“The only address I have is for your aunt... his ex-wife. She might know, though. Otherwise I think only he knows. But you should be careful if you ask her.”

  “I wanted to visit anyway, for the kids, just to see them,” Gabriel said. “I’m sorry if there’s any bad blood between you.”

  “No, it’s just...” The boy then pushed his head even more against her, making her sway on her feet. Katie urged her son off. “Go join your sister and watch TV.” The boy hesitated, not wanting to go, but then took a look at Gabriel and Dr. Green and must have decided it wasn’t worth it to speak. He took off down the hallway again.

  “They’re home from school today?” Dr Green asked. “It’s Thursday, isn’t it?”

  Katie grinned. “They’re homeschooled,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “They don’t take well to waking up early for the bus.” She addressed Gabriel again. “Let me get you the address.”

  She disappeared inside. Dr. Green shared a concerned look with Gabriel.

  Middle of the morning and her kids are already watching television. Gabriel shrugged. “Probably taking a break?”

  Dr. Green’s eyebrow rose a little. “You know, I don’t judge...” He started to say more, but Katie returned with a slip of paper in hand.

  She passed it to Gabriel. “They’re on the other side of the main road, in a subdivision behind the grocery store.”

  Gabriel took the paper. “I’ll try to keep it quick with her.”

  “Just be careful,” she said. “She’s a piece of work. Don’t tell her I gave it to you. Or that you’ve seen Steve. And you’ll be a lucky to get anything from her, I think. She might hold out for any gossip you can give her.”

  Gabriel thanked her and said goodbye. The guys went back to the car, and Gabriel drove down the road to park at the same convenience store as before. Dr. Green had the address and the map out.

  “The old way is hard,” Dr. Green said, peering at the city’s street names and locating the right one on the map. “Could you imagine being a pizza delivery person before cell phone navigation?”

  “How did they survive?” Gabriel asked with a smirk, knowing full well there was a long list of how people survived even before cars, or pizza, that was likely much harder than figuring out a map.

  When Dr. Green was ready with the address and the directions from where they were, Gabriel reversed the car. He was starting to pull around when Dr. Green put his hand on the wheel, urging Gabriel to pause.

  “What are you doing?” Gabriel said, instinctively taking his foot off the gas but not slamming the breaks, just letting the car coast a little.

  “Stop for a second,” Dr. Green said, though he wasn’t looking ahead. His attention was fully on the rearview mirror.

  Gabriel did the best he could to appear naturally like he was stopping at the street, but waited, unable to see what Dr. Green was seeing. “What is it?”

  Dr. Green readjusted the rearview, in such a way that Gabriel could see what he’d been looking at. “This your uncle? There was a picture on the table behind Katie at the house.”

  Coming out of the convenience store, Steve was waving at the clerk behind the counter, with little slips of stiff stock paper in his hand. Steve wore saggy sweatpants, and a jacket one size too small, and a sports T-shirt that read University of Kentucky with the image of a wildcat with its tongue hanging out.

  It took Gabriel a moment before he realized the collection of papers must have been lottery tickets. A couple of them, he pocketed. The others, he stood just outside the store doors and scratched. Gabriel waited for as long as he could, but his uncle was taking his time balancing the tickets in his palm while he scratched with a coin at their surfaces.

  Staying too long, they’d be too noticeable. Gabriel took a right, so he’d be going slowly around the convenience store.

  Before they were too far out of view, whatever was on the ticket, Steve was dissatisfied with it and promptly dropped it on the ground, then attempting to scratch the next one.

  “Interesting...” Dr. Green said.

  “He’s not working,” Gabriel said defensively. He felt a pang of guilt. They could help him get work somehow. “Isn’t that one of the things some people revert to when they need money but only have a couple of dollars and no hope for getting hired?”

  “How are they affording the house they have now?” Dr. Green asked. “Is it paid for?”

  “No idea,” Gabriel said. It was a good question. “They said something about Katie getting alimony and child support when I was there. And it’s the same address that the Christmas cards had been coming from. He may not have a mortgage anymore.”

  “And he ended up with the house?” Dr. Green asked.

  Gabriel couldn’t answer that question. Still, it didn’t sound good, and Gabriel, fearful of the answer and not wanting to look too closely, hesitated to look at Dr. Green.

  He didn’t like the suspicion creeping into his heart about Uncle Steve.

  ♥♥♥

  They were driving the wrong direction, so Gabriel took another street and Dr. Green navigated them through neighborhoods.

  It wasn’t long before they passed the grocery store, and then got to a subdivision that was behind it. This one was new, with young trees growing in manicured lawns. While the houses weren’t huge, most were at least two stories with two-car garages and tidy yards.

  Dr. Green found the right house and Gabriel parked behind a blue minivan. There was enough room on the other side of it for another car, and the start of an oil slick spot where another car seemed to be usually parked. The garage doors were closed. The yard in front was small, much like the neighbors’. The backyard was fenced with a tall, white panels and a black lock at the gate highly visible from the driveway. The porch had a Valentine’s Day heart wreath hanging at the front. A short, white metal snowman sat on the porch steps, off to the side to not block foot traffic.

