Full Circle

Sitting at her desk she poured through the list of names and addresses. She wasn't sure if she would find the correct name or address, but she knew she had to try. She had been on her own since 15. She had three children, all boys, the youngest barely 5 years old. Her husband had been in the military stationed at Fort Lewis and had been on duty overseas. She received the dreaded letter and a flag. The next thing she knew she was preparing to move from their home on base to a place in Yelm.

She did not worry about working, she had a job as a para in the school her children attended, and she was looking forward to getting a BA in education to become a teacher. She did worry though that with three boys she would need someone's help. Her military friends were now deployed and were no longer nearby. She did have a good support system in the community and at the American Legion. But she was still looking for a particular someone or family.

Her husband's relatives were not from Washington, they were actually from Virginia. His last name had been Walton. They had met when she was living in a foster home, and she needed to get away from there. He was 18 and she was 15. Her foster parents were glad to see her leave. She married him just shortly after he got into the military. She was able to finish school while pregnant with her first child. A beautiful brown hair, blue eyed boy, she named Jason, who was now 11years old, Joshua, he was the bright blue-eyed blonde-haired boy who fancied himself a Sherlock Holmes detective, always dealing in numbers, He was 9 and her baby boy, at 5 bits of an auburn brown hair and blue eyes that spoke volumes when he looked at you. She loved her children dearly and they had had loved her and their dad as well. The death of their father shook them badly. Jason would lose himself in plays, mostly Shakespeare, but also some of the more modern plays as well. Joshua was fascinated by puzzles and mystery stories but Jeremy, the youngest did not speak at all. He was a quiet shy kind of boy, when his father was around, he was quite the talkative child, however, the two years since he had been gone, she saw him withdraw and not speak as well as the others. The school counselors said to wait and see what happens, they did not feel that he needed help at this time.

The computer suddenly beeped and there was a match on an address and a name. Someone she could find. She wrote the address and name down and put it in her backpack and left the library. She met Jason and Joshua outside in the parking lot.

"Where is Jeremy?" She asked

"He is over there!" said Jason in a surly mood.

"Jeremy, come on we have to leave!" She called

Joshua looked at his mom, the odds of finding the person she wanted were not good, but he gave her credit for doing the work of sleuthing. He found that he liked that about his mom.

"Mom, when are we going to find out who you are looking for?" Joshua said as he got in the back seat. They rotated seats, except for Jeremy who was still in the car seat because he was still small.

She looked at Joshua and all her boys, she then said:

"My Great-Great grandmother Candy Pruitt Bolt, would have said we can wait as long as we have too!" She turned the key and left the parking lot. She was thankful it was Friday and there were no soccer games, plays or even chess games to keep her kids occupied, she had to go home, and look at her ancestry charts and find out when a suitable time to meet this new relative she had just found.

Chapter 2

Standing outside the door of a nice old 100-year-old house (if not a day older). She knocked on the door and waited.

"Hello?" said a voice from inside, "Oh, dear, I am not expecting anyone today…" the voice muttered loudly as she opened the door.

"Hello, my name is Candy Melanie Walton, I…" She was about to finish when the elderly lady took a deep breath and about fainted. Candy reached out to her to keep her from falling.
"Are you okay?" Candy asked

"Oh, oh, my, I never thought you would find me. I did leave that note in your backpack all those years ago. And look at you, you are the spitting image of your great-great grandmother Mrs. Candy Pruitt Bolt!"

Candy stood there a second and then the lady invited her into tea.

"I am your great aunt Biddie, my mother was Candy's best friend, and to think you are here!" Biddie shook her head, she dressed in Victorian fashion from the time period of the late 1890's to early 1900's.

"Miss Biddie?"

"Oh, just call me Biddie dear! I am so happy, please sit down. The tea will be ready shortly. How did you find me? I know the address I left was very old, but I suppose my name remained the same B Smith. You know, my mother married Barnabas Smith so they thought it was fun that at least one of the children would have a B. S. for initials!" She laughed and so did Candy.

"So, can you tell me who my mother was, and who my father was?"

