On Monday, Reese dropped by Quentin's office to tell him what she and Blaine had learned from their trip to the orphanage.
"That's great," he replied without enthusiasm. "But I'm starting to think this is taking up too much of your time. I'm going to hire a professional to look into this. I think we would be better off with private investigator working on this case."
"No," Reese objected. "I want to do this. We're getting so close. I'm sure it won't take much work for us to find her now."
Quentin shrugged. "If you're sure you want to stick with this, go ahead. I'm leaving it up to you."
"Thank you," Reese replied before heading back to her own office.
Reese sat down at her desk and picked up the phone. She decided to call Blaine and see if he had found any new information, but his answering machine picked up. She left a brief message and asked him to call her if he learned anything new.
Reese moved the phone aside and turned to the stack of papers on her desk. Quentin was right. She knew she had better things to do with her time, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the May's case, until Dorothy was found.
She didn't have any personal connection to the Mays or their missing heir, but it was important to her. She felt like she had to do everything in her power to see this family reunited. She strongly believed that everyone deserved to know their family. