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59-year secret...

At last I have the answers


Published by: Laura Hinton and Emma Shephard
Published on: 31st August 2010

Heart racing, I picked up the phone and dialled the number I’d found that morning.
As it began to ring, I closed my eyes and prayed that he’d be in.
It had taken me years to get here, to make this call… ‘Hello?’ a man’s voice answered.
‘Is that Fred?’ I asked. ‘Fred Ashford…?’
‘Speaking.’
‘I think I’m a relative of yours. My name’s Brenda Michelle…’
Before I could finish, he was whooping and shouting: ‘It’s my sister! My baby sister!’
Relief flooded through me – after nearly 60 years, I’d found my real family at last. Later on, my biological sister Pat rang to say she couldn’t wait to meet me.
Growing up, I hadn’t known for sure that I was adopted, but there were always little clues.
Like the time I’d gone to work with Dad.
‘Is this your daughter?’ one of the customers at the car yard said. ‘She looks just like you!’
‘Really?’ Dad beamed.
Back home, he kept going on about it to Mum. I couldn’t understand what all the excitement was about. He was my dad – of course we
looked alike!
As I got older, I noticed more and more – there were no pictures of Mum pregnant, no hospital photos from when I was born…
Then Mum was diagnosed with cancer. She died when I was 24, and me and Dad became closer than ever. So I put my suspicions on the back burner.
I married and had three kids of my own. But when I was 40, my dad sat me down.
‘It’s time you knew… you’re adopted, pet,’ he said.
‘I always suspected. Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘We were afraid to lose you,’ Dad said, sadly. ‘Now you’re free to find your real family.’
‘You’re my real family,’ I smiled. Sadly, he died two years ago. All those old feelings came back – I wanted to know about my background.
‘I’ve always been interested in geneaology,’ announced my friend Gwyneth, loading up a family tree website.
Soon, we’d discovered all sorts of things – I’d always been called Michelle, but my real name was Brenda! And I had two sisters and a brother…
‘It’d be great to get in touch with them,’ I sighed, and began searching for Fred’s number. I couldn’t believe it when I found him – it turned out he’d been looking for me, too!
‘Our mum is still alive,’ he told me. ‘Can I pass on your number?’
I agreed. The next night my mum Elsie called. ‘Tell me you’ve had a good life,’ she said.
‘I couldn’t have asked for better,’ I replied.
I loved my adopted mum and dad, but I’m grateful to have found the other part of my family. I’m complete at last.
Michelle Williams, 59, Scarborough, North Yorkshire