~ Andrea

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Nora says, turning her back on me as soon as I step into her living room.

Her son, Aaron, let me in – well, he opened the door just as I was about to knock and when I told him I was his friend’s mother, he just told me to go right in – but clearly I’m not welcome here.

“I just wanted to check on Rose,” I tell her as I subtly look around.

The living room isn’t big. Actually, the house isn’t big. But it’s not shabby. Sure, there’s a patch in the upholstery of the couch and a stain on the carpet but the place is fairly neat and in order. There’s also nothing to suggest that Nora is a criminal, just an ordinary mother and housewife. I’m almost disappointed. Still, I’m not accepting defeat just yet. Nora may well be capable of taking care of Rose and Rose may well manage in this house but I know she doesn’t belong here.

I know it.

“She’s not yours to check on,” Nora tells me, wiping a dish in the adjoining kitchen.

I glance up the stairs. “Where is she?”

“None of your business.” Nora sets down her plate. “Look, you were let in by mistake but you have no business being here. Leave or I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”

“I’m just concerned about Rose.”

“Haven’t you heard a word I said?” Nora faces me with a hand on her hip. “Rose is none of your concern. You’re not her mother. She’s not related to you and she never should have known you.”

“I wasn’t just her mother,” I tell Nora. “I was her doctor. I believe I mentioned that Rose has special needs.”

“Don’t believe it.” Nora shakes her head and goes back to her task, wiping another dish. “She just needs to be out with kids her age and a real family to take care of her.”

“So, she’s out?” My eyebrows crease with worry.

Nora says nothing.

I stand beside her. “Nora, you’re a mother so I know you understand how I feel.”

“But you’re not a mother,” she tells me.

“But I’ve come to love Rose and I know she’s come to love me. I just want her to be happy.”

Nora sets down the plate she’s holding. “Are you saying I can’t make her happy?”

“I’m asking you if she’s happy here, if she can truly be happy here. Because if the answer is no, then I’m begging you from one woman to another who cares about Rose to just let her go.”

She says nothing.

“I’m not saying you won’t see her again. You will. You’ll be there to watch her grow, to celebrate the most important events of her life with her, to tell her about her real mother. But please allow us, allow Clay and I to take care of her and give her a good life.”

“I can give her a good life,” Nora says as she picks up another dish. “You need not worry about her.”

I sigh. “Nora…”

“Mrs. Maxwell, I think you should leave.”

I just stand there. Is this it? Is there really nothing more I can say to convince Nora to give Rose back to me and Clay? So much for being good with words.

“Go,” Nora urges.

Frowning, I turn on my heel but just then, the door opens and a man in his forties comes in.

Nora’s husband?

“Adam.” Nora scurries to greet him. “Where’s Rose?”

I draw in a breath. Rose was out with Nora’s husband?

“I don’t know.” Adam walks past her, sitting on the couch and taking off his shoes. “She got lost.”

“What?”

Nora and I gasp at the same time.

I place a hand over my chest, my heart beating rapidly.

No, it can’t be true.

“I told her to just stay there while I was looking at something and then she was gone.”

Nora sits beside him. “You left her alone?”

“I was only inside the store for a few minutes.”

A few minutes? Oh, god.

“Anyway, you go look for her,” Adam grumbles as he turns on the TV. “I don’t want her anymore.”

What the hell?

As Nora fetches her coat, I go to her. “I’m coming with you.”

She says nothing, simply nodding.

As I follow her out the door, my heart still pounding, I begin to pray.

Please let Rose be safe.

---

“Rose!” I call out again from the middle of the toy store for what seems like the hundredth time.

Still no answer.

I was hoping she’d be here at the toy store, which is where the security guard suggested we look since he hadn’t heard anything about a missing child. However…

“She’s not here,” Nora says, standing beside me.

No, she isn’t. But where can she be? There’s a hundred places in the mall she could be. What if she’s hiding somewhere, scared of the crowd? What if someone else has already found her and taken her away? What if she’s collapsed and is unconscious right now?

I shake my head. No, I can’t think of those worst-case scenarios. I have to stay positive. I have to keep looking.

And I have to think. I know Rose better than Nora. Where would she go? Where would she hide?

Suddenly, I think of something – ponies. What if she went to a place with ponies?

“Is there a carousel here?” I ask Nora.

She nods.

“Where?”

She grabs my arm. “Come with me.”

As we make our way through the crowd, I cross my fingers, hoping that we’ll find Rose there. She isn’t, though. There’s no sign of her. The man operating it didn’t see anyone matching Rose’s description either. My heart sinks.

“This is all my fault,” Nora says. “I shouldn’t have let Adam bring her here.”

Yes, it’s all her fault. She shouldn’t have taken Rose away in the first place. But now’s not the time to play the blame game.

“Think, Nora,” I tell her. “Think of where there might be ponies or horses. Rose loves those.”

Nora touches her chin. “Well, the toy store had ponies but she isn’t there.”

“Yes, and she’s not here, so there must be another place.”

“Think, Nora,” I urge her. “Please think.”

She pauses, deep in thought, then her eyes grow wide. “I remember Ricky telling me that she saw a Christmas pony at the display window of Hand Knit. It’s a shop that sells hand-knitted goods. She said the pony looked real but it wasn’t, of course, and that it was wearing a wreath around its neck and a red sweater and…”

“Where is it?” I ask her, my hopes up again.

“I think it’s this way.”

Nora goes off and I follow her, crossing my fingers again. After a few minutes, we find the shop. There isn’t a child in front of the display window but when I go inside, I quickly see Rose sitting on the floor, staring at the pony from a corner.

“Rose!” I heave a sigh of relief as I open my arms wide.

