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Missing Pieces

by April Erwin

197 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1082; ISBN 1-4120-0714-3; US$19.50, C$22.00, EUR16.00, £11.50

A recurring dream drives Elaine to search for her biological family. Who is the old man in her dream and what will she find at the end of her journey?

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About the Book Elaine thought she had accepted her life as an adopted child. Now, on the verge of college graduation and her twenty-fi rst birthday, she's not so sure. A recurring dream from her childhood has returned. Who is the old man in the dream and why does it seem so important to fi nd him? Despite her mother's pleas, Elaine begins a search that leads her from Boston, Massachusetts to Independence, Missouri. Alone for the first time in her life, Elaine is faced with choices she wouldn't have imagined. What is she really searching for, and will she be willing to accept what she finds? Love, faith and family will all be tested as she searches for the Missing Pieces. For more information please visit www.theerwins.com Reader's Comments: "Thank you for sending the book so quickly. I have already started to read it. I've gotten to chapter 3 and I had tears in my eyes as I read it. It is a wonderful story. Congratulations! Looking forward to the next one. " Ruth Ellen Wade, Mountain Grove, MO "I'm enjoying your book so much. I can't wait to finish my daily chores so I can get back to it. God bless." Wanda Burford, Independence, MO "I just finished reading Missing Pieces! Yeah! It was wonderful! Great job April! I can't wait for the next book! Amy Ragland, Oak Grove, MO

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About the Author April Ann Erwin was born and raised in Independence, Missouri where she still resides with her faithful dog Raquel. This is the fi rst of what she hopes will be a long succession of novels. Raised in the Gospel, one of April's lifelong dreams was to become a writer and use it as a vehicle to witness of her Christian faith. She also enjoys singing and traveling. Her other hobbies include songwriting, graphology and photography.

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Excerpts

Prologue

"Mama!" little Elaine wailed as she sat straight up in bed. Tears ran down her chubby cheeks. "Mama, I need you." She picked up her stuffed bear and squeezed it close to her chest as she rocked back and forth.
"Elaine, I'm here." Aggie rushed into her five-yearold's room with her husband close on her heels. She sat on the edge of the pink bedspread and scooped Elaine onto her lap where the little girl promptly snuggled against her. "I'm here, honey. Mama's here. Did you have another bad dream?"
    Elaine lifted her head from her mother's chest where it had been tucked.
    "Mama, why won't the old man stay with me?" Elaine's eyes were full of sadness and questioning.
    "What old man, sweetie?" Aggie was growing concerned. This night time routine was becoming all too frequent.
    Childless, she and her husband had adopted the adorable redhead she now cuddled. Within the last few months since the adoption had been finalized, Elaine had begun having recurring dreams. She could never fully explain what she dreamed, but that didn't stop her from crying out. "The old man, Mama." Elaine lifted her head to look at her new mother. "He loves me. I want him to stay with me, but he won't."
    Elaine burst into tears again and tucked her tousled red curls back under her mother's chin. Wide green eyes watched her father as he stood in the doorway with a look of concern on his face. Elaine knew that her dreams were upsetting to her new parents. She could see the worry in their eyes and hear it in their voices when they thought she couldn't hear them discussing her. She needed to stop scaring them, but somehow she couldn't stop from crying out in her sleep.
    She didn't want to make her new family give her back. She would have to be a big girl. She sat up and sniffled. "I'm okay, Mama. I'll go back to sleep now." She scooted back onto the bed and let her mother tuck her in. "Are you sure you're okay, sweetheart?"
    Aggie wasn't sure what to do. Being a mother was so new to her. She had fallen in love with this child from the moment she'd laid eyes on her. She hadn't known you could love a child so much that wasn't your own flesh and blood, but she did. Their hearts were eternally linked.
    She secretly feared that Elaine's dreams were actually memories. What if one day Elaine went looking for the old man? What if one day she found him and left her parents far behind? She wouldn't, couldn't, ever give up Elaine. Aggie pushed the questions aside as she leaned down to kiss her baby girl.
    "I'm okay, Mama, g'night. I love you." Elaine planted a damp kiss on her mother's cheek.
    "Good night, Princess. We'll be right down the hall if you need us." Bill accepted the hug and Eskimo kisses she offered. He stood and put his arm around his wife and led her out of the room.
    The teddy bear night-light glowed warmly, and Elainestared at it, lost in her little girl thoughts. She wasn't scared. She didn't know why she dreamed what she did. She didn't even know who it was she dreamed about, although as she was waking up she felt like if she could just try hard enough she would remember when she awoke. It was frustrating, the longer she was awake, the further away the dream seemed. All she was left with was a sense of being loved. No faces, no names, and no clue as to what it all meant.
    She pulled her teddy bear close and looked into its brown glass eyes. "Who is he, Boo-Boo?" Boo-Boo didn't answer; he just stared back with the same questioning look that Elaine felt. She snuggled down and closed her eyes. Maybe if she tried she'd remember, or then again maybe she'd better try to forget. She liked it in her new home. She loved her new mama and daddy. She wanted to stay.

