Epilogue

Katherine came into her mother’s hospital room a confused and frustrated young woman. She’d just been to the Heathrow Hilton to see a man who claimed that her mother was his one true love; his soul mate. Yet that man wouldn’t come to the hospital. It was maddening.

“Hello, darling,” Sarah Jane said as Katherine came into the room.

Katherine could not believe how different her mother looked from just a few days ago. She hadn’t looked this healthy in years. It was as if someone had waved a magic wand or something. Perhaps magic was real. Katherine didn’t care – she just knew that her mom was all right and that was what mattered.

“What’s wrong, Kate?”

“I think I’ve just done something rather foolish, mother.”

Sarah Jane patted the bed next to her. “Sit down, Katherine, and tell me.”

“Tell me about James Olsen, mother.”

Sarah went pale. Her smile froze in shock. She appeared to have trouble breathing for a moment. Katherine was frightened until she saw her mother take a deep breath and get herself under control.

“Where did you hear that name, darling?” Sarah’s voice was just above a whisper.

“Grandfather said a man by that name came to see him down in Bristol. He said he was looking for you. He also said you were his one true love. Grandfather told him what had happened to you. Mr. Olsen said he’d see what could be done and the next thing that happened was that you suddenly woke up – completely healed.”

Sarah Jane sighed.

“I knew someone by that name a long time ago when I lived in America for a few years. Wonderful boy. Marvelous lover.”

“Mom! T-M-I!”

Sarah Jane laughed. “Oh, Kate, your mother was something of a wild one in her youth and you might as well get your mind around the fact.”

“So you knew this man before you met father?”

“Oh, no, darling, I knew your father from when I was just a wee little lassie as my old nanny used to say. We’d always been friends.”

“Were you in love with James?”

“I certainly thought I was. Oh, my we spent a lot of time together once we’d decided we were a match. What a mind that boy had. Sharp as a tack. Head of his year. Athletic too. Good looking.” Sarah Jane sighed.

“We’d pledged our undying love to each other just before the Colonel your grandfather got transferred back to this side of the Atlantic. I cried for days. Raised quite a fuss. I flat refused to go. Well, I guess you know I didn’t get my way. Poor James. I can still see him the day I left. We wrote long letters full of passion and pledges of eternal devotion. James wrote some of the most dreadful poetry – fortunately, he had committed a number of Shakespeare’s better poems to memory and he used to recite them to me.”

“Let me not the marriage of true minds?” Katherine quoted.

“Yes, that was one of his favorites. It was our sonnet.”

“Did you know that you were saying it to yourself when you woke up?”

“Was I now? How odd.”

“Henry said that you said something else too.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, it was something like ‘oh, James what have I done?’”

Sarah Jane put her hand over her mouth.

“So. What then? Do you think your mum’s gone round the twist? The old girl’s gone mental?”

Katherine put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “I think you’re the best mother anyone could ever have and I love you very very much.”

“Thank you, Kate. Now, what foolish thing did you do today?”

“I went to James Olsen’s hotel room.”

“Whatever for?”

“I wanted to talk to him; to find out if he was your long-lost love and to see why he hadn’t come to the hospital to see you.”

“You did what? Oh, Katie. Why?”

“I have no idea. Once the thought entered my mind I had to follow it. I had no choice.”

“What happened?”

“He gave me this for you,” Katherine said handing her mother the worn and faded envelope.

Sarah Jane took it with a trembling hand and opened it. She saw her “Dear Jim” letter and his business card.

“Did he say why he gave this to you?”