Chapter 3 - The Name on My Birth Record
After Gigi fell asleep, I sat at my kitchen island staring at the sealed envelope.
My husband Nathan was working late at the hospital.
Part of me wanted to wait for him.
Another part of me knew I had already spent thirty-two years waiting for my family to tell me something.
I opened it.
Inside was a photocopy of an old neonatal discharge summary.
Female infant.
Born April 17, 1994.
Weight: seven pounds, one ounce.
The same numbers written in my baby book.
But the infant’s name was not Clara Bennett.
It was Eleanor Mae Hart.
My hands went cold.
At the bottom was another line.
Released to guardian pending maternal discharge.
Guardian: Victoria Bennett.
Victoria.
My mother.
Except the hospital hadn’t listed her as my mother.
It listed her as my guardian.
My phone rang.
Arthur.
I answered.
“What did you open?”
“Who is Eleanor Mae Hart?”
He went quiet.
Then he said, “You need to talk to Mom.”
“You were twelve when I was born. Did you know?”
Another silence.
May you like
That was enough.
Arthur had remembered where I came from my entire life.
