by Silke Ming
“We didn’t have one. Seamus came to visit me at the university.”
“I would’ve paid anything to be a fly on the wall,” said the effervescent young man.
* * * *
The week passed by slowly, but Thursday morning found them both standing outside St. Augustine’s convent, waiting for someone to open the door. Summer felt extremely nervous because she knew that the puzzle was close to being solved. On the dot of eleven o’clock, the big iron gate slid open and the couple walked in, gazing around at the somber surroundings. There was no one in sight and it was eerily quiet. The heavy wooden door creaked as it was opened, and a nun dressed all in white beckoned to them. She did not speak, and they followed her quietly. She pointed to two chairs and they sat down. A few minutes later, she appeared again and beckoned them into a room.
“Good morning,” said another nun seated behind a large wooden desk. “I’m Sister Mary Joseph. Please sit down.”
“Thank you,” they both said.
They introduced themselves and sat down.
“I understand you want to speak to me about someone who lived here for a while.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“As you may already know, we do not discuss the lives of the sisters who lived here in the convent, nor those who are no longer with us.”
“The person I want to speak to you about was not a nun. I understand she helped out in the kitchen.”
She studied him carefully before she spoke again.
“Is this person related to you?”
“Yes, she was my mother.”
“What was her name?”
“Claire Balsam.”
“We have never had anyone by that name staying with us. I have been here for more than forty years and I don’t recall anyone by that name.”
“Are you sure, Mother?” Summer asked.
“Yes, my child. I would’ve remembered that name. Perhaps she was in another convent.”
“The manager at St. Jude’s told us that they sent her here. Apparently she spent about twenty years here and spent that time working in the kitchen.”
“Give me a moment please,” she said, getting up and leaving the room.
When she returned, she sat down and glanced quickly through an old leather-bound ledger.
“Mother, it is possible she could’ve been using another name?” asked Summer.
“And what would that be, my child?”
“I have no idea,” said Summer.
“We had a lady who worked with us for just about twenty years. Her name was not Claire Balsam. She was the jack-of-all-trades around here. She was our chauffeur, our cook, our gardener, and our friend. We were very unhappy when she left, but she had a mission to accomplish and we couldn’t keep her from it.”
“What was her name?” asked Summer.
“It was Mildred O’Reilly.”
Seamus felt his body turn to jelly, and he turned as white as a sheet.
“When did she leave, Mother?” Summer asked.
“She left us about five years ago. We see her about once a year when she makes an appointment to pray with us.”
“Thank you, Mother,” said Seamus, getting up and going to the door.
“Bless you my, children,” she said. “May you be successful in your search for your loved one.”
Seamus and Summer walked quietly out to the car. They climbed in and sat down, and he stared out the window.
“You knew, didn’t you?” he asked, without turning his head.
“I suspected it.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything to me?”
“I didn’t want to raise your hopes to have them dashed again, if she wasn’t really your mother.”
“What made you suspicious?”
“Just a variety of little things! For example, she said she had seen the ad for the first job, but didn’t apply because she had no idea what an assistant would do. She waited, and when the second ad appeared, she immediately applied for the job.”
“I wish you had told me.”
“I thought when I said you should lock the trunk, that you would’ve asked me why, but you didn’t.”
“So what are we going to do now?” he asked.
“How do you feel about her now that you know?”
“I like Millie O’Reilly, but how do I feel about her being my mother? I don’t know.”
“You were anxious to find her, especially after you found out that your father had committed her to a mental asylum.”
“I’m afraid to go home, Summer. I just don’t know what I’ll say to her.”
“Think about her. She will be just as scared and confused as you are. Come on. Let’s go. We’ll figure it out.”
Chapter Twenty
“You’re back,” said Millie, clapping her hands with glee.
“Yes, we’re back,” replied Seamus, slumping onto the couch as Summer climbed the stairs and disappeared.
“What have you done this time?” Millie asked. “You seem exhausted, and Summer has closed herself in the bedroom.”
He stared up at her.
“Would you like to know where we went, Millie?”
“To get married?” asked the woman, with a broad smile.
“Wrong!” he shouted. “We’ve just returned from St. Augustine’s convent.”
Millie suddenly looked dazed.
“Do you want to know what we were doing there?” he asked, quietly.
“Only if you want to tell me,” she replied.
“I went there in search of my mother.”
She ran her fingers along the edge of the chair and sat down beside him.
“Why didn’t you tell me? All these years I hated you for leaving me alone with him, and today I learn he had you committed to a mental asylum, because he thought you were insane.”
“I’m sorry, Seamus. I was afraid that if he found out where I was, he would send me back to St. Jude’s, so I changed my name and hid in the convent for over twenty years.”
“It’s a very funny thing. Summer suspected it all along, but she never told me. Please tell me one thing. Why did you apply for the job?”