"Oh, yes indeedy!" Biddie said with another smile. She brought the tea and cakes in and then the scrapbook and a couple of photo albums.

The sat next to each other and started to reminisce about when Candy was born.

"So, your mother was from the Lummi tribe. She was related to Candy and the Bolts through her son Jacob, who married a Lummi woman, which is how come you have very jet-black hair, with a hint of red from Candy's side of the family. She married outside the tribe, and we had not seen her until she showed up here one day pregnant and unfortunately the man, she had married had tried to kill her. I was living here in Rainier when she showed up. She wanted you very much…"
"But Biddie, that is what they all say about children who are left in foster homes!"

Biddie nodded, "Yes I know, but I also know that any child who came from the Pruitt-Bolt line was loved and wanted no matter the circumstances. Your father was not a good man, he had gotten into a rough crowd soon after they were married, your mother had a tough time carrying children. She had several miscarriages before she had you. You would not have made it if she had not come to us for help." She stopped and poured more tea.

"Biddie, you tell us? Were you married?"
"No, dear, I was taking care of my mother, who lasted until she was 102 years old. Also, I have two sisters and a brother who needed care toward the end. I have been a nurse all these years. Only retired when they told me that I was getting where I could not read the numbers. I didn't believe them but once they started to use these new-fangled things called 'computers' I quit. Could not understand why such a thing was invented!"
Candy pointed to a picture of a gorgeous man and asked who he was.

"That is your great -great grandfather Jeremy Bolt. He never wore a beard, but once sported a mustache for a little while until Candy made him shave it off. He was a quiet one. Did you know he had a stutter, seems his mother's death affected him more than his other brothers Jason and Joshua…."
Candy almost dropped her almond cookie
"Jason and Joshua? Jeremy?" She spoke

"Yes, those where their names, why do you ask?

She fumbled with her photo in her wallet, and she took them out and said:

"My sons are Jason, Joshua and Jeremy! And yes, Jeremy does stutter!"

Biddie had a twinkle in her eye and asked:

"Why did you give them those names? "
Candy sat for a few minutes trying to think why she named them Jason, Joshua and Jeremy.
"First, their father's name was Jason, and of course we had to name the first child Jason!"

Biddie nodded

"Then when Joshua was born, he and I decided to name him Joshua, finally Jeremy just seemed the best name as well. Jason did come from a big family, he was related to the Waltons of Waltons mountain in Virginia."
Biddie's eyes lit up, this was the best revelation of family ancestry she ever heard of.

"Anyway, when we had Jason, there was a quilt that had come down to him and we used it to wrap each of the boys in."

"Was the quilt purple?" Biddie asked

"Why yes it was, how did you know?"
Biddie picked up a picture, she showed it to Candy,
"Do you know who this is?"
Candy looked but did not know

"This is Melanie, she is your great great -great Aunt. She inherited this quilt from her mother. She gave this quilt to Esther when she married Zebulon Walton."

Candy looked at the picture and looked at the picture of her boys. They were all wrapped in the quilt at one time or another.

The clock chimed three, Candy like Cinderella, jumped, "Oh, I have to get home, I left the boys at the apartment alone for the afternoon. May I come back another day?"

Biddie, looked at her and said yes, "Bring the boys, I will have cookies for them. It is so nice to finally meet you dear. I hope we can get to know each other and be friends."

Candy said goodbye and left. She would later call Biddie and let her know when they would be able to visit next.

Meanwhile, Biddie looked at her clock and went to the phone, she called her cousin Jake and told him about Candy. Jake was very excited; he would be available along with his brother Christopher and sister Melanie.

Biddie knew this was a good thing, she was excited and hoped that the next meeting would bring them closer. The bolt enterprise was slipping and even though Biddie had not been a bolt by marriage but by friendship only, she felt that they needed to get it going again.

She sat in her comfy chair rocking until she fell asleep. It was about eight at night when she woke with a start to hear someone in her kitchen. She did not turn on the light but sat there in the dark and quietly picked the phone up and dialed 911.

7