May Bailey runs her fingers softly over the photo she found in Leo's pawn shop. It's a picture of her when she was young and so in love with Leo. She can't quite believe he's gone. She can feel the tears running down her face. When she looks up Maisie is standing in the doorway.
"Tell me about Pop." Maisie requests. She knows that Mrs Bailey knows a lot about her grandpa.
"Oh, it's complicated and it's such a long story, Maisie. You grandfather and I always had a volatile relationship." May sighs heavily.
"I like long stories, especially about Pop. No one knows him like you and I do. Please tell me about him. I want to know everything." Maisie pleads with Mrs Bailey.
May sets her picture down on the coffee table. She sighs again before she begins to speak. "Your grandfather and I grew up together in Nova Scotia. We got along so well when we were young. When he finished school he decided to move out here and stake a claim. We wrote each other all the time and I loved getting his letters. When he struck silver he wrote me and said if I wanted to have an adventure I should come out and meet him. I think we each had a crush on the other. I had had a crush on him for years. I packed my bags and came out. Your grandfather met me at the station. I was nervous to be in the wilderness, but your grandfather put me at ease immediately. He'd met John Bailey when they were out prospecting. John was the man who I eventually married. You grandfather asked to court me when we were here. Once the mine was up and running was the time of the Yukon gold rush. Your grandfather and I wanted to get married, but your grandfather didn't think he had enough to offer me. He went off to the Yukon with a promise he'd come back to me." May's eyes well up with years. "I didn't see or hear from him again until he came back to New Bedford."
"You loved him very much, didn't you?" Maisie asks Mrs Bailey.
"Yes, I did. I thought we were going to be together forever. I thought for a long time that he never loved, but this picture proves he always did love me. That means a great deal to me. I was heartbroken when he didn't come back. I always knew he was a wanderer, but I was shocked when he didn't come back for me." May says honestly.
"You know, when Pop and I came here he wondered if you were still here. He was shocked when he found out that you were a widow. He was always very concerned about you when he was here. I heard a lot about you before we came to New Bedford. Pop always loved you. He never said so out loud, but I could tell. He always had a look on his face that he only got when he talked about you. You must have been very special to him." Maisie tells Mrs Bailey.
"You're very observant, aren't you, Maisie? Leo always said that about you. He was very special to me too, but I think we both felt like we'd had our chance to be together, so we never tempted fate when he came back here. Cousin Jessie wanted us to be together, but we turned down the opportunity. We were better off being friends, but we talked about our past and cleared the air with each other." May says quietly.
"I'm not sure that Pop felt that way recently. He seemed to be regretting not telling you how he felt about you. In fact, I think he wrote you a letter. I'll have to search upstairs in the pawn shop for it, but you deserve to have it. I miss him so much." Maisie sighs.
"I miss him too, Maisie, more than anything in the world. I don't remember feeling this way when my husband died. This is much more emotional. It's much harder this time." May admits to Maisie. In the days since Leo died May has been particularly emotional. She's tired and feeling particularly old at the moment. There aren't very many people her age in New Bedford and she doesn't talk very much to very many people. She sighs heavily. She doesn't know what to say to Maisie most of the time. She's a bit out of touch with the young girl.
"Mrs Bailey, are you all right? You look quite tired. Pop wouldn't want you to get sick because of him. He hated to have any fuss when he was alive and he wouldn't now. He loved you and he'd want you to live your life. he told me once he loved seeing you in town because it meant that you were living a happy life." Maisie asks May.
"Yes, I'm all right. I'm just tired. The last few days have been very long and emotional. Leo had a way of getting into your soul and never leaving, rather like our home province." Mrs Bailey reassures Maisie. She doesn't want Maisie to feel as if she's losing another parental figure. "I think I'm going to go up to bed. Good night, Maisie."
"Good night Mrs Bailey. Can I see the picture Pop had of you?" Maisie requests as May stands up. May passes Maisie the picture. "Oh! You were beautiful when you were young! Pop was right!"
"Did he tell you I was beautiful?" May asks. She's quite shocked Leo said anything of the sort considering he was never very open with his feelings.
"He told me about you when we were travelling out here to New Bedford. He told you were the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, but he'd never shown me that picture." Maisie sounds confused.
"That picture was only ever between the two of us. I had it taken out here. Even my father didn't know. It was special between us. Maybe that's why he didn't show you the picture." May speculates.
"Why did you give him a lock of hair?" Maisie asks curiously.
"It was what was given by a young woman as a token of affection at that time. He asked me for a lock of my hair when we went for a picnic at Bass Lake. We were perfect together." May reminisces. "Right I'm off to bed. It's very late."
Maisie stands up and hugs Mrs Bailey. Suddenly she feels much close to Mrs Bailey after this conversation. "Good night Mrs Bailey. Please know that Pop loved you. Pop was a good judge of character, so I love you too."
May can't believe what she's just heard. She hugs Maisie gently. "Thank you, Maisie. I needed that. I know that your grandfather meant the world to you and I also know he adored you. Never forget that."