A Long Way from Home. Cathy Glass

would be back? Elaine doubted it – not in any depth, they were all too busy. Anastasia was one of many children, most of whom had multiple needs.

      Elaine kept returning to the nursery even though it made her cry. She couldn’t face sorting out Lana’s possessions. She just sat on the pink velvet child’s chair and looked around as her thoughts grew increasingly gloomy and morose. Not usually one to suffer from depression, she now found herself sliding down a long, dark tunnel with no way out and no light at the end. The walls closed in and she tormented herself with speculation that when they returned for Anastasia they would be told that she, too, was dead. The thought plagued her during the day and kept her awake at night, while Ian, tired from work, slept soundly beside her.

      At the end of the second week, while Ian was at work, Elaine telephoned the orphanage and the phone was answered after many rings by a care worker.

      ‘Is Dr Ciobanu there?’ she asked, her voice faltering.

      ‘He not here,’ came the heavily accented reply.

      ‘This is Mrs Hudson. Is Anastasia well?’ She hoped the care worker understood enough to be able to reassure her.

      ‘Yes. She’s well. I tell Dr Ciobanu you phone.’

      ‘Thank you. Will you tell Anastasia I phoned too?’

      ‘Yes. I tell her. Goodbye.’

      So at least Anastasia was alive.

      Two days later Dr Ciobanu emailed to say Anastasia was doing well and looking forward to seeing them again, although Elaine doubted she had expressly said she was looking forward to seeing them again. She couldn’t picture it and thought it was Dr Ciobanu again telling them what they wanted to hear, and it didn’t really help. Ian, whose life had returned to some normality with work, was worried about Elaine, but also losing patience with her growing gloom and despondency. He suggested she made an appointment to see their doctor, or at least have a chat with Maggie, the founder of the support group for international adoption who Ian had messaged while away. Elaine did neither until the following week, after she and Ian had a blazing argument.

      ‘You’ve got to snap out of it!’ Ian cried, tired at the end of the day. ‘Anastasia is going to need a lot of care when we bring her back and you’re in no fit state to help her. Get yourself sorted out now or we won’t be going back!’ He stormed out of the room and went upstairs.

      He apologized later and said he hadn’t meant the threat of not going back – he was as attached to Anastasia as Elaine was. But it was the wake-up call Elaine needed. She telephoned Maggie and cried as she confessed all her worries and told her in detail what they’d been through. They were on the phone for over an hour and Maggie was able to reassure her so that when they finished Elaine felt far more positive. Taking Maggie’s advice, she sorted out the nursery, bagging up what they didn’t need and making a list of what she had to buy for Anastasia. It would be winter when they went back so she’d need warm clothes. While Elaine was in town she registered with an employment agency that specialized in temporary work and by the next morning had a position in a local firm to cover staff sickness. It gave her a new focus, and although she still thought of Anastasia and missed her, she was in the real world again and far more positive. What started off as one week’s work stretched to five, so that by the time the contract ended there were only three weeks before they had to fly out for the adoption.

      Dr Ciobanu emailed confirming all would be going ahead for 11 a.m. on 23 November and they should arrive in the country no later than twenty-four hours before. He added that Anastasia was looking forward to seeing them and he hoped they were both well. Ian emailed back saying they’d arrive on 18 November so they could spend time with Anastasia in the days before the hearing. Then he booked the flight tickets: two seats confirmed going out and three reserved coming back. Aged two and a half, Anastasia would need a seat of her own, but they couldn’t confirm it until they had her passport number after the court hearing. They were very excited but also anxious that all would go to plan.

      Chapter Eight

       Return

      It was a clear but cold day, 3°C, the captain said over the public address system as the plane began its descent, ready for landing. Ian took Elaine’s hand and smiled. ‘Not long to go now.’ Their excitement had grown during the flight, but so had their apprehension. Once they saw Anastasia and Dr Ciobanu and knew all was well, they would feel more reassured, but for now they held hands and drew strength from each other as they looked through the window and the land below gradually rose up to greet them.

      When they’d booked the cab they’d asked specifically for Danny to collect them, but it was nearly an hour before their cases arrived in the baggage hall. ‘I hope Danny has waited,’ Elaine said nervously, imagining something else that could go wrong.

      ‘If not there’ll be plenty of cabs waiting outside the airport,’ Ian reassured her.

      But as they emerged through the arrivals door, pulling their cases and with bags over their shoulders, they saw Danny straight away. He was directly in front of them, holding up a large piece of cardboard with Hudson written in black marker pen. He spotted them and began waving frantically. Relieved, they quickened their pace. ‘Good to see you,’ he said, greeting them with the warmth of an old friend or relative.

      ‘And you,’ Ian said, shaking his hand.

      ‘So the time has come for you to return and you are happy!’ he said, taking their cases.

      ‘Yes, indeed,’ Elaine replied, and they began towards the car park. ‘How is Anastasia?’ she asked. ‘Did you have a chance to visit her?’

      ‘I am sorry, I didn’t have time. I have been very busy. But I took another couple to the orphanage and they saw her.’

      ‘Really? Did they say how she was? What was she doing?’

      ‘She is well. She was talking to the children in the cots.’

      Elaine smiled, pleased and partly reassured. ‘That sounds like her.’

      Danny loaded their bags and cases into the boot of his cab and Elaine and Ian climbed into the back. He was then silent as he concentrated on navigating out of the busy airport car park, but once on the road he said, ‘Dr Ciobanu told me you can go straight to see Anastasia if you wish. That good?’

      ‘What, now?’ Elaine asked.

      ‘If you want to, then I take you to your hotel after.’

      ‘Oh yes, please, that would be fantastic. We’ve missed her so much.’

      ‘Thank you,’ Ian said.

      ‘The couple you took to the orphanage, are they adopting too?’ Elaine asked out of interest.

      ‘Yes, two boys, with disabilities,’ Danny replied. ‘The children are very lucky. They no longer have to live in cots.’

      Immediately Elaine’s eyes filled, for that was the truth of life in the orphanage for children with disabilities – they did live in cots.

      Danny continued chatting as he drove and asked them about the weather in the UK, which although cold wasn’t as cold as it was there now in November. Ian then asked him about his own family and how his children were.

      ‘They are well, thank you,’ he said. ‘My daughter is studying hard at school but my son messes around sometimes and gets into trouble. I tell him off, and told him he needs to study hard and do well or he will end up driving a cab like me for a living.’

      ‘He could do a lot worse,’ Ian said. ‘Cab drivers are always needed.’

      ‘But I want him to use his brain, earn good money and be respected.’ Which of course is what most parents want for their children, wherever they live in the world.