“I just left court. Any news, Maryann?”
“Good news. We found a baby for you and Greg to adopt. A girl named Julia, according to a silver nametag hanging around her neck. Someone abandoned her at a fire station. How soon can you and Greg get to Miami?”
“Hold on.” Barbara checked the airlines and booked two seats on a flight leaving Virginia in two hours. “We’ll be there by seven.”
“I’m here now, so I’ll meet you at Miami International Airport tonight. Text me your flight information.”
“Will do. See you soon, Maryann.”
Cautious excitement rippled through Barbara. Unable to have their own biological children, she and Greg had been trying to adopt a baby for the past two years without any success. Could this baby girl named Julia be the answer to their prayers?
When Barbara called her husband to share the news with him, she kept her tone neutral for fear of raising false hope. “Greg, Maryann called. There’s a baby, a girl, in Miami. I’m going home to pack a bag for us. Can you meet me at the airport? Our flight leaves in two hours.”Greg, a financial analyst with a major accounting firm, replied in the same moderate tone as Barbara’s, “I’m leaving the office right now.”
As their plane winged its way toward Florida, Barbara and Greg held hands and prayed for a miracle.
“If this doesn’t work out, honey, we should discuss other options,” Greg told her in a quiet voice.
“You mean use a surrogate and sperm donor.”
“Yes.”
“That poses a whole new slew of difficulties.”
“It does, but it’s a viable option.”
“All right,” Barbara conceded. “We’ll explore it further if this adoption fails.”
Greg lifted his wife’s hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I love you.”
Barbara rested her head against his broad shoulder. “I love you, too.”
Their flight to Miami arrived on time. They met Maryann Jones, who drove them to a wealthy gated community consisting of landscaped yards and spacious one and two-story homes sitting on an acre of beachfront property.
Maryann turned into a driveway and parked behind a sedan. “Mr. and Mrs. Mock are a retired couple who foster infants until they’re adopted. They’ve had Julia in their care now for eight weeks. A social worker from DCF is also here. Her name is Pamela Rojas.”
She pressed the doorbell, and a sweet-faced woman greeted them. “Come in, please. We’ve been expecting you. I’m Crystal Mock.” A handsome man dressed in slacks, a short-sleeved shirt, and an Argyll sweater vest joined them. “And this is my husband, Paul.”
Barbara, Greg, and Maryann introduced themselves to the Mocks and to Pamela Rojas, who held Julia in her arms.
“Would you like to hold her?” the social worker asked.
Barbara nodded. The moment she held Julia in her arms and looked down into her angelic baby face with its deep brown, expressive eyes and head full of dark hair, Barbara’s heart exploded with fierce maternal love. She glanced up at Greg, who was gazing at Julia with tears in his eyes.
“This is our daughter. Julia Mae Washburn.”
THE PRESENT
FEBRUARY
Washington, D.C.
Secretary of State Barbara Washburnstood in the White House’s press room and declared her intention to run for President of the United States. Greg Washburn, her husband of thirty-two years, and her five adopted children flanked her.
“My career as a corporate attorney, my years of service in the Senate, and as your Secretary of State under President Brown the past two terms have prepared me well to handle the responsibilities of the highest office in our nation. In the free world,” she added. “I and my family are ready to face the challenges that lie ahead. In the weeks and months to come, my platform for the presidency will be revealed.”
Barbara glanced to her left and met the steady gaze of former Lieutenant Commander and Navy SEAL, now Chief of Police of Laguna Beach, Justice McQuaid. His wife Brielle stood next to him with their four-month-old son in her arms and their two daughters clinging to Justice’s hands. His presence at her press conference could only mean one thing—after months ofdiscussion he’d finally decided to accept a position with the Secret Service. She wouldn’t trust anyone else with her and her family’s lives. His casual nod confirmed her dearest hope.
She stepped aside to allow President Brown to announce his support of her candidacy. “I can’t think of a finer person to succeed me. She’s had her finger on the pulse of this nation for over a decade. No one understands our global position and its importance and implications better than she does. No one cares more about the people of the United States than she does. Barbara proved it when she prevented domestic terrorist, Axel Anderson, from enacting his plan to destroy this country. Please join me in supporting Secretary of State Barbara Washburn in her bid for the presidency.”
