Driving away, I pondered what on earth I'd say to Destiny. I knew about three of her mothers so far, two more than most of us were burdened with. What more could go wrong? I shouldn't have asked. The possibilities were endless.

Chapter 16.

Without my usual careful thought, which was probably just as well, I drove straight to Marie Kenwood's home. All the way across town, I seethed. I couldn't believe she hadn't had the decency to tell me Destiny was adopted. I was mad as h.e.l.l and ready to confront her.

I screeched into her driveway and sc.r.a.ped a sculpted bush. Just as well. I hated sculpted bushes. I burst from my car and marched up the sidewalk.

Foregoing the bell, I banged on her door. Soon, I heard shuffling, saw the curtain move, and at last felt the door open.

In my fury, I wasn't prepared for ho w glad she would be to see me. All of her brusqueness from our earlier visits was gone. She greeted me like I was a long-lost friend.

"Kristin, what a surprise! How nice it is to see you!"

"h.e.l.lo, Mrs. Kenwood," I said gruffly.

"What's wrong, dear, you don't look good."

"I don't feel good. May I come in?"

"Certainly. I was getting ready to make myself a bite to eat, but that can wait. How are you, young lady?"

"I just came from Lydia Barton's."

Marie Kenwood brightened visibly.

"How nice for you. Did you enjoy your time with her?" She led me into the living room, sat down on the couch, and gestured for me to join her.

I ignored her question and remained standing.

"Let's cut the niceties, Mrs. Kenwood. Lydia told me Destiny was adopted. Peter and Barbara weren't her real parents, and you're not her grandmother."

If I'd slapped her as hard as I could, it couldn't have hurt her more. Her face turned ashen white. She began fumbling with her knitting which sat next to her on the couch.

"I was going to tell you...." she stammered.

"When?" I barked. '

"As soon as I could. I tried to tell you the night you were both here, but I didn't have the heart. It was such an enjoyable evening. I'd missed Destiny so much. I didn't want anything to interfere with our time together."

"What about before? Why didn't you tell me the first time I met you? You didn't have anything to lose then?"

"When you called me on the phone, I thought you knew. You said you'd been to see Benjamin Greaves. I presumed he told you. When you came to see me, I thought you'd bring it up if you wanted to talk about it. When you didn't, I didn't. Only much later did I realize you didn't know."

"You should have told me then."

By that point, she'd had enough of my anger. She lashed back at me with years worth of her own.

"Wasn't there enough tragedy already? How dare you judge me! Barbara may not have given birth to Destiny and it's true my son wasn't her 'real' father, but she is my granddaughter. She's all the family I have."

As quickly as her anger had come, it turned to tears.

Now what was I going to do?

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kenwood. Truly, I'm sorry for your losses. I shouldn't have come today." I turned to leave.

She raised her head and again gestured for me to sit down.

"Excuse my emotion, young lady. It's not becoming."

"Can I sit over there by you?" I startled myself and her with the question.

"Yes, I suppose so. Make yourself comfortable." She pushed her things aside, and I sat down next to her.

"I was angry earlier a" at myself mostlya"for not finding this out sooner," I explained as she daintily blew her nose. "I was mad because I'm the one who has to tell Destiny, and how on earth Will I ever do it? What shattering news! She was just beginning to get used to the idea of having a grandmother, of having a piece of her past and her family back."

"I'm still her grandmother," she said haughtily.

"Of course you are," I rea.s.sured her. "But somewhere out there, there's another mother and father. I'm not sure how much more of this she can take. Or I can take, for that matter."

"Perhaps you shouldn't tell her just now."

"Oh no!" I shook my head vehemently. "I care for her too much to do that. She's the best friend I've ever had. Plus, she'd kill me if she knew I wasn't truthful with her."

"She always was quite stubborn, so I suppose you're right."

"I am right," I said glumly.

"It wasn't fair," Mrs. Kenwood said.

"It certainly wasn't," I agreed, unable to figure out how I was going to tell Destiny the full extent of her life's injustices.

"Peter and Barbara were so in love. It wasn't fair they couldn't have children. Barbara was crushed when they found out. And Peter, well my Peter tried to hide it, but you could see the disappointment in his eyes every time he saw a child. Then came the news from the church that a baby girl was available, and you should have seen the two of them. They were positively giddy. No two people could have loved a child more than they loved Destiny."

