In adoption, the whole string of events takes on such mystical proportions that biology hardly seems worth quibbling about. No one tells you that though. The specialists are busy suggesting that you massage donkey urine on the inside of your thighs and have regular sex on the first Thursday of the month. God forbid you shouldn't have your very own genetic repro. Private adoption doesn't always work.
Birth mothers can change their minds.
We did not know until the end if Bettina could go through with it, but she did. When she first appeared at our door, we looked at each other and took a step back. She looked like my niece. There were magic moments of coincidence. Every step fell into place when it could so easily have fallen off the track.