Anna arrived shortly after one in the morning.<\/p>\n
I had expected the late hour to make the meeting feel unreal.<\/p>\n
Instead it made everything more intimate.<\/p>\n
No traffic.<\/p>\n
No neighbors mowing lawns.<\/p>\n
No ordinary noise to distract us.<\/p>\n
Rebecca insisted we meet at my house rather than hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeutral ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
I almost pointed out that it was not neutral at all.<\/p>\n
Carol had lived here for thirty years.<\/p>\n
Her photographs covered the walls.<\/p>\n
Her dishes were still in the cabinets.<\/p>\n
Her coat still hung by the door.<\/p>\n
But I understood what Rebecca meant.<\/p>\n
My house belonged to the story before any of us fully understood it.<\/p>\n
So we waited.<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
The cedar box remained closed on the counter.<\/p>\n
She had not opened Carol\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
I had not asked why.<\/p>\n
Around twelve thirty, I made coffee.<\/p>\n
Neither of us drank much.<\/p>\n
At twelve fifty-seven, headlights crossed the living room window.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want me to answer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then immediately:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
We walked together toward the front door.<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s car sat at the curb.<\/p>\n
She remained inside for almost a minute.<\/p>\n
Then the driver's door opened.<\/p>\n
She stepped out wearing a dark coat and carrying a small overnight bag.<\/p>\n
Her silver hair moved in the wind.<\/p>\n
Rebecca gripped the doorknob.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe looks like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked from one woman to the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not exactly.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had my chin.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n
But her eyes belonged unmistakably to Anna.<\/p>\n
So did the way she hesitated before difficult conversations.<\/p>\n
I had never known that.<\/p>\n
Anna climbed the porch steps.<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened the door before she could knock.<\/p>\n
Both women froze.<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face collapsed first.<\/p>\n
She covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Rebecca went rigid.<\/p>\n
For a long moment, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
I stayed several feet behind my daughter.<\/p>\n
This was theirs.<\/p>\n
Anna lowered her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughter\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna gave a tiny laugh through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither moved forward.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
I remembered Rebecca\u2019s warning.<\/p>\n
No movie moment.<\/p>\n
No forced reunion.<\/p>\n
Just two women looking at each other across forty years.<\/p>\n
Anna spoke first.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca wiped one tear away.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like something Dad would say.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Anna did.<\/p>\n
Rebecca did too.<\/p>\n
The tension loosened by one degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome in,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n
Anna stepped across the threshold.<\/p>\n
Her eyes moved around the entryway.<\/p>\n
She saw Carol\u2019s coat.<\/p>\n
The framed family photographs.<\/p>\n
The staircase.<\/p>\n
Everything that represented the life she might have imagined from a distance.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether I should apologize for any of it.<\/p>\n
Then realized apology would only make the moment about me.<\/p>\n
We moved to the living room.<\/p>\n
Anna sat on one end of the sofa.<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat in the chair opposite.<\/p>\n
I remained standing until Rebecca pointed toward another chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, sit down. You're making this weirder.\u201d<\/p>\n
I obeyed.<\/p>\n
Anna smiled nervously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m good at weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo is he.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first thing they agreed on.<\/p>\n
The similarity in their humor hit me harder than their eyes.<\/p>\n
Rebecca noticed me watching.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking like you\u2019re doing genealogy in your head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna laughed.<\/p>\n
I raised both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds we sat quietly.<\/p>\n
Then Rebecca said, \u201cI don't know what to ask first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to ask anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove Dad crazy with questions already.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father used to ask five questions before I'd answered the first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shrugged.<\/p>\n
Apparently some traits traveled through blood and forty years of distance.<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever see me after I was born?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little over a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Dad said the adoption happened quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you held me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked down at her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did I look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca laughed unexpectedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hated the blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat blanket?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPink. Scratchy. Hospital issued.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still hate pink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you tell her that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talked about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna said, \u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca considered that.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I cry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou screamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had dark hair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was bald in every baby photo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt fell out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems rude.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had long fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at her own hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandmother Louise had them too.\u201d<\/p>\n
A new name entered the room.<\/p>\n
Rebecca absorbed it carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy biological grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did she die?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know what happened to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she help Grandma Ruth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she try to help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe begged me not to sign anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s gaze sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you signed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was medicated. Exhausted. Afraid. And Ruth had convinced me you would go to Walter and Carol anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed fighting would only make your life unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the same as wanting to give me away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you regret it immediately?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you tried to revoke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree days later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you come to Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned toward me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Anna was told.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Carol and Ruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed your father had chosen Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hadn't,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Rebecca opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three words.<\/p>\n
Simple.<\/p>\n
But they mattered.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I sensed she had separated my ignorance from everyone else\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
Anna clasped her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to tell you something before you ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought about you every birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughter stiffened.<\/p>\n
Anna looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat probably sounds manipulative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't mean I sat around crying every February.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked. I traveled some. I took care of my mother. I had relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you married?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna gave a small shrug.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrong people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
She noticed.<\/p>\n
Of course she did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWere any of them Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna gave the faintest smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughter relaxed slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never had another child?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you couldn't?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna took a long breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca studied her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were scared?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer hurt the room.<\/p>\n
Anna continued quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because having you was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean losing you changed how I thought about motherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence returned.<\/p>\n
