“With us.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Susan was very young when Anna was born. Her life had fallen apart. She couldn’t take care of the child. Our parents decided Anna would stay with us for a few years until Susan got back on her feet.”
“And then?”
“Then Susan came back.”
Grandpa opened another envelope.
There were letters inside.
“She came to take her daughter home. But there was a huge fight in the family. My father refused to give the child back.”
“How could anyone take a child away from her mother?”
George’s eyes filled with tears.
“They couldn’t.”
My phone vibrated again.
Susan.
He still hasn’t told you who stayed beside the child the day I came to take her back.
I looked at Grandpa.
He already knew what I was about to ask.
“Who?”
George barely whispered,
“Linda.”
My mother.
“How old was Mom?”
“Thirteen.”
The story was finally starting to take shape.
My mother and little Anna had grown up together.
Like sisters.
When Susan returned to take her daughter back, Linda had been terrified of losing her.
“But that still doesn’t explain why Mom refuses to hear Susan’s name even now.”
