Chapter 63
The World signifies completion. There is excitement about new beginnings brought about by your own empowerment and maturity.
CAL
My heart is rejoicing. In one week, I’ve gained a husband and a grandson. After twenty-six years, I know my daughter is alive. But what kind of danger is she in that she thought the best move was to send her son to me?
I have no clue where to begin unraveling this mystery.
“Azul, do you live in Mexico City?”
“No, we live in Taxco.”
I have no idea where that is, other than somewhere in Mexico.
“You live with your mommy?
“Mami and Papi.”
He retrieves his backpack, takes out a manilla envelope and hands it to me.
In the stack of papers are Azul’s birth certificate and a business card: Eva Castillo, Platero, and a phone number and address in Taxco. A 3x5 card with photographs of stunning silver and gemstone jewelry on the front and information about a gallery and showroom on the back. There is also a photograph of me, neatly cut from one of my book jackets. In a smaller envelope is $10,000 in cash.
I hold the 3x5 card. “Is this your Mommy’s work?” Azul nods proudly.
“Wow, this is beautiful jewelry. You must be very proud of your Mommy.”
Again, Azul nods and smiles a great big toothy grin. “She’s a silversmiff.”
“What about your father, Azul? Where is he?”
The grin disappears. “I don’t know.”
“Oh baby, I am so sorry.” I hold him tight, my eyes watering as I consider what this little fellow has been through.
Azul yawns and hugs his teddy bear.
“Hey, let’s get some jammies on and make up a bed for you, OK? Does that sound good?”
I ran a bath and gave Azul a quick scrub. He is so tired he is close to falling asleep in the tub.
Danny made the sofa in the loft outside our bedroom into a bed for Azul. He comes into the bathroom and lifts Azul out of the tub. “Come on, buddy, let’s get you dried off and jammied up. Grandma and Grandpa are old farts and we need to go to bed.”
“Grandpa! You said fart!” Azul breaks into squeals of laughter.
I sit in the rocking chair beside the sofa and Azul climbs onto my lap. He is tall for a five-year-old and gangly in the big puppy way that all little boys are. I revel in the weight of him on my lap and the way he snuggles into my chest, his wet hair soaking my tee shirt.
I sing the lullaby I sang to Eve when she was little. “Rock a bye baby, in the treetop.” Azul sings along with me. When I get to the part about “when the bough breaks,” he sings it the way I sang it to Eve. “When the bough breaks, the baby will fly, up to the moon and stars in the sky.”
Which means Eve has sung our special lullaby to her son. My heart is full of love for this boy and Danny, and full of longing for my daughter, Eve.
He burrows deeper into me and is asleep within minutes.
Danny lifts him from my lap and tucks him into bed with his teddy bear. We both bend at the same time to plant a kiss on his forehead. Azul sighs and smiles in his sleep.
In the bedroom, I crawl into bed in my tee shirt. “What an unbelievable day.”
“Yeah, unbelievable,” echoes Danny. “By the way, we’re even.”
“Even? What do you mean?”
“My ‘I’m still technically married’ thing is cancelled out by your ‘I forgot to tell you I have a daughter’ thing.”
“We both kept secrets from each other,” I said solemnly. “Come to bed. I’m exhausted.”
Danny was packing a duffle bag. “You want me to stay? I thought you might need some time alone with Azul. He might be more comfortable if I’m not here. I can sleep at the cabin and then come back in the morning.”
“Absolutely not. That boy needs some consistency in his life. All he knows is that I am his grandmother, and you are Grandpa Dan. You add a sense of calm and safety that he desperately needs. Please stay.”
Danny drops the bag. “Whatever you need. I’m all yours.”
I showed him the cash and cards from Eve. “With this card maybe I can find Eve. I can’t imagine what transpired for her to put Azul on a plane to Atlanta. She must have been desperate, and I was her last resort.
Danny just nods his head. He is waiting for an explanation.
“I apologize for not telling you about Eve. She ran away when she was seventeen. For twenty-six years I’ve not known where she is. John and I could not find a trace of her when she left and believe me, we tried. The private investigators we hired never picked up her trail. It was like she vanished into thin air.”
My eyes fill with tears. Danny hands me a tissue. I motion for him to give me the entire box.
“It was wrong of me not to tell you. I was afraid of what you would think of me. What kind of person must I be for a child to run away and never again make contact?”
I am bawling like a baby. Danny takes a handful of tissues and wipes my tears.
“Cal, it wasn’t all about you. Eve bears some responsibility for this, too. I don’t know what you were like so long ago, but I’ll bet you aren’t the same person now as you were then. We do the best we can with what we have and when we know better, we do better.
“I should have done better then. Eve left because I abandoned her emotionally. Her father and the congregation expected her to be a paragon of virtue and spirituality. The pressure was more than she could bear, and I didn’t stand up for her because I was too busy with my career.
I am sobbing so wildly that the bed is shaking. Danny wraps his arms around me and holds me tightly, like he is swaddling a baby.
“And yet, who did she turn to when she was desperate? Who did she trust to care for the person who means everything to her? You. She sent her son to you. She knew you would not abandon him.
He kisses my forehead. “You are a good person. No, you are a great person. I’ve seen you navigate difficulties over the last year that would destroy most people. And you’ve done it with grace and dignity.”
Danny’s phone pings with an incoming text. “Earlier I called the Chief of Police in Taxco and asked if there were any leads on Eve. This is him getting back to me.”
He reads the text. He does his best to cover it, but I can see his face fall. “No news yet.”
“Let me see your phone, Danny.”
“This is not definitive. I don’t want you to worry.”
I snatched the phone from my husband’s hands.
Detective Chan, the Taxco police have responded to a break in at the home of Alvaro and Eva Castillo. There are signs of a struggle. The family is missing.
“Well, we know Azul is safe and Eve put him on the plane. I would bet she is safe, too.” Danny’s words are reassuring.
Danny types into his phone.
“Are you responding to the police in Taxco?”
“No.” He types for another minute and then shows me a screenshot. He has purchased three tickets to Taxco on Delta Airlines, one for me, one for himself, and one for Azul. “We are scheduled to leave for Taxco the day after tomorrow. Let’s find our daughter.”