As she entered the lobby, her face hardened at sight of Mitch. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t!” she snarled. “I want you out of my life. Permanently! Haven’t you done enough already? Go to Lake Geneva and laugh it up with your rich friends.”
“Anne! Listen to me!”
Mitch took her by the arm as she turned to leave. She jerked it away. “Why should I?”
“Do you remember when I said I would always find you no matter where you are and take you home?” Mitch waited a moment for a response but was met with angry silence. “Anne, I want to take you home.”
“Damn you!” she spat. “What kind of game are you playing now?”
“No game. I want to take you home to your family.”
“What home?” she shouted in outrage, causing the whole lobby to grow silent. Suddenly aware of her surroundings, she lowered her voice. “I have no home. I have no family. Never have. Never will! End of discussion.”
“But you do,” he argued. “You do have a family.”
His calm, no-nonsense voice caught her off guard. “Well,” she conceded, folding her arms in front of her, “Against my better judgment, I’m willing to play along with you one last time. So, where is this family of mine? And where is this fairytale home? In Never Never Land?”
“In Willowbrook. Let me take you home, Anne. Then I’ll never bother you again if that’s what you want. I couldn’t do it before but now I can. I owe you that.”
“Okay,” Anne agreed, even though she was convinced this was a monumental waste of time. “I have nothing better to do at the moment. Just get me back to Chicago by late afternoon so I can have dinner with my friends.” She threw Mitch an accusing look, adding, “My real friends.”
“I will. I promise.”
Anne was determined he wouldn’t trick her this time. As Mitch drove out of the city, they rode in silence. She made no effort at conversation, wanting this fiasco to end as soon as possible.
They arrived in Willowbrook and headed down a street of upper middle class homes. The well-tended shrubs were frosted with a dusting of fresh snow.
Mitch parked the car. “We’re here,” he announced, hurrying around to open the door for her.
A pang of anxiety skittered through her at the thought of entering a strange house. “Who lives here?” she demanded, as they walked to the front door.
“Someone I think you should meet,” he answered in a soft voice and turned to ring the doorbell.
And attractive older woman with silver hair answered the door. “Please, come in.”
Anne’s eyes widened as she recognized the face. “You!” was all she could say.
Mitch made the introductions. “Evelyn, this is Anne, your granddaughter.”
CHAPTER 11
Anne was at a complete loss for words. “I...I saw you at the airport.”
“Yes, you did,” Evelyn said as she led them into a spacious living room. “Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. We have so much to talk about.”
Mitch and Anne took a seat on opposite ends of the plush, light blue sofa.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.
Anne felt numb with shock and her mouth had turned to cotton. “Some ice water would be nice.”
“Ice water sounds good,” Mitch agreed.
After Evelyn left the room, Anne turned to Mitch, whispering in a harsh voice, “Just how long have you known about this?”
“We found out recently. Your grandmother contacted our firm because she knew we handle Romero’s affairs and inquired about you. She didn’t want to just show up on your doorstep out of the blue. And frankly, it took some time for me to get enough courage to face you.”
Evelyn returned with the water glasses and placed them on the coffee table. Anne immediately gulped down a third of it.
After her grandmother headed back to the kitchen, she gazed around the room. A beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood a few feet away, with mountains of presents piled under it. She caught a glimpse of a Christmas candle centerpiece on an oak table in the adjoining room. Just behind the glass doors of the china hutch, fine china and crystal glasses sparkled in the light. Everything she saw made her heart ache for what might have been. This was the kind of peaceful home she once dreamed of having: a place filled with pretty things and a loving family to make Christmas special.
Minutes later Evelyn brought out a platter of crackers, bread, sausage, turkey, ham, hot sweet mustard, butter and a variety of cheeses. She placed it on the coffee table in front of them. “It’s a bit past lunchtime,” she said, adding plates, napkins and silverware. “I thought you might need something.”
“Thank you,” Mitch said with an appreciative smile. “We didn’t get a chance to eat.”
Anne buttered a piece of bread and piled on slices of ham to be polite, but when she took a bite, the ham was surprisingly delicious. “This is really good.”
“It’s Westphalian ham. We have a wonderful little market near us that carries all kinds of specialties like that.”
Anne relaxed a bit and finally gathered enough courage to ask questions. “Did you know who I was back then, when you saw me at the airport?”
Evelyn shook her head sadly, confirming Anne’s suspicions. “Yes. The minute I saw that old suitcase, I knew, but I didn’t dare say anything. I’ve been looking over my shoulder all my life. When Rebecca turned eighteen, I decided to take a chance and look her up but couldn’t find her anywhere. The Clarks had died and we lost all trace of your mother.”
“That’s because we were always on the run from unpaid bills and her useless boyfriends!” Anne shot back. “My mother committed suicide, in case you didn’t know.”
“I do know,” Evelyn revealed, lowering her eyes. “My husband has many powerful friends and the means to discretely trace people. He eventually found her obituary. It mentioned she had a daughter. If it weren’t for that, I would have never known about you. We located you through Social Services records. This was how I was able to give that trust fund to you since Rebecca was no longer alive.”