  “This looks nice,” Dr. Green said.

  “Sure,” Gabriel said, unable to ignore the severe difference in lifestyle between his former aunt—ex-aunt—compared to his uncle.

  Had she really not wanted Gabriel around? It was something from a memory from long ago, and then Uncle Steve had sort of mentioned it. It made it awkward to go ask her about seeing his own cousins.

  Gabriel prepared himself. From the looks of it, she didn’t need much in the way of help from the Academy. Was she remarried?

  Gabriel knocked at the front door and then realized there was a doorbell off to the side, a camera one. He pushed the button. The doorbell jingled, sounding like some romantic song that Gabriel couldn’t recall the name of.

  “Nice little chime,” Dr. Green said.

  Shortly after, the door opened, and a woman Gabriel recognized peered out. She examined them, an expression of confusion on her face. “Yes? Can I help you?”

  “Sorry to bother you,” Gabriel said. He placed a palm over his heart, trying to appear sincere and apologetic. “My name is—”

  “Oh my goodness,” she said before he could finish. “Gabriel?”

  His mouth popped open in surprise. “You remember me?”

  She beamed. “You’ve sent cards every Christmas. I should have asked for pictures. You’ve grown so much!”

  She opened the door further then and smiled out to the both of them. She was a short woman, with a thick, short hairstyle dyed a very light shade of blond. The roots were growing in, dark brown across the part in her hair. Her clothes were simple, a pair of leggings and a light green sweater. Her makeup was done up, with dark lashes and a pink tint to her lips.

  No sound came from further in the house except a television and the hum of a dishwasher running.

  She urged them both inside, and they joined her in the living room, where the television was playing a daytime sitcom. The whole house smelled like cleaners and vanilla. She turned the television off before turning to them. “Haven’t seen you in a long time,” she said. “Did you come to visit your uncle?”

  He understood Katie being a little wary but he didn’t want to lie to her. “I already have,” he confessed. He paused then, unsure how to continue. It had been a long night and a nerve-wracking morning just trying to get Sang out of her grandfather’s house while she was so stressed. Now he was here and it was like he’d lost his gumption to speak.

  She looked at Dr. Green then. “Is this... your brother?”

  Dr. Green beamed and took this in stride. “I wish. No. I’m just a friend. He wanted to visit his family while we were passing by and I thought it a good idea to join him. I love meeting new people. Especially people with excellent taste. I love what you’ve done here.” He motioned to the living room which had a hard porcelain tile floor, designed to look like worn gray wood, with a rug covering it. There were large sofas surrounding the entertainment center, and a large, made-to-look-old trunk on the floor acting as a coffee table. There were a tasteful number of houseplants all over the room.

  “My uncle wasn’t home at the moment, you see,” Gabriel said to her. “But I asked about you. I was hoping to find an address for my mother’s family as well.” He paused. “I’m sorry. I never learned your first name. I almost called you Mrs. Coleman, but that can’t be right anymore.”

  Her expression changed from pleasant surprise to that of annoyance, but just for a brief moment. “Of course, I always signed the greeting cards with The Colemans. I’m Janice.”

  “I guess you two don’t get along now?” Gabriel said.

  “Not even when we were married. And I’m not surprised he wouldn’t even think about telling you about your mother’s family.”

  Gabriel tilted his head a little to one side. “You don’t think so?”

  “They basically disowned your father after he left with that woman,” she paused and then appeared solemn. “I’m sorry. I got so used to hearing him say that as if it’s her real name. Your mother.”

  “They fought?” Gabriel asked. “My mother and my uncle?”

  “No,” she said. “They hardly ever spoke to each other. But Steve couldn’t stand her. Always talked about her... and then when she died, he refused to go to the funeral.” She sighed and motioned to the display of photos on top of the entertainment center. There were children there, although they had grown over the years, all looking alike, like younger versions of Steve and herself. “He made good kids, but he was a complete disaster from the moment we married. Never worked. Didn’t help with the kids. Always had opinions about other people...” Again she stopped herself and frowned, putting a palm to her temple. “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t be saying that.”

  Gabriel tensed. He had to accept they were divorced and she was likely bitter about it. He imagined they both said things about each other that were pretty terrible. How much was actually true?

  “I’m sorry it was bad,” Gabriel said as cordial as he could, feeling awkward. Like he had to decide which one he believed. “Sometimes personalities clash a bit.”

  “You could say that,” she said.

  Gabriel combed back a lock of hair from his eyes. “But I’m glad you’re doing okay.”

  She brightened a little and motioned to her house. “I love this place. And my husband—my new husband—He’s an absolute gem. I was finally able to quit my old job and be a true housewife. I’ve always wanted to. I hope to adopt more children soon.”

  Gabriel beamed at this. “That sounds lovely. I hope it happens.”

  She seemed pleased with this and then spoke more animatedly. “Let me go look for an address. I probably have it here somewhere. I used to try to invite over her family sometimes for activities, but they never came. Probably because your mother moved away and never came to anything.”

