Her mother’s name was Grace Bolden. Lily had told Monica that her name was Grace Bolden, too, so Monica wondered if her mom—it felt weird to even think of that, her mom—had ever gotten married at some point. It was one of a million questions to which she yearned to get answers.

From across the table, Pat cleared her throat and leveled her gaze on Grace. “Grace, how did you find out about Lily? Had you kept in touch with her over the years?”

“All I can say is that she was on my heart, lately.” Grace touched her chest as if to emphasize her point. “Isn’t it remarkable how life works sometimes? I had been thinking of her, and I used directory assistance to locate her number. I called, but this was a couple of days after she had passed on, and I received no answer. I contacted the church. I recalled she had been a member and knew they could put me in touch with her.”

“So they told you about the service,” Troy said.

“Yes, and I had to come. I had to pay my respects.” Grace looked to Monica and smiled. Monica felt her heart skip; she and her mother even smiled alike. “I had to see my child again. Lord knows it was long overdue.”

“I’m so glad you came.” Monica felt a fresh current of tears coming on. She blotted her eyes with a napkin.

“Where did you come in from again?” Pat asked.

“Houston, Texas,” Grace said. “I’ve lived there for several years.”

Monica wondered exactly how long her mother had lived in Texas. She didn’t have an accent of any kind that Monica could identify, and she had the diction of an English teacher.

“I drove here all by myself, got in late last night,” Grace continued. “I didn’t want to miss one minute of Lily’s home going. She did so much for me, back when I was a stupid little girl who didn’t know any better.”

“She helped lots of young girls,” Monica said. She felt the absence of her grandmother so acutely that she had to pull in a deep breath, lest she fall back into a complete mess of sobbing.

What would Lily have said about Grace’s return? Monica wondered. Lily had never had a whole lot to share about her biological mother, either positive or negative, but that was Lily for you. She hadn’t been one to dwell on the past and had deflected most of Monica’s questions with responses such as, “that’s water under the bridge, sugar, let’s focus on today, the past is gone and tomorrow isn’t promised to us.” Perhaps she had thought she was protecting Monica by being so evasive, but it had only deepened Monica’s curiosity.

But there was no need to wonder any more. She planned to ask her mother everything.