Annie's Truth (Touch of Grace) by Beth Shriver Page B

know.”
    “It doesn’t mean you’ve changed into an Englisher, Annie.” He chuckled.
    She hadn’t heard him laugh. It was nice to see his eyes sparkle and his smile, even if the reason wasn’t in her favor. “Why did you laugh?”
    “Because you’re the most Amish person I’ve ever known.”
    Annie took that as a compliment and looked at the clothes without intimidation.
    As they walked to the same window they were at previously, Annie noticed the first lady they’d talked to was gone. Annie’s stomach rolled, hoping she hadn’t left for the day.
    Rudy went up to the window and asked for the woman by name. The lady at the window directed Rudy to the door at the side and buzzed them in. The dull white walls and dirty tile floors were no better in the back area. Annie felt an instinctual urge to clean the place up a bit, or maybe a lot.
    “Come this way.”
    They followed the pink-fingernailed lady into a small office. She sat behind the desk and gestured to two chairs on the opposite side. Her nails clicked on the computer keys as she spoke. “The first objective of an adoption search is to discover the names of the birth parents who gave you up for adoption. I see you’ve written the name of a hospital and the agency who handled your adoption. That’s a start, but the more we have, the quicker we’ll find information. Do your parents or anyone else in your family have any insight that may be helpful?”
    Annie’s skin crawled at the thought of asking her daed for anything about the adoption. He wouldn’t want to know she was inquiring for information
    “No, they don’t know anything.” She looked down as she answered, not wanting to answer anymore similar questions.
    “Can you ask them to contact government officials for documents, such as an amended birth certificate, petition for adoption, and the final decree of adoption?” She stopped typing and looked from Annie to Rudy.
    Rudy spoke before Annie had to. “No, we can’t ask them to do anything.” He held Annie’s stare until she nodded her understanding then continued.
    “With the information you’ve given me, we’ll search for nonidentifying information. It will be released to you and may include clues to help you in your adoption search. The amount of information varies depending upon the details that were recorded at the time of the birth and adoption.” She stopped talking and typing, corrected something on the screen, and went on.
    “Each agency, governed by the state law and agency policy, releases what is considered appropriate and non-identifying, and may include details on the adoptee, adoptive parents, and birth parents such as”—she cleared her throat and pushed the keyboard aside—“medical history, health status, cause of and age of death, height, weight, eye and hair color, ethnic origins, profession, and religion. Do you have any questions?”
    “What else can we be doing while we wait to hear the results of your search?” Annie moved to the front of her seat with paper and pencil, ready to write down anything that this woman said she could do.
    The lady pulled out some papers from a file on the desk. “There are some registries you can plug in to. I’ll make a copy of this sheet for you. There’s one that matches people who might be looking for each other. Another is more of a support group, but they also help each other with information concerning new laws, search techniques, and other up-to-date information they’ve learned from their own personal experiences. There’s also a service that will help you search, for a fee, but I’ve heard they’re very successful.”
    Rudy put up a hand to stop her. “What do they do that makes them successful?”
    “Many states, including Virginia, have instituted intermediary or search consent systems to allow adoptees and birth parents the ability to contact each other through mutual consent. The Confidential Intermediary Program is given access to the court or agency