December 23 - Morning

The DLO was empty when Shane arrived the next morning. Oliver had a departmental meeting at 9. Rita and Norman hadn't arrived yet. She draped her coat over the chair and sat down at her workstation, determined to search the DMV in every state west of Illinois before she left that evening.

A few minutes later, the door opened to admit Rita and Norman.

"How did your mom take the news?" Rita asked Shane.

"Better than I thought she would," Shane admitted.

Norman lifted the bin he carried onto the table.

"This thing is full. I've never seen so many letters this close to Christmas."

The words had barely left his mouth when a young postal trainee entered, carrying another bin. Norman took it and placed it next to the first one.

"This one is full, too. It's going to take all day to get through these."

"There's nothing I can do while the search is running," Shane said.

She pulled her laptop from her purse.

"Let's get started."

Oliver returned from the meeting around 10:30. He raised an eyebrow at the large stacks of envelopes sitting on the table.

A "ping" sounded from Shane's workstation. Shane walked over see the results.

"Yes! Oliver, I've found him! Oh my gosh! He's here in Denver!"

She looked at the screen again.

"Oh, no! There's more than one Michael Anderson."

Oliver joined her and consulted the screen. Names scrolled in rapid succession. Several minutes later, Shane stared at the computer in shock.

"There are over 500 Michael Andersons in Denver."

"Anderson is a common surname," Oliver reminded her.

"I'll narrow the search. Add the middle name."

The search finished and Shane consulted the total again.

"Down to about 250 possibilities. I'll search the birth date next."

Shane sighed in frustration.

"Still over 100 names. How can there be that many Michael James Andersons living in Denver born on the same day?"

"Considering you're dealing with a city of 760,000 people that is a very small percentage of the population," Oliver said.

Shane looked at him irritably.

"Before you program any more searches, let's read the letter again. See if perhaps we can find another clue."

"You read it," Shane told him. "I'm going to keep working."

Oliver opened his mouth, and then closed it. Shane's tenacity was in full force and there would be no reasoning with her. He sat down at his desk and picked up the letter. He read the letter carefully three times but couldn't find anything that might help. He rubbed his hand over his face.

Shane pushed her chair back and stood up. Her cheeks flushed red and her hands shook.

"Nothing! Nothing I try eliminates more names. Oliver, I can't go home tonight and tell Mom we still haven't found him."

Oliver walked over, lifted her coat from the chair and draped it across her shoulders.

"You need a break. Let's take a walk."

He walked back, took his coat from the rack and picked up the letter.

"We won't be long," Oliver told Norman and Rita.

"We're fine," Norman assured him. "Take all the time you need."

Oliver opened the main door and Shane stepped out into the bright, sunny day.

"How about a cup of coffee?" Oliver asked. "Good coffee."

She nodded and they walked towards the Denver Bean Coffee Shop.

He placed their order and reached into his coat for his money clip. He paid for the coffee, returned the clip to its pocket, and felt something else inside it. He pulled out a small, white card. The business card from the jewelry store.

"Oh my goodness!" he exclaimed.

He handed Shane the card.

"What's this?"

"The store where I purchased your bracelet."

"Michael Anderson, Owner and Designer," she read. Her eyes widened. "Is it possible? Is this Uncle Mike?"

"We shall see."

Oliver handed Shane her coffee and picked up his own. Shane took his arm and they headed for Oliver's car.

Oliver and Shane entered Custom Crafted Jewelry. A young man stood at the counter.

"Is Mr. Anderson in today," Oliver asked him.

"He is."

"Would you please tell him that Oliver O'Toole would like a word?"

The young man disappeared into the back of the store. A few minutes later, Mr. Anderson came out.

"Mr. O'Toole? What brings you back? Is there a problem with the bracelet?"

He looked at Shane.

"I beg your pardon. May I assume that this woman is your fiancé? I hope I didn't spoil the surprise."

"She is, and no, you didn't. I've already given it to her."

Shane held out her hand.

"Are you pleased with the gift?" he asked Shane.

"Very pleased."

"May I help you with something else?" he asked Oliver.

"Actually, we're here on a special errand. We work for the US Postal Service in the Dead Letter Division. I have a letter we believe was mailed by you 29 years ago."

Oliver handed it to him.

"This was never delivered?" he asked Oliver.

"It was delivered yesterday."

"Christine McInerney is my sister. Do you know her?"

"Uncle Mike, don't you recognize me?" Shane asked him.

He looked at her carefully for a minute. His eyes widened. "Shane?"

"Yes."

He walked around the counter and gave Shane a hug.

"You live here in Denver? How long have you lived here? What about your mother and Alex? Do they live here, too?"

"I've lived here for five years. Mom and Alex don't, but they're here visiting for the holiday."

"Your mother has seen this letter?"

"Yes."

"Does she know you found me?"

"Not yet. We wanted to confirm your identity before we told her."

"Will she want to see me after all these years?"

"Uncle Mike, she'll be very happy to see you. She does have a lot of questions."

"I imagine."

"Would it be possible for you to meet us at Shane's home tonight?" Oliver asked him.

"The store closes at 5. I could meet you there soon afterwards."

"My address is 4251 Yellow Bird Way," Shane told him.

The two men shook hands.

"Thank you, so much," Uncle Mike said.

"We look forward to seeing you then."

Oliver held the door for Shane and they left the store.

Shane could barely contain her excitement.

"Oliver, this is wonderful. Mom will be so happy," she said as soon as they settled into the car.

He smiled. "Another 'Divine Delivery' successfully completed."

"I hope whatever Mom is making for dinner will be enough for all of us. I don't want to tell her about Uncle Mike. I want to surprise her."

"What if we stop and pick up Chinese food for everyone?"

"That's a great idea! I'll call her now and tell her dinner is covered tonight." She reached into her purse for her cell phone.

"There's a deli just up the street," Oliver noticed. "Shall we pick up sandwiches for everyone and get back to the DLO? We did leave Norman and Rita with a tremendous amount of mail to process."

"Sounds delicious."

Shane dialed the phone as Oliver drove towards the deli.