I booked a flight back to Melbourne before Arthur finished explaining.<\/p>\n
It was exactly the kind of impulsive decision my children would once have talked me out of. Six months earlier, I would have compared ticket prices, worried about cancellation fees, checked every hotel, and probably convinced myself that waiting was more sensible.<\/p>\n
This time, I looked at the available flights and chose one.<\/p>\n
Arthur objected.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't need to return immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Thomas Vale has been looking for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long is \u2018a while\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you're telling me not to come?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am telling you not to panic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm not panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bought a plane ticket while we were talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is called efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed despite himself.<\/p>\n
I arrived in Melbourne the following evening.<\/p>\n
He was waiting outside the terminal.<\/p>\n
When I saw him, I realized how much I had missed him.<\/p>\n
Arthur lifted one hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look exactly the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds dangerously sentimental.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't get excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
He took my suitcase.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn't dare.\u201d<\/p>\n
The drive to his house was quiet at first.<\/p>\n
Then I asked, \u201cTell me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur kept his eyes on the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found Vale Studio through an old newspaper archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gallery records led to a preservation society. Someone there knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you speak to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised not to contact anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised before I knew he had been trying to contact you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward the window.<\/p>\n
Arthur sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have called you first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
His apology was immediate and uncomplicated.<\/p>\n
That made it difficult to remain angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Thomas say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether Robert's wife was named Abigail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur glanced at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became very quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked if Robert was still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched the city lights slide across the windshield.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he react?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike someone hearing bad news he had expected for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
That description unsettled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy was he looking for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wouldn't tell me over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow, if you're willing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Arthur.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've had enough revelations in other people's living rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
We arranged to meet Thomas the next morning in a caf\u00e9 near the river.<\/p>\n
I barely slept.<\/p>\n
At seven, I was already dressed.<\/p>\n
At seven-thirty, Arthur appeared in the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've been awake for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCoffee?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI've had two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're frightening enough without caffeine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
He smiled and poured himself a cup.<\/p>\n
At ten minutes before ten, we reached the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale was already there.<\/p>\n
I knew immediately which man he was.<\/p>\n
He sat alone near the window, perhaps in his late sixties, with thinning gray hair and a narrow face. A leather folder rested on the table before him.<\/p>\n
When he saw Arthur, he stood.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
Not shock.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbigail?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me for another second.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas glanced at Arthur.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas pulled out a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the leather folder.<\/p>\n
Inside was an old black-and-white photograph.<\/p>\n
Robert.<\/p>\n
Older than in Arthur's photograph but still decades younger than the man I married.<\/p>\n
Beside him was me.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
It had been taken shortly after our wedding.<\/p>\n
I remembered the dress.<\/p>\n
I remembered Robert's ridiculous tie.<\/p>\n
I even remembered the afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert sent it to my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleanor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
Arthur sat beside me.<\/p>\n
Thomas placed the photograph between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother kept it for the rest of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did she die?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Robert send her our wedding photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas folded his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause my mother once believed he would never go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert was in trouble when he was here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen perhaps he never told anyone everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
My patience snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease stop circling around it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother met Robert when he was trying to sell paintings for money. He was nearly broke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat part I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave him work at the gallery.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Arthur.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
Apparently he hadn't known.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert had received a letter from home. His father was ill. There were debts. He needed money to return.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Eleanor do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe bought several paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't explain the secrecy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas opened the folder again.<\/p>\n
He removed a document protected by a plastic sleeve.<\/p>\n
It was an old receipt.<\/p>\n
The amount was surprisingly large for the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother paid him this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor paintings?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor one painting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Waiting Shore?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Arthur has the painting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA later version.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original never left our family.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
The original.<\/p>\n
The painting Robert had created at the lake before he knew me.<\/p>\n
The one he had refused to sell, according to Arthur.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said your mother bought it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur said Robert refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refused at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas glanced at Arthur.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater, circumstances changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur's expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Eleanor promise?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat if Robert ever returned for the painting, she would give it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if he didn't?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was supposed to find you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Robert didn't know me when he painted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how could Eleanor promise to find me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat part came later.\u201d<\/p>\n
