Monday, May 14, 1984
London, England
8:00 am
Andrew Belden woke to the scent of freshly brewed coffee wafting into the bedroom of his London flat. Stretching, he climbed out of the bed and into a robe and slippers, before propelling himself toward the tantalizing smell. He stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, his eyes on the figure seated at the small round table.
Tessa had made an almost miraculous recovery from the accident that had almost claimed her life the previous spring. To Andrew’s eye, she was still a little thin, and the infrequent, but sudden headaches concerned him, but her hair had grown back in, thick and curly in its short length, and she moved easily, with hardly a trace of a limp. Rehabilitation had been long, but with the help of her teachers and counselors at St. Mary’s, she had managed to keep her academics on track, even as she rebuilt her strength.
Sitting at the table with a scone and a small pot of tea, Tessa was writing in a red notebook, her attention focused completely on her journalling. Andrew had no idea what it was she wrote, and he never asked, but his niece had a stack of identical notebooks, and she rarely ventured anywhere without one. Like the tattered woven blanket that moved from place to place with her, the notebook served as a touchstone to something only Tess understood.
“That coffee smells delicious,” he said, pushing himself towards the counter. “Just what a man needs to wake him up in the morning.”
Tessa smiled, wrinkling her nose at her uncle, as she closed her notebook. “It does smell good,” she admitted, “but I don’t know how you can stand the taste. Blech! Give me tea, any day.”
“Spoken like an Englishwoman,” Andrew teased. “Are you sure you’re really an American?”
A sad look darkened Tessa’s face for just a moment, barely long enough for it to register with Andrew.
“Well,” she said, “Hawaii was British influenced before the Americans came.”
“True.” Andrew sat down at the table, helping himself to a scone. “And we’ll be there in just a few weeks. Are you excited about going home?”
Tessa hesitated. “Yes,” she said slowly, “and no.” She raised her golden green eyes to her uncle. “I’ve dreamed of returning for so long, and I am looking forward to it, but...” she bit her lip. “It’s going to be different, because they won’t be there.”
Andrew set down his cup. “Your parents and your brother?” he asked gently.
“Yes.” Tessa blinked hard and gave a slight shoulder shrug. “I’ve known, of course that they’re gone, but going home, well, it’ll just make it real. I miss them.”
“I know.” Andrew said nothing else, because there wasn’t anything left to say. He picked up his cup, sipping his steaming coffee.
Tessa played with her scone, breaking off a small piece and crumbling it between her thumb and fingers. “Uncle Andy,” she began. “Do you remember, back when you first got me out of the city, how you were afraid I’d run away from you?” Andrew nodded, wondering where Tessa was going with the conversation. “Do you remember what I told you?”
Andrew thought for a moment, remembering. “You said that if our arrangement wasn’t working, you’d tell me, but you would never just leave.”
Tessa nodded her head, and took another drink from her tea cup. Setting it down, she looked at her uncle. “Uncle Andy,” she said, “I think we need to talk.”
