Chapter 1
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.