"How old was she when they got her?"

"A little over a week old. When I held her, I thought she'd melt in my arms." Happiness radiated in the older woman's eyes as she remembered that moment.

"Who handled the adoption?"

"St. Peter's, of course. They took care of her both times."

"Do you know anything about the mother a" or father a" who gave her up?"

Her eyes turned cold in an instant.

"No, I don't, and what does it matter? After all these years, what does it matter? How can it rightly compare to the years of love we gave that child? She was ours! Make no mistake of that!" she snapped.

Although my timing may have been bad, my intention wasn't.

"Probably it doesn't matter, Mrs. Kenwood," I said gently. "I hope it doesn't. But Destiny has to be the one to decide. I'm only the messenger, and I promised to get her as much information about her past as I could. I hope you understand."

She started to cry again, tears that fell slowly.

"It wasn't fair. I was afraid to tell you because I thought she wouldn't care about us, that all she'd want was her real family. It's important that she knows how special she was to us."

"She does know," I rea.s.sured her, hoping to stop the tears. "She wouldn't trade the other night for the world."

"It was a splendid evening, wasn't it?" She smiled weakly.

"It was," I agreed.

The clock chimed, and I jumped from my seat when I saw what time it was.

"I have to be going now."

"So soon?"

"I'm afraid so. I have a call to make, and then I've got to catch Destiny as soon as she gets home from work."

"Be gentle with her," she ordered.

"I will. And I'm sorry for bursting in on you like that. Sometimes my temper gets the best of me."

"It's refreshing to meet one as forthright as you, Kristin, even if it can be disturbing."

"Thanks." There was a compliment in there somewhere.

"Drive carefully."

"I will."

"Call me soon. I'd like to have you girls over for dinner again sometime... if you'll still come."

"We will," I promised for both of us, hoping I'd be able to make good on the promise.

The second I got home, before I could even take off my coat, I called Benjamin Greaves.

Fortunately, most of the fight was gone from me by the time he came to the phone.

"h.e.l.lo, Kristin."

"Hi. Listen, I have to ask you something. And I need the truth. No bulls.h.i.t, okay?"

"You don't waste words, do you? What can I do for you?"

"Did you know Destiny was adopted?" I tried to sound stern and accusing but came off sounding weak and petulant.

His hearty laughter just about damaged my eardrum.

"That's a good one, Kristin. I enjoy your sense of humor."

"I'm serious."

"Of course I knew she was adopted. I adopted her now, didn't I?" He laughed again.

I couldn't tell if he was toying with me, or if he really didn't know. Gamely, I plunged forward.

"Not by you." I hesitated. "Did you know the Kenwoods adopted her, that Barbara and Peter weren't Destiny's natural parents?"

There was no laughter this time.

"That's a sick joke," he said fiercely.

"I'm not joking. One of Barbara's friends, a Lydia Barton, let it slip when I was interviewing her, and then Marie Kenwood confirmed it an hour ago. The Kenwoods adopted her when she was a week old."

"Why wasn't I told?" he shouted.

"I don't know. Mrs. Kenwood a.s.sumed you knew, and she a.s.sumed you told me, which of course, you didn't."

"I never knew!" The anguish in his voice was now equal to the anger. "Good Lord, what will I tell Liz? This will kill her. She's had enough trouble trying to contend with Barbara Kenwood's image and now this. It will devastate her." He sounded more like her husband than her ex-husband.

"No offense, but my main concern right now is Destiny."

"Of course. Of course. I can't even think about what this will mean to her. She's seemed so peaceful lately, especially after she met her grandmother. Or the woman she thought was her grandmother. I can't even think of ita"another mother. My G.o.d, another father!"

"Please don't say anything to Destiny. I'm going to try to call her as soon as we're done here, but in case I can't reach her, please wait to talk to her."

"You're not honestly thinking of telling her now, are you?"

Suddenly, I was the target of his anger. aI am.a "Don't!" His tone was menacing.

"I have to."

"You can't! Haven't you done enough?"

"No," I said in a quiet, angry voice. "There will be no more secrets! There's no point in them."

"I hope someday you can forgive yourself for what you're about to do to my daughter," he retorted.

And then there was a dial tone.