That phone call couldn’t wait any longer.
CHAPTER 7
THE INTERVIEW
2021
[Roll package]
JODI LEE: She was only six when her life began. At least that’s what Marlow Fin says, as we learn more about her harrowing start to some more hopeful early years. Patrick and Stella Baek legally adopted Marlow, becoming the only parents she has ever known. But what were those beginning years like?
[Studio]
JODI LEE: Why do you think the Baek family took you in?
MARLOW FIN: You know, I’ve never really asked myself that. I think it’s because I don’t want to know the real answer.
JODI LEE: Is that because you don’t like the possibilities?
MARLOW FIN: I think it’s because I will never fully know. But what I can guess? They felt obligated. That doesn’t scream love, I know. But I always felt my father pushed for it. As a man who always thought he was doing the right thing. My mother was never quite all there for me. Did she fulfill all her duties as a mother? Yes. But I could sense that she wouldn’t miss me. That if I were to suddenly disappear, she wouldn’t be sad—not really, anyways.
JODI LEE: That’s a tough, tough thing to think as a child. That your mother wouldn’t miss you?
MARLOW FIN: She did her best. I won’t fault her for that.
JODI LEE: Most people would be less forgiving. Maybe even unforgiving.
MARLOW FIN: I never said I was forgiving.
JODI LEE: You call them your mother and father. Yet you don’t share their last name?
MARLOW FIN: I legally changed it.
JODI LEE: Why? A family that takes you in. Legally adopts you. Raises you. Why get rid of their very name?
MARLOW FIN: It wasn’t out of spite, if that’s what you’re getting at.
JODI LEE: A lot of people find that hard to believe.
MARLOW FIN: [Smiles] I’m sorry. I smile anytime I get emotional. It’s like a reflex. It makes me look like a psychotic clown, I know . . . but yeah. I can see why people think that.
JODI LEE: Fin. That’s the name you chose instead, right?
MARLOW FIN: Yes. My agent suggested—well, told me—to change it when I was eighteen. I told her no way. But then I kind of liked the idea. It was stupid—I mean, who knows what I was thinking? I sure as hell don’t, I was a kid. It sounded cool, rebellious, you know? So I changed it to Fin. I was booking some of my first shows in Paris when I got the idea for that. I know [rolls eyes], exceptionally cliché—a model visiting Paris for the first time decides to go with something French. I think we all have regrets from our youth. Though I can’t say I fully regret this one.
JODI LEE: Why Fin?
MARLOW FIN: It means “end” in French.
JODI LEE: As in . . .
MARLOW FIN: The end.
JODI LEE: I’m going to jump back a little here. You’re six years old. You aren’t speaking. You don’t have any memory. A family takes you in. Do you remember those first moments? Days? Weeks . . . being with your new family?
MARLOW FIN: A lot of what happened the night I was found—and those moments leading up to the hospital—is a blur. I can recall bits and pieces. I know someone put a blanket on me. I remember my sister’s face in the hospital. How she kept looking at me. I don’t remember any of the doctors or nurses. But I remember Isla.
JODI LEE: What do you remember about Isla from the hospital?
MARLOW FIN: She was always at my side.
JODI LEE: Anything else?
MARLOW FIN: No. Just that. But the first night out of the hospital is pretty clear, though. Yeah . . . that’s a good memory.
JODI LEE: Yeah?
MARLOW FIN: We drove in this old Jeep. I don’t think it’s around anymore. But we drove it all the way back to the Twin Cities. My father pulled up into the driveway. It was dark enough where I didn’t see the house. But he held me and carried me inside.
When he opened the front door, there was suddenly so much light . . . so much brightness. I don’t know if that’s actually what I saw or if I’m only remembering it this way. It was such a light after being in the dark so long. Being in that house was its own blanket for me. That’s the only way I can describe it.
There was very little talking. Everyone was quiet, like they were afraid if they talked too much it would startle me or become too much for me. Instead, I got fed something warm and wonderful by Moni. That’s my grandmother . . .
JODI LEE: Are you okay?
MARLOW FIN: Yes. I’m fine . . .
JODI LEE: You sure?
