. From her name, I'd say she got married. Louisa Stanley . She left her address and phone number. Okay, I'll send it you the information. No, I have no idea why she's looking for you and Sam . All right, let me know if there's anything else I can do." Ms. Sutton replaced the receiver and leaned back in her chair, a thin smile tugging at her lips. " Mrs. Stanley , you have no idea the can of worms you're stirring up," she muttered to herself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A few days later, Louisa had read her entire file, but was no closer to learning anything new about her birth parents.
"This is hopeless, Hank," muttered Louisa in frustration. " Mami and I talked to a few people in St. Louis , but no one seemed to know anything about my parents."
"Give it time, honey," said Hank, hiding an amused smile. "It's not they're going to just pop up out of nowhere, you know."
"Yeah, I realize that, but everyone I talked to either didn't know anything, or they gave me a strange look. Even Ms. Sutton wasn't much help."
"Why don't you concentrate on my family tree for a while? I've got some pretty good stories about my parents and grandparents," said the Captain.
"Really? Like what?"
Hank leaned back in his chair and grinned. "There was this one time, my Dad and I went hunting out in Pennsylvania . He knew a guy out there who offered to let us use his cabin for a couple of weeks. There we were, two men who had never cooked a meal in our lives, trying to come up with something edible. After about three days, we gave up and bought a case of canned ravioli so we wouldn't starve to death. To this day, I can't even look at that stuff."
Louisa burst out laughing. "I'd pay a million dollars to have seen that, honey. What were you hunting for, anyways?"
"Wild turkeys," replied Hank. "We heard a lot of them, but never actually saw one until the day before we left. Dad took a shot at it, but missed it by a mile. So, we ended up buying one from another hunter and told Mom that we shot it. She made a fuss over it, but I'm pretty sure she knew what really happened."
"Wild turkeys may not be the most intelligent birds, but their eyesight is incredible. Richard Johnson and I used to go out into the hills behind the ranch and look for them. He used to tell me that the reason they had spurs on their feet was so they could climb trees. He claimed that is how they got up there to roost at night." Louisa chuckled at the memory. "I remember one time we were out in the woods before dawn, and a turkey flew out of a tree almost on top of us. If we hadn't ducked, we would have gotten a faceful of feathers!"
"You mean they can't climb trees?" teased Hank. "I always thought they could."
"Very funny, hose jockey," giggled Louisa . "Some of my favorite memories of the ranch are going hunting with the old man. We'd spend all day tracking game, and just enjoying the peace and quiet. Those were good times," she said wistfully.
"Maybe we could go up and you could do that again, sweetheart. A nice, juicy venison roast sounds real good right now."
"No, thank you," said Louisa . "After all that mess with Tom , I've lost my taste for shooting anything !"
"Still, a trip to Montana would be fun," persisted the Captain. "I have two weeks of vacation time I need to use up." He grinned slyly. "It would also give you a chance to do some digging into the local archives about the ranch."
Louisa speared her husband with a look. "You think you're pretty smart, don't you, hose jockey?" she teased. "All right, let's do it. Let's go to Montana . Maybe Mami and Marco would like to go with us. We could make it a family vacation!"
"Why don't you call your mother and ask her? Marco said he would be stopping by later, so you can talk to him about the trip when he gets here."
"Maybe you can talk Richard into taking you hunting, too, honey. But remember, you kill it, you clean it!" said Louisa , shaking a finger at her husband playfully.
"Just as long as you don't ask me to cook it!" shot back Hank. "Not unless you like the taste of ashes."
Louisa laughed and picked up the phone to call Maria . When the Latino woman heard about the Stanley 's plans, she said that she would be delighted to join them. Marco had a similar reaction. The two firemen immediately left to go to Headquarters to speak with Chief McConikee and schedule their time off.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Two Weeks Later
Louisa pulled into the Desoto's driveway and parked. As she and Maria climbed out of the car, Joanne Desoto came out of the house, a broad smile on her pretty face.
"Hi, Jo ," called Louisa , as she opened the back door and removed her son from his car seat. "Are you sure you don't mind watching the twins while Hank and I are in Montana ?"
"Are you kidding?" replied Joanne . "I'm looking forward to it. It will be good practice."
Louisa raised a questioning eyebrow. "Practice for what?" she asked. Her mouth dropped open as she realized what her friend was saying. "Oh my God !" she gasped. You're having another baby?"
Joanne 's expression was answer enough. "In about another seven months, Chris and Jennifer will have a baby brother or sister," confirmed the petite brunette.
"That's wonderful news," said Maria . "How did Roy take the news?"
