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I've always known that I was adopted. In 2003 at the age of fifty one, I finally decided to look for my birth mother. After a short, but hectic search I found my mother in California, and I travelled from Scotland where I lived at the time to look her up.

She welcomed me with open arms and we hit it off right away. Mum is now telling me the story about my real father.

Part Eleven.


"Well, Ulla, 1951 started out with January being one of the coldest in living memory. I lived in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the time, and nobody seemed to remember anything like it.
And I'm sure you'd like to ask what on earth I was doing there of all places."

I could only nod, because that was exactly what I was thinking. We both took a sip of our wine. I looked at Mum and nodded again, which she understood to mean as an encouragement to continue her tale. She took a deep breath and leant slightly towards me.

"Well before I even thought of going to Sweden, I trained as a hat designer in Copenhagen. I passed all my exams and started out fairly well. I managed to sell some lovely creations of mine, but time and fashion were changing, so making a living from it became difficult. I think hats were going out of fashion, and fast. Another issue was that your grandmother and I were starting to get on each other's nerves. I realised that it was time to leave home, and what's more I wanted to."

"OK, Mum," I said looking her in the eye, "I understand all that, but why Sweden?"

At this point mum hesitated, as if to figure out what to say next, but after a deep breath she carried on.

"I understand your questions and the concern that you obviously harbour, but it will soon become clear."

I nodded, and seeing my face, she soon added, "that doesn't mean you can't ask any questions."

I inclined my head in agreement and she resumed.

"I'd seen this advert from a family in Sweden who were advertising for a young person to look after their children. I thought that I could do that. It would take me away from home and, well, out of my mother's influence. Suited me down to the ground. So I applied, and was lucky to get the position. In early 1950 I went to Gothenburg and moved in with the family. The children were adorable and the parents, well, they were friendly and very approachable. To be honest, it was a bit of an adventure for me as I'd always wanted to travel. Don't look at me like that, Ulla, I know Sweden is not a million miles away, but in 1950, it was far enough."

I smiled at that, nodded in agreement and continued to say, "all right so you were effectively what we would call an 'au pair' today."

Mum smiled as she leant back in her chair. "That's exactly right. And that brings us back to where I started."

"Tuesday was my day off, and on that particular January day I'd decided to go into the downtown area of the city. There were some wonderful shops I wanted to look at, and looking at them was all I could afford, but that didn't stop me from dreaming that maybe one day... just maybe. I was familiar with a couple of the cafes in the area, one of which I'd planned to visit to have a hot chocolate. I also remember how icy the streets were, and how we all struggled from falling. Just to keep upright was difficult in places. The few cars that were about, not that you saw that many in those days, were skidding on the ice not making much progress at all. The drivers were probably cursing that they were there in the first place."

I nodded again smiling, but said nothing.

"And yet, it was amid all this misery and minor chaos that I met your father. He was taller than life itself and most likely one of the most handsome men I'd ever seen. Not that I'd seen that many, let alone met one, but he had this special something that I will never forget. His hair was fair contrasted by his darkened skin, and then there were those eyes. I will never forget them. Penetrating and dark. Ulla, he swept me away!"

At this point Mum's eyes filled with tears, and I realised the memories were taking over. But I knew better than to say anything.

We looked at each other in silence while we took yet another sip of our wine. I could see that this was difficult. Mum had probably not thought about it for a very long time, let alone talked about it. So I just sat back and nursed my glass while I waited for her to continue.

Mum didn't say anything for the longest time, until she suddenly sat up straight as if to say. OK. I'm ready now. Ready to carry on with the story. A smile graced her face as she remembered what was happening next.

"We literally bumped into each other, but I was so busy to look where I was going that I didn't pay any attention to what was happening around me. The next thing I knew was that a pair of strong arms were holding me, preventing me from falling over. And that was when I first laid eyes on your father."

"Wow! Young Lady watch where you're going. Can't hurry like you're doing in these conditions. You'll harm yourself that way." His dark eyes sparkled with laughter.

"Ulla, I think I fell in love with your father there and then. Next thing he invited me for a hot drink, and before I knew it I accepted."

To Be Continued.