“Just as well, I guess.” Anne sighed deeply. “She would have gone through it pretty fast.”
“But you didn’t and that’s what counts.” Evelyn started to reach across the coffee table but thought better of it and withdrew her hand. “You told me that day you were going to Lakeshore and I heard you’ve stuck with it. At least that money went to where it would do the most good.”
“My mother told me she went looking for you after the Clarks died. She was in constant pain from the accident that killed my father and she had me to take care of. There was nowhere to go to for help.”
Unshed tears glistened in Evelyn’s eyes. “Having to give up Rebecca was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
“I know,” Anne admitted, without emotion. “I read your letter.”
Evelyn sat up straight in her chair. “Did you find it in the suitcase?”
“Not quite. Ashley Montgomery is my roommate at school. When I went home with her for spring break, her father recognized that suitcase, just like you did.”
“What an odd coincidence. I guess it was meant to be.”
“And thanks to him,” she added, shooting a scalding glance across the sofa at Mitch, “Tony Romero found out who I am.”
“Anne, I’ve made many mistakes,” Evelyn intervened. “I got it all wrong and sold my soul to the devil trying to have fame in the music world. In those days I had lofty ambitions and thought I could never settle to be an obscure piano teacher or a church pianist in some boring suburban community. But I had to settle for a lot worse. I dyed my hair dark brown and cut it short. Since I couldn’t produce anything to prove I had a college degree, I took menial jobs in the beginning and worked my way up. Oddly enough, I
’ve been a church pianist and organist for a number of years now. I’m content with my life, but a piece of my heart has always grieved for the daughter I never knew. I was determined to use the money I took from Tony to give Rebecca a better life than I could give her.”
“How did you get the money?”
“He set up accounts in my name. It was a money laundering scheme, of course, and designed to keep me under his control. So I withdrew everything and put it all into an offshore account, thanks to the help of my nephew. After all I’d been through, I figured it was my money.”
Anne smiled to herself. That sounded so familiar. “Do you have a family?” she asked, now getting her bearings in this strange new world.
“Yes, I do!” Evelyn warmed to the subject. “After Rebecca was born, my nephew helped me assume a new identity. As I mentioned, it wasn’t easy at first but I eventually met a wonderful man. We’ve been married over 30 years now. He isn’t here because he didn’t want to intrude on our first meeting. You have three aunts, two uncles and lots of cousins. She showed Anne a family portrait sitting nearby. “I truly hope you’ll want to meet them some day.”
Anne looked at the photo of her grandmother’s children and grandchildren gathered in front of the Christmas tree and felt a pang of envy. “I always wanted a family,” she admitted.
Mitch stood up and announced, “We’d probably better get going. I promised Anne we’d be back in Chicago by late afternoon.”
Evelyn’s smile dissolved into disappointment. “Oh, yes, of course. Please, let’s stay in contact. I have so much more to tell you. And I want you to know, the rest of your family know about you and are anxious to meet you.”
“Okay,” Anne agreed. “I’d like that.”
Their goodbyes were awkward. Anne could tell her grandmother wanted to hug her but neither of them could make the first move. After promises to stay in touch, Mitch drove Anne to a nearby park and stopped the car. “I guess I have a whole lot of explaining to do.”
“Not that it’ll do any good!” she shot back.
Mitch drew in a long breath. “Okay. The whole thing started at a fraternity party my senior year. Somebody called the police complaining there was underage drinking and students doing drugs at the hall we rented. Suddenly this tall guy in a trench coat came right up to my table and took a sip of my drink. It was just a Pepsi. Thought I was off the hook until he grabbed my coat, which was hanging on the chair, and searched it. He found drugs. It was surreal! I didn’t know how they got there! They weren’t mine.”
Anne smirked. “Oh, yeah, that’s what they all say.”
“No! I never got into drugs.” He raised his hands in the air. “I couldn’t figure out why it was happening! It didn’t make any sense. At first I thought maybe someone stashed them in my coat pocket when they saw the police barge in the room.”
“Oh?” Anne cocked her head with interest. “And what changed your mind?”
“When they took me to the police station, one of them threatened me with every ugly scenario under the sun. And the other one pulled the old, ‘We were young once, and this shouldn’t go on your record. We can help you here if you’ll help us.’ They ambushed me because my father handled Tony Romero’s business affairs. So, they brought in somebody to propose a deal. If I would become a confidential informant, they wouldn’t press charges.”
Anne shook her head in disgust. “Sounds like you were set up like my grandmother.”
“Yeah, but what could I do? I had to agree.”
“Did your father know about it?”
“No, he didn’t at the time. And I hated myself for having to lie to everybody. When I met you at Giovanni’s, I couldn’t believe my luck. I knew you were the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And when you pounced on me for asking about your family, I loved you even more.”
“All my life people treated me like dirt because I was a welfare kid. You really got me going that night.”
He chuckled. “And you made that abundantly clear.”