"Once he got over the shock, he was ecstatic!" answered Jo . "We've always talked about having more children, but this came as a complete surprise. We haven't even been trying."
Louisa handed Matthew to her mother and reached out to hug her friend. "I'm so happy for you guys!" she squealed. "No wonder Roy had that goofy smile on his face yesterday."
"Looks like our little firehouse family is expanding again," chuckled Maria . "Before long, Marco might even be joining the fatherhood club, if everything works out."
Louisa chuckled. "The way he's been walking around lately, Mami , I can believe that." Seeing Joanne 's confused expression, she elaborated. "My big brother finally found himself a girlfriend. Her name is Cheryl . They met a couple months ago in the park, while Marco was babysitting."
"That's wonderful," said Joanne . " Marco deserves a very special lady. Now if only we could marry off Johnny and Chet."
The women laughed. "Chet is dating someone, but I don't think it's that serious," replied Louisa with a grin. "He only talks about her about half the time."
Half an hour later, Louisa and Maria parked in front of the fire station and went inside. Both vehicles were gone, leaving the station deserted except for Henry , the firehouse mascot. The basset hound was snoozing peacefully on the sofa, but woke up when the women came in. He wagged his tail in greeting, panting happily.
"Hey there, Henry ," greeted Louisa , bending down to scratch the dog's ears. "It's a good thing we're not here to rob the place. You're certainly not a watchdog," she joked.
Henry gazed at her mournfully and rolled over to resume his nap. The women laughed out loud and sat down at the table. A few minutes later, a loud rumbling signaled the return of the squad and engine.
"Looks like you guys have been busy this morning," said Maria as the men trooped into the room, looking completely exhausted. Hank muttered something unintelligible and flopped down on the sofa next to Henry . Johnny filled the coffeepot and put in on the stove to brew.
"Rough call?" asked Louisa . "You look beat."
"We've been out since 3 o'clock this morning," answered Mike Stoker . "It was a bad one. An old hotel out on the east side went up like a tinderbox."
"Was anyone hurt?" questioned Maria .
"Yeah, a bunch of homeless people were using the building as a shelter. No one was killed, but we treated a lot of burns and smoke inhalation. Dr. Brackett said everyone will be okay, though," replied Roy , wiping soot from his face.
Louisa smiled and patted the tired paramedic on the shoulder. "I'm glad, Roy . By the way, congratulations on the baby. Joanne told me when Mami and I dropped off the twins."
Roy grinned. "Thanks. I can't wait to be a father again. Chris and Jenny were pretty excited when we told them."
"I'll bet they were. All right, hose jockey," she said, turning around and looking at her husband. "Get your butt in gear and get cleaned up. I want to be on the road within the hour."
Hank stood up and stretched. "Yes, dear. Slave driver," he chuckled.
"That goes for you, too, Marco ," she continued. "Don't worry; we plan on stopping for breakfast before we get too far." She shot her brother a sly look. "Don't forget to call Cheryl before we leave, too."
The Latino fireman blushed to the roots of his hair. "I, uh, called her last night, Lou . She said that she'll miss me, and not to get into any trouble while we're in Montana ."
"Us? Get in trouble?" joked Louisa . "Not me, big brother. I'm completely domesticated now. I'll behave myself."
"Before I forget," put in Johnny , "I have some things for you to give Grandfather. They're in my locker. Be right back." The dark haired paramedic dashed out of the room and shortly returned, carrying a beaded leather bag.
"What have you got in here, Johnny ? Rocks?" asked Louisa , taking the bag. "This is almost as heavy as my suitcase."
"Just some wood carvings I made, and a few other things," answered Gage .
"Have you had any more luck finding your birth parents, Lou ?" cut in Chet Kelly .
"Not really, Chet, but I did find out their names. Constance and Samuel Weber ," she said.
Mike Stoker froze, almost spilling the coffee he was pouring. His eyes widened and he abruptly put down his cup and left the dayroom.
"What's his problem?" wondered Roy , staring after his co-worker in surprise.
Alone in the dorm, Stoker reached under his mattress and pulled out a faded letter. He quickly scanned the words, his eyes settling on the signature. He quickly hid the document when Hank entered the room and started to dress.
"Something wrong, Michael ?" asked the Captain as he buttoned his shirt. "You look a little pale."
"No, Cap, I'm fine," answered the engineer. "Have a good time on your trip, sir." He pushed open the door and almost ran out to his truck. Stoker slid behind the wheel and sat staring off into space.
"It can't be possible," he whispered. "No way in Hell ."