Over You (14 page)

“It’s all very mysterious,” Ellen said after Jessica had told her about the rest of the letters. “Perhaps you can show me the letters. I would enjoy reading them for myself.”

Jessica smiled at her aunt’s enthusiasm. “I’ll bring them the next time I come.”

“Good. So tell me what you had in mind for your sleuthing.”

“Well, going by the date B wrote the letter to William announcing the birth of the baby boy, I thought I’d do a search for announcements of babies born here around that date.”

“That sounds very promising. Wouldn’t it be something if you discovered who these people are? And if they still live around here?” Ellen paused. “But Jessica, what if this is still a family secret and they don’t want anyone to know about it?”

“It’s been fifty years. Don’t you think the truth would have come out by now?”

Ellen shook her head. “Some family secrets are kept for generations. I think you need to be sensitive to that if you find out who they are.”

“You’re right. But I’m sure I can snoop around without divulging what actually happened.”

“Okay. Let me know what you find out.”

Jessica agreed and then she and her aunt discussed other things. Once back home, Jessica booted up her laptop and pulled up the website for the local newspaper, then did a search for baby announcements for the date range she thought would include the birth of B’s baby boy.

She ended up having to pay for a subscription to the newspaper to get access to the archives, but in the end she found a short list of baby boys born around the time B sent her letter to William. But none of the mothers’ names started with the letter B. Some even had middle names listed and none of them started with a B either.

Jessica wonder if no announcement had been created, although from the letters she had gotten the impression that B’s husband was a prominent businessman and would probably want to announce to the world that he had a son. Printing off the list of babies and their parents, Jessica considered what to do next to track down the mysterious B. She decided a good place to start would be to look up each couple in the phone book from that year. After spending some time researching online, Jessica discovered that the Library of Congress had the phone books from that time period on microfilm but she would have to request it in the microfilm reading room at the Library of Congress.
 

Jessica decided to head over to the local library and see if they could help her find what she needed. As she parked in front of the library, she wondered why she was taking time to do this search. Was it just curiosity or did she feel a need to see how the story ended? Maybe I just need something to focus on besides my own love life, she thought as she walked toward the library entrance.
 

Memories of meeting Kyle for the first time filled her mind and she paused in the spot where she had spilled her books and he had helped her pick them up. As she remembered that day and his desire to take her out, she wished she could go back in time and make different choices. If she had never gotten to know him she never would have fallen in love with him. And then her heart wouldn’t have been broken.

Pushing aside her melancholy, she went into the library and went straight to the information desk. After asking for a phone book from fifty years before, she waited while the librarian went into a back room.

“Here you go,” the librarian said, handing Jessica a thick phone book.
 

“Thank you.” She carried the phone book to a nearby table and sat down, then pulled out the list of baby announcements and began looking up each family. Five baby boys had been born in the time frame in which she’d searched. She found addresses for three of their parents and wrote them down, but two of the parents could not be found.
 

After returning the phone book to the librarian, Jessica asked for the current phone book. The librarian showed her where to find it and Jessica took it to the table. This time she looked up each baby. Of the three she’d found from fifty years before, only one of them appeared to still live in the area. Then she searched for the two babies whose parents hadn’t been listed in the older phone book. Neither was listed in the current phone book either.

Feeling discouraged, Jessica wondered again why she was spending her time trying to track these people down. Then she imagined William, the former owner of her aunt’s house, spending his nights feeling lonely, pining for his true love. She wondered if his son had ever found out that William was his father. Had William eventually developed a relationship with his son? Jessica felt compelled to find out. Maybe it was her own failed love life that made her want to find a happy ending in the story of William and B. Though she knew William had never married, she wondered if he and B had ever renewed their relationship.

Feeling new energy to find out what had happened, Jessica once again went to the librarian’s desk, her list in hand. “I was wondering if you would know anything about two of the families I’m researching. Neither one is listed in the old or new phone book.”

“Let me take a look,” the librarian said, holding out her hand.

Jessica handed her the list with the parent and baby names.

The librarian studied the names for a moment. “Charles and Teal Harrington I’ve heard of, but I don’t know about Mitchell and Katherine Tobin.”

“Well that’s something. What do you know about the Harringtons? Do they still live in the area?”

“I don’t believe either one of them are still alive. But I know they have family in the area. In fact the child, Douglas Harrington, owns several businesses in town.”

Jessica jotted down the information the librarian had given her. “What about these other three families?”

The librarian looked at her list again and shook her head. “I’m not familiar with them, but I know someone who might be.”

Jessica felt her hopes rise. “Oh?”

“Yes. His name is Thomas Naylor. He’s lived here his whole life and knows lots of the old-timers.”

“That’s great. Where can I find him?”

The librarian wrote an address on Jessica’s paper and handed it to her. “He usually goes to this diner for breakfast.”

“Thank you so much,” Jessica said, excited to find out how William and B’s story ended.

As she drove home she decided she would go to the diner first thing the next morning and talk to Thomas Naylor. Once home, Jessica spent the rest of the day working on her programming project.

That evening Jessica felt too tired to cook and decided to go to dinner at one of the restaurants in town. The moment she entered the restaurant, she scanned the room to make sure Kyle and Melanie weren’t there. Satisfied that they weren’t, she approached the hostess.

“How many in your party?” the hostess asked.

 
“Just me.” Though Jessica had eaten by herself many times before, lately she had gotten used to having Alex with her when she went out and felt a little sorry for herself that now she would have to get used to being on her own, though she knew she would get over it eventually. She followed the hostess to a table, then studied the menu.