Then Rebecca asked, \u201cDid you hate my mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s eyes moved toward Carol\u2019s photograph on the mantel.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated what she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not hate her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna thought for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause hatred kept Ruth too important in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Carol?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol was young. Afraid. She made choices that harmed me. I don't excuse those choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I knew something she didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat punishment doesn't return lost years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward the photograph too.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s voice remained gentle.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I know what it looks like when someone speaks about a child they love. Walter did that when he talked about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s eyes moved toward me.<\/p>\n
I pretended not to notice.<\/p>\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd from what I've seen in this house, Carol did too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes that make it okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Then she asked the question I had known was coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you have raised me alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna did not hesitate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith no money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after your dad lost his job?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven with Grandma Louise sick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Ruth lied when she said you couldn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you have any plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA terrible one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to move in with Ellen and work evenings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had an offer at a pharmacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca gave a small smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a pharmacist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI run the pharmacy at County General.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched something pass between them.<\/p>\n
Not destiny.<\/p>\n
Nothing dramatic.<\/p>\n
Just coincidence carrying emotional weight because of everything around it.<\/p>\n
Anna laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked pharmacy counters for thirty-two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeriously?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat department?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly retail. Later hospital distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time that night, Rebecca looked genuinely fascinated rather than wounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat made you choose pharmacy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother took a lot of medication. I learned the names.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMine was because I hated organic chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems backward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated it, so I got angry and refused to let it beat me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds familiar too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Walter did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward me.<\/p>\n
I shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI once retook statistics because I got a B.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're both insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna laughed.<\/p>\n
Again that unexpected familiarity filled the room.<\/p>\n
Then Rebecca remembered herself.<\/p>\n
Her smile faded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want this to feel easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep liking things about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I feel disloyal to Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't owe me loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward Carol\u2019s photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I enjoy meeting you, it feels like I\u2019m replacing her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't raise you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave birth to you. I loved you before I knew you. I searched for you. All of that is true.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Carol raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is also true.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughter pressed her lips together.<\/p>\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be angry with her and still call her Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca began crying.<\/p>\n
This time Anna did not move toward her.<\/p>\n
She let her choose the distance.<\/p>\n
After a while, Rebecca wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought something.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened her purse.<\/p>\n
Carol\u2019s envelope.<\/p>\n
Anna stared at the handwriting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's hers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote it when I was fourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca turned the envelope over.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hid it in Grandpa\u2019s box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hasn't opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca held the envelope between both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to read it with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems to be our family motto tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then she slid one finger beneath the flap.<\/p>\n
The glue had weakened with age.<\/p>\n
The envelope opened easily.<\/p>\n
Inside were four handwritten pages.<\/p>\n
Rebecca unfolded them.<\/p>\n
She read the first sentence silently.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked.<\/p>\n
She looked at Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom knew your address.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca read aloud.<\/p>\n
Rebecca,<\/p>\n
If you are reading this, then either I finally became brave enough to tell you the truth, or someone else became brave for me.<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
I had known for years that your birth mother lived in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
Anna covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Rebecca kept reading.<\/p>\n
She had written to you.<\/p>\n
Not once.<\/p>\n
Several times.<\/p>\n
The letters never reached you.<\/p>\n
Rebecca lowered the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wrote letters?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I found out where your family lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old was I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time? About seven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward me.<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Carol had intercepted letters directly addressed to our daughter.<\/p>\n
Not just Anna\u2019s letters to me.<\/p>\n
Rebecca returned to Carol\u2019s confession.<\/p>\n
Your grandmother Ruth asked me to destroy them.<\/p>\n
I told myself you were too young.<\/p>\n
Later I told myself you were too happy.<\/p>\n
Then I told myself I would give them to you when you were older.<\/p>\n
I never did.<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
She scanned the page.<\/p>\n
Then froze.<\/p>\n
Carol had written an answer.<\/p>\n
They are in the blue suitcase beneath the false bottom.<\/p>\n
All of Anna\u2019s letters.<\/p>\n
Every one.<\/p>\n
Rebecca lowered Carol\u2019s confession.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat blue suitcase?\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew.<\/p>\n
The suitcase had belonged to Carol\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
Small.<\/p>\n
Hard-sided.<\/p>\n
Blue vinyl.<\/p>\n
She kept it in the attic for decades.<\/p>\n
After the attic was cleared, it came here.<\/p>\n
Then the storage unit.<\/p>\n
I looked toward Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in 214.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood immediately.<\/p>\n
Anna rose too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just came from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca folded Carol\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s after two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither did I.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, the three of us stood beneath fluorescent lights in the storage facility.<\/p>\n
Rebecca found the blue suitcase on the highest shelf.<\/p>\n
I brought it down.<\/p>\n
Anna touched the handle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember writing them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d Rebecca asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe ten.\u201d<\/p>\n
We opened the suitcase.<\/p>\n
Clothes.<\/p>\n
A scarf.<\/p>\n
Nothing else.<\/p>\n
Rebecca pressed against the bottom.<\/p>\n
Cardboard shifted.<\/p>\n
She lifted the false panel.<\/p>\n
Underneath lay a bundle tied with faded white ribbon.<\/p>\n
Envelopes.<\/p>\n
All addressed in Anna\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n
To Rebecca Miller.<\/p>\n
My daughter picked up the first letter.<\/p>\n
The postmark was thirty-one years old.<\/p>\n
She had been seven.<\/p>\n
Anna whispered, \u201cI thought none of them arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the stack.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Rebecca untied the ribbon.<\/p>\n
Then she said something that changed the night again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want to read them alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca held out the first envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s hands began to shake.<\/p>\n
Anna arrived shortly after one in the morning. I had expected the late hour to make the meeting feel unreal. Instead it made everything more intimate. No traffic. No neighbors … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24260,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24225\/revisions\/24260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}