Tyler had been in a mood from the day Samantha decided to go visit Mark in England. He told me he was worried she wouldn't want to come home. That she would want to stay in England. I understood his fear. It was my fear as well.
But she'd been in our care, and legally adopted and our daughter for well over a year now. The Solman's have no legal right to challenge Samantha's adoption, do they?
What hurt me the most right now was how angry and sad Tyler seemed. He was so upset that Sam was gone and so angry that we'd let her go. But he also admitted that we didn't really have the right to say no to her. Mark and his family are Samantha's family, and she does have the right to get to know them.
Just after dinner, the phone rang and Tyler grabbed it. It was Samantha letting us know she'd gotten to London safely, had found Mark and Carol easily enough and was now getting ready to have lunch.
Tyler didn't seem much happier after having spoken to her. He was certainly relieved she'd navigated her way through customs and gotten her baggage, and found Mark and Carol easily enough.
"She's fine, Tyler," I said to him, once we'd hung up the phone.
"I can't help feeling that when she left to go through customs, that was the last time we're ever going to see her."
"You can't think that way, Tyler. Samantha will come home. This is her home. We're her family. Even if Mark and Carol want her, they have to challenge the adoption, and it's long past time for that," I reasoned.
"But what if, because they didn't know she existed, they get a grace and are allowed to challenge it? What if they just refuse to send her home?"
"Well, if they get a grace and are allowed to challenge the adoption, well, Tyler, Sam's whole life is here in Ohio. Her friends, her school, her family, her mom's grave, everything she's ever known is here. And if they refuse to send her home, it's an international kidnapping, and we'd get the police and whoever else involved to bring her home," I said. "We're not going to lose her Tyler. We, you and I, won't let it happen."
I couldn't be certain he agreed, but it seemed that it gave him peace of mind that at least we had recourse if the worst fear he had happened.
I just wish I felt as confident in what I said as I sounded.
YOU ARE READING
The London Paradigm (book 4 of Adopted by the Josephs)
FanfictionLast Christmas, Samantha Joseph learned her late mother has a brother. He came to Ohio to meet her. They got to know each other over time and the family visited them in their home in London, England. Now Samantha has been invited to spend part of t...
