Mom had said almost those exact words to me after my divorce!
I kept searching.
Then I found Evelyn’s obituary.
She’d died seven years earlier!
I kept searching.
I stared at the screen.
I decided to return to the hotel alone, using an errand as an excuse.
***
A woman behind the front desk greeted me. “Can I help you?”
“I’m hoping to ask about the owner, Evelyn.”
Her expression softened. “She was my grandmother.”
“I’m Michael. My mother knew her many years ago.”
“Can I help you?”
“What’s your mother’s name?”
“Victoria.” I also gave her our last name.
The woman froze. “The Victoria?”
“I guess so, yes.”
She stepped around the desk. “I’m Rebecca. Could we talk in my office?”
The woman froze.
I was skeptical and confused, but I followed her down a hallway lined with photos.
One picture stopped me.
A younger version of Mom stood beside Evelyn outside our old apartment building!
Mom was holding a baby.
Me!
“Why is that photo here?”
I was skeptical.
Rebecca smiled sadly. “Grandma kept it on her desk for years.”
I couldn’t understand. “Did they have some kind of disagreement?”
Rebecca hesitated. “I know they lost touch.”
“Did she ever say why?”
“No. But she always hoped Victoria would come back.”
I couldn’t understand.