He removed another letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert wrote to my mother after he married you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I recognized the handwriting.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told her he had finally met the woman he once joked the painting was meant for.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes burned.<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
Arthur remained silent beside me.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert asked my mother to keep the painting. He said someday he wanted to bring you here and show it to you himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Life.<\/p>\n
Children.<\/p>\n
Bills.<\/p>\n
Work.<\/p>\n
Illness.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Always tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Thomas pushed the letter toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wrote again many years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter he became ill.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether the painting was safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother told him it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked her to keep it until you came.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't she contact me after he died?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLetters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never received any.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were returned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had moved temporarily, apparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
After Robert died, I had stayed with Karen for nearly four months.<\/p>\n
I could barely sleep in our house.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother tried again later, but she wasn't well. After she died, I found the correspondence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you started looking for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you find me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert's letters contained an old address. Your surname isn't unusual. I found several possible Abigail Morgans.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed at the absurdity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Arthur called.\u201d<\/p>\n
The caf\u00e9 around us continued as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n
Cups clinked.<\/p>\n
A child complained about orange juice.<\/p>\n
Someone laughed near the counter.<\/p>\n
My husband's hidden history was being reconstructed at a small table beside a window.<\/p>\n
I looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was your mother to Robert?\u201d<\/p>\n
He understood what I was really asking.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was his friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly his friend?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas didn't look offended.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she was in love with someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n
I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.<\/p>\n
Thomas noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine you wondered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother admired Robert. She thought he had talent. She also thought he was hopelessly impractical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe helped him because someone once helped her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas touched the old receipt.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe paid far more than the painting was worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he could go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the receipt again.<\/p>\n
That changed everything.<\/p>\n
Eleanor hadn't kept Robert in Australia.<\/p>\n
She had helped him leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he repay her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat explains the missing years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome were sold through the gallery. Some remained with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Robert's small studio at home.<\/p>\n
There had been periods when he painted obsessively, then stopped for months.<\/p>\n
I had assumed the canvases he discarded had simply been failures.<\/p>\n
Perhaps some had traveled across the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did he hide your mother's name behind Arthur's painting?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas considered the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe because he knew I'd eventually show Abigail.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he planned all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot precisely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at the river beyond the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he knew us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas closed the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course there was.<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother left instructions with the original painting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't bring them here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she wanted you to see the painting first.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Arthur.<\/p>\n
He gave a small shrug.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother living room.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Thomas's home was twenty minutes away.<\/p>\n
I hesitated outside.<\/p>\n
Arthur stood beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to go in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside, Thomas led us down a hallway.<\/p>\n
At the far end was a room filled with paintings.<\/p>\n
Landscapes.<\/p>\n
Portraits.<\/p>\n
Abstract shapes.<\/p>\n
Some were Eleanor's.<\/p>\n
Some belonged to artists I didn't recognize.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas stopped before a large canvas covered with cloth.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother kept this for nearly fifty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
He removed the cloth.<\/p>\n
I forgot to breathe.<\/p>\n
The lake.<\/p>\n
The two trees.<\/p>\n
The wooden dock.<\/p>\n
But the original was different from Arthur's version.<\/p>\n
More alive.<\/p>\n
Rougher.<\/p>\n
Younger.<\/p>\n
The colors were less controlled. The brushwork was impatient.<\/p>\n
And standing at the end of the dock was a tiny painted figure.<\/p>\n
A woman.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
Robert had painted her from behind.<\/p>\n
She wore a pale dress.<\/p>\n
Her face couldn't be seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother asked him the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert said she was the person he hoped he would someday have a reason to go home to.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes filled.<\/p>\n
He had painted her before he knew me.<\/p>\n
Not me.<\/p>\n
An idea of me.<\/p>\n
A future.<\/p>\n
A reason to return.<\/p>\n
Thomas walked to a cabinet.<\/p>\n
He removed a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
My name was written across the front.<\/p>\n
The handwriting was not Robert's.<\/p>\n
It belonged to Eleanor.<\/p>\n
Thomas handed it to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother wrote this before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n
Arthur moved toward the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll give you privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
Eleanor's letter was brief.<\/p>\n
She explained that Robert had never belonged to Australia, even when he thought he might remain there. He had always spoken as though his real life had not begun yet.<\/p>\n
Then came the line that made me sit down.<\/p>\n
Eleanor wrote that Robert had returned to Australia once.<\/p>\n
Not when he was young.<\/p>\n
Much later.<\/p>\n
After we were married.<\/p>\n
I looked up sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas's expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at him.<\/p>\n
Thomas swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was twenty-five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
The date on Robert's hidden note.<\/p>\n
I gripped Eleanor's letter.<\/p>\n
Robert had come back to Australia while we were married.<\/p>\n
And he had never told me.<\/p>\n
I booked a flight back to Melbourne before Arthur finished explaining. It was exactly the kind of impulsive decision my children would once have talked me out of. Six months … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6444,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6432\/revisions\/6444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}