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“Aunt Ginny definitely had a lot of those!” I laugh. “I didn’t see any I’d consider unusual, but there were so many. I didn’t look through them very much, but most of them were from long before I was born. She had a boyfriend who was killed in a boating accident when they were teenagers, and there were a lot of notes they must have passed back and forth in school. I found them kind of hard to read.”
“Hmm.” Nate’s eyes narrow as he scratches his chin.
“What is it?”
“I was just wondering if the letters belonged to Sofia Ramsay or the real Virginia Bay.”
“I hadn’t considered that.” The thought saddens me. “Considering they were from way back before I was born, I guess they’d have to be Virginia’s, wouldn’t they?”
“Or Sofia brought them with her.”
“No, they were addressed to Ginny, not Sofia.”
I’m beginning to wonder if I will ever know the truth, and my frustration must show on my face. Nate pulls me into a tight embrace and kisses me gently. I hold on to him for a long moment before stepping away.
“Let’s start looking in her office,” I say. “That’s where I found the adoption papers. It’s on the second floor.”
I show Nate where I found the papers, and we both carefully sift through all the other documents we can find but to no avail. We go through my aunt’s bedroom drawers and a few boxes in the basement. It stirs up a lot of memories for me, but we find nothing of interest.
“To the shop, then?” Nate asks.
“Maybe that is a better place to look,” I say, “but there are a lot of places information could be hidden there.”
We head outside, but I grab Nate’s hand and pull him to a stop.
“I’m going to make a little side trip before I go inside. Take the keys and let yourself in. I’ll be right back.”
I start toward the back of the house.
“Where are you going?”
“I want to go visit Aunt Ginny’s grave,” I tell him. “The cemetery is just a short walk from here.” I look away, suddenly embarrassed. “I know…I know she wasn’t who I thought she was, but I want to go see her.”
“Of course. I’ll come with you unless you want to be alone.”
I think about it for a moment. It feels strange being in this place with Nate, as if the life I have now is so far removed from where I was just a few months ago that having the two intermingle is unfathomable. On the other hand, I have been alone so much, I like having another person near me.
“I’d like the company, actually.”
I lead Nate straight to Aunt Ginny’s grave, immediately wishing I’d stopped somewhere for fresh flowers first. A few plastic ones sit nearby, covered in snow. I’d placed them there shortly after coming back. I crouch down and wipe the accumulating powder from the top of the rose-colored marble headstone, and Nate takes a few steps away from me, granting me a bit of privacy.
I feel like I should say something, but no words come to mind. All I really want is to be able to ask her the multitude of questions in my head. Sadly, and with more than a little frustration, she’s no longer here to provide answers.
“Maybe it doesn’t matter,” I whisper to myself. “You cared for me and loved me my whole life. Maybe that’s more important than answering any questions.”
I wipe a tear from the corner of my eye.
“Hey, Cherry?”
“Yes?” I blink back tears and rise. Nate is standing just a few feet away, looking down at a small gravestone.
“Come look at this.”
I walk up beside him and look down to find the name “Cherice Montgomery” on the marker at my feet.
“Wow.”
“I guess we know why that name was chosen for your identifying information,” Nate says.
