Fifty-Eight

  While they waited for Bree, they gathered in the small writer’s room. The main lights in the gallery were off so that Bree wouldn’t suspect anything.

  When Judith texted they were running late and would let them know once they had left the house, Cindy said they had time to do what Mary wanted to do and look at her DNA results with all of them present for her.

  “Did you get yours yet?” Mary asked Mimi and Janet.

  “We downloaded the app, we just haven’t looked yet,” Janet replied. “I’m a little afraid to look.”

  “Me too. I didn’t want to be alone when I looked.”

  “Do the three of you want to do that now?” Cindy asked.

  “Please,” the three of them said together.

  Mimi knew her parents, so she wasn’t expecting any surprises, so she looked first. Most of her family hadn’t done the test yet, so she saw a few distant cousins. It surprised her to learn how many nationalities made up her genetic base.

  Maybe everyone should have to do this, Mimi thought to herself. Then people would have to stop putting people into different races and see we are all one.

  “Your turn,” Mimi said to Mary.

  “Why not Janet first?”

  “I think it’s you, Mary,” Cindy said. “Your baby is waiting to know, too.”

  Mary reached down, took out the necklace that had been hiding below her sweater, and kissed it.

  “For good luck!” she explained when she saw everyone looking. “My mom gave it to me. I used to wear it all the time to remind myself that I was still the same person even though mom kept moving us around and changing our names. So it was a reminder that we were the same people no matter what name we used.

  “I haven’t worn it for a while because now that I feel settled and at home here in Spring Falls with my husband, I didn’t need a necklace to remind me.

  “All I had to do was look around and see my friends and home, and now this wee one reminds me every time she kicks. But I thought I would wear it tonight to bring my mom along with me.”

  “Wait,” Mimi squealed. “You know it’s a girl?”

  Mary giggled. “Not officially. It just feels that way.”

  It was Janet who noticed that the three Ruby Sisters had gone silent and were exchanging looks.

  “What’s up with you three?”

  Cindy took a deep breath and asked, “Where did you say you got that necklace?”

  “My mom. Why?”

  “And why did you move all the time and change your name?”

  “Wait, what’s going on?” Mary asked, the color draining out of her face.

  “Well, it is weird you did that,” Janet said. “I know we did the same thing, but I always thought it was weird. Sure, people often move a lot, as we did, but they rarely change their name every time.”

  Mary hesitated, feeling as if something terrible had happened, and now she was going to find out why.

  “I guess. I asked mom once, and she said she liked change. She made it fun, even though I was not fond of it all that much. When right before she died she told me she had adopted me, I wanted to ask her all kinds of questions. I tried, but she kept saying it was best not to know, and I went with that.”

  “But you have the results of your DNA in your hand, so you must want to know now,” Janet said.

  “Sure. It seems important that my baby knows where she comes from, just in case...” Mary trailed off, looking at the Ruby Sisters.

  “You know something, don’t you?” she asked. “The three of you know something, and you are afraid to tell me. What is it!”

  “Well, we don’t know anything for sure. But we know someone who used to have a necklace just like that,” Cindy said.

  “And seriously, girlfriend,” Mimi said, “That moving around thing is weird. Are you sure you weren’t hiding from someone?”

  “Oh, god,” Mary said, turning pale. “We were hiding from someone. How did I not see that?”

  At that moment, Cindy’s phone pinged. What timing, she thought. Saved by the bell.

  “Listen, Mary. Everything is okay, but Bree is on her way, and she’s had such a hard time. Could we wait and do all of this afterward? I promise, Mary, we will be here for you as you work this out.”

  Mary stood, trying to hold herself steady despite feeling like her legs had just been kicked out from underneath her.

  “Of course. Why not? Besides, I don’t think I want to see the answer right now. But I need to freshen up just a bit, if you don’t mind.”

  When Cindy moved to come with her, she said, “Don’t worry. I’m okay. Just need a moment.”

  Marsha stood and asked, “Mary, could I see your necklace? I want to check something on my computer. Maybe it only looks familiar because of the design. It will just take a moment, and I’ll give it right back to you.”

  Mary nodded, and April stepped behind her and unclasped the necklace, handing it to Marsha. When Mary walked out of the room, the three Ruby Sisters sighed as Marsha put the necklace into her pocket.

  “What is that about?” Janet asked.

  “You just don’t want her to be wearing the necklace right now, do you?” Mimi said.

  At that moment, they all heard Judith’s car pull up and rushed to the gallery, waiting for the signal from Judith.

  “Why are we here?” They heard Bree ask Judith as they stood outside the gallery door.

  “Sorry. Cindy left me some papers, and it would be easier for me to pick them up now so I can work on them the first thing in the morning.”

  Judith turned the key in the lock and flicked on the light switch, illuminating the magic fairyland the six women had created.

  “Oh,” Bree breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Surprise!” Cindy, April, Marsha, Mimi, and Janet said. “Happy Birthday!”

  “You are so bad!” Bree said, hugging Judith. “But this is beautiful. Thank you.”

