What a rollercoaster

We arrived in Nashville, and the first thing we got to do was almost get arrested. We went to get our rental car, and David questioned their policy on charging us two full days when we'd only need the car about 4 hours on the second day. She said that was their policy, and all the rental companies were that way. She said she didn't like his attitude and wanted him to step away from the counter, and if we didn't, she'd call the police. We were like "what the heck" and then she did call the police. We called the customer service people, and they said they'd get back to us. David was talking with the cops in the meantime, and finally they said they'd walk with me to the counter and see if I could rent the car (the confirmation was in my name). The woman refused to serve me, and said we'd cost her a $200 bonus and she didn't feel inclined to help us. The whole thing was insane and very embarrassing, and we ended up having to rent a more expensive car from another company. Alamo has offered to pay us the difference in price, but David said all he wanted was an apology.

We then went and checked in, and met with the lawyer. David started looking over the forms M had filled out and a lot was missing, and it turned out she didn't really fill them out correctly. The lawyer gave us new forms to take to M. She explained TN law to us. We are not allowed to use Texas consents because we're following TN law with respect to the living expenses, so we have to use TN consents. They have a 72-hour waiting period, and then a 10-day revocation period after the 72 hours has passed. However, if ICPC has cleared, we can go home even if the revocation period hasn't ended. She said that M told her she intended to release the baby to our custody when she was discharged from the hospital.

We felt M out about the whole issue with the third kid. Apparently the family only lives about a 4-hour drive away, and they visit regularly. She had the little girl with her for a while but then she got an ear infection and was pretty sick, so she had the parents come and pick her up. There is definitely no formal adoption, but rather just some loose arrangement. So I guess we're okay with the third kid thing and the voicemail story, although I still find it odd. We discussed the hospital plan and we said we'd love to be there for as much as she would allow, and we are allowed to have a room at the hospital. We discussed contact after the birth, and she said she loves to get pictures and letters, and she'd like to have some visitation, although not as much as with the other family due to the distance.

Other than being overweight, she is very cute and personable. She has a fair, translucent complexion that is very pale with just a blush on the cheeks, blond hair, and big hazel eyes. The pbdad was good looking, nice high cheekbones and gorgeous skin color, a medium mahogany brown. Her other 3 children (with a different father) are all gorgeous, especially the youngest one.

We didn't go out to eat and parted ways because she still had moving things to take care of. We agreed to meet in the morning, and she gave us her address to Mapquest, and said they woke up early so we could call early. We called at 8 AM and her phone was off, and we left a message. I tried every 30 minutes, and also left a message on her sister's phone. At 9:30 we were tired of waiting and feeling frustrated, so we decided to check out and just drive over there. She wasn't home, and we called her sister again and she said she'd try to track M down and have her call us. We went to IHOP because David hadn't eaten much, and sat there feeling very annoyed that we were being blown off after flying all this way. We drove back to the house one last time, and I left the toy I had gotten on her doorstep and the lawyer's papers in the mailbox, and asked her to bring the ultrasound video to the SW or lawyer and have them mail it to me. We left messages with T and the lawyer asking for her mom's phone number, and decided just to head to the airport and go home. We were pretty steaming at this point, and thinking we were going to walk away and that she must have changed her mind after meeting us. T called me back with the mom's number, and also left M a message. She agreed it was really flaky behavior, although not surprising, and told us to tell the mom that this kind of behavior couldn't continue and that we would cut off funds if it did.

So we went to the airport, and I got on an earlier flight back to Houston. We went to the bar to have a drink and grab some lunch, and the guy next to us bought us drinks because we were having such a bad day (thank you, kind random stranger). Also Terry Bradshaw was in the bar, and David bought a Titans football and had him autograph it. I called the mom and she didn't seem to realize who we were, and I told her about cutting money off, and she said "oh, you're the people who want to adopt the baby" and I told her yes. She said she'd track M down and have her call us. Then the lawyer called back and said M had called her. Her daughter had gotten sick the night before and they spent the night in the hospital. Her cell phone died so she couldn't call us (we do have an 800 number and I'm sure she could have found a payphone, but I understand a sick kid). The lawyer told M we were pissed and she should call us right away. M called me about 15 minutes later and apologized profusely. The little girl has whooping cough and was really sick and she was worried. I told her I was sorry for looking like a stalker with all the missed calls and voicemails on her phone and that we'd assumed the worst, and she said oh no, she really liked us and wasn't changing her mind about the baby. She also said that the pbdad was glad he met us and felt much better about the adoption plan, and that he intended to sign his TPR as soon as he gets an ID. I told her to call me in a few days and let me know how her daughter was, and she said she'd call me last night with an update. She didn't call, but she's like that. If I don't hear from her in the next couple of days, I'm going to be upset though.

So we're going to keep taking this one day at a time. We both have a gut feeling that we will end up with the baby, but we have to deal with her flakiness, which is not so easy. That girl can really try my patience, I tell you.