And Then a Miracle Happens: A Story of Search and Reunion, Page 3

In early November 2001, Judy went to Ireland to visit an ailing brother and several of her other siblings. When she returned to London, there was a message waiting from our Wiltshire contact to call her immediately. Turns out this fellow ran into my mother's husband and basically used Judy's line: "A woman in London is helping a woman in the US search for relations." Josephine's husband's reply was stunning: "Why, I wonder if that's my wife's daughter — she gave up a baby before she left Ireland"! Phone numbers were exchanged and her husband, Les, told our man to have Judy call him.

Judy phoned Les the next day and was able to confirm a number of details. Yes, Josephine had told him about me, she never had any other children, and he was actually her second husband. The first had died some six years ago and she then married Les, who bore the same last name as her first husband, Harold — although they are no relation! Josephine was out the day Les and Judy spoke, but Les made Judy promise to call the next day. She did and spoke at some length with Josephine, my mother.

On Wednesday, November 21, 2001, I was sound asleep. My fiancé, John, and his daughter Rachel were up visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday and we had planned to go to New York City that day to see Ground Zero. At 6:30 a.m., the phone rang. For reasons unknown to God or man, I have no phone in my bedroom. I could hear it ringing in the computer room/guest room across the hall, where Rachel slept. Evidently, she also heard it and stumbled out into the hallway, confused and no doubt disoriented. I was racing downstairs to pick it up when of course it stopped. My caller ID indicated it was "unavailable," and since I don't usually get phone calls from salespeople at that ungodly hour, I knew it was an international call. I quickly checked my voicemail and there was a message from Judy saying, "Mari, call me at work — I have great news for you." I had no sooner hung up and was busy scribbling her number on a napkin, when the phone rang again. It was Judy. Breathlessly, she told me she had spoken to my mother not ten minutes ago. She said she was wonderful, filled me in on some details such as her two marriages, and told me she wanted me to call her. I already had her address and phone number from our prior research and it was all I could do not to hit John in the head with the phone while I excitedly listened to Judy, sitting on the bed.

I ran downstairs to fix a pot of coffee. By this point, John, Rachel and my daughter Jessica were all up. My son Alex was missing all the excitement as he had spent the night at a friend's. After gulping down some steaming java, I nervously tried dialing Josephine's number. Judy had said it took a while for her to answer when she rang, so I let it ring a good twenty times before giving up. Since I got no answer, I decided to try my Uncle Jimmy to tell him the good news. I got him right away and he was elated, although not surprised, as Judy had filled him in on everything up until her conversation with Josephine on Wednesday. The anniversary of my Aunt Elizabeth's passing was that coming weekend, so I promised to let Jimmy know after that how everything had gone.

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