A knock sounded at the door, and Hadley hurried down the stairs to answer, seeing Adam Shipley on the other side.“Adam, welcome,” she said as she opened the door.“This is a surprise.What are you doing here?”
“Good morning, Hadley.I’m afraid we didn’t get around to those signatures last night before you left, and I thought I’d stop by on my way home and see if we can’t get things in motion so you’ll have the funds.”
“Of course,” she said, accepting the papers he handed her along with the pen he’d come prepared with.
She signed on the highlighted lines and handed the documents back to him one by one.
“You look like you’ve been busy,” he said, nodding toward the pad of paper she’d set aside.
A laugh emerged and she inhaled.“I’ve never been one to do-it-yourself but I’m thinking of giving it a try.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great at whatever you set your mind to,” Adam said.“Give me a shout if you need something?”
“Thank you.I will.”She walked Adam back to the door and waved goodbye.
A couple of hours had passed since she’d started her tour of the house room by room, and she’d decided painting a small piece of furniture might be easier than an entire room.
She chose a cabinet to start with and moved to empty the drawers to have it ready for her return from the home store.
But the second drawer of the cabinet was filled with photo albums, and in two seconds flat, Hadley found herself on the floor, surrounded by memories.
Black-and-white photos of Nan and Poppy’s wedding.Their honeymoon and many trips to the Caribbean.Nan dancing, hands raised above her head as she twirled.
Page after page.So many memories now just images of moments long gone.Of times and places and stories no one else knew.Would know.She thought of how easy it was to get so caught up in her own life and getting through the days that she lost sight of the fact there werebillionsof other people doing the same thing, living their lives, stories, right beside her.
Another flip of the page left Hadley smiling again.Her mother’s baby photos were cute and classic and like something from a time warp.There were pictures of the original Babes all together on the boardwalk in their prams and bonnets, later in short dresses with ruffled socks and patent leather shoes.
Later still, photos of the Babes as teenagers in bathing suits.Long legs, long hair, dressed in the seventies fashions that looked atrocious and cool at the same time.Miniskirts, go-go boots, muscle cars, and…was that a cigarette?
Ah, Tessa.Such a rebel, Hadley mused with a smile.
The images were precious.Priceless.Hadley wished she could’ve witnessed that time firsthand.What would it have been like to know her mother then?She looked happy in the photographs, all smiles and blond curls.The image of the slim, tanned, upper-crust daughter enjoying her oceanfront life.
One by one, Hadley flipped through the yellowed pages of the albums.Her birth photos were next, and then it was as though time repeated as the pictures showed Hadley and her “cousins” over the years.
Another few flips of the pages…and Hadley stared at her own face, at her wedding photo…the sheer joy and happiness she’d felt captured for all to see in heartbreaking detail.
Tears flooded her eyes and her nostrils flared as she sucked in a sharp, choked breath.
How was it possible for so much happiness to turn into so much pain?