“Mommy Andrea!” Rose throws herself into my arms.

I hug her tight. “Oh, thank goodness I found you.”

“Is this your daughter?” the saleslady asks. “She’s been here a while. I was starting to get worried.”

“Yes, she is,” I answer. “I was shopping and lost sight of her. She loves ponies. She must have come here because of the one in your window.”

“Yeah. She’s been mesmerized.” The saleslady nods. “I’m glad she likes our display but please be more careful. A lot of children get lost during the holiday season.”

“I understand,” I tell her. “I promise I’ll watch her like a hawk from now on.”

The saleslady smiles then leaves us. I usher Rose out of the shop, where Nora’s waiting.

“Aunt Nora!” Rose smiles.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Nora pulls Rose into her arms. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Your Aunt Nora was worried about you, too,” I tell Rose. “She helped look for you.”

Rose turns to me. “But why are you here? And where’s Daddy Clay?”

“I just dropped by to check on you.” I stroke Rose’s cheek. “I’ve missed you. Daddy Clay misses you, too, but he’s a bit busy right now.”

“Are you staying?” Rose asks.

I exhale. “Well…”

“Why don’t we go back to the house and have some hot cocoa?” Nora suggests. “I think your Mommy Andrea and I need to talk, too.”

Well, that’s a surprise – not just her inviting me back to the house but her referring to me as Rose’s Mommy Andrea. What’s going on? Has Nora had a change of heart?

“Yeah, sure,” I tell her, smiling. “Let’s talk.”

---

“First of all, I want to apologize for whisking Rose away from you like that,” Nora says, wrapping her hands around her cup of cocoa after handing me mine. “And for all the mean things I said. You must think I’m such a horrible woman.”

“Not at all,” I assure, rubbing the snowman on the cup she’s given me with my thumb.

Well, I might have thought that way. But not anymore. This is a different Nora, one with sad eyes, but I have a feeling she’s the real Nora.

“And I want to thank you for helping me find Rose,” she goes on. “I shouldn’t have let her go out with Adam. I didn’t think she’d get lost but I should have known he wouldn’t watch her carefully.”

“I’m just glad we found her. I’m glad she’s safe.”

“You must think I’m not fit to take care of her now.”

I must admit it did cross my mind.

“And you’re right.”

My eyes grow wide as I look at her. What does she mean?

Nora sets her cup down. “I’ve been selfish. I wanted to have Rose for one reason only – so that Adam would love me again.”

My eyebrows furrow. “I don’t follow.”

“Adam has always wanted a daughter. I gave him two sons but he doesn’t love them. And now, he doesn’t love me. Our marriage is falling apart. I thought that if we finally had a daughter, he’d love me again and our marriage would work somehow.”

Now, I understand. I can’t accept or approve of her reason for taking Rose but I do understand. Some women will do everything so as not to lose their husbands.

“Of course, that’s not how things are going to be.” Nora sighs. “I can see that now. I can’t count on Rose to fix our marriage. Only Adam and I can do that. And if he doesn’t want to, then I’ll just have to accept the fact that our marriage is broken and let go of it.”

I narrow my eyes. “You’re going to divorce your husband?”

She nods. “I’ve been wanting to but I just keep thinking this house belongs to him and I don’t have any money because he’s been the one working. When I thought I could have money from Rose’s father, that gave me hope. I thought why I don’t get Rose and her money and leave my husband but then I thought what if I don’t have to leave my husband? What if he’ll come around if Rose is around?” She sighs. “Like I said, it isn’t happening.”

“You saw Rose as your way out of your troubles,” I tell her.

“Now that you put it that way, it makes me feel worse. But yes, it’s true.”

Well, it’s not like Rose didn’t solve my troubles. She was the one who brought Clay and me together. She made me realize how much I loved children and how much difference I can still make. Only she did that all by herself. I didn’t make her.

“I wanted everything and now, I have nothing,” Nora adds, sighing.

I hold her hand. “You still have your two sons.”

“Yeah.” She nods. “They’re all I have now. I’ll have to find a way to make sure they have a good life but that’s my problem, my responsibility. Rose is your responsibility.”

“So, you’re really letting us have her now?” I ask hopefully.

I just have to make sure. After all, just a few hours ago, I thought all hope was lost.

“Yes,” Nora answers. “You’re right, after all. Rose belongs with you and your husband. She loves both of you and the two of you can give her everything she needs.”

I smile, squeezing her hand. “Thank you, Nora. I knew you would understand.”

She lets out a deep breath. “Besides, it’s what Karen would have wanted, what Rose’s father would have wanted.”

I feel confused. “I thought you said John might not have been Rose’s father.”

“I lied.” She stands up. “Let me show you something.”

She disappears upstairs and when she returns minutes later, she hands me an envelope.

“Karen wrote me this letter years ago before she died,” Nora says. “You should read it.”

I open the envelope and read the letter quickly, my eyes growing wide.

Oh, god. John really is Rose’s father.

The letter says other things, too, things that make my chest tight and tears brim in my eyes, things I feel Clay needs to know.

Clay.

I have to call him and tell him the good news.

Just as I’m reaching for my phone, though, the doorbell rings. Nora goes to the front door and a few moments later, she appears in the living room with Clay.

“Clay!” I wrap my arms around him then look at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Following you,” he says. “How’s Rose?”

“Good,” I tell him. “And she’ll be even better now that she’s staying with us for good.”

Clay’s eyebrows furrow. “She is?”

I nod.

He glances at Nora, who nods, before turning back to me. “How did you…?”

“I’ll explain everything when we get home,” I tell him. “Oh, and there’s something you should read as well.”