Chapter One
    Read it again, please." A young Elaine said adoringly. The old man smiled at her and tousled her hair. "Okay, Doodlebug."
    Elaine jerked awake as her bedside phone rang. "No!" she groaned and buried her head under her pillow. She had to go back to sleep and finish the dream. She tried to relax and bring back the images that were so fleeting, but couldn't. She couldn't even picture the old man. She sat up in frustration. Why could she never seem to remember the dream? She hadn't had it since she was a little girl. Why would she dream it now, and why did it seem so important to remember it?
    She climbed out of bed. Suddenly she felt today was not going to be the happy twenty-first birthday she had hoped for. She took her time putting on her robe and heading for the bathroom. Maybe a long hot shower would make her feel better.
    "Elaine, Brenna's on the phone," Aggie called up the stairs.
    "Thanks, Mom." Elaine turned back to the phone beside her bed.
    "Hey, girl." Elaine flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
    "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...," Brenna sang in a fake falsetto. "Are you ready to celebrate?"
    Her voice was practically overflowing with energy. It was much too early on a Saturday to have that much energy, but that was Brenna. When most children had outgrown the internal alarm clock that prompted them to get up at the crack of dawn to watch cartoons, Brenna had not. She still got up way too early to be considered normal, and she still watched cartoons. Elaine could hear the noisy sound effects of the Saturday morning specials playing in the background.
    "Yeah, I'm all ready to celebrate." Elaine stifled a yawn.
    "Yeah, I can tell," Brenna dead panned. "You sound so excited. Have you not had your shower yet? I know you're never fully awake until you have."
    "No." Elaine stretched and sat up to look at the clock by her bed. It read 9:28 am, late by Brenna's standards but early by hers. "I was headed in that direction when you called.
    It's okay though, I was going to call you anyway and see when you wanted to meet me at the shopping center."
    "Let's do lunch, Dahling," Brenna drawled over the phone. "Then we can hit a few of those fabulous stores." She giggled. "How about noon? Will that give Sleeping Beauty enough time to wake up and get ready?"
    "Ha, ha." Elaine smiled at the receiver. "If I get to be Sleeping Beauty today, then where's my Prince Philip?"
    Elaine loved the story of Briar Rose. It was one of her favorites, second only to the classic Cinderella.
    "I'll have him delivered immediately, sword and white steed included." Brenna announced solemnly. "Of course I have to find my magic wand first, and we both know how long it takes me to find anything in this room of mine."
    Elaine laughed. "Okay, noon it is. I'll be there with bells on." Elaine said goodbye and hung up the phone.
    Thank the Lord for friends like Brenna. They had been closer than sisters ever since kindergarten. She hoped that once they got together, she would be able to put the unsettled feeling the dream had left her with in the back of her mind. The two of them had always done everything together.
    Brenna was popular and pretty and all the guys liked her. Elaine had always thought of herself as a backdrop for Brenna's nonstop social life, but she didn't mind. She was not the social butterfly type. It was nice to hear about all the dates and projects, but she had never wanted to have that much attention placed on her. She was more the shy, studious type.
    She had always had plenty of friends and enjoyed working in her youth group as a volunteer, but the thought of being center stage all the time put her stomach in knots.
    Elaine pulled her favorite jeans and a fuzzy green sweater that matched her eyes out of the closet and laid them across her bed. As she turned around she caught her reflection in the full length mirror hanging from the closet door. She was surprised to see how grim she looked. Why was she so unhappy?
    Today was a big day. After shopping with Brenna, the rest of her friends were joining them at Alonzo's, her favorite restaurant.
    "Snap out of it, Elaine. You will enjoy yourself today." She shook her head for emphasis and started toward the bathroom for her wake-up shower. "Just forget about the dream. It doesn't mean a thing."
    Somehow she didn't really believe that the dream meant nothing. She had this sense that something big was on the horizon. The unsettled feeling that had begun as a slight twinge eight months ago was beginning to intensify.

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Catalogue Information

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