Page 61 of Key West Homecoming

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I don’t know what I’m walking into tomorrow.”

“That makes sense.”

Emma leaned back in the chair. “I keep thinking about how long eight and a half years is. He knew her all that time, and I never knew he existed.”

“You were living your life in Chicago.”

“I know.”

“And your grandmother was living hers in Key West. Maybe tomorrow you get to learn more about that.”

Emma looked toward the palms beyond the patio.

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

“Then go meet him and listen. You don’t have to decide how you feel about any of it before you get there.”

Emma smiled, “That was almost wise.”

“I have my moments.”

A child said something in the background.

Priya laughed. “Apparently I’m being informed that we need crackers immediately.”

“Then you should handle that.”

“Call me tomorrow after you see him. I can’t wait to hear about him. It’s like a real love story and you know how much I love those.”

“You’re a true romantic, Priya.”

“I don’t know about that. It’s hard to think of myself that way when I’ve got spit-up all over my shirt.”

Emma laughed, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Kiss that baby of yours and get that stroller home.”

Emma ended the call and set her phone beside the letter.

The patio had grown quieter except for the gardener rolling a cart toward the shed. Through the trees, Emma could see lights beginning to come on in the main house.

She thought about how close she’d come to never knowing any of this new information about her grandmother.

If Samantha Larson hadn’t found Gloria’s later will, Emma might never have returned to Key West. She wouldn’t have met Jake or learned that he had kept Gloria’s lilies alive. Connie wouldn’t have remembered the man who used to read to her grandmother, and Edmund Fairbanks would still be carrying whatever Gloria had trusted him to keep. The sequence of events impressed upon her that her story wasn’t finished. She couldn’t imagine what new revelations awaited her in the coming days.

Emma looked down at Edmund’s handwriting.

She wondered what tomorrow would bring, but she decided not to stress about it. She looked forward to meeting Edmund in The Reading Room, and for once she didn’t try to work it out ahead of time. Tomorrow she would sit across from a man who had loved her grandmother for eight and a half years and listen to what he had to say.

For tonight, knowing that her grandmother had spoken of her with great love was enough.

Emma folded the letter along its original creases and slipped it back into the envelope before carrying it inside with the probate file.

Tomorrow at ten, she would finally meet Edmund Fairbanks.