The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(15)



“Right now I’m collecting pictures of homecomings—military homecomings, refugee reunions, people returning home after incarceration, even people reunited with their pets. I think it’s going to be a wonderful collection. It will make people cry, and have you noticed people love to cry? As long as they’re not in pain. If they cry at reunions, those are happy tears. And every reunion has a story.” He laughed. “I hated every writing assignment I ever got in school because I wanted to see pictures! And now the writing that accompanies the picture is so much fun for me.”

“Do you cry while you’re finding the pictures and writing the essays?” she asked.

He laughed quietly. “I’m a softie. I’ll cry at the drop of a hat. It’s embarrassing.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. Then she lifted her empty glass toward him. “Just half,” she said.

They talked through the entire bottle of wine. Owen told her about beginning to take pictures in junior high and high school, studying photography and other things in college before quitting so he could concentrate on pictures, then taking any job that included a camera, until about ten years ago, finding surprising success in the mountains of Colorado, shooting his travels, his collections, writing his essays.

She started to tell him about her college days and ended up telling him about breaking up with two fiancés, both apparently in need of more than one partner. One when she was thirty, the next at thirty-five.

“Was your heart badly broken?” he asked.

“It was bruised. My pride was broken. But before I could wallow, Erin died and there was a little boy with a broken heart, putting all my problems in their proper place. He had a good life in Madison and I had to take him away. The one bright spot is that Noah knows us—me, Sharon and Kate—and we’re all in the Minneapolis area. Kate’s kids are a little older and they’re very sweet to Noah. That will help. And I pray I can find a babysitter or nanny half as good as his Linda was. Linda was like a grandmother to him. Her whole family embraced Noah.”

“You said Noah’s mother’s family is not good,” Owen said. “I’m trying not to think about what that might mean...”

“One of the things that made Erin and me close was our similar family situations. We had kind of hard childhoods. Not hungry or homeless hard, but emotionally difficult. We were both abandoned by our fathers and were left with mothers who seemed to resent us. In my case, I was adopted. I’m told I was a terrible baby, cried all the time. Or maybe I had a mother who wanted a baby but was unprepared for what that meant. My father left, my mother remarried and had two daughters in that marriage. And I knew that I was not the favorite child. There was even a time in my teenage years when one of my sisters pointed out that they weren’t really related to me in any way. When I went to college, I didn’t get any help from my family and it was obvious they didn’t miss me. The only time they called was when they wanted something. I made a new family with my friends.

“Erin’s situation was worse. She never knew her father. Her mother remarried after being deserted by Erin’s father and immediately had a son, who she worshipped. He was five years younger than Erin but he was a terrible brat. He was constantly in trouble and eventually served time for robbery, theft, assault, and he was accused of far more that he wasn’t convicted of. Erin stopped speaking to her mother years ago and it was over her brother. Erin had loaned him money that, of course, he didn’t repay. Then Erin’s mother wanted Erin to come up with bail money and when Erin refused, that was last straw. They were estranged long before Noah came along. In fact, Victoria didn’t even come to Erin’s celebration of life. I was relieved, to tell the truth. All of Erin’s friends and especially Linda, the babysitter, knew that Noah was to be protected from the Addisons at all cost, probably because of her brother. Erin’s will is very clear about that. Erin was a paralegal and her boss was also her lawyer—he knew the facts. And not only do I have a lawyer representing me in this matter, Noah has an attorney ad litem. Roger Addison is a bad seed and his mother has a blind eye. Roger has had problems with addiction and crime. Erin didn’t trust her mother to keep Noah and his estate safe. It’s going to take a while to settle everything, from the sale of Erin’s house and other estate matters, but I’ve been granted legal guardianship. When Noah’s had a little breathing room and has had time to grieve, I’ll talk to him about adoption.”

The information about Roger made the hairs on the back of Owen’s neck stand up. He hated hearing that. “Where do they live?”

“I have no idea where Roger is but his mother is in Minneapolis. I’ve met her exactly once, for maybe ten minutes. We all grew up there but didn’t know each other until college.”

“You have to be diligent, Hannah. It sounds terrible.”

“I know. But it’s not just me—Kate and Sharon are also on high alert. We’ll keep Noah safe. Whatever that takes.”

“Your friend was smart to put him in your hands.”

She laughed. “I hope I’m up to your praise. What about your childhood, Owen? Was it tainted by trouble like ours?”

“My childhood,” he said with a sigh. “My childhood was perfect. Ideal. My parents were happy people who not only loved each other, they liked each other. They were courteous to each other, helpful and funny and kind. We laughed. My younger sister and I had those days we were horrid and it didn’t throw them at all. I remember having a tantrum and trying to destroy my room and I overheard my mother say to my father, ‘He’s going to have so much to clean up—try not to laugh.’ Even in the worst crises of my young life, they were calm and encouraging. I’m sure if not for them, I’d be destitute and miserable now. I mean, what kind of parents encourage their son’s love for photography when he’s quitting college to pursue it?”

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