Umbilicus: An autobiographical novel

PLAYING NANCY DREW

'SO REWIND A BIT. I'm dying to know — if Child Welfare didn't provide you with any contact details for me or Dylan, only our names at the time of your birth, how exactly did you go about tracking us down?'

'Well, the file said that your maiden name was de Beer, at the time of my placement your surname was Farrier, and that your surname now was Jones. I remember studying Dylan's surname and your maiden name, and thinking to myself — Wow, English and Afrikaans. The same as the family I've been raised in — half-English, half-Afrikaans.'

'What was your mom's maiden name?'

'Evans.'

'Now isn't that something!' She smiles then, seemingly happy with this bit of info.

'Anyway, there are obviously a gazillion Joneses in the phone book, so we decided it would be easier to start with Dylan's surname, which was far more unusual, and wouldn't have changed.'

Beth is watching you intently, as though she's following a gripping documentary.

'There were no Farriers in the Durban telephone directory, so Gray's mom phoned her mom — Gray's gran — in Joburg, and there we found one. It belonged to a woman named Sharon, who turned out to be one of Dylan's first cousins. She'd never married, so her surname hadn't changed. She didn't have a number for him, but said she believed he was still living in the Port Shepstone area. Gray's mom then phoned 1023 and asked if there was a Farrier listed in that area, and was told yes, on Silverstream Farm in Oribi Gorge.'

Her eyes are wide now, clearly impressed with your detective work.

'I then phoned the number we were given, and a woman answered. Presumably his wife. I introduced myself as Charlotte van Katwijk and asked if Dylan was available. She said he was out at work, doing some signwriting on two vehicles, and would be back later that afternoon, so I said I would ring back. When I phoned again a few hours later, he answered, and I said, "Hi Dylan, you don't know me, but my name is Charlotte van Katwijk." Straight away he said, "Hello Charlotte, I know exactly who you are. You are my daughter." I have no idea how he knew my name. But he sounded really happy, which helped me relax.'

Beth's hand flutters to her mouth, her eyes dancing with excitement.

'He told me you guys had been expecting this call for a very long time, and that he knew you were dying to meet me. When he told me that you were living in Kloof, I nearly fell off my chair. I told him I had grown up in Westville, which was, like, less than fifteen minutes away, and that I couldn't believe we had lived so close to one another all those years. Then he gave me your number, and asked me for my postal address, so he could write me a letter. As soon as we rung off, I phoned you.'

'And here we are, less than twenty-four hours later!' she grins with childlike glee. 'After so many years of being apart, all it took was a couple of phone calls for us to be reunited! I cannot tell you how excited I was to meet you today. And I know Dylan is dying to meet you too.'

Then a shadow crosses her face, and the expression changes. Her voice is earnest. 'Charlotte, my darling, I am so sorry for all the hassle Child Welfare put you through. That said, I'm extremely relieved they kept enough information on file for you to be able to find me.' She takes a deep breath. 'I have a bit of a confession to make. Dylan and I have known about you — who you are and where you live — for several years now. In fact, you and I have met before.' Her eyes lock into yours, twinkling.