  Seeing Mary walk into the room, Bree turned to her and said, “You look beautiful, Mary! Pregnancy agrees with you.”

  Mary hugged Bree as she said, “Thank you,” and then stepped back and looked at Marsha.

  “Why is she wearing my necklace?”

  Crap, Cindy thought. Of all nights to wear that, Bree.

  Bree’s hand went to her throat. “Your necklace? Do you have one like this? My husband gave me this.”

  Marsha reached into her pocket and handed Mary her necklace.

  “And her mother gave her this one.”

  Judith took one look at the scene and realized what everyone was thinking. Standing together, Bree and Mary looked almost alike. How had they not seen that before? Was it possible?

  “Well,” Cindy said, taking over. “This has the makings of an unforgettable birthday party. Perhaps we should open your DNA app now in this magical room, Mary. Shall we?”

  “Did you get your DNA results yet, Bree?” Cindy asked.

  “Yes. Afraid to open it, though.”

  “Well, now is the time. You first, though, Mary.”

  “Can’t. My hands are shaking too hard.”

  “Let me,” Judith said, taking the phone and looking at the results.

  Her voice catching, she said, “Well, it turns out, Mary, that you have found your mother. Her name is Rhoberta Curtis.”

  “Can’t be,” Bree breathed in.

  “And yet it is,” Judith said.

  “Wait, you know who she is?” Mary asked, looking at Bree and Judith.

  Cindy and April had begun to cry, and Mary felt as if all the blood had gone to her head, thinking that it was true. Something terrible had happened.

  Mimi and Janet stood to the side, holding hands, knowing they were watching something happen that should be impossible.

  “What’s happening?” Mary whispered.

  Judith walked to Mary, took her hand, and then reached out and pulled Bree close to her. She could feel Bree trembling as tears gathered and overflowed.

  “Mary, meet Rhoberta Curtis. Otherwise known as Bree Mann or R.B. Curtis. Our Bree. Your mother.”

  Fifty-Nine

  It’s a good thing that the waiting room in the hospital is big, not comfortable, but big, Judith thought, looking around at all the people waiting for Mary’s baby to be born.

  It hadn’t taken long for Mary and Bree to bond. Although Mary said she was beyond grateful for finding her birth mother, she couldn’t call her mom. Nora had been—and had to remain—her mom.

  Bree had agreed without hesitation and suggested that Mary could either call her Bree or whatever she was going to have her baby call her.

  Grandmother names were tossed around for the next few months until Mimi suggested the Swahili word for grandmother, Bibi.

  “Close to Bree,” she said, and everyone laughed and agreed.

  Now Bibi, or Bree, was in the delivery room with her daughter Mary along with Mary’s husband, Seth.

  After the miracle of finding her daughter, Bree told the Ruby Sisters that she could barely contain her happiness at being part of something she had never let herself imagine for herself. The birth of a grandchild.

  Both Mary and Seth wanted to wait to find out the baby’s sex, although Mary kept saying she knew it was a girl. If it was, they knew what she would call her, but they wanted to wait before telling anyone.

  In the waiting room, Janet and Mimi sat together holding hands, perhaps thinking that someday it would be them waiting for their baby.

  April and Ron also held hands. Judith thought they were probably remembering the birth of their children.

  Marsha was pacing, her nervous energy making everyone just a little uncomfortable, But that was Marsha.

  Cindy kept herself busy, making sure everyone had what they needed. She had closed the art gallery for the day, a sign on the window explaining that a friend was having a baby. It was a small town. She knew they would understand.

  One side of the waiting room had windows that looked out onto a stand of trees, and Judith let herself imagine how many joyous moments the trees must have witnessed.

  Their leaves were almost gone, only the oak tree holding onto its copper leaves. The maple’s red and yellow leaves were in the process of being stripped off their branches by the wind that was howling outside.

  Marsha said the trees were dancing, and everyone laughed and said, of course you would see them that way.

  Four months had gone by since the night that Bree and Mary realized who they were to each other. It was a night no one there would ever forget. First, there were tears, hugs, then a brief explanation and apology from Bree to Mary about what she had done.

  Mary kept telling her that wasn’t important. Nora had been a wonderful, caring mother to her, and there was never a moment that she didn’t feel loved by her.

  “I think if she were still alive, she would be happy to know you, Bree,” Mary had said.

  Bree hoped that could be true. And since then, she had talked to Nora every night and thanked her for taking such good care of Mary and raising her to be such a lovely young woman.

  She didn’t know if Nora could hear her, but she hoped being grateful would help heal her own heart and ease the guilt that still crept up and caught her when she was least aware.

  “How are you doing?” Bruce asked, handing Judith the coffee she had asked for.

  Judith smiled and thought again what a handsome man he was and how kind he was to be there with them all. He had arrived the day before, after she told him it could be any day now.

  “It’s a great excuse to take off for a few days,” Bruce had told Judith. “It’s been years since I did anything like this, and it shocked my secretary when I told her.”

  Secretly, Judith was shocked too. But if Bruce wanted to make the trip, she was happy he was coming. Surprisingly happy, but she kept that to herself. After months of talking on the phone, it was the first time they had met in person.

