“Well, you are.” Cindy went to the door, opened it and looked back before stepping through. “Take care.”
* * * *
The silver hatchback’s tires crunched through the gravel as Cindy pulled up to the duplex she shared with her neighbor, Mrs. Baker. The older woman rose from the wooden rocking chair on her side of the porch, set her knitting aside, and stood with a quizzical look etched on her face.
“I lost my job, Mrs. B.” Cindy tossed up her hands as she climbed the steps.
“They fired you?”
“No, nothing like that.” She sat on the porch railing. “They aren’t doing well, so they had to give someone the ax. I just happened to be the last one hired, so my neck ended up on the chopping block.”
Mrs. Baker wagged her head. “You should have kept your secretarial job with the police department. Security, benefits, pension plan. I don’t know why you ever—”
“If I’d stayed with the P.D., I would’ve had to look at that ex-fiancé of mine every day and be reminded of how he...” Cindy ripped a splintered sliver of wood from the rail and flicked it to the ground. “It makes me mad just to think about it.”
“It’s been what? Four months now? Isn’t it time for you to let go of the anger?”
“Let it go? Mrs. B, are you forgetting that Eric cheated on me? With my sister, no less.”
“She was a foster sister, wasn’t she?”
Cindy slid onto her feet and turned her back to her elderly friend. “Foster, biological, it made no difference to me. Belinda and I had been together since before we started school. I loved her.”
“You still do. Even with the mountain of anger hiding it from view, you still love her. But you need to forgive her for what she did. The Lord would want that, you know.”
“Easier said than done.”
Mrs. Baker’s voice floated over Cindy’s shoulder. “Maybe you should take a look at the bright side of your situation, dearest.”
“Bright side?” Cindy made an abrupt about-face. “My fiancé got my sister pregnant, I left a job I loved because of it, and now I’ve joined the ranks of the unemployed. I wouldn’t be surprised if lightening struck my car right this red-hot minute. I’m sorry, Mrs. B, but I fail to see the silver lining in my cloudy life.”
“Eric did find the information you wanted so you could track down that brother of yours, the one you never met, didn’t he?”
Cindy sucked a quick breath. “You’re right, he did.”
Mrs. Baker lifted her chin and pressed her lips into a smug smile. “Now do you see the silver lining?”
“Mrs. B, you’re a genius.”
Mrs. Baker buffed her fingernails on her blouse. “I know.”
“Now I can afford to devote some time to finding Edward. Why not? I paid September’s rent a few days early, the utilities are up to date, and I even have enough money in the bank to last a few months, if takes awhile to find another job. Being laid off also makes me eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Oh, Mrs. Baker, you just made my day.”
In the kitchen, Cindy tossed a large manila envelope onto the bar and set about the task of putting together a pot of coffee.
Mrs. Baker perched herself on a stool and turned the envelope over. “This package is still sealed. You mean to tell me you never bothered to open it?”
“Eric gave it to me the day I found out about him and Belinda. I was upset, and for a long while I didn’t even want to touch anything he had his hands on. Afterwards, in the funk I was in, I was so stressed out I couldn’t concentrate on anything but living from day to day.”
Cindy pressed the coffee maker’s start button and joined her neighbor at the bar.
Mrs. Baker pushed the envelope over to her. “Today your funk is officially over. Open this, and let’s take the first steps in finding your big brother.”
Cindy slid a finger under the flap and pried the envelope open and slid the contents onto the countertop. “Here, you take half, and I’ll take the other. Let me know when you see something interesting.”
Mrs. Baker hunched over a stack of papers with half-glasses positioned near the tip of her nose. Cindy sat elbow to elbow with her and started examining another pile. Across the kitchen, the coffee maker bubbled and hissed, filling the air with enticing aromas while pages crinkled and swooshed with every turn.
Cindy tapped Mrs. Baker’s hand. “Listen to this. It says Mom gave birth to Edward on December thirty-first, and then threw him in a trashcan in an alley. Poor baby, how terrible.”
“Oh, my. Was he okay? Did somebody find—”
“Hold on, let me read ahead.” Cindy read the rest of the page, flipped it over and finished a short paragraph on the reverse side. Her shoulders slumped. “Unbelievable.”
“What’s unbelievable? What happened?”
“By the time he was found and brought to the hospital, Edward had frostbite and had to have the little toe on his left foot amputated.”
“Good heavens. What about his mother? I mean, your mother. Oh, you know what I mean. What happened to her?”
Cindy gathered her waist-length hair, pulled it over one shoulder and stroked the length of it a few times. “Says here she started hemorrhaging shortly after giving birth and ended up at the same hospital as Edward. Then, let’s see...” She turned the page. “Mom named him Edward Levi, gave him her last name, Giordano, and refused to identify Edward’s father, just like she did when I was born.”
“You mean you don’t know who your father is?”
“Nope. No idea.”
Mrs. Baker rubbed Cindy’s back. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”
“It’s okay.” Cindy willed her lips into a smile. “I may never know who my father is, but at least I have hopes of finding my brother. Let’s move on and see if we can uncover a clue as to how to find his present whereabouts, shall we?”
“I’ll pour us some coffee, and we’ll sit here until we dig up the answers you’re looking for.” Mrs. Baker went to the cabinet, pulled out two mugs and filled them. “Cream and sugar, Cindy?”
“Yes to both, Mrs. B. Oh, and there are cookies in the narrow cabinet next to the fridge if you’d like some.” Cindy rose from her stool. “I’m going to get a couple of pens and pads so we can take notes. I’ll be right back.”
Cindy found two lined yellow pads in the draw of her nightstand and started back to the kitchen. As she passed the dresser, she did a double take and paused for a look in the mirror. Would Edward have steely blue eyes and dark brown hair like her, or would they look nothing alike? With a little luck, she’d soon find out.
Did you enjoy this teaser? Click here to get your copy.
Meet the Author
Irene Onorato was born and raised in Bronx, New York. Her father, a first-generation American whose parents were born in Italy, was an Army veteran who had served with the 178th combat engineers during WWII. He told numerous stories of battles, hardships, tragedies and triumphs. The glimpses he gave into the hearts of many American warriors would later become the inspiration for much of Irene’s writings.
In 1972, a few months after graduating high school, Irene met James Onorato, a soldier who had just returned from Vietnam. After dating two weeks, they married, raised three children, and are still happily married today.
Irene and James, both radiation protection technicians, retired from the nuclear power industry in 2014 and now reside in Louisiana. Readers can visit Irene’s website at ireneonorato.com, and find her on Facebook.
Click here to get all the latest news from Irene Onorato!
cale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
A Soldier Finds His Way Page 27