  Gabriel wondered what’d happened between them. What caused his mother to not get along with his uncle? “Do you know why they moved?” Gabriel asked. “My parents, I mean. To South Carolina.”

  She spoke as she walked away. “As far as I know, your father found work down there.”

  She disappeared down a hallway. Dr. Green and Gabriel stood alone in the living room. It was open to the kitchen, which had a wide and clean kitchen island and counter with just a little Valentine’s Day kitchen décor and more houseplants. In fact, for a house with so many children, it was indeed very tidy. On the couch, likely where she had been sitting, there was a small basket, filled with balls of yarn and a project that had just begun with knitting needles bundled together.

  “Seems to do pretty well here,” Dr. Green said, echoing Gabriel’s previous comments. “And the whole place seems nice. Not much for us to do.”

  Gabriel had to agree. While he’d be interested in at least the Academy locally keeping an eye on them, there didn’t seem to be much they needed. She had done well for herself. And adoption... to be doing so well to bring in more children seemed very sweet.

  Janice returned, and with her she brought a very old leather date book. When she opened it in front of him, instead of daily occurrences, there were several pages of address and numbers.

  “I used to find it easier to mail cards copying out of a notebook like this,” she said. “Instead of using my phone to store addresses. At least until I got a computer and printer. But I never copied over their address. They used to send cards on occasion but they stopped some time back. I used to send things in secret anyway around the holidays, though Steve didn’t like me to. I do try to keep in touch. I didn’t have any hard feelings. After the divorce, and since they hadn’t responded to anything, I thought it better to let them go. I didn’t want to be bothering them.”

  She found the right address and copied it for Gabriel and handed him the sheet of paper. “Now, this might be too old, but I’m pretty sure your mother’s brother still works at the bottling company making local deliveries. If this address isn’t right, you can ask around there.”

  “Thank you,” Gabriel said, taking the bit of paper. “I really appreciate it.”

  “Do you have a new address?” she asked. “Would you still like to be on my Christmas list? I know I’ve divorced your uncle, but I had hoped to bring you in...”

  Before she could go on, Gabriel asked, “You... wanted to bring me back? After the funeral?”

  She nodded, her cheeks glowed the color of apples as she grinned. “I wasn’t sure at first, at the time at least, but your uncle thought it a good idea, and then changed his mind after. At least after he talked to Pam. Then he complained later that Pam didn’t want to give you up at all. I told him he had more right to his nephew than she did. No offence to Pam, but you were still living in that trailer park and we had a better place at the house. I was making good pay at my job.” She waved her hand. “Anyway, she didn’t want to give you up and Steve kept talking about hiring a lawyer. Said the property was his.” She rolled her eyes. “Every ounce of property that belonged to his brother, he tried to claim as belonging to him. Even stuff that really belonged to your mother. Pam eventually settled, and Steve...”

  “Property?” Gabriel asked. “What property?”

  “The car,” she said. “The one he’s kept in that garage for years now. Your grandfather left that for your father, not for him. And some other stuff. Family things passed down from the Colemans. He sold a lot of it off, but the car and a few other things he kept.”

  Heat lifted through Gabriel’s body. Again he had to question if this was true or if Steve was being honest before, that his grandfather had given it to him.

  But it wasn’t looking good.

  He didn’t even remember the car. Where did his father keep it? And there were other things belonging to the Colemans?

  “It all probably should have gone to you,” she said. She flipped over her date book in her hands. “Doesn’t matter. That wasn’t the important part. I just wished he would have been nicer to Pam. She could have come here, you see? If she didn’t want to let you go, we could have worked out her coming up. Sold the trailer. She could have worked with the company I did. I didn’t want to push him of course.”

  Gabriel’s heart dropped then.

  He could have been here.

  With Pam.

  But for some reason, Steve left him with Pam in South Carolina. Pam struggled, and it was only with Gabriel working alongside the Academy, once he got to that point, that she was able to do a little better, live more comfortably.

  How different would their lives have been if he’d moved here? It seemed like the more Gabriel learned, the more he thought Pam chose to stay away, and to keep him at a distance from Steve. But why?

  And could it be the same reason his father had chosen to move away, too?

  Too Much to Learn

  Sang

  We dropped off Nathan just on the edge of the property, in the woods near where the Sorenson farm started.

  “Get back when you can,” Nathan said.

  “What are you going to do?” Luke asked him. “Just sit in a tree?”

  “I’ll walk around in these woods, see if there’s anything interesting, but keep an eye on the house. Make it look like I’m just exploring.”

  He waved to us and disappeared into the woods before we could turn the Tahoe around.

  I gazed back using the side mirror at the woods and the Sorenson farm behind us. Worry edged into my thoughts. Nathan being alone in the cold seemed like a risk. Yet leaving my grandfather alone for too long felt worse. Would there be any trouble while we were gone?

  Luke drove us into Winchester but slowed when he caught my worried expression. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I’d been looking out the window, at nothing at all really. I would normally have wanted to explore, to see things I hadn’t seen before. Having been very isolated living with my parents, I naturally wanted to see everything possible now.