  She had picked Bruce up from the airport and then taken him to the coffee shop where she and Cindy would meet before all of this had started.

  After a few minutes of small talk, both of them doing their best to make it feel as if it was only two colleagues meeting in person for the first time, and nothing more, Judith asked, “Did you know Paul meant for Bree to find her daughter? He must have known that she was here in Spring Falls and that eventually we would all figure it out.”

  “I think that’s true. I think Paul knew where Bree’s daughter had gone. When he first talked to me, I suspected there was more to the story than he had given Bree’s child to Nora. That seemed a little cruel to me, and I had not known Paul as a cruel man. And, of course, he knew there would be clues. Like the gravestone that said she was a mother, since he arranged to have it put there. And the necklace he gave to Nora like the one he gave to Bree. He must have known that sooner or later, Bree would see it.”

  “But why draw it out that way? Why not just tell her outright?”

  “Well, if he did that, would you all have come together how you have? Don’t you think his gift was not only the two of them reuniting, but all of you now living in the same town again?

  “I think he knew that Bree would have to work through it all to get her ‘mojo’ back, so to speak.”

  Judith laughed at Bruce’s description of what had happened to Bree, well, with all of them, after getting Paul’s letter. They had all come out better for it. At least, for the moment.

  Judith didn’t let herself dwell on what was going on with April and Ron, who, although united in the waiting room, didn’t seem to be united in everyday life.

  But that was for another time and place. And nobody was going to upset Bree again by asking about Mary’s father. All they knew was that it wasn’t Paul.

  Right now, it was about waiting for the newest addition to their Ruby Sister’s family. Everything else was a mystery to be solved another time.

  Sixty

  “Bibi,” Mary said, reaching up and clasping Bree’s hand. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  Bree nodded, tears streaming down her face, thinking it was the best day of her life. It had all started the moment she saw Paul and knew her life was with him. And although Paul was no longer present, his last gift to her was giving her back what she had lost.

  “Thank you, Paul,” she said to him, and for a moment, she thought she felt his hand on her back.

  Then Seth placed Rhoberta Nora Patterson in her arms, and she finally felt as if she had come home.

  Author's Notes

  As I wrote A Last Gift, all the Ruby Sisters became so real to me I began a conversation one day about one of them with a friend, thinking I was talking about an actual person.

  I’ve spent most of my life working with women: with my dance company, as a financial planner, as a coach, as a teacher, and guiding The Women’s Council for many, many years.

  Plus, I have two daughters, three granddaughters, women friends and have shared life’s ups and downs with them. I pulled from all of that long life experience for the Ruby Sisters, which is probably why they are so real to me.

  I can’t wait to learn more about their lives in the following books in this series.

  If you have read the Stories From Doveland novels, you have already met Grace. It was fun bringing her into this series to play a minor, but essential, part of Bree’s story unfolding.

  As for the road trip? My husband and I took one in 2000. We explored the country for almost a year, looking for a place to call home. The rest stop, the lake, the GPS stories are all from that trip.

  And Pittsfield, too, was part of our road trip. It’s close to where two dear friends, Dorothea and Linda, live, and they provided some background to help with that part of the story. Thank you!

  I’ve been to Falling Waters more times than I can count, starting long before the official tours. If you ever have a chance to visit, go! It’s incredible. Just thinking about it, I can feel its magic.

  The Bree and Paul love-at-first-sight story came from my parents (although I have experienced it myself).

  As I have heard it told, my parents told their friends they would marry the first time they saw each other. They married less than a month later and remained married for sixty-four years until my dad passed away. Although my mom says he is still around, and I am sure he is.

  When I wanted to begin to write fiction, I went to a Chautauqua Lake writers’ conference, where I was lucky enough to end up in Anthony Doerr’s workshop. He, and the place, were the perfect way to begin this part of my writing life.

  It’s always fun naming characters. Sometimes I pick a name because it means what I want the character to represent. Or I change a character’s name because I know I will have trouble saying it when I record the audiobook.

  Other times, I have to wait until they tell me their name as I write. However, I named Mimi and Janet after my grandmother, named Janet Lewis, but we called her Mimi. It gives me a chance to think about her as I write about these two women.

  And yes, I had a group of friends when I lived in San Diego in the eighties who would be asked to leave restaurants because we were laughing so hard. No, drink and drugs were not involved—just the joy of sharing.

  I wish that for all of you, no matter your age or gender since we all want the same thing. To love and be loved.

  In friendship, Beca

  Learn more about The Ruby Sisters series at BecaLewis.com. Join my mailing list to be the first to know about new releases, or follow me at your favorite place to buy books.

  Acknowledgments

  I could never write a book without the help of my friends and my book community. Thank you, Jet Tucker, Jamie Lewis, Barbara Budan, and Diana Cormier for taking the time to do the final reader proof. You are a loyal and much-loved reader team. You can’t imagine how much I appreciate it. And to Dorothea Green and Linda Morse for introducing me to the Berkshires and their background information on Pittsfield.