Coming to a stop only feet from her, we take each other in. It's as if I'm looking at myself in a mirror.
Her smile is warm, tears falling down her cheeks. Neither of us can speak. Ryker comes to the rescue.
"Mr. and Mrs. Corners? I'm Ryker Stone, and this is Zella Raps."
It's clear we've found my parents, we've arrived at the correct place, but we all seem to appreciate the introduction, anyway.
I offer a slightly hesitant smile, tears threatening to flow, but still, no words. Fred clears his throat and offers his hand to Ryker. Anna and I continue to stare, taking each other in.
"It's nice to meet you both. Zella, we've been waiting a very long time to meet you." His voice is deep and full of emotion.
I pry my eyes away from Anna and smile up at him. A lone tear runs down his cheek; he makes no move to wipe it away. I look back down at my... at Anna. She can't seem to stand still in this moment of intense emotional joy.
"My baby," she whispers and engulfs me in a hug.
My arms tighten around her, memorizing everything about this embrace. Then my father is there, towering over us, pulling us both into him.
Moments later, my mother pulls away, holding my face between her hands. "I've thought of you every day for nearly twenty-one years. My dream of holding you in my arms has finally come true. I can't believe you are finally here."
Guilt slams into my heart. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I would have fought to find you sooner… I didn't know."
"Oh, baby girl, no, no. Don't you for one minute be sorry for any of this." She hugs me again.
Fred chuckles beside us. "Let's take this inside, get some tea, and some of those cookies you made, Anna."
She pulls away and nods her agreement. Looping her arm through mine, she leads us into the house. As my feet hit the porch step, I look over my shoulder in search of Ryker. That had to have been awkward for him.
But he's there, not far behind me, and when I glance over my shoulder, he grins and winks at me.
If it weren't for the emotional overload of meeting my birth parents, I would have swooned right there on the front step.
We've been sitting around the wooden farmhouse table drinking lemonade and eating cookies. Their house is all wood floors and clean, but there is an outdoorsy smell within the walls. The layout is roomy and comfortable. Antiques and older looking furniture outnumber newer and fancy stuff, but I catch Ryker admiring the big-screen television, brown leather couch, and recliner set in the living room, which can be seen from the kitchen table.
After sharing basic information, they know all about my hobbies and school. I've told them about Cameron and about the karaoke at the biker bar. In turn, I've learned Fred is a soil and water conservationist, and Anna is an artist. She specializes in ceramics. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I found that out. Our faces nearly identical when I told her I was an art major.
There is a quiet lull in the conversation, the first since we sat down over an hour ago. I want to ask more personal questions—ones that might be difficult for them to answer—but I don't want to ruin the reunion.
Ryker, who's sitting next to me with his arm slung over my chair, leans into me. "We are here for a reason, Blondie. Don't hold back."
I gaze up from my lemonade into his supportive smile. I know they heard him, he wasn't all that quiet, but I refuse to be embarrassed. I hear a deep sigh from across the table, and my eyes snap up to Fred.
"He's right. Please ask us whatever you want. We will tell you everything you want to know." Fred stands from his chair, moves to the center island in the kitchen, and leans against it.
Anna’s expression has turned sad, yet she nods, urging me to ask.
"Why?" My voice is barely above a whisper. Ryker adjusts himself before one of his warm hands lands on my leg, above my knee, and squeezes.
Fred sets down his glass behind him and crosses his arms. "We were both still in high school when we found out we were pregnant. Anna, just seventeen. Me, eighteen and getting ready to graduate. We'd been dating for a while, and well, we got careless. When we found out, we knew we wanted to stay together, and we wanted to raise the baby, but our parents had different ideas. They were not happy."
"My parents told me they were not ready to be grandparents, and we were not ready to be parents," Anna adds.
"I had a scholarship and was heading to college. Anna still had a year left of high school so, she and the baby—you—wouldn't have been able to come with me. With Anna's parents refusing to help, I couldn't stand to leave. My parents were upset, but when they found out I was considering transferring to a local college, they were livid. A youth pastor at Anna's church helped us think through all our options. Eventually, adoption seemed like our only option." Fred looks forlornly at the floor.
"It broke my heart, giving you up, Zella, but we wanted what was best for you. Two teenage parents, without any support, struggling through high school and college, would have been so hard. That's not the life we wanted for you." Anna sniffs.
I nod in understanding. I can't fault them for putting the needs of their child above their wants.
"I do understand. I do appreciate that; I didn't have a bad childhood."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryker make a face. I fight back a glare and ignore him.
Hesitantly, Fred asks, "But you didn't have a great one?"
"No, it's not that. My mother loved and cared for me greatly. Life was never hard, but she was very protective." I fidget in my seat.
"She pretty much kept Blondie here under lock and key. No friends, no public school, no normal every day experiences that most teens get to have. She's being polite right now." This time I do glare at Ryker. He only chuckles.
"I wish I would have known about you. I would have liked to of known the truth." I want to be completely honest with them. I'm over secrets and lies.
"We had a semi-closed adoption. While we never met your mother, we were given her name. The agreement was that we were not allowed to reach out unless she chose to contact us. She sent us photos for a couple years, but when you were five, we stopped hearing from her."
I chew the inside of my cheek, thinking about everything I've just learned.
After a few moments, Anna pushes her chair out and stands. "Would you like to see my workshop, Zella?"
"Absolutely." I smile as I stand.
"Why don't you help me prepare the steak for dinner, Ryker?" Fred says, granting Anna and me some time alone. Though Fred might be a stranger, he is technically my father, and I'm about to willingly leave him alone with the guy I'd like to call my boyfriend.
Ryker clears his throat, clearly having the same realization I just had. "Yes, sir." He nods and swallows.
I bite back a smile and follow Anna through the house to the back, where there is a large room, partly covered in windows. The studio, which resembles a sunroom, is filled with everything an artist would need. There are a few easels and a full wall of shelving with art supplies. A table near the middle of the room is clearly an organized mess, with papers and several sketch pads lying about.
"I do my painting and planning in here." She points to a door on the side of the room. "That leads out to my pottery wheel and kiln."