“Didn’t Da Vinci say ‘Small rooms discipline the mind, large ones distract it’?”
“My mind must be very sharp then.” She teased.
“Brilliantly sharp.” Theo playfully thumped her head. “But you know I would be happy to help you go through those boxes tonight.” He arched his neck toward the open doorway of the guest room. “Did she mostly like to read novels?”
“Honestly, she liked to read everything,” she said. “But she had a particular affection for fairy-tale books,” she reflected. “My grandma told me she was given a new fairy-tale book every year on her birthday while she was at the children’s home. They’re all in one of those boxes over there,” she said, pointing to one of the stacks. “But there’s one volume in particular she loved. It was given to my grandmother by the headmistress of her orphanage right before she was adopted. She insisted on giving it to me before she died because it was so special to her.”
“I’d really love to see that. Having it handed to her on her last day at the orphanage,” he said. “It sounds like a detail from a Dickens novel.” He laughed.
“Even better, it doesn’t require us going throughallthose boxes,” Violet said. “I know exactly where that one is. I keep it on a bookshelf in my room.”
Theo followed her into her room, and she went straight to the shelf closest to her desk.
“Here. It’s this one.”
She pulled it off the shelf and handed the book to Theo.
“And it’s purple,” he said, as he touched the faded lavender cover, its canvas material embossed with gilt letters. “Is that why you’re named Violet?”
She blushed. Her mother always told her that on the day she was born, she looked at her and said she just didn’t look like the namethey’d chosen in advance. Her grandmother held her in her arms and instead suggested Violet.
“I don’t know, but my grandma Helen really did love that book. And lavender always was her favorite color.”
He opened it gently, admiring the vibrant illustrations, turning each page carefully. When he got to the end, he questioned the little drawing of the bird in the corner of the end paper.
“Did your grandmother draw that?” he asked.
“You know, I noticed that but I always forgot to ask her about it,” she admitted. “And, sadly, now it’s too late.”
Theo brought the book up to his face, inspecting the doodle more closely. “Your grandmother’s name was Helen?”
“Yes, why?”
“I was just wondering, because if you look closely there are two letters by the bird’s feet. And neither of them are ‘H.’ They look more like an ‘A’ and an ‘L.’”
Violet peered more closely. “You’re right now that I look at it up close.” She shook her head. “And to my knowledge, we don’t have anyone with an ‘A’ or an ‘L’ in our family.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
The next morning, Theo and Violet woke up to find a light snowfall had arrived overnight. Outside on the driveway, her mother’s Toyota sat dusted in a soft covering of white.
“Well, that’s an auspicious sign,” Theo remarked. “A little present from heaven.”
“It’s funny, the first snow of the season always makes me feel like a kid again,” Violet admitted as she poured hot coffee into two thermal mugs for them.
“It makes me think Christmas is just around the corner.” Theo took one of the mugs from her.
“It is!” Violet laughed.
“I’ll go brush off the car,” he said as looked up at the kitchen clock. “We said we’d be there by nine, so we should really hit the road.”
“I just need to grab my coat. You have the car key?”
“It’s in my pocket.” He pulled out the Ziploc bag with the key inside. “I appreciated your note on the bathroom mirror telling me not to forget it.”
Theo put his coffee down on the kitchen table and pulled on his coat. “I’ll meet you outside.”
“Great,” she said. “I’ll be out in a second.”
