“I want to thank everyone for coming to celebrate the life of Bennett Hunter, my wife’s father. As you know, Marin passed away about six months ago, and after a frustrating legal situation, an estate was left in her name from her former boss. To commemorate Marin’s passion, and the life of her father, I’ve decided to use the inheritance to fund a theatre scholarship for aspiring creative artists who are interested in theater and acting—The Marin Bennett Drama Scholarship. I think this is the legacy Marin would have wanted to leave behind. Thank you again for being here for our family after such a difficult year.”

Sitting beside Vera was Tasha Briggs, the young girl Oliver had innocently befriended during his daughter’s disappearance. Tasha glanced over at Vera and smiled sympathetically. Like Vera, she knew the loss of a father. And like Vera, she had stumbled onto a path toward healing. A friendship with Vera, a father figure in Oliver, and the camaraderie shared exclusively among those who have felt death’s harsh touch. On the other side of Vera sat Nana, dab-dabbing at her eyes like she’d known Bennett her whole life. Pappy Joe wrapped his arm around her, running his hand up and down her arm, as if rubbing the sadness away.

Nana leaned over to whisper in Vera’s ear. “I’m proud of you, you know. For your willingness to help Sydney by donating a kidney. It’s a brave thing to do.”

But Vera didn’t consider it brave; to her, it was what sisters did for each other.

“You know I’d do anything for my family.”

“Yes, that I do know. Even if it meant disappearing for six months to help a dying man you barely met,” Nana said with a chuckle. “Oh, did I tell you how Miss Frances, the sweet woman who tried to foster me back when I was child, contacted me recently?”

The cloak-and-dagger way Nana said it piqued Vera’s curiosity. “No, how did she find you, Nana?”

After Vera’s return home, her bond with her grandmother gelled as Nana shared a delicious taste of her life with Vera, drawing her into a time with Elvis Presley on the jukebox, Marilyn Monroe on the silver screen, and Dwight Eisenhower in the White House. More than that, Nana was once an orphan, just like her. And Nana had found her forever family, just like her.

“Miss Frances connected with me on Facebook. She’s probably in her nineties now, but I’ve got to hand it to her for her sleuthing skills and tech-savviness.”

“What’d she say?”