“Honey, trying to get my Sid to do anything social has been like pulling teeth. He is such a homebody. After work, he opens a beer and stays in front of that television box until it’s time for bed.”
“But he’s always liked spending time with Bert. Let’s pick a Sunday afternoon so they can watch the baseball game.”
“I’ll put it on our calendar.”
The waitress returned with the pots of tea.
“But how are you, darling? You seem so busy.”
Ethel poured cream into her teacup. “I had an interesting visitor right before Christmas,” and then she told Julia about Sophia. How the girl just showed up on her doorstep only to uncover the huge mistake that Ethel had made. Fresh shame and guilt washed over her. “Words can’t describe how terrible I feel.”
“Honey, you did the best you could. If it wasn’t for you, those children would be stuck in Germany in an orphanage. God only knows what would have happened to them.”
“But it was my responsibility to get them here, sorted and safe.”
“And you did that, even left your own children behind to bring them across the Atlantic Ocean.”
“But a switch in identity? I should have been more careful. She’s been celebrating the wrong birthday, for goodness’ sake. Can you imagine what that must be like? To find out that you have gone through your whole life as another person?”
“You said she was a teenager, which means she still has her whole life ahead of her. This is just a tiny blip in the big picture.” Julia reached for her hand. “Now, stop this. If my memory serves me right, I talked you into taking that flight with the children to New York. Any chaos that ensued, you can blame it on me.”
But Ethel had stewed in her private shame for so long, now that she had voiced it to Julia, she couldn’t stop the words that bubbled tothe surface. “Do you know about all the phone calls and letters that I’ve received from parents over the years? People have even accused me of rushing the process of the proxy adoptions. Condemned me for not vetting the families properly. I could handle that from unhappy adults, but this is different. She’s a child.” Ethel’s bottom lip quivered.
“You did your best.”
“Stop saying that and just admit it. I made a damn mess!” she hissed, and Julia’s head whipped back.
“Ethel Louise Gathers, I have never in my life heard you swear. That’s my job, to cuss people out. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and allow you to cuss yourself, especially when I know that you have a heart of gold.” Julia reached into her purse and snapped her handkerchief in Ethel’s direction.
While Ethel dabbed her eyes and blew her nose, she muttered, “I’m so sorry for my outburst. I don’t know what just came over me.” Her chest heaved up and down as she looked around to see if anyone was watching, but no one even blinked in their direction.
“Stop apologizing. You’re human, and you are entitled to your feelings. But feelings are not facts.” Julia brushed a hair out of Ethel’s eye. “The bottom line is that you have always fought for those children abandoned in Germany. And heck, for the German mothers who couldn’t keep their babies, and the American mothers who couldn’t have their own. You’ve changed the face of history.”
“Oh, Julia.” Ethel felt her cheeks warm.
“Honey, I am certain that when it’s your time, all of heaven will be right there to meet you at the pearly gates.”
“Stop trying to make me smile.”
Julia cocked her head. “Shucks, I’ll be first in line petitioning the pope to start the canonization process. I’ve already picked out your name: St. Sarah.”
Ethel shook her head, and her lips turned up in a half grin. “You are too much.”
“I’m serious. What does this girl expect you to do?”
Ethel let out a long sigh and then took a sip of her tea. “I’ve reached out to Sister Ursula to see if she can dig up any information. Sophia is set on finding her birth mother.”
“Well, that’s all you can do.”
Then Ethel told Julia that the girl was only a sophomore in high school and had tracked her down through the telephone book. “She has chutzpah, that’s for sure, and I’m going to help her make things right.”
The food arrived, and Julia plated a crustless sandwich and a scone with jam and handed it to Ethel.
“Now, the pity party is officially over. I want to eat this treat while you fill me in on all the army wives’ juicy gossip. Don’t leave out a single detail.”
“Well, Dorothy Hansen’s husband has been stationed in Saigon for more than a year. Poor thing, the few times I’ve heard from her, she’s been worried sick about him and all the soldiers fighting in ’Nam.”
Julia lifted her knife and spread a heap of clotted cream on her scone and took a bite. “Well, I’ll keep her in my prayers. But I said juicy gossip. Isn’t Wanda getting a divorce?”
