All I could say was, "Hi." I didn't know what else to say. I wasn't even sure what to call him; it was too soon to call him "Dad," too disrespectful and impersonal to call him "Jack."

Once it became clear that I was who I said I was and she was who she said she was (based on the info I'd gotten over the past 20 years), Vanessa said, "I've been waiting for this call for 40 years." Her tone was a combination of relieve and disbelief.

I signed the letter "Christina." I had never used that name before and it seemed so alien to me as my hand forced the signature. Yet, when Sarah called me one month later asking for Christina, I answered "this is she" without hesitation.