She started to sob.
“I hadn’t seen you since you were two years old, and my heart ached each time I saw your name or your photo in the newspaper.”
“Why didn’t you just come to me and explain it to me?” he asked, in a pleading voice.
“Didn’t you just say that you hated me for leaving you with your father? You would never have believed my story, even if I had told you what had happened.”
“Probably not, but I wasn’t even given the chance to hear your side of the story.”
“Was he unkind to you?” she asked, raising her head and staring at him.
“Let me put it this way. He wasn’t very kind, so I ran away when I turned sixteen.”
Millie’s sobs grew even louder, and brought Summer back down to the living room.”
“What?” She gestured to Seamus.
Millie stood up and turned to them.
“I guess I’ll be going now,” she said, the tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Where are you going?” Summer asked.
“I’ve made a mess of things, so it would be better if I leave now.”
“No,” Summer said, hugging her. “You’re not going anywhere. Tell her, Seamus.”
“There’s just one thing I would like to know. How long did you intend to carry on this charade?”
“I was waiting for the right time to tell you,” the woman wailed. “But it was really difficult to start the conversation. I did it the best way I knew how, by trying to protect the two of you.”
“I should’ve known all along,” her son admitted. “You were very straightforward with me. You didn’t hold back, especially when it came to Summer. You always spoke your mind and I thought it was the Irish in you coming out.”
Summer walked with Millie into the kitchen, and he watched them walk away.
“I can’t drink anything. My son doesn’t want me.”
“That’s not true, Millie. It is all so new that he doesn’t know what to do right now. Give him a little time. Let me go back and talk to him.”
“That won’t change anything. He is even more stubborn than his father.”
“When was the last time you saw your husband?” Summer asked her.
“He came by a couple of times after he put me in St. Jude’s, but after that, I never saw him again.”
“Why did you wait so long to get in touch with your son?”
“I was shut away from the outside world for such a long time, that I didn’t know how to go about contacting him. I was driving to the market one day with Mother Mary Joseph, and we waited at the red light next to a kiosk, and I saw his name and photo on the front page of a newspaper. I knew I had to see my son, but had no idea how to go about it. Then I started buying every newspaper I saw with anything about him. It was against the rules of the convent to bring such things in from the outside, so I smuggled them in and cut the articles out. On my next trip to the market, I would get rid of the rest of the newspaper.”
“Tell that to him. He was just a child when you were taken from his life. I know Seamus, and I know he would understand.”
“What am I going to do now?” she asked.
“I won’t let him walk out of your life, Millie. I will talk to him.”
The woman did not answer, but surprise registered on her face. Summer looked around and saw Seamus standing in the doorway, his red hair tousled, leaning against the doorframe. Summer decided to leave them alone. Millie got up and walked toward him.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied, stopping in her tracks.
“I missed you so much,” he said to her. “Only God knows how much I missed you. You disappeared once from my life, leaving me with him. I won’t allow you to walk away from me again.”
Mother and son fell into each other’s arms and cried. Their tears were tears of joy. He took her hand and walked with her to the storage room.
“Wait here,” he said, as he went in search of the key to the trunk.
He returned with a chair and asked her to sit, and soon Summer joined them. They pushed the first trunk out of the way, and he slipped the rusty key into the lock. He threw the cover back and removed the photo of the woman in the hat and the swimming suit. He handed it to her. She stared at it and more tears ran down her cheeks.
“Is that you?” he asked.
“Yes, this was taken shortly before you were born.”
“You look happy. Were you?”
“Yes, these were happy times. I spent that summer by the beach, part of it with Da—”
“So what happened?”
“Then I had the baby. That was you, and from then on, everything seemed to go downhill. I became very depressed and he kept losing his patience with me. You were a sickly baby, and I guess I couldn’t cope. I remember that day when he took me to see the doctor. They left me in the room, but I could see them talking outside the door. There was a glass window in the upper part of the door. When David turned to look at me, I knew that something was wrong. His eyes were different. He stared at me as if he didn’t know me. We returned home, and a few days later, an ambulance appeared at our home.”
“Why?” asked Seamus.
“I didn’t know. Then David came to me and said that the doctor advised him to send me away for a little while, so that I could recuperate. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to leave you and I said so, but they didn’t listen. I ran and grabbed you, but David took you from my arms. I ran through the house screaming and fighting. They subdued me and placed me in the ambulance. By this time, I had calmed down. They had given me something to make me quiet. My last memory was of you standing at the door, holding your father’s hand.”
Summer reached out and held her hand.
“Did they ever bring me to the hospital to see you?”
“Children were never allowed in such places, but I longed to see you. I believe my condition got progressively worse because of the loss of my son. I stopped talking and sat by the window day after day, hoping someone would come to rescue me from that hideous place, but no one did. I lived in that hellhole for over four years.”
