There was no way she was missing him this time. Kansas City was four hours away. She reached for her phone, instinctively wanting to call Gil and share the news, but she stopped herself. He hadn’t called her in the weeks since she’d left. She’d go to Kansas City tomorrow and meet Paul. Talk to him. With any luck she could get him to go back and see Josephine. For the first time in weeks, her spirits lifted. She closed the laptop and went to pack an overnight bag.
The next morning she drove to Kansas City and parked near the gallery on The Plaza. She checked with the gallery owner that yes, O. Clark would be there that night for the opening. She killed the hours creeping by that afternoon by doing some shopping at the nearby stores and eating a late lunch at a cute little cafe.
At five o’clock she walked in the door to the gallery. An older man was standing staring at the painting My One and Only. His hair was gray and he was dressed in dress slacks and a sweater. He was lost in thought, in front of the painting.
“Mr. Clark?”
The older man turned to her and smiled. “Yes?”
“Hi, I’m Madeline.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“I wonder if we could talk.”
“Well, they aren’t pouring in for my showing just yet.” Paul grinned at her.
“I want to talk about Josephine Amaud.”
She watched as two spots of red colored Paul’s face. He shook his head and a sigh escaped. “Jo. I’d almost convinced myself I’d forgotten her.”
“She hasn’t forgotten you.”
“Ah, but, we had our chance. She wanted something more than a life with me.” A wistful look flashed across his face.
“But, that’s not true. She thought you just disappeared. She didn’t know you sent the letter.” Madeline looked at his confused face. “Let me start over.”
He nodded at her.
“I found a letter hidden in a desk I inherited from my grandmother, Lula Madison.”
“Lula was your grandmother?” He stared at her for a moment, searching her face. “Yes, I can see that. You look a lot like her.”
Madeline smiled. “I found a letter hidden under the lining in the drawer. It was addressed to Josephine Amaud in Comfort Crossing. I knew that my grandmother had lived there when she was younger. So, I went to go try and find this Josephine.”
“And did you?”
“I did. But she’d never seen the letter. She never knew what happened to you.”
“She never saw it? But, I gave it to Catherine. Then Catherine met me at the tree later and said Josephine had read the letter, but she’d decided not to leave with me. She was going on with her education. She didn’t want to go with a boy with hardly a dollar to his name. I didn’t really blame her.”
“Oh, but she would have gone with you. She loved you. She still loves you. Catherine never told her about the letter. She just hid the letter in my grandmother’s desk without ever showing it to Josephine.”
“All these years wondering about my Jo. She never even saw the letter?”
“Not until I found it and tracked her down. She cried when she read it.”
“Ah, my Jo. Has she had a good life? Is she married?”
“She’s been widowed for many years. She lives in Bay St. Louis now.”
“You were the one trying to track me down at the gallery in New Orleans, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I just didn’t want to revisit that part of my life again. I had no idea that Jo hadn’t gotten my letter.”
“So, you’ll go see her?”
Paul was quiet for a moment, looking at the painting One and Only again. “Yes, I suppose I will.” A gentle smile spread across his face then he broke into a boyish grin. “Yes. I’ll go see my Jo. I think I’d like to surprise her.”
“I’d like to go with you. We could drive down there together.”
“That sounds like a splendid plan.”
“We could leave in the morning. It’s a really long drive from Kansas City.”
“I could be ready first thing.”
A plan was forming in her mind. It would mean she’d have to call Gil, but it would be worth it. “I have an idea for surprising her.”
“I can’t wait to see her again.”
“I’ll find a room for the night here in Kansas City.”
“I’ll get you a room at the Raphael where I’m staying. My treat for all you’ve done tracking Josephine and me down.”
The door opened to the gallery and a group of people came in. Paul turned to meet them, then looked back over his shoulder at her. “If you hang around a bit, we’ll walk over to the hotel and have a late dinner.”