Footnotes

After being raised by a single Caucasian mother in a small, Ohio farm town, Sydney Horvath has grown into a successful woman with the ideal husband, family and career.  Her life is interrupted when her African American father finds her, meeting his daughter for the first time since he left her mother during pregnancy. Sydney must decide if she should develop a relationship with her ailing father despite a childhood laced in prejudice based on her biracial ethnicity and poverty that she believes he is responsible for. Examining a past that transformed Sidney from a bullied child to a confident athlete, she must once again learn from her experiences in the face of adversity.

Jane Johnson returns to her hometown of New Albany, Ohio after discovering she is pregnant.  Ostracized by her family, Jane is forced to raise Sydney as a single mother on the brink of poverty. With the help of neighbors and members of the community, Sydney develops into a successful student athlete. However, she spends much of her childhood socially isolated by her peers due to her ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Sydney remains in Ohio, attending The Ohio State University as a student athlete. Petar and Sydney Horvath live in Westerville, Ohio with their two children. It is where Joe Rivers meets his daughter for the first time.

In spring, the air was pungent with fertilizer as dust clouds trailed behind farm equipment opening the hardened soil like a zipper. In summer, heat rippled above neat agricultural rows, while cicadas sang their alien song. The sound of baseballs hitting bats echoed behind the supermarket, a roar of applause following youthful accomplishment. The tiny township pool teemed with children at midday, eager for entertainment and seeking relief from Midwest humidity in the chlorinated chill. At night, chirping crickets and creaking katydids filled the air with a comforting symphony that provided suitable company for the constellations, easily seen without light pollution to obscure the stars. In autumn, the main streets were littered with changing foliage, and the marching band and football announcers were heard a mile from the school on Friday nights. The inhabitants were proud of its patriotism and nostalgic for its history, true Americana, though they wouldn't have thought to call it that. It was simply home.

Like a child seeing a monster in nighttime shadows, Sydney tried to reassure herself. He’s not real. He never was. He did not exist in my life as a child and he cannot exist now.

 Except, the shadow was real. It was a man looking at her and speaking to her, waiting for a response that she was helpless to give.

Born and raised in Zagreb, Sydney’s husband Petar Horvath left his home at the dawn of their war for independence. Sydney is welcomed into his family, which has been a part of the dramatic governmental changes of Eastern Europe. In a country thousands of miles from her hometown, Sydney finds understanding among those familiar with the burden and consequences of discrimination.

“It is not infrequent that the children of intermarried parents are referred to not merely as the children of intermarried parents but as the victims of intermarried parents and as the martyrs of intermarried parents.” Assistant Attorney General R. D. McIlwaine III for the state of Virginia. Loving v. Virginia (April 10, 1967).

Born to a Caucasian mother and African American father less than a decade after interracial marriage was legalized, Sydney spends her childhood battling prejudice due to her multiracial background and socioeconomic status. As an adult, Sydney finds acceptance in a more diverse community, but continues to question the necessity of racial identity.

 In the decade since marrying Petar, Sydney had often wondered if it was easier for her being married to someone from another country. Black or white, theirs still would have been a multicultural marriage and perhaps she would always be more comfortable veering away from something neatly categorical, something she would never be. Their children were less easy to group, which inevitably led Sydney back to the question of whether it was important. If she showed them the pictures of Joe's family, their black family, would they focus on the shades in the picture or the stories behind them.

Oregon is the home of the Rivers family, Sydney’s African American relatives. Her father, Joe Rivers, resides in Portland, Oregon with his two adult children, Nicole and Ben.

Joe looked at Sydney, pain in his eyes, “I wish I could take you and your family to that beach. It is so beautiful, especially on a sunny day.” He returned his attention to the photos, “Everything looks different in the light.”

Sydney swallowed the thickness in her throat. What could she say to a wish that would never be granted?