“Was it that bad, Millie?” Summer asked.
“If you weren’t mad going in, they made sure that you were during your stay, but I hid the pills under my tongue and threw them out after they left.”
Seamus listened to her story and he continued handing her letters and the documents, which she scanned and handed back to him. When he handed her the little blue bank book, she stared at it, then opened it.
“Do you know what happened to the money?” Seamus asked.
“That was an old book. Everything is handwritten. They gave me another book when I left the institution, and I got two more from the bank.”
“Are you telling me you never touched that money?” he asked.
“Never. I didn’t want his money. The last time I saw the book there was over two hundred thousand dollars on it.”
“How much?” shouted her son.
“Two hundre…”
“I heard you. What on earth…?” His words trailed off.
“Bring the books with you tomorrow. As a matter of fact, bring everything. I want you in here with us.”
“I can’t do that,” she said, throwing her hands in the air.
“Why not?”
“You are two young people getting to know each other. I would only create interference in your lives.”
“Nonsense, Millie. We both love you and would like you to be here with us.”
“I am happy, child. I love living alone. I do as I wish, when I wish. I love coming here and seeing you both on a daily basis. Summer,” she said, turning to her. “You make my son happy. You know how to handle him. I can see how stubborn he is.”
He looked at her and smiled.
“You have time to think about it, but if you won’t move in here, I want to see where you live. And as you say, I am stubborn and I am going to follow you home today.”
“You will do no such thing,” she said, jumping up from the chair.
“What are you hiding, Millie?”
“I’m not hiding anything, but I don’t want you to visit me today. Maybe tomorrow,” she said, as if buying time.
“All right, then tomorrow we will be following you home, Millie. I’m sorry if I continue to call you Millie, but I grew very fond of you with that name.”
“It’s all right, son. I can’t walk back into your life and, at thirty-four, expect you to call me Mother.”
“It will take time. Give me time,” he said.
“When are you getting married?” she asked, turning on her serious face.
“You seem in a big rush for us to marry.”
“Yes, I am in a hurry, and you’ve got to do it before Christmas.”
“What’s happening after Christmas?” Summer asked her.
“I want to see him married. He is thirty-four. He needs you.”
“Just keep on talking about me as if I wasn’t here,” said Seamus, walking away.
“Why are you in such a hurry to see us married?” Summer asked.
“It’s important that you do. I am an old woman who has just found her son. I don’t know how much time I’ve got left, and I want to see you happy.”
“Are you ill, Millie?” she asked.
“I’m not ill, but I may not be around for too much longer.”
“You make it all so mysterious, Millie. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“I cannot explain it right now, but make me a happy old woman. Please marry my son, Summer.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Toby looked handsome in his winter suit. He was fidgeting and seemed more nervous than the bride. Millie’s hand was intertwin
ed with her son’s, and a beautiful smile was plastered across her face. Summer was dressed in a mid-calf winter-white dress, and it was left to the imagination what Toby was saying to her, because she kept trying to hold back laughter. Seamus looked anxious. His red hair wore that tousled look, but he was still the very handsome man Summer had fallen in love with.
Their marriage was held in the office of the justice of the peace, with only two guests present. The mother of the bridegroom and the best friend of the bride!
“There won’t be any naked women popping up at anytime?” Millie asked Toby.
“I hope not,” he replied. In half an hour, the ceremony was over.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” said the justice of the peace. “You may kiss the bride.”
“That was beautiful,” said Millie, dabbing her eyes. “My son is now a full-fledged man. He has found a wonderful woman to share his life.”
Toby, too, was sniffling. He knew that they would marry, but was surprised that it had happened so suddenly. Seamus had made a reservation for the group in a private room in an exclusive restaurant in Whitney, where they had a light lunch.
“If it’s a boy, please call him Toby,” said her crazy friend.
Millie stared at them.
“Are you expecting a baby?” asked a delighted Millie.
“You should know Toby by now,” Summer said.
“That would be the best news I could receive before I leave. It would be delightful to become a grandmother.”
“Grandmother?” shouted Toby.
“Before you leave?” asked an exasperated Seamus.
“We will talk about that later,” said Millie, quickly changing the subject.
“But what’s this about the grandmother part?” Toby asked.
“It’s a long story which I’ll tell you about later,” Summer said, holding her friend’s hand.
“I don’t know if I can wait so long,” said the rather confused young man.
Lunch went on uninterrupted until two o’clock in the afternoon, when Toby made his departure.
“Give me a call, Mrs. Balsam,” he said, hugging her and then Seamus.
“I’ll come by tomorrow,” said Millie. “I won’t be there too early, because I don’t want to disturb your first night together as husband and wife.”
