The Space Between You and I

Walking into his house , Henry tossed his coat on the couch and the corner of his eye caught sight of the blinking light on the device on the kitchen counter. The phone line was attached to a phone number he only used for contact information in regard to his search for his biological mother. His heart hammered in his chest as he hurried over to check it. He pressed the green button.

  “Hello, this is Tom Holland. I saw your article in The Olympian, the Olympia, Washington newspaper. Anyway, I think I might know who your mother is. Give me a call back at this number.”

Beep!

Peering over at the clock on the kitchen wall, he saw it was already after eleven. His pulse was racing through the roof, and the possibility of a fresh lead after months of waiting would certainly keep him up all night if he didn’t call the number back. The worst he can do is not answer or get mad.

He can’t kill me.

Picking up the telephone, he called the number back.

“Hello?” Annoyance laced the man’s voice.

“Hi. This is Henry Hart. You left me a message about possibly knowing who my mother is?”

“Oh, yes!” The tone of voice had shifted to a joy-filled one. “First, I wanted to know if there was still a monetary reward?”

Henry’s  heart dipped into the pit of his stomach. Was this guy just after quick money or did he have real information about his mother?  He wondered.

“Um, yeah, but that’s only if I find her . . .”

“Well, she’s right here in Olympia, working at JK’s diner!”

Henry felt suspicious and wandered over to the couch to continue the conversation there. He sat down slowly. “Can you tell me why you think it’s her, sir?”

  “Your ad said that you were found in a manger twenty years ago in Spove, and I remembered hearing about Khloe’s first child she had to give up when she was living in Spove. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together, ya know? By the way, she’s excited to meet you.”

   A confusing mixed bag of emotions began to overwhelm Henry all at once. Raking a hand through his hair, he shook his head as he tried to process the fact that the search for his biological mother could possibly be done and he could finally meet her.

Swallowing, Henry nodded. “I want to see her.”

“Of course. Come anytime. I’ll even give you a place to stay while you’re here.” He laughed. “And then, after you meet Khloe, I’ll get paid?”

Again, the man was mentioning the money. It made Henry feel very uneasy and un-trusting. “I’m sorry, but why are you so obsessed about the money? It makes me . . .”

“What? Not trust me?” The man laughed. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, kid. I would’ve done it even if it wasn’t for the money, but the fact that there is money associated with this . . . let’s just say I’m happy about it, and it’s a Godsent in my life right now. I’m broke! And I could use the money to pay my bills. It’s a tough world out there right now, kid.”

“Okay.” Recalling his remaining days at work, Thursday and Friday, he wondered if Paul, his manager, would let him take Friday off. “I need to chat with my boss in the morning, but I’m sure I’ll be heading over there to Olympia in the next couple of days or so. I have money for a hotel. No worries on that.”

  “Let me know. What’s your name? I didn’t catch it.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, He became uneasy once more. “Uh, my mom should know it. She had me and named me.”

“Right, but you know how things are. We weren’t chatting about your name, kid. We talked about reuniting the two of you during the brief moments she stopped by my table at the diner to chat.”

Still not a hundred percent sure this guy was telling the truth, Henry decided to lie.

“My name is Oscar.”

Tom gave Henry his address and the address of JK’s diner in Olympia and then hung up. Though he had felt uneasy about the reality before him and the unsavory fellow who reached out to him, Henry wondered if it was just nerves or a real gut feeling he could rely on. Turning in for the night, he said his prayers, read a chapter of the Old Testament, and then shut off his lights.

* *

      Stopping in at his sister, Rachel’s flower shop the next morning to tell her about the lead, he stomped the snow off his boots on the rug just inside the front door.

“Big bro! What brings you into my shop on this beautiful Thursday morning?”

  Smiling, he looked up and fixed his gaze on his sister. “Just here to see my little sis. It’s been a while.”

