The Phone Rang - Rebecca Link

The baby named Alonya was no longer available. The baby I had held in my heart for three months waiting to see was to be adopted by a Russian citizen. Gary and I went to the Board of Education in Perm and received four referrals. It is mandatory for the Board of Education to give you permission to see specific children in the orphanage. The first baby was a girl and she had large blue eyes. She was
unresponsive. I held her and she just hung over like a Raggedy Ann doll. The doctor shook his head “no” at me. I wondered could I hold up through this process? How could I make such a significant decision, in just a few minutes that would affect me the rest of my life? I told Gary you will have to choose, after losing Alonya I feel paralyzed. The second baby they brought out was wiggling and looking into my eyes. Her name was Olga Frash. When Gary held her she was mesmerized by his face and mustache. She would laugh and giggle. She had very long fingers and toes. When we sat her down she would reach for Gary. She got into Gary’s travel bag and started taking everything out. The doctor smiled at me and shook his head “yes”. Gary said,” We don’t need to look further, she is the one.”

After signing all the proper documentation we flew home to wait for our court date. We had taken many picture of Olga and I looked at them through out each day. I kept praying God would help me through all of this. I felt unsettled. I wondered about Alonya and where she was. My mother had a hard time letting go of her too. She included Alonya in her prayers each night.

I had gone to the grocery store and was carrying the bags into the house when Gary walked out of our separate office. He had a concerned look on his face. I asked him, “What is wrong?” He asked me to come in and sit down. My first thought was: we lost another baby. He told me, “Melody just phoned from the adoption agency and it appears the Russian couple did not qualify to adopt Alonya. They will allow us to pick from the two babies.” I told him,” There is no way I could choose who to leave behind. I want them both!” Gary agreed. One phone call changed everything. I felt settled.