Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Current Day
Three days had passed since Matilda visited the cafe and spoke to Rita. She'd spent that time exploring Covington, even caught an Uber to downtown Atlanta and had a look around at the World of Coca-Cola, the Underground Mall, and the famous Georgia Aquarium. She kept herself busy focusing on sightseeing and trying out the local cuisine, which she loved.
She'd eaten every type of vegetable imaginable in a casserole or fried. She'd had Brunswick stew and fried chicken and hot wings tossed in buffalo sauce served with celery and blue cheese dressing. But all the while, a single thought niggled at her mind, at the back of her mind.
What was she going to do now? She'd conducted a few Google searches. She'd called the vital records office. But she hadn't been able to locate Tyler Osborne.
There were so many people with that name all over the United States. It was far too common for her to narrow it down, and when she put Covington into the search box, she didn't find anything current. Whoever Tyler Osborne was, there was no way for her to pinpoint him on social media or with search engines. There were dozens in the state of Georgia alone, and she knew nothing else about him that would help her narrow the search results. She was about to admit defeat and plan a trip to Disney World when Rita called.
Her southern drawl echoed down the phone line.
“Well, hey there, this is Rita Osborne from the Honeysuckle Cafe.”
“Hi, Rita, how nice to hear your voice.” Why was Rita calling? Matilda cleared her throat. “Do you have a lead on Tyler Osborne?”
Rita hesitated. “Yeah, about that. We do need to talk, but not over the phone. How would you like to come to see a famous Georgia landmark on Sunday and have a picnic with my family? We can talk there.”
“That sounds amazing, I would love that.”
“Great, where are you staying?”
“I’m at the Greenfields Bed and Breakfast,” Matilda replied.
“Ah yes, I know the place well. A friend of mine owns it. I’ll pick you up after lunch.”
“Really? Wow, it's a beautiful building,” Matilda replied. “So historic with all that trim, and the grounds are incredible. Your friend is very lucky.”
“He does okay, although you'd never know it to look at him. He’s one of those folks who find luck wherever they go. Everything he touches turns to gold, you could say. And to top it all off, he’s a nice guy.”
“So, where are we going?” Matilda asked.
“I’m taking you to Stone Mountain, so wear comfortable shoes. And something warm. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and with all the rain we've had this past week, everyone wants to get outside even though it’s cold out, so bundle up.”
“Sounds good to me. I love a picnic. And we Aussies never let a bit of weather stop us from getting out and about.”
On Sunday Matilda dressed warmly. As promised, soon after lunch Rita arrived to pick her up. She drove a beat-up old Chevy truck and wore a knitted red hat pulled down low around her ears. Her greying curls sprung up around the hat like kudzu, a vine Matilda had recently learned about from the bed and breakfast manager. It covered the ground and other vegetation around the building, like an, all-consuming carpet of brown. Apparently it would be green when summer hit. But for now it looked dead.
As she strode down the footpath to the curb, she noticed Ryan tackling the kudzu with a buzzing weed eater. He glanced up at her, but she looked away, chin high. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. He didn’t deserve her attention. Besides, she was embarrassed about the shower. What kind of ninny doesn’t know how to operate a shower? Apparently, she was exactly that kind of ninny. And she hated that he knew that humiliating fact about her.
She climbed into Rita’s truck, using the handle above the door to lift herself high enough to make it. She still wasn’t used to how enormous vehicles were in this country.
With a grunt, she fixed her seat belt. “Good morning.”
“Morning, honey.” Rita shifted her position so she could see Ryan through the window, then waved vigorously.
Ryan dipped his head hello but continued working.
“Ugh, he’s so annoying,” Matilda said, purposely facing forward.
Rita studied her with a smile. “Is that so? What did he do?”
Matilda crossed her arms. “Never mind, it’s not worth talking about.”
“He might be annoying, but he sure is easy on the eyes.” Rita laughed as she pulled away from the curb.
“I hadn’t noticed.”
Rita gave her sideeye. “Oh, really?”
“He’s not my type.” Matilda was adamant.
Rita laughed again. “Okay, I gotcha.”
“So, where are we going again?”
“It’s called Stone Mountain. I would explain, but that’s really all it is. It’s a stone … that’s a mountain. Anyway, it’s got picnic tables and such. The family will all be set up when we get there. All you have to do is relax.”
“This is your side of the family we’re meeting?”
“They’re a mixture. Osbournes and Browns.”
Matilda’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe someone there would know Tyler. It was a long shot but worth asking.
“You had any luck with your investigation yet?”
Matilda sighed. “No, nothing yet.”
