“Hi!” Ella could find no reason not to be just as friendly.
“Are you Ella Copperfield?” the man asked.
“I am.” Ella glanced at the manila envelope, stretched out her hands, and accepted it. She assumed that the envelope had something to do with Will and Ella’s band, Danny’s new school, Laura’s new university, or the Nantucket Jubilee.
“I just need you to sign for this,” the courier said.
Ella flourished her signature across the page without a second thought. She then said, “Have a beautiful day!” and turned on her heel to head back inside. She placed the manila envelope on the kitchen table, grabbed the bag of lime tortilla chips, and returned to the back porch. She would deal with the logistics of that later.
“Who was at the door?” Julia held her tortilla chip near her lips.
“It was a mail courier,” Ella explained. “Something to do with the band, I’m guessing. Or Danny’s school.”
“Oh, gosh. You didn’t look?” Julia’s smile widened. “When I don’t open my mail, the anxiety of what I don’t know follows me around the rest of the day.”
Ella snorted. “I have enough anxiety right now. There’s no way I can add to it.”
“Famous last words,” Charlie said, waving his spatula.
Ella ate a chip slowly and sipped her sparkling water. Charlie lined the burgers across a large white plate while Julia fetched the mustard, ketchup, sliced tomatoes, onions, and lettuce from the fridge. A small seed of dread had been planted in her stomach, but she’d decided to ignore it for now. The manila envelope couldn’t bite her, whatever it contained.
“Can I ask a question?” Jeremy’s eyes flashed dangerously as he tapped a napkin across his lips and set down his burger.
“Uh oh,” Alana joked.
“I’ll ask it anyway,” Jeremy said. “Your parents. Are they…?”
“What?” Julia asked, playing dumb.
“I mean. Are they together?” Jeremy asked.
Alana hissed, “Quiet down! Dad always keeps his study window open.”
“Oh, who cares if he hears?” Jeremy said. “They must know that everyone’s curious about it. They’re still married, after all.”
“As far as I know, Mom sees Dad as often as we do,” Julia said. “Which, admittedly, has been more since Danny came around.”
“But it hasn’t seemed romantic,” Ella affirmed.
“That’s too bad,” Charlie said softly. “They both deserve love in their lives. I hope they find a way to either move on from one another or come back together again.” He glanced lovingly toward Julia and took her hand across the table.
This sent Ella into a tailspin. After all, didn’t this echo what Will had said recently about “moving on”? Although she still hadn’t finished her burger, she stood quickly and nearly toppled her chair to the ground. “Whoops! I’m so clumsy today. I don’t know what’s going on.” Ella tried on a smile and then said, “Does anyone need anything?”
“We’re all set,” Julia said.
Ella padded back inside, gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, and told herself to get a grip. There in the privacy of the kitchen, she tried to stamp out her anxiety. Outside on the back porch, her sisters and their boyfriends howled with laughter at a joke Ella hadn’t heard.
Ella turned back to grab the manila envelope. Maybe Julia was right. It was better to stare whatever this was in the face, deal with it, and move on. That way, it wouldn’t nag at her throughout the afternoon and make her even crazier.
Ella used a knife to slice the top of the manila envelope precisely. Then, she removed the small stack of printouts and placed them in front of her.
At the very top of the stack was a black-and-white copy of a birth certificate. Ella turned it so that she could read it.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH