Secrets Don't Last

Chapter 8

I step out of the car and into the crisp gray snow from the first fall that happened last night. I look up at the tall building and take a deep breath in, and then out. I can see the air fog up in front of me. I am thankful for the warm coat that my mother made me wear. those were the last words she said to me before we got in the car and drove off to the doctor's office. NOw we are climbing up a flight of stairs that leads into the waiting room.

"Hello?" the receptionist aknowledges us when we enter through the heavey wooden door. No more nurse Avril. Her gray hair is in a tight bun and she wears large round glasses on the tip of her nose.

"Yes, we are here to see Doctor Taylor." my mother says as she walks up to the desk.

"Name?" the recptionist's expression is unchanging.

"Skye Ossen" my mother says. The receptionist stands up and i see a plain gray, wollen sweater over a thick white shirt and a scratchy gray skirt. NO wonder she looks so sour, she has to wear clothes like that! As the receptionist dissappears down a hallway I notice a grubby gold name plate that tells me that her name is Francine Schmidt. I make a mental note to give her a smile, she must be having a terrible day.

Soon after, Doctor Talyor comes our from the hallway follwed by Francine Schmidt. SHe takes her place behind the desk as the doctor leads us down a white hallway with orderly white doors. We enter one and I am instructed to sit in a chair. The doctor does a couple of those tedious tests, with MORE clipboards and then leaves the room to go get the results of the MRI. I glance over at my mother. Her face is pale, and she is gripping the armrests of the chair so hard that her knuckles are white against her dry red hands. It looks like she is about to make a decsision, that she knows is wrong, but still is going to make no matter what those results say. And I have a feeling that I know what that decision is.

The door clicks open and I see the doctor walk in. He sits down at his chair on wheels, and swivels it to face us. There is an unpenatrable silence and then he speaks.

"All is normal with Skye's brain. I cannot explain a thing." i feel frozen in time. There is nothing wrong with my brain. they must think that I just have an overactive imagination. I hear the bang of a chair hitting the wall, and notice my mother standing up beside me. I don't know how she got there.

"I can't deal with this insane child anymore! There is something NOT RIGHT with her brain. I am giving her to the adoption agancy AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" SHe clutches her purse firmly and storms out of the room. I quickly follow her out. i can't believe that my mother is going to give me up for adoption. How could a mother do that to her child! I feel so mad, sad and confused. I am going to lose my family. I walk out of the office, past the front desk, forgetting to give a smile to the grumpy Francine Schmidt.