Amelia isn’t well. She’s in the hospital, but she is alive, and I’m going to see my girl.
I don’t think I have moved this fast in years, but I know where my old leather suitcase is, and it’s empty, ready to be filled with what I need to travel from New York to Boston. Before tossing clothes into my case, I slide the accordion closet door open in the hallway, inhaling the scent of dust and old books from the belongings I have stored in this small space. A cigar box from the top shelf contains everything I have ever wanted to give my Amelia.
I fold my hand around the soft wood, and it reminds me of all the times I placed a vast amount of love into this small enclosure.
I place my folded clothes neatly on top of the box and fill my shaving kit to the brim with incidentals.
One last thing: I open the top drawer to the bureau in my bedroom and collect the small yellow envelope that has taken up residence in my drawer for many years. I was sure I would never touch the contents during my lifetime. An estate sale would have been the last of it, but I’m still alive, and so is Amelia.
This changes everything.
Chapter 2
Current Day
Ifeel like the world is moving toward me in slow motion as I walk down the hall. I've been waiting so long for this day that I'm scared I may wake up from this dream again, and as usual, it won't be real.
I turn the corner, and in an instant, it feels as if time stood still. It doesn't matter how many years have passed. It doesn't matter that Amelia has white hair and that there are lines on her face. She is still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
"Amelia, my darling. You look as beautiful today as the last time I saw you," I say as I walk toward her. The surprised glimmer in her eyes tells me that Emma wanted to keep my arrival a secret, which makes me happy. I've wondered what the look on Amelia's face might be if we were to run into each other unexpectedly—the look I imagined.
"Charlie?" she says, recognizing me immediately. Her eyes are open wide, and tears trickle down her cheeks.
I take her hands in mine and immediately feel the undying connection between us. I remember the sensation running through my body as if it were only yesterday that I laid eyes on her for the first time.
I hadn't cried since the day they took her from me, but the tears are flowing freely from my eyes now. I'm not ashamed to cry because I've been holding it in, waiting for this day for seventy-four years.
How can two people find the right words to start with after so much time has passed?
Amelia found the words, and I'm trying to digest every one of them right now.
Amelia and I spoke until she fell asleep in her hospital bed. She told me things I never imagined, things that will forever change my life.
Now, all I can do is stare at her in awe.
Though a smile is still present on her face, I must wait until she wakes back up to continue our rendezvous—to continue learning about an entire lifetime I missed.
My attention has moved to Emma as I recognize that Amelia's beauty was passed down well to this young lady.
I would do anything to make up for so many lost years. I'm not sure where to start. Emma knows about me from reading Amelia's diary—that's how she found me.
Here we are, in a quiet room. Emma might think I don't have anything to say to her, but in truth, I have so much to say, and I'm not sure where to start.
Emma smiles the way Amelia does.
"Charlie, are you all right after taking that all in?" Emma asks.
"I'm not sure yet, dear. I need to digest your grandmother's words."
"I understand," Emma says.
"We should let your grandmother rest for a bit," I tell Emma, who is slumped in a plastic bucket chair against the far wall of Amelia's hospital room.
"Oh," she speaks up, straightening her posture. "Here, I'll walk you out." Emma is very attentive and caring.
"Oh, sweetheart, I can find my way out and to the hotel next door. I might be old, but I have sharp navigational skills."
"I insist," Emma says, smiling lazily. Her eyes scream exhaustion, the poor thing.
