Claire watched fireflies move over the garden.
“Mom was afraid too.”
“Of meeting us?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She thought there might not be room.”
I swallowed.
“For her?”
“For everyone.”
The next morning, Claire prepared to drive home.
Before she left, she handed Dad the notebook.
“Mom wanted you to have this.”
He looked down at it.
“I thought it was yours.”
“There’s something near the back.”
Dad opened it.
Several pages were filled with Rebecca’s handwriting.
Then one page contained a photocopied document.
Dad’s expression changed.
“What is it?” I asked.
He did not answer.
I took the notebook gently.
The document was a property deed.
Dated 1971.
It concerned a narrow strip of land along the eastern side of Dad’s property.
The strip beneath the garden.
The listed owner was Ruth Bell.
The woman who had once left boxes of food outside Mom’s rented room.