The picnic tables were located at the base of the mountain. It really was quite an impressive landmark. Matilda stared up at the rock face ahead of her with the figures of three military men on horseback carved into it. She didn’t recognise any of the group, but she figured they had something to do with the civil war. Overhead, the sky was clear blue with a few fluffy white clouds. It had warmed up a lot since her arrival, and she almost didn’t need her coat, although there was still a light breeze.
A group of people were gathered around a pair of picnic tables, and Rita and Matilda made their way over to them. Rita carried a picnic basket on one arm with a red and white checked cloth covering it. She set it on one of the tables. Everyone rushed to greet them both with embraces and exclamations of welcome.
“How lovely to meet you!”
“Let me hug your neck.”
“Oh, bless your heart, you came a long way!”
Matilda tried to remember all of their names, but there were so many and they all looked far too much alike. There was Susan, Marie, Janet, Sean, Ron, Cathy, David, and Myra. Those were the ones she could recall, even if she wasn’t able to put a face to each name. In all, there were around thirty people at the gathering. Several children ran about the place, squealing and chasing one another. It was Sunday, so the picnic area was well-populated by families with food, footballs, and frisbees.
“Did you say your name is Matilda?” one woman asked, sidling up to her.
She nodded. “That’s right. And you’re...” Matilda did her best to remember, but she couldn’t manage to come up with a name for the earnest blonde woman with heavily made-up face standing in front of her.
“I’m Cathy. Don’t you worry one little bit, we don’t expect you to remember every single name right away. It’s a big group. I know it can be overwhelming.”
“Thanks,” Matilda replied. “I’ll try, but I’m not great with names.”
“Rita didn’t tell us much, but mentioned you were here looking for a family connection?”
“That’s right. I’m trying to find Tyler Osbourne. Apparently, he’s my cousin, although no one seems to know where he is. You don’t know anyone by that name, do you?”
The woman offered a warm smile. “Well, how about that? A long-lost cousin. What an exciting mystery. And I love your accent, by the way.”
“Well, thanks. I love yours too.”
“Let me ask you something.”
“Okay.”
Cathy scooted closer to Matilda, holding a Starbucks cup aloft in one hand. “Do y’all have coffee out there in Australia? Because I don’t know how I could survive without my coffee.” She laughed loudly.
Matilda blinked. “Uh … yeah, we have coffee.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.” Cathy took a big swig of coffee.
As she watched the woman saunter away, Matilda noted that Cathy hadn’t actually answered her question.
And the rest of the picnic proceeded in much the same way. They ate fried chicken from Publix buckets with corn on the cob smothered in butter, potato salad, baked beans, and bread rolls. And every time Matilda got chatting with another member of the family, they were kind, welcoming, and completely avoided answering her questions about whether there was any family connection to Tyler or if they’d heard of him.
Frustrated, Matilda decided to join a group of the younger members of the family in climbing the mountain. They had to go around to the right hand side of the horseriders engraved in the stone face and make their way up with a crowd of other hikers. It wasn’t a difficult climb and was quicker than she’d anticipated. The view from the top was incredible—they were so high up they could see a long way across the city. Atlanta was a large and sprawling metropolis. There were strip malls, highways, and suburban neighbourhoods as far as the eye could see in every direction.
She was suddenly overwhelmed by the enormity of what she was doing. She had flown to the other side of the world. Left behind her job, family and friends. And for what? So far, she had nothing. She’d enjoyed a lovely picnic with some strangers today, but what about tomorrow, and the day after that? She needed a plan. Resolute, she turned to march back down the mountain.
At the picnic area, Matilda removed her coat and sat on a bench. She’d worked up a sweat on the mountain and needed to cool off. The rest of the family had packed up while they were gone and had begun pulling out of the park, waving and honking goodbye as they went. She had to admit she’d had a nice time, enjoyed their company.
After they were gone, Rita was still packing things into the back of her truck. Matilda carried a folding chair and placed it in the bed. They both climbed into the truck, but Rita didn’t start the engine. Instead, she leaned against the headrest with a sigh.
“So, what did you think of the clan?”
“I like them. They’re friendly and welcoming. They made me feel right at home.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“No one knew anything about Tyler. At least, they weren’t telling me if they did. I’m not sure what to do now. I guess I should go home.”
“Is that what you want?”
“To go home? No, I don’t want to, but I’m feeling a bit disappointed and lost. Also, a little crazy. Not sure why I even came.”
Another sigh. “Don’t leave yet. I have a confession to make. And don’t get used to it, I’m not one to admit guilt. You may not see it happen ever again.” She chuckled. “So, here’s the truth … Tyler Osbourne is my son.”