“No, just hardworking. The alimony Nate had to pay for a short period, plus my salary from working at the college bookstore, kept me afloat. I shared an old house near the campus with five other female college students so the rent was minimal. We took turns cooking.”
“Who’s the human dynamo of industry now?”
She laughed. “You have to understand that I became a bookworm at a very early age and I had a teacher in fourth grade who told me to study hard so I could go to college. My English teachers in junior high and high school believed I could go all the way scholastically if I didn’t let anything distract me. I determined to be the top student in my field, and doors opened for me.”
“That must be why you were picked to do research for the film being made.”
“I guess that’s true. The dean of the graduate department gave Magda Collier my name. He knew how much I’d revered Lord Byron’s writings from an early age.”
“He realized you were the expert, Zoe.”
“In that case let’s hope the film does well.”
“When will it be out?”
“I don’t know yet. Magda said there’d be bonuses for the girls and me. I would love to able to give some of that money to my adoptive parents. They weren’t demonstrative in their affection, but the three of us knew what good people Bob and Nancy were to offer us a home during those years.”
Andreas inhaled deeply. “They enabled you to become the woman you were meant to be and must feel incredibly proud of you. As for your birth parents, they would be in awe of their daughter.”
She blinked hard. “If it was your intention to make me cry, you’ve done an excellent job of it.”
* * *
Andreas drove them the rest of the way in silence. Emotion for the many struggles she’d had to overcome in this life had welled up inside him. When he found a parking spot near her flat and shut off the engine, he slid his arm along the back of the seat to face her.
In profile, her classic features had an appeal for him he never tired of studying. But now that he knew about her true parentage, he realized they had to have been exceptionally attractive people to have produced a beauty like her. They’d also endowed her with many gifts, among them unflagging perseverance and a fine mind.
“After what you’ve confided, I’ve been thinking back on my life. Under circumstances like yours, I can’t imagine how I would have handled not knowing about my birth parents.”
“We do what we have to. In my case I told myself not to think about it, but that wasn’t possible. My siblings had a hard time, too. We had incessant conversations about it and how unfair that there were court documents that could give us answers, but they were sealed.”
His dark brows lifted. “With enough money, you could probably prevail on a judge to unseal them.”
“I thought about that, too, believe me. But besides the absence of that kind of money, Bob reminded me I might find out things and wish I didn’t know anything.”
“Do you believe that, Zoe?”
“No. I’d rather know the truth no matter what. To me, birth is a miracle. I don’t care if the earth has almost eight billion people. Each person’s birth is unique, mine most of all!”
He flashed her a tender smile. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Thank you for that.” She smiled back. “Even if I was a mistake, unplanned for and unwanted, or even if I was wanted but they couldn’t take care of me, I would like an explanation.
“Was my dad a bookworm? Did I get my ears from my dad’s mother, or my height from my mom’s father? Which one had blue eyes? Did either one of them love chocolate the way I do? I guess they both had good teeth because I only have one cavity. It saved a lot of dental bills.”
A chuckle escaped his throat. Her white smile was one of her extraordinary assets. Then he sobered. “Are you still tortured about it?”
“Tortured is too strong a word, but I admit it never left my mind growing up. It was hard to go to a girlfriend’s house and see her with her real mom and dad. I never got used to that. But when I was married, Nancy gave me some advice that has stayed with me ever since.”
“What was that?”
“She told me to look at it that I was given life, so make the best of it! That was Nancy. Practical and sensible. I’ve tried to apply it, but from time to time certain situations arise that put me in the who-am-I? mood again.”
“Give me an example of what you mean. I want to understand you better.”
She angled her head toward him. “From the time we met, I’ve wondered what it would be like to have been born a Gavras, sure of your place in life and society, secure in your family’s love. Just think. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting a place where your ancestors were born. Ancestors from your family line you can name and gave you identity. What greater privilege.”
“I can think of one,” he whispered. “Being with the woman who has brought me to a new awareness of what this life is really all about. Thank you for tonight. Your honesty has meant more to me than you know. In fact it has fortified my resolve to deal with an upcoming issue. Since it’s getting late and I have to be at the office early in the morning, I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”