They looked so young, so happy. No one could have known they would be gone in a year. How Tessa wished things could have been different.
She didn’t know how long she sat there, lost in the past, her tea growing cold. She should have been getting some sleep; she had a lot to do the next day. But she couldn’t tear herself away from the albums. Who knows how long she would have stayed there, but a sudden phone call broke the spell. The number on the screen was vaguely familiar. She remembered Sophie dictating it, and then writing it on the hospital forms. It must be Anna. Tessa’s first instinct was to block the number, but then she thought it might be about some bureaucratic issue with Sophie’s admission, so she answered.
“Speak, and make it quick.”
“I’m sorry, it’s Anna. I feel terrible calling you.”
Tessa’s peaceful mood vanished. Her anger returned as she listened to the hesitant voice on the other end. She made no effort to be polite. “What do you want now?”
“I got the girl admitted to the hospital. I listed your number as the primary contact.”
“Fine. My part is done.”
Anna corrected her. “No, that’s not why I’m calling.”
Tessa was nearing her breaking point, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Then why? Did you forget something? Just tell me what it is, and I’ll mail it to you. Just give me an address. I don’t want any of your things.”
The voice on the other end became quiet and sad, so much so that Tessa could barely hear. “Tony and I had a huge fight on the road. He kicked me out of the car not far from town. I have no idea how to get to the county seat at this time of night. And you’re the only person I know here. I know, given how we met, I can only hope for a miracle. I’m at your gate right now. If it’s not too much to ask, could you just throw a blanket over the fence? I’ll spend the night here and try to hitch a ride in the morning.”
Tessa’s anger suddenly evaporated. She was warm and safe inside, while Anna was in a much worse situation. After a moment’s hesitation, she said she would come to the gate and hung up.
Anna clearly didn’t expect Tessa to open the door and say, “Come on in. It’s not summer anymore. You’ll freeze out there. I don’t want that on my conscience.”
Seeing the woman’s hesitation, Tessa added, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to rehash things with you. It’s pretty clear what happened. It looks like Tony played both of us. I guess that makes us sisters in misfortune. So, I suggest we drop the formalities. Sound good?”
Anna’s face lit up, and she agreed without hesitation. She felt awkward being back in the house where such a drama had unfolded, but it was genuinely cold outside. Tessa re-secured the door with the broom and invited her guest to sit down. “I’m just going to tidy up a bit, then we can have some tea and get some sleep. Okay?”
Anna agreed. But as the homeowner started to clear the photo albums from the table, Anna stopped her, pointing to one of the pictures. “Oh my God, that woman looks exactly like my mother when she was young. But I don’t know the man with her. Where did you get this picture?”
Tessa was just as stunned. “That’s my mother. And that’s my father next to her. My grandfather took this picture in front of our house in the city. In the next shot, I’m standing with them. And my grandmother. Here, look.”
Anna’s jaw dropped as Tessa turned the page, revealing the photo she had just described.
Anna pulled out her phone. “Hold on a second.”
Frantically swiping through her phone, she found what she was looking for and held it out to Tessa. It was a social media page. “This is my profile. And this album has my family photos. Look at this black-and-white one. That’s my mom at a photo studio. It was the thing to do back then. Does she remind you of anyone?”
Tessa looked closely. The resemblance between the woman on the screen and the woman in the paper photograph was uncanny. They could have been the same person, just photographed in different settings with different cameras. But the year printed in the corner of the studio portrait of Anna’s mother made it clear they were two different people; Tessa’s mother would have been a small child at the time.
Anna asked, “Do you think our mothers could be related? My mom’s maiden name was Sitnikov. What was your mom’s?”
Tessa, who had been thinking the same thing, replied sadly, “I’m afraid I can’t help you there. My mother grew up in an orphanage. I don’t know anything about her relatives. She never looked for them, or at least she never told me if she did. I was too young, then she and my dad passed away, and my grandparents had other things to worry about.”
Anna’s face was a mask of astonishment. She rushed to share an incredible story.
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