Soon To Be Brides: The Marrying Macallister / That Blackhawk Bride

“The vast majority of the children are girls, as you know. The few boys that are brought here have some kind of medical problem, or perhaps a birthmark that is too noticeable, or they might have been the second boy in the family, breaking the law about only being allowed to have one child, and there isn’t a thing wrong with them. However, it’s rare for boys to be in the orphanages.

“And,” Elizabeth said as the vans drove around a circle driveway. “Here—” the vans stopped “—we are.”

Matt reached over and squeezed one of Caitlin’s hands, finding it ice cold.

“Calm down,” he whispered to her. “If you touch Miss M. with hands that cold she’ll have a screamer of a fit.”

Caitlin nodded jerkily.

A beaming Dr. Yang greeted the group as they entered the building. He was a slightly built man in his mid-thirties with handsome features and dark, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to be actually sparkling.

“I feel as though I know you,” he said, his English having only a trace of an accent, “because I’ve read all of your dossiers. Welcome to China. Welcome to Nanjing. Welcome to the humble place where your daughters are waiting to meet you. Our elevator is very small, so I’ll ask that you go up to the third floor four at a time, please.

“We will go into a living room, then I’ll tell the head of the orphanage that you are here and that the caregivers should bring the babies to where you are. My paperwork is upstairs that documents the matches.” He laughed. “Same as always, Elizabeth. You bring me people who are too nervous to speak.”

“Never fails,” she said, smiling.

“But soon they’ll be crying those happy tears we always see,” Dr. Yang said.

“They’ve been practicing those already. Okay, folksies. Here we go.”

The living room Dr. Yang had spoken of was quite large, but the furniture and carpeting was very faded and worn. The paint on the walls was a color somewhere between gray and yellow and was peeling in numerous spots. There was a dusty, plastic red rose in a bud vase on a shabby end table in one corner. No pictures adorned the walls.

Caitlin, Matt, Marsha and Bud settled onto a threadbare sofa. Bud wrapped his arm around Marsha’s shoulders and she sat as close as possible to him. Matt fought the urge to do the same to Caitlin as she sat next to him, her hands clutched so tightly in her lap the knuckles were turning white.

Elizabeth and Dr. Yang left the room and a heavy silence fell as the minutes ticked slowly by. Then everyone stiffened as the pair reappeared followed by caregivers in white uniforms, some holding one baby, others with two.

Dr. Yang consulted a sheet of paper he was holding, then placed his hand on the shoulder of one of the caregivers.

“Sally and Fred Roberts,” he said.

And so it began, the uniting of parents and their daughters, with happy tears flowing freely. Marsha and Ben were called and their Grace gurgled and smiled when Marsha lifted her from the caregiver’s arms and held her close, laughing and crying at the same time.

“That’s my goddaughter. Awesome. You have to be next,” Matt whispered to Caitlin, “because you’re the only one left. Are you ready?”

“Oh, I am so ready,” Caitlin said, staring at the empty doorway. “Why isn’t there another caregiver standing there. Where’s Miss M.? I don’t understand why—oh…my…God. Matt, look.”

Matt’s eyes widened as a caregiver stepped into the living room, a baby tucked in the crook of each arm. Without realizing he was doing it, he grabbed Caitlin’s hand and got to his feet, drawing her up next to him.

“Caitlin Cunningham,” Dr. Yang said, smiling. “Last, but certainly not least.”

“I…” Caitlin said, making no attempt to free her hand from Matt’s as she walked toward the caregiver on trembling legs. “There are two… The pictures I got of Miss M. were of two babies, not just two photographs of the same baby. Dear heaven, they’re identical twins. Twins? I’m going to be the mother of twins? Did I know this? I didn’t know this. Oh, they’re so beautiful, so… Twins?”

Dr. Yang frowned and looked at the sheet of paper. “Yes, it says here that you have been matched with identical twin girls of six months of age. Is there a problem?”

“Let’s just all stay calm,” Elizabeth said quickly. “Caitlin, you and Matt take the babies to the sofa while I speak with Dr. Yang and see what is going on here. Dr. Yang, we at the agency and, therefore, Caitlin, didn’t realize she’d been matched with twins. Nothing came across my desk indicating that.”

