‘Yes!’ both women replied.
‘I didn’t give it much thought at the time, I had so many other things happening in my life and my connection to my family is complicated, but this past week I took the box out. It’s consumed me ever since.’
She opened it, and Ella and Mia both gasped when they saw the stone.
‘Oh my gosh,’ Mia whispered.
‘It’s incredible,’ Ella said.
‘There was also an Italian newspaper clipping, but I haven’t found anyone to translate it yet.’
‘May I?’ Mia reached for the stone and carefully picked it up, turning it over in her hand as the sun caught the colour. ‘It’s absolutely stunning.’
‘I just, I suppose I just want to know if I’m putting my energy into what will end up being a wild goose chase. It doesn’t seem real to me, the idea that something like this was hidden all that time, for decades, just waiting to be found.’
‘Georgia, I felt exactly the same, truly I did,’ Ella said. ‘But honestly, following the clues that were left behind, discovering my family’s heritage? I will forever be grateful that I went to that meeting and started on this journey.’
‘What do your family think? Were they not interested in finding out more?’ Mia asked.
Georgia looked up and smiled as the waiter brought their drinks, thankful for the reprieve. It meant she had a moment to think about how to reply.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t really have any family,’ she said, as they all took a sip. ‘My parents died in a car crash when I was a teenager, and I don’t have any siblings.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Mia said. ‘I shouldn’t have asked.’
Ella reached for her hand. ‘I’m sorry, too. I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.’
‘It was a long time ago, and I don’t dwell on it, but it is strange not having a connection to my family, especially when we were so close. I was very fortunate to have gone to live with my best friend’s family, and I’m as close to them now as I was to my parents, but I just don’t have anyone to ask about all this. I suppose it’s why it all seemed so strange to me.’
‘You don’t have any grandparents still alive?’ Mia asked.
‘My maternal grandparents died when I was much younger, as did my paternal grandfather, and both my parents were only children,’ she said, taking another sip of wine. ‘But my dad’s mother, the one who this box must have been left for, she was a mean old woman who I didn’t want anything to do with.’
‘Ah,’ said Ella. ‘It makes sense now why you buried the box away and forgot about it.’
They all sat back in silence and Georgia wondered if she’d said too much. But both women seemed so warm and genuinely interested in her story.
‘Could this box change how you feel?’ Ella asked. ‘I mean, could it be the key to you feeling closer to the family you lost?’
‘Honestly, I don’t know,’ Georgia replied. ‘My intention was to sell this stone and get rid of it, to never think about any of this again, but—’ She decided not to tell them what she’d discovered, wanting to know for sure first whether it was all true or not. ‘But I think that perhaps I was being too hasty in my decision-making.’
‘Keep it,’ Ella urged. ‘You never know where it could lead you, or how special it might be to someone you haven’t even met yet.’
Mia cleared her throat then and Georgia turned to her, seeing the conflicted look in her gaze. ‘When I gave you all those boxes, I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing. I still wonder sometimes if they were supposed to stay hidden or whether they were meant to be shared.’
Georgia glanced between Ella and Mia, sensing the two had a real connection. She was so happy they’d come to meet her, because just seeing them made it all seem more real, told her that she wasn’t mad in her quest to find out more about the stone.
‘You did the right thing, Mia,’ Ella said, her voice low, tears caught in her lashes. ‘I truly found myself because of your decision, so please don’t second-guess yourself again. You absolutely did the right thing.’
‘So, you’re telling me that I should try to discover the connection between this stone and my family?’ Georgia asked. ‘You think it’s worth it?’
‘If I were you, I’d be having that newspaper article translated and booking a flight to wherever in Italy it points you,’ Ella said. ‘For the first time in my life I made an impromptu decision and went to Greece.’ She touched her stomach and laughed. ‘And look how that turned out!’
Georgia laughed along with her. ‘Well, babies aren’t part of my ten-year plan, but I wouldn’t say no to the holiday romance.’ She turned to Mia, who had reached for the little box on the table and was turning it over in her hands. ‘What do you think? Should I try to find out more?’
‘I don’t think you’ll be able to stop yourself,’ Mia said with a wry smile when she looked up. ‘I’ve heard from two other granddaughters as well, and they all said their little box changed their lives, that once they started on the journey of finding out more about their family, it was impossible to stop until they’d discovered the truth.’
Georgia shook her head. It was hard to believe so many of the secret boxes had been left behind.
