“It’s the oddest thing. I never had any idea what became of Jake. I went home to Salt Lake City after we split up. When I wanted to get married again, to Mr. Perkins, I checked with the courthouse in Denver to see what I had to do to get a divorce and that’s when I found out that Jake had divorced me, on grounds that I deserted him, which I guess I did. Then when I split up with Mr. Perkins and we moved back to Denver, I went looking for Jake’s name in the phone book, but it wasn’t there. I forgot all about trying to find him until last week. I was working in Denver Dry Goods, that’s a big department store, and in comes Mr. Bucky Betz. You know Bucky? Used to be Jake’s trainer? Anyhow, I hadn’t seen him in a coon’s age. He was looking to buy something for his wife for Christmas, only he don’t know me. So I says, ‘Bucky, it’s me!’ And he says, ‘Me, who?’ and I says, ‘Well, don’t that just beat all. You don’t remember little Thelma Pearl? After we used to have so many laughs together?’ So we get to laughing and talking, and then I ask if he knows whatever happened to Jake McCloskey, the prizefighter. And he tells me Jake is married to a real fine gal named Emaline and they have a farm by Stegall, Nebraska, which is west of Scottsbluff and only two hundred miles from Denver. So we left this morning and drove over. I found the little store here in Stegall and they gave me directions to your place. It wasn’t hard at all.” She turned to the boy. “Honey, watch how you eat, you’re getting crumbs all over the place.”

She brushed the crumbs from around Junior’s mouth. If Emaline hadn’t stopped her, she would have jumped up and grabbed a broom to sweep around his chair. Emaline asked Thelma Pearl if she wanted coffee and she turned it down. “Never touch the stuff. I’m the nervous type as it is, see. Mr. Perkins, that was my second husband, he used to say I’d make coffee nervous. But I wouldn’t say no to a glass of milk and one of those cookies myself. Wipe your mouth, Junior.”

Emaline poured the glass of milk for her, refilled Junior’s glass, and told them to help themselves to more cookies.

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit stunned,” she said. “So Jake never knew that he had a son?”