The Choice by Robert Whitlow Page B

it.”
    â€œBased on your insight into Justice Blackmun’s reasoning, I think you already have a better legal mind than your father.”
    They went inside the building.
    â€œUp the stairs,” Linda said, steering Sandy away from the elevator. “You’re young, and I need the exercise.”
    They climbed to the third floor. The entrance for the adoption agency was on the left. Sandy’s heart began to beat faster. She followed Linda into a small, plainly decorated reception area. An obviously pregnant woman was sitting in a plastic chair reading a magazine. A middle-aged woman sat behind a glass opening. Linda introduced herself to the receptionist.
    â€œWe’re here for an appointment with Mrs. Longwell.”
    â€œI’ll let her know,” the woman replied.
    Sandy and Linda sat next to each other across from the pregnant woman, who ignored them. Sandy studied the woman and wondered about the path she’d taken to get there. Her clothes were plain, and she was wearing slightly dirty tennis shoes. She was chewing bubble gum. While Sandy watched, she blew an enormous bubble. Sandy’s eyes widened as she waited for the bubble to explode across the woman’s face. At the last instant, the woman sucked the gum back into her mouth. She looked up and caught Sandy staring at her.
    â€œFirst time?” the woman said with an accent that revealed she wasn’t from the South.
    â€œYes.” Sandy nodded.
    â€œNumber three for me,” the woman replied, rubbing her hand across her stomach. “My second baby at this agency. It’s a lot better than the outfit I went to in New Jersey.”
    A door near the receptionist’s window opened. A man stuck his head in the room.
    â€œTia, I’m ready for you.”
    The woman left. A few minutes later, the door opened again. This time a tall, middle-aged woman with brown hair came into the room. She shook Linda’s hand and introduced herself to Sandy.
    â€œI’m Stephanie Longwell. Let’s go to my office and talk.”
    They went down a hallway lined with adoption-themed posters: “Babies Deserve a Loving Home” and “Every Child Is a Wanted Child.” They entered a small office with three chairs in front of a wooden desk and sat down.
    â€œSandy, before we start, you need to know that I’m not going to ask you to commit to anything today. As I told your aunt, our goal is to treat you as gently as we would a newborn baby. I’m glad you’re considering adoption, especially with the changes in the law over the past year, but no one at this agency is going to pressure you to do anything.”
    Mrs. Longwell had compassionate eyes and a calm voice that put Sandy at ease. She could understand why Linda had selected her. The caseworker asked Sandy a series of background questions. While Sandy spoke, Mrs. Longwell took notes.
    â€œThat’s all the preliminary questions,” Mrs. Longwell said. “Let me ask you an open-ended one. Why are you here?”
    Sandy pointed at Linda. “She talked with my mother about adoption. At first, I wasn’t sure, but now I think it’s the best way to go.”
    â€œCan you tell me more about how you reached that conclusion?”
    Sandy gave her a fairly lengthy version of the past few weeks’ events. Of course, she left out the encounter with the old woman at the convenience store.
    â€œThanks for sharing,” Mrs. Longwell said when Sandy finished. “It helps me to hear from you. Now let me tell you what we can offer you and your baby.”
    The caseworker handed Sandy a brochure that explained the basics of adoption and went through the information with her. Sandy stopped her when she started talking about open and closed adoptions.
    â€œSometimes the adoptive parents stay in contact with the real mother after the adoption?” she asked.
    â€œWe prefer the term birth mother . When I first started working in