"Please… come in." I opened the door and blinked, startled for a moment. "Mrs. Granger… please…" I stepped out of the way to let them pass. She was older than she'd sounded on the phone, with thin, papery skin. But her eyes were bright and clear.

I held out my hand to take hers. It was tiny, like the rest of her, but she gripped mine with surprising strength. "I'm Libby…, my husband, Jack," He stepped up to take her hand. "There aren't words to express how much it means to us, that you took the time to come all this way."

"Call me Alice," she said directly. ‘This is my grandson, Matthew." He reached out to shake my hand. He was tall with intelligent blue eyes. He smiled kindly. "Pleasure's mine, Libby."

"I'm retiring the end of the month," Alice said, as we sat down in the living room. "I was afraid you and I might never meet again." Jack shook Matthew's hand and the two men stepped over to the bar, giving us privacy. Jack popped the top off a bottle and gave me an encouraging smile over the other man's shoulder.

Alice smoothed a silvery curl over her ear and smiled with the same kind, blue eyes. "All these years I've held onto this letter, Libby. I was beginning to think you'd never come for it." She reached into her bag and drew out a tattered envelope. She handed it to me and I took it carefully. I turned it over.

For my darling baby girl. The letters were tall, graceful. Unfamiliar…

I took Alice's wrinkled hand. "Meet again?" I asked. "Weren't you my mother's nurse, when… when she died?"

"I was," she nodded, watching me closely. "But Dorothy and I first met the day you were born. I was working in delivery and she came in, ready to burst." She smiled and her eyes glazed with memory. "She was a brave girl. All by herself and in so much pain. She was in labor for seventeen hours, but she did it." Alice looked back into my face. "You favor her, you know. Same eyes, same mouth… She was a lovely girl."

"I've spent my whole life with so many questions," I said, holding her hand tightly. "I don't even know where to start… Did you find out anything about her at all? Or my father…?" I stumbled. "Why did she die, Alice? She wasn't much older than I am…" Words were catching in my throat.

Alice patted my cheek, her palm cool and dry. "She had her hands full bringing you into the world." She smiled warmly. "We both did.

I only know that she came in alone and that she left with you a few days later. As for when she died… well, I'm hoping she put that in the letter for you herself…"

"You mean, she knew?" I felt my jaw sag. "I always imagined it must have been an accident…"

Alice shook her head. "She was sick," she said slowly. "Afterwards, I often wondered if she only held on as long as she did for your sake. Never, in forty-two years as a nurse, did I see a new mother who loved her baby the way Dorothy loved you."

I sat in stunned silence, almost unable to absorb so much, so fast. Then I felt Jack standing beside me, his hand on my back, warm and safe. I exhaled.

"She was very near the end when I saw her again. I wasn't on duty at the hospital that day, but she asked for me and I went." Alice bent to catch my gaze. "Should I go on? Do you want to hear…?" I nodded, still silent.

"She had kept you until she was just too sick to care for you. She told me that she'd given you up for adoption. And that it was the hardest thing she'd ever done. Harder than dying, she'd said.

Things were different then, different than they are now. Records were sealed… babies weren't always given the best homes…" She put her hand gently on my knee. "I always wondered about you, Libby. For your sake… and your mother's. I know her last wishes were that you'd be safe, and that she'd done right by you." Alice's eyes were moist.

"Did you find a good home, child? Have you been happy?"

Tears ran fast, hot down my cheeks and I held tight to Jack's hand. I couldn't form the words, but I nodded hard, smiling… smiling…

* * *

Jack and I watched together as Matt helped Alice into the car and they disappeared down the drive. I'd eventually recovered enough to tell them both about the wedding and our baby. I left out a few of the details, of course… but she'd smiled deeply when Jack told her how much he loved me. And Alice had hugged me tight, making me promise to call her soon, before the baby was born.

Jack sat down and pulled me onto his lap, putting his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder. My mother's letter sat unopened beside us.

"There are still unanswered questions," he said gently. "But you learned a lot today."

I picked up the letter and touched the handwriting.

"Does it change anything for you… Knowing?" He kissed the curve of my shoulder. I leaned my head to rest against his.

"Everything… in a way…Or maybe nothing at all. I don't know yet, I guess." I took a long breath in… out. "I'm the same person I've always been…"

"Except that you found a way to forgive her, and to love her," he said. "And you know now, how much she loved you, from the minute you were born." He turned my face so he could drop a kiss on my lips. "How could she not?"

I held his face, kissing his lips, his eyes, the end of his nose. He chuckled in delight, spreading his thighs and letting me fall deeper into the curve of his body. "I'm here, right here for you," he said, his voice deep and resonant, full of love.

"Always."

* * *

Dearest Liberty,

You are the loveliest baby I've ever seen. Tiny and perfect from the moment you were born, somehow you made up for everything else in my whole life. When you look up into my face, so trusting, so beautiful, I know nothing else matters. You are the love of my life.

If you're reading these words now, I guess you already know I left this letter with a nurse named Alice Granger. She was there when you were born and fell in love with you too. Soon, I will give this letter to her and ask her to keep it for you, in case you ever try to find me one day. I'll also give a copy to the adoption agency, although it might never find its way to you. The parents who will take you home and love you as their own daughter will have the final say in that. But I know in my heart you will have a good and loving home, one that will keep you safe forever, the way you deserve. I couldn't leave you without being certain, deep inside, that you'll be safe and loved, in a big family with brothers and sisters. You'll have all the things that I can't give you. And one day, when you have a family of your own, you'll understand the love I have for you.

I'm leaving a locket for you that once belonged to my mother. She gave it to me when I was a little girl. It has a curl of your hair that I saved from the day you were born. I hope you have it now, to remind you that my heart will always be there with you. And even though I won't be there to watch you grow, I want you to know how proud I am of you. You are loving and kind, talented and wise. I can see it in your eyes right now as you watch me. I'm telling you the words as I write them, and you're sucking your thumb and smiling. You're too tiny to understand what I'm saying.

I'm writing this because the doctors say I'm sick. Too sick to be able to stay here with you much longer. But it's okay, because you were born healthy and safe. You're too little to remember me and maybe it's better that way. I'll remember enough for both of us.

Please know that every time you ever cried, in my heart I held your hand. And every time you laughed I heard you, and it made me happy too. I wish I could be right beside you, but please believe me… I will never be far away. If I have anything to teach you, it's only this… Let go of sadness. Be free of it, and brave enough to open your heart to life. Love is out there waiting for you. I found it when I saw your sweet face. You'll find it too, my darling. I promise.

I love you forever, with all my heart and soul,

Your Mom