A tinkling bell raced down the hallway, bringing me back to the present. I looked down and spotted my new cat. Someone had left a carrier with a young female black and white tuxedo cat outside the front door to Cris’s veterinary practice. They had been fostering her when Andie, Travis and I had gone up this past weekend. After telling Travis about Cris’s adorable foster dog, Harley, he had requested with gusto to go and meet him. Travis was interested in adopting him since he was allowed dogs in his apartment building, especially now that we didn’t need him to stay with us twenty-four-seven for safety.

When we’d all got to Cris and Rosie’s, I’d never expected we’d also be leaving with a cat. I hadn’t even thought about having a pet since both Andie and I were so busy, but the cat had taken an immediate liking to me. She’d rubbed up against my leg and planted herself in my lap for over an hour. Andie had been captivated and begged me to take her home. Between Andie’s relentless pleading and the cat’s cuteness, I couldn’t resist. Harley won Travis over within the first hour of our visit and he brought him home, too, so I still got to snuggle Harley whenever we all hung out.

I picked up my cat and rubbed my finger over the name tag that was engraved with her new name: Teresa. I wasn’t entirely sure why I’d named her after my biological mother but it had felt right, it had felt like a connection to this new part of my life. While Teresa snuggled into my lap, my phone dinged with a text from Andie. ‘OMG yaaaas, check this out!’ Underneath was a link to an article in The New York Times. Andie had been a whirlwind of support since I’d returned home. She listened with wide eyes as I told her everything we’d learned from the FBI agents, then in true Andie fashion, she dragged me to The Beast and bought me drinks to take my mind off it all. The weirdness over the adoption day photo was long forgotten.

I clicked on the link and started reading. The article was about a bill that was making its way through New York State legislature. The bill, if passed into law in 2020, which seemed likely, would allow adopted adults unrestricted access to their original birth certificates. I knew it wouldn’t tell me anything that I didn’t already know but I still wanted my original birth certificate. It was a part of me, a part of my journey. Relief and joy simultaneously washed over me that soon myself and others like me would have access to this important piece of our history, our existence.