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“Remember when we used to play in the barn?” her mother asked. Rene just nodded. “And that old swing? See, when this photo was taken, papa still hadn’t put it up. He had a broken leg that summer.”
Rene remembered all of these stories, but not because she was there. She had heard them so many times before, when her mother would talk to her as if she were her sister and they were reminiscing about the good old days.
The next page revealed a bunch of people sitting around a long table with food and drink. All those people were smiling, and one was secretly feeding the dog scraps under the table.
“Here is your uncle feeding Snippy,” her mother pointed at the man who was feeding the dog. “He always did that. He thought we didn’t notice. We always did, but none of us would mind.”
Her voice was kind, trailing off at times, as if she was getting lost in her own stories. Her eyes would light up for a moment, life fire from some long extinguished flame, illuminating her present with glimpses of the past. She had no future. She had no present. Only the past, which was everything to her and Rene would do her best to keep it that way.
Her mother kept talking about the photos that opened up before them, belonging to a life once led, a life that never ceased to exist. Her mother’s finger trailed those familiar faces, following those familiar lines, those familiar smiles, remembering what caused them.
All of a sudden, Rene saw a face she thought she recognized. She leaned in, trying to see better. The photo was black and white, and the face was a little blurry, so she wasn’t sure. But, her heart seemed to be. It was beating wildly. Her throat was parched, she couldn’t swallow properly.
“Who is this?” Rene asked, pointing at the face.
“That?” her mother adjusted her glasses, focusing on the photo. “I can’t tell.”
“When was this taken?”
“I’d say, about 30, 40 years ago.”
Rene thought about it. If her mom said 30, 40 years, that meant 50 or 60. But, that man looked just like Hyde. Were they related?
“Can you tell me anything about this photo?” she urged, knowing that she couldn’t rely on her mother’s memory for any current events, but her mother still remembered things from 20 years ago clear as day.
“Let me see,” her mother adjusted her glasses once again, even though Rene knew it was just for show.
She needed to change them, but she wouldn’t let anyone tamper with them. The frames were a gift from Rene’s father, and it was one of the few things she had to remember him by. During the night, she would put them in a special box and place them carefully on the night stand then put them on again once she was up.
“This was my mother’s friend, right here. And the woman next to her was… I think her sister in law. She was married to the local butcher and they always had fresh meat.”
Rene smiled. She didn’t mind sifting through her mother’s usual ramblings about the times past to hear something she wanted to know about. Even though the butcher wasn’t particularly entertaining, she knew it meant a lot to her mother to talk about those things.
“And this man here?” Rene pointed at Hyde’s look-alike once again.
“Very handsome, isn’t he?” her mother smiled. “He does seem familiar. Maybe a friend of your father’s?”
“Do you remember a name or anything about him?”
“I’m trying to remember, but no, nothing comes to mind,” her mother shook her head sadly. “Is it important?”
“It could be,” Rene nodded. “Do you think maybe I could have that photo?”
“Why, of course!” her mother exclaimed glad that she could help at least this way. “Here.”
She already got the photo out of the album and offered it to Rene.
“I’ll bring it back next time I come visit you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” her mother assured her. “They just sit here in the album, wasting away. If you use it for anything worthwhile, then that photo has real value and it’s a shame to put it back with the others.”
Rene’s eyes teared up. She sometimes forgot how eloquent her mother used to be, how she enjoyed it when her mother would make up bed time stories instead of relying just on the usual ones. When she was older, they?
??d invent stories together, about princesses who became knights, princesses who saved the prince instead of it being the other way around. All the strength she felt within herself, she had her mother to thank for.
“What would you like us to do now?” Rene wondered. “Read a little or maybe take a walk outside?”
Her mother glanced outside. There was very little sun now in the sky. Dark clouds threatened to bring rain down and ruin this pleasant afternoon.