“Really?” Dr. Yang said. “Well, come with me, Elizabeth, and we’ll telephone Beijing, where all these decisions are made and discover what is taking place. Our caregivers have so much to do so… Caitlin? Matt, is it? Would you please tend to the babies until we return?”

“Yes, oh, yes,” Caitlin said, lifting one of the infants from the caregiver’s arms. “Matt?”

“Sure thing,” he said, accepting the other baby. “Hello, Miss M.” He glanced at the baby that Caitlin held. “Hello, Miss M. Man, they are really identical, aren’t they? And they’re both scowling, just like in the pictures you got. Let’s go sit down and see if we can get them to smile. Caitlin?”

“Twins,” she said, staring at the baby she held. “That’s two. One plus one equals two. Twins.”

“Sitting down now,” Matt said, shifting the baby to one arm and gripping Caitlin’s elbow. “Right now.”

On the sofa, both Caitlin and Matt propped the babies on their knees, having to support their backs as they obviously were unable to sit up alone. Tears filled Caitlin’s eyes as her gaze darted back and forth between the little girls.

“Oh, my gosh, they are so fantastic, so incredibly beautiful, and wonderful and…”

“And twins,” Marsha said. “Caitlin, what are you going to do? You’re a single mother, for Pete’s sake. I’m scared to death about tending to Grace with Bud’s help and you’ll be all alone with two?” She paused and smiled. “But, oh, they are so cute. Grace, look at your little friends.”

“Twin friends,” Bud said. “Holy cow.”

Matt bounced the baby a bit on his knees, then made a clucking noise that sounded rather like a sick chicken. The baby stared at him for a long moment, then a smile broke across her face, revealing two little teeth on the bottom gums.

“She smiled at me,” Matt said, beaming. “Caitlin, look at Miss M. She’s smiling.”

Caitlin sniffled. “My Miss M. isn’t smiling. I think she’s about to cry.”

“No way,” Matt said, leaning toward the other baby and making the same ridiculous noise. The baby grinned, and she had the same two teeth on the bottom. “There you go. We’ve been waiting for that smile ever since we saw the pictures of her looking so grumpy. Well, actually it was the pictures of both of them looking so grumpy, but…” He shrugged. “Now they’re smiling.”

“They’re so beautiful,” Caitlin said, unable to halt her tears. “I can hardly believe I’m actually holding… Oh, but, Matt, Marsha’s right. How can I possibly cope, tend to, care for, twins? But they’re my daughters. I fell in love with the baby in the photograph. So, okay, I didn’t know I was falling in love with two babies but… Oh, dear, my mind is mush.”

Dr. Yang and Elizabeth returned and came to where Caitlin and Matt were sitting.

“Um…Caitlin?” Elizabeth said. “Dr. Yang has something he wants to say to you. Hear him out, please, and don’t…don’t overreact to what he says. You must remember this is a culture far different from ours.”

“Yes, well, we spoke to the person we needed to in Beijing. It seems a new employee in the office checked the wrong box on the final approval sheet, indicating you wanted twins. So, the match was made.

“The officials in Beijing said you are certainly cleared to take both of the babies if you so choose, but if not…” He shrugged and smiled. “Well, that’s fine, too. It was a clerical error on our part, and can be rectified by you simply picking the baby you want from the pair if you feel you can only raise one. That solves the problem.”

Caitlin’s eyes widened in horror, and a flush stained her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, but Elizabeth spoke first. “Caitlin, take a deep breath, count to ten, think before you say anything. We’re guests in this country, dear, who are being allowed to adopt these wonderful children. We don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the program in place. Dear.”

“Yes, I understand. Well, Dr. Yang, I think the officials in Beijing are being very…um…accommodating and I certainly appreciate being given the choices you’ve just presented to me.

“But, you see, I wouldn’t dream of separating identical-twin sisters under any circumstances. It’s a matter of…doing things just a teeny tiny bit differently in our country.

“So, sir, with heartfelt thanks, I accept being the mother of both of these girls and I’ll love them to pieces and do the very best I can raising them.”

“Very good. I’ll call Beijing right back and inform them of your decision.” He turned and hurried from the room.

“Nicely done, Caitlin,” Elizabeth said, letting out a pent-up breath. “The Chinese people place little importance on twin girls staying together in these situations. Our emphasis that they not be separated baffles them. But you did very well. Are you certain you want to do this, though?”

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