Chapter 22
That same day, after brunch, Deborah offered to take Mariah for a walk. She could see that Mariah was not accustomed to a lot of attention from many people at once. She knew her sisters meant well, but their excitement could be overwhelming for someone who was not accustomed to them.
Deborah and Mariah exited the large building and walked out onto the sidewalk. Deborah had decided to take Mariah to a nearby bakery. She had given her sisters the excuse that she wanted to show Mariah where one of their favorite bakeries was.
Ariel and Bethel, the youngest Abraham sisters, had groaned at Deborah’s suggestion. But then, Ruth, the eldest Abraham sister, had shushed them, telling them that when they were children, Deborah has been closest to Mariah and it would be good for Deborah and Mariah to spend a little time together.
Ariel had muttered something about wanting to take Mariah shopping and Bethel had nodded. But a final look from Ruth had sent the two younger Abraham sisters away into a bedroom to sulk. Deborah had then promised to have Mariah back soon.
Now, as she walked with Mariah to the bakery on the sidewalk, she started a conversation.
“I know my sisters can be very excitable. And I know being around all of us at once must be a lot for you. I wanted to give you a little break so that you could breathe a little,” she said.
She continued, “They don’t know when they will see you again and they want to make up for the years we lost.”
Then Mariah spoke, “Yes, I am so glad to be welcomed into a circle of blood relatives. Finding you all is wonderful. I am so happy I came.”
“Great!! I hope we can see you again soon. We will all exchange numbers and whenever you have time I would love to see you again.”
“My work load isn’t heavy right now, so it should be easy for us to meet,” Mariah affirmed.
“What is it like when your work gets to be a lot,” Deborah asked.
“Well recently I worked on a project to design a very large orphanage. It was the biggest project I ever worked on. I had no time to myself.”
“Wow!! Was your client happy with the result?” Deborah asked.
“I don’t know. I never got to ask him. I handed the project over to someone else to finish. I didn’t want to, but I felt that I had to,” Mariah explained.
“Why? Was the project too difficult for you?” Deborah felt sympathetic towards her cousin.
“No…” Mariah hesitated. She hadn’t yet told anyone about what happened between herself and James. Something about Deborah felt familiar to her. Like a long lost sister. She felt that she could talk to her.
She continued, “My client for that project is part of the reason that I found you guys in the first place. While I worked with him on the project, he felt familiar to me. Things he said jogged parts of my memories. Things he did and the places we went to caused me to start to remember my past.”
“Wow,” Deborah cooed. She placed a hand on Mariah’s shoulder. “So he knew you?”
“Well, it turns out that he was my best friend in school before I got amnesia. Only I didn’t remember him but he eventually figure out who I was.”
“Wow!!! How?” Deborah exclaimed.
“He found an old picture of my parents and I that was taken when we were schoolmates. He saw that as an adult I look like my mom. He also saw a birthmark that I have and recognized it. Other things too,” Mariah paused.
“Interesting,” Deborah breathed, not wanting to say too much. She wanted to let Mariah talk without interruption.
They had reached a bench that stood on some grass, just off the sidewalk. Deborah could see that this story was important to Mariah. She wanted them to sit so that Mariah would not be distracted while telling her story. She felt that if they continued to walk while they talked that Mariah might lose her train of thought while crossing the road or avoiding other passersby on the sidewalk.
She turned to Mariah, “Let’s sit for a bit. Give our legs a rest,” she smiled.
Mariah smiled back and the two made themselves comfortable on the bench.
“Please continue,” Deborah said.
“Well, he was the one who told me that I was Anastasia. At the time I had been shocked. Horrified almost. I didn’t know if it was true. I didn’t know what to think. I had chased him away.”
Deborah could hear the sadness in Mariah’s voice. She put her arms around her cousin’s shoulders and hugged her tightly. She felt Mariah tense at the sudden embrace, but then she felt her relax.
While Deborah hugged her, Mariah continued, “His name is James. I got my boss to re-assign James’ orphanage project that I had been working on. At the time, I didn’t want to see James. I haven’t seen him since.”
Deborah sensed that the sadness in Mariah was lifting a little, so she released her shoulders. Instead, she took hold of her cousin’s hand.
Then she spoke to Mariah, “You clearly miss him.”
“I do. My memories started coming back little by little. In my mind I can see him as a kid. He was so tall and large for his age. He wasn’t very good at school work. I tutored him and he improved. I remember we had a favorite song and he would play it for me on different instruments,” her voice grew wishful.
Deborah watched as Mariah’s eyes lifted to the sky and stared into space. She was clearly thinking. Deborah remained silent watching her cousin.
Soon Mariah turned her eyes to Deborah’s and continued, “He has become a good man. He is still stubborn but then again so am I,” she laughed.
Then she went on, “He is very confident, some might mistake it for arrogance, but it isn’t.”
“Why don’t you call him?” Deborah suggested gently.
“I think I want to take some time for myself. Time to grow and remember. Time to re-evaluate who I am now and who I want to be. I was Anastasia many years ago, but now I am someone else. He liked Anastasia because she reminded him of his mother. But I don’t think I’ve been her for sometime. I want to find myself anew.” She gave Deborah a small smile.
“Do you love him?” Deborah asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know. But even if I did. Does he really know who he likes? He might think that it is me, but before he told me that I was Anastasia, he had suspected it for some time. So all this time his like for me might have grown as he became more sure that I was Anastasia. Will a relationship last between us if I am finding myself?”
“What do you like about him?”
Mariah laughed, “I don’t even know exactly.” She pondered the question. “He is very handsome. Well… to me anyway. He makes me feel safe. I feel like he is like a giant rock that tries to stand between me and the world. Like a sentinel.”
Deborah laughed, “Sounds romantic.”
“He has a big heart. He took food and other items for an orphanage and he wanted to build his own orphanage. A huge one in Anastasia’s name,” she smiled.
“He sounds kind,” Deborah mused.
“He is. He was very understanding about my headaches, which often came because I was around him. I think I suffered some trauma in a dark forest and it rained at night. I think it has something to do with him.”
“Will you ask him about it?”
“Maybe one day if our paths cross. For now, I will focus on myself and on my new found relatives, you guys. I’ve waited a long time to find my relatives. Even though I don’t have my parents, I have you.”
Deborah smiled and wrapped Mariah in another hug. “You will always have us. You are one of us now Mariah and you always will be.” Mariah hugged her back.
“You don’t need him right now, maybe not ever. You have us. You can come to live with me if you like. I would love to have you,” Deborah breathed from the bottom of her heart.
She hoped Mariah would take her up on her offer. She wanted to make her cousin feel safe and loved. A part of her felt guilty that her parents had not tried harder to keep in contact with Mariah’s parents. They could have prevented Mariah from growing up alone in an orphanage. She wanted to make up for that.
In her mind, she started to plan how she would convince Mariah to move in with her or at least move closer to the Abraham family house in Jacksonville.