Once she ordered her meal she looked at the other diners. Families, as well as couples, filled the tables and booths. Each group seemed to be enjoying themselves. Jessica discreetly watched the people around her, wondering what challenges they were facing.
 

The server set her food in front of her and her attention shifted to the delicious meal. Though she couldn’t help overhearing some of the conversation in her vicinity, she mostly tuned it out and thought about what was going on in her own life. She found her thoughts turning to Kyle, but her train of thought was interrupted by a loud voice at a neighboring table.

“I told you I wanted my steak rare,” the man said.

Jessica shifted her gaze to the man who was speaking.

He scowled at the server. “Take this back and bring me one done right.”

She watched the server take the plate from the table and carry it away.

“Stupid woman,” he said loudly enough for Jessica and many others to hear.

Jessica shook her head slightly, not understanding how some people could be so rude. Looking at the man’s companion, Jessica wondered if the woman felt embarrassed by his behavior. She knew she would, but the woman seemed unaffected. Maybe she’s used to it, Jessica thought, turning her attention back to her meal.

When the server brought the man his newly prepared steak, Jessica watched to see how he would react.
 

“I hope you got it right this time,” he said to the server as she set the plate in front of him.

Jessica couldn’t hear the server’s response, but when she turned away from the man Jessica could see her face and she had a stiff smile plastered there.

When the same server came to Jessica’s table a few minutes later to give her the check, Jessica made sure to be friendly, hoping to mitigate the rudeness the woman had experienced moments before.

Once back home, she decided to work on her programming project for a while to make up for the time she’d spent researching at the library that morning. When she finally went to bed, she felt exhausted and was able to fall asleep right away.

~*~*~

As Jessica entered the diner the next morning the smell of bacon made her stomach growl. It was Saturday and most of the booths were occupied. She found an empty seat at the counter and ordered juice, bacon, and eggs over easy. While she waited for the food to be prepared, she looked at the other diners, wondering if Thomas Naylor was among them. Talking to a complete stranger in a diner was not something she had done before, and the thought of doing it scared her a little, but she knew if she wanted to find out what happened to William and B she would have to talk to this man.
 

The waitress set the food down in front of her and Jessica thanked her. The waitress started walking away. “Excuse me. Can you tell me if Thomas Naylor is here?”

The waitress glanced around the small diner. “I don’t see him yet. He usually gets here around nine o’clock.”

“Thank you.” Jessica glanced at the clock on the wall. He would arrive in another twenty minutes or so. She ate her meal, enjoying every bite.
 

“That’s Thomas.”

Jessica looked at the waitress, who pointed to the entrance, then toward the man who had entered the diner. He looked like he was in his late sixties, trim, and with a full head of gray hair. Jessica thanked the woman then saw that it was exactly nine o’clock. Finishing her meal, she waited several minutes to give Thomas a chance to get settled. She glanced his way and saw one of the waitresses pouring coffee into his mug.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage. Setting some cash on the counter to pay for her breakfast, including a generous tip, Jessica slid off her stool and walked toward the booth where Thomas sat. “Are you Thomas Naylor?”

He looked up at her, his coffee cup in his hand. “So I’ve been told. What can I do for you?”

Relived that he hadn’t told her to get lost, she felt more confident. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Do I mind if a lovely young lady joins me for breakfast?” He set his coffee on the table. “Not at all.” He motioned for her to sit across from him in the booth.

Jessica slid into the seat. “Thank you.”

“Now, what can I help you with on this fine morning?”

Jessica had decided that she wasn’t going to mention the letters or her real purpose in asking questions—there were still too many unknowns. “My name’s Jessica Stevens and, well, I’m doing some research and I was told you might be able to answer some questions.”

“What kind of research are you doing?”

“Um, some historical research on families that lived here fifty years ago. I, uh, I selected a handful of families to focus on and wanted to know if you knew anything about the families.”

“Okay. Who are these families?”

Jessica handed him her list.
 

He studied it a moment, then looked at her. “I’m curious. What made you choose these particular families?”

“I’m looking for information about young families from that time period, so I thought I’d choose families who had babies at that time.”

He nodded. “I see. Who did you say gave you my name?”

“I was at the library earlier and the librarian suggested I talk to you.”

“The library, huh? Do you work for a newspaper?”

“No. Actually I’m a computer programmer. This is just research I’m doing for a project I’m working on.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Where are you from?”

Jessica wasn’t surprised that he might be suspicious of a random stranger asking about old-time families. She hoped her ties to Ellen would assuage his concerns. “I don’t live here, but I’m in town staying with my aunt, Ellen Parson.”

Recognition lit his face. “She lives in the old William Donohoe place, right?”

“Yes.”

He smiled, seeming to feel more comfortable sharing what he knew. He pointed to the first two couples on Jessica’s list. “I don’t know who they are, so I can’t help you much.” Then he pointed to the third couple. “I do remember Lawrence and Judith Caruso. Nice family. They still live in the same house they did back then. You could probably talk to them yourself, if you wanted to.”

Jessica nodded, and wrote down his comment.

Thomas pointed to the next couple. “Charles and Teal Harrington died a while back, but I’m acquainted with the family. Their son, Douglas, had his share of issues when he was growing up, but he’s gotten himself together.”

“What kind of issues did he have?”

“I think that’s really his to tell, but let’s just say he had his rebellious times. But really, that’s not so uncommon, is it?”

Jessica shook her head. “No, I suppose not.” Jessica wondered how she could learn about Douglas’s story. “What about this last couple, Mitchell and Katherine Tobin?”

“Old Mitch and Katie. They were nice folks. Real tragedy though. One of their children, in fact the one you have here.” He tapped the paper with the baby names. “That boy drowned when he was real young.”