“About a month. What are you up to these days?” Rachel set the scissors and flowers in her hands down, wiped her hands on her apron, and exited from behind the counter. Glancing at the cooler with roses, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “ Are you here to finally get some flowers for Noelle?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Not exactly.”

continued toward the counter of the flower shop. “I’m here about something else.”

seem to hear his words but kept on track about Noelle. “Come on! She would love some flowers. I bet she would give you a kiss.”

his head as Rachel came around the counter.

“Noelle is my

too sure of that being true forever. Girls won’t stick around

losing her. He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? You think she’ll stop being my

“Yep. Eventually, she’ll wise up and move on. At least the smart ones do. “Wait. Is Noelle smart?” The question was an obvious joke.

She’s a beautiful, talented, God-fearing, and all-around awesome girl. I’ve never met

are you acting like a dummy? Ask her out on a date and lock her down

himself why he had stopped into the flower shop in the first place. He raised a hand. “I didn’t come down here to get lectured about my

both elbows, Rachel rested her chin on the palm of her hands and peered up at her older brother. “Yeah?

  “I think I found my birth mom.”

fell and she removed her arms from the counter. She sighed and turned around. Her fingers found her pair of scissors and some flowers and she began to trim the ends. Craning her neck, she spoke softly over her shoulder

but you don’t seem glad about it . . .” His words trailed off, unpleased to bear witness to Rachel’s displeasure.

now glossy, fixed on him. She paused, her lips opening slightly then closing. She finally spoke. “I think it hurt Mom really bad the last time you ran around looking for her. I know it’s your

little wider and larger in that very moment. He took a step back and shook his head. “What? I’m trying to find the woman who gave birth to me!

moment, brother, but being a parent lasts your entire

he felt his heart hardening to marble. “I thought you’d be happy for me, but obviously, you’re

Rachel hurried around the counter again and caught

      “I love you, Henry, and you are my brother. I don’t care about blood. I never have. I won’t sit here and pretend to

    Glancing down

. I’m sorry. I just worry about Mom. You

both nevertheless. The fact that she was in remission now did little to ease the lasting worry it had instilled in both Rachel and Henry. They both feared it could show up at any time and they’d be back to worrying about

Henry hugged

sorry for

about this. I’m truly happy for you. I hope you know that, and I know it’s

her in the eyes. He wanted to give her something to alleviate the stress and worry she was obviously feeling right then and there. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad about it.

smiled. “Deal.”

* *

coat over his office chair and powered on his computer. Seeing Paul walk into his office, he

laptop bag down on his desk. He

“Morning, Henry.”

Boss. I was wondering if

eyebrows and sat down behind his desk.

in front of the desk and scooted the chair

“Everything is fine. I just found a new lead on my birth mom and

“Olympia?”

Henry thought about the hot fix that was going out tomorrow. His gaze came back around to Paul. “I can stay through tomorrow if you really need me to do that.”

his desk, he walked over to

there was no skipping it. Paul, after all, was an elder in the church, and the

  Adjusting in his seat, Henry sat back in his chair and shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think we need to really .

“Henry, it’s me, man. You stormed out of that sanctuary in quite a huff last

arms and his jaw clenched.

in his office chair and

his insides flinch. Sitting upright in his chair, Paul nodded, his gaze falling to his desk for a moment. He peered up at Henry a moment later. “Terry is young. But so are you. Some people can rub us wrong, and we might even be right about them, but we don’t have the right to cast judgments. Your comment about his BMW, for instance? He didn’t buy it. His grandfather passed away and he inherited it. It’s a reliable vehicle so he

disdain for Terry loosened, at least over the BMW. “Wow .

  “Yeah.”

“So . . . I can

Tomorrow, Friday, and then Monday, if you need

his feet, Henry hoped to prevent any further

“Thanks, Boss.”

that he didn’t want to stop talking about what happened last night at church, but Henry cared so little for it that he couldn’t possibly waste another minute on the subject. Not right

Henry left Paul’s office and went to the break room to get a cup of coffee. Pouring a cup of hot liquid into his mug, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

  It was Noelle.

jumped and he tapped to answer it.

“Hey!”

light sob could be

“What’s wrong?”

and not responsive. Henry’s heart cleaved toward wanting to be