“So why did you go away? We had such a nice Christmas Eve together. Then you disappeared.
“I didn’t know what to do. Some time before I saw you that night, my father started taking me along with him to business meetings with Romero. I about came unglued when I noticed a photo of a woman in his office. That woman looked so much like you, it was unbelievable! My father said she was the one who turned on him decades ago. He’d been searching for her ever since and wouldn’t let it go. He was out to get revenge. I thought to myself, ‘What if Anne is related to her?’ People like Romero don’t mess around.”
“Is that why you were so mad when you saw me there at his home?”
“I wasn’t mad. I was scared to death! You were in the last place on earth I wanted you to be. The whole picture changed for the worse when Tony recognized your face and demanded I get to know you, threatening he’d break off all our business dealings with him if I failed to cooperate. That would be a huge loss for my dad. I tried to get out of it. I told him you didn’t like me but got nowhere. My father had no idea what was going on and didn’t take his threat too seriously at first. He thought I should stay away from you, but Tony kept putting on the pressure. My father had no choice and he wasn’t too happy about it.”
“No surprise. He sure put me in my place when we rode back from the engagement party.” She folded her arms tightly and added, “Without even saying a word.”
“I know. But through all that, I couldn’t stop seeing you. I just couldn’t.”
“Ah, but then you invited me to Lake Geneva and collected a DNA sample ‘as a favor to an old family friend’, didn’t you?” she accused. “I heard you and your father talking about me.”
He held his hands up in surrender. I know what I did was wrong. You must have called me every name in the book.”
Anne thought about it a minute and try though she might, the corners of her mouth started turning up. “Pond scum is still my favorite.”
“Yeah, I sure earned it. After all I’ve done, I have nothing to say in my defense...except that I love you with all my heart. I can’t imagine life without you, but I know I’ve screwed up my chances. I confessed everything to my parents and let them know if they won’t accept you, I’ll strike out on my own.”
She started to object, but when she looked over at Mitch, she saw tears pooling in his eyes. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Anne turned away. “This is hopeless.”
“What do you mean? Why is it hopeless?”
Anne settled back on the car seat and heaved a sigh of regret, wondering if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. ”Because...I love you, too,” she admitted.
Mitch put his arm around her. Anne rested her head on his shoulder, wondering how something that felt so right could ever be wrong. “You know...I gave up on just about everything. I finally realized nobody was ever going to give me what I wanted most in life. I made a decision: who needs a family or a home, anyway? I’ll get by just fine, like always. And if nobody can accept me for who I am, then I didn’t need anybody’s love or acceptance. So there I was, having this great big pity party. Now you come along and spoil the whole thing.”
Mitch squeezed her shoulder gently. “Glad to oblige.”
Would the future bring heartbreak or happiness? Anne wasn’t sure of anything at this point. “So, where do we go from here, Mr. Randolph?”
“Well, for starters,” he said, “I know where we can get an awesome burger and fries. That is, if you don’t mind having dinner with a lawyer.”
Anne smiled in spite of herself. “Well, anybody who feeds the musicians can’t be all bad.”
She stopped to consider his invitation a moment, checking her watch. “Oh! Wait a minute. It’s Christmas Eve. They’ll be closed by the time we get there.”
“Not tonight,” he assured her. “They’re having some k
ind of special event. I’ll just call and let them know we’re coming. ”Mitch dialed the number. “Uh, this is Mitch Randolph. I want to reserve a table for two. We’ll be there in forty-five minutes or so.”
Anne heard noises in the background. It sounded like cheering. “That must be quite an event.”
“Yeah, I guess,” he agreed with a shy smile.
When they arrived at Giovanni’s, members of the press were waiting outside. Anne looked at them in horror. “No! This can’t be happening!” she cried. It was her worst nightmare coming true. “How in the world did they find me?”
“They’ve been hounding our office since Romero died but we refused to comment. Somebody must have leaked information about you. My guess is they talked to other students at Stanton Hall and found out you were meeting friends here.”
As they made their way toward the door, the reporters jostled for position and stuck microphones in front of her. “How long have you known about your connection to Tony Romero?”
Mitch waved them away. “No comment. Just let us pass.”
Anne suddenly remembered her promise. “Wait a minute. If you want the story, Pete Bogard has an exclusive. He’s a journalism student at Northwestern. You’ll have to talk to him.”
“Good for you,” Mitch whispered.
“Hey, Pete might even get a book deal out of this!” she added with a broad grin.
Anne stopped short as they entered the restaurant, looking around in amazement. Ashley and Tom were sitting together, along with Ashley’s parents. Emma and Pete waved from across the room. Mitch’s father and mother were seated at another table with an older man she couldn’t identify. Britt and Jason sat with them. “What are all these people doing here?”
“Witnesses for the defense,” Mitch replied.
Anne frowned as she took another look. Everyone was smiling at them. “Seriously?”
“Oh, very seriously.”
Emma ran up to join them as they stood there. “So, let the proceedings begin. Raise your right hand, Mitch.”
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