The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(49)
Hannah reached over and gave her a hug. The tightness of Georgia’s squeeze surprised her, and Hannah knew that Georgia just needed someone to listen to her.
“So that prompted you to find your parents?”
“I just felt like no one understood me—not my adoptive parents, not Jackson… I want to find my people, you know? No hard feelings, no strings attached. Just people like me.” She gathered up the two photos and held them in her hand. “I hope I can find them.”
“Me too,” Hannah told her.
Her heart ached for Georgia to find the people who would take her for who she really was and lift up her talents. There was no telling what she could do if she had that support in her life.
While they were finishing their coffee, the investigator called Georgia and asked her to meet him to hear some more ideas he’d had about finding her parents, so Hannah had dropped her off in town, then headed to see Gran at the hospital for a quick few minutes before meeting Liam and Noah.
“I read about Charles going missing,” Hannah told Gran.
A nostalgic look came over Gran’s face, and she lifted her bruised arms to fold her hands together, the IVs pulling tighter with every movement. “There are two sides to every coin,” she said with intensity in her eyes, as she looked at Hannah.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll come back to Charles. Let’s talk about your own life for a minute.”
Hannah scooted her chair closer when Gran reached for her hand.
“I’ll tell you what I know from years of experience: There are people in life who allow you to do your own thing, roaming free like a caterpillar just walking along its path. There’s nothing wrong with that—there’s something to be said about the love and trust that creates that kind of freedom. But there are others who can affect you in such a way that before you’ve even realized it, you’ve become a butterfly, soaring on brightly colored wings you never knew you had. When you meet that person, you might look back on the version of you who was with Miles and not even recognize her.”
Hannah nodded, Gran’s wise words were always so inspirational. “So are you saying that Charles was your Miles?”
“Mm,” she said, her thin lips pressed into a weak smile. “Charles was nothing like Miles. I adored him. He was a charming man. I still love him now. Our story was tragic, as it had to be. God puts people in our lives in mysterious ways…” Her eyes glistened with tears, and she blinked them away.
Hannah nodded, considering this.
“If Charles had lived through the war, who might I have become?” Gran asked. “Or more importantly, who might I not have become?”
“I wouldn’t be here,” Hannah said. “Because you and Pop-pop would never have had Dad.”
“That’s right.” She squeezed Hannah’s hand. “I might have never had my flower shop. It has defined me for so many years. I just know that it could be amazing again,” she said, switching gears—Gran’s mind was always on that shop. “How’s business been the last few days?”
Hannah let go of Gran’s hand and leaned toward her. “Gran, you must know how dire things are with The Memory Keeper. You have to be aware, right?”
Gran pursed her lips. “I won’t give up on it,” she whispered stubbornly.
“Pop-pop would be okay if you let it go. I’m nearly sure of that. He’d want you to rest, Gran. Your heart can’t take the day-to-day stress of the job anymore.”
Gran closed her eyes, clearly exhausted, and murmured, “Without The Memory Keeper, I have no heart at all. I built it from nothing. But it built me as well.” She waggled a shaky finger at Hannah. “And I know your parents are trying to close it down again. I told them a few years ago that I wouldn’t do it, and I won’t do it now.”
“But it’s putting Mama and Daddy in financial trouble, Gran. I know you wouldn’t want that for them.”
Her eyes misted over. “I suppose I was hoping someone would save it, the way it saved me.”
A tiny plume of guilt swelled in Hannah’s stomach because, after what Darlene had told her, she knew Gran meant Hannah was the someone.
Gran swallowed hard and looked Hannah in the eye. “I was a naive child when I started that shop. But making bouquets for people, I learned about the world. I met people who were grieving, I went through more wars, I participated in celebrations, and I saw happy parents with their newborn children… Everyone I met through The Memory Keeper was a chance to learn about people and myself. By learning about the world and who was really in it, I was a better wife, a better mother, and a better grandmother.”
Hannah compared this to her own working life. She thought about Amanda, the person with whom she worked so closely. She didn’t know what Amanda liked to do for her birthday or who was in her family. She had no idea where Amanda had grown up. She didn’t know that kind of information about anyone in New York at all. And yet she’d called them all friends. This whole time, she’d thought that she’d become a more well-rounded person if she got out of this small town, but perhaps she’d have learned more staying right here.
Eighteen
“Hannah!” Noah called, breaking from his dad’s side, and running toward her down the dirt path to Emmitt Abernathy’s cottage, where Hannah had asked Liam to meet her. Noah wrapped his little arms around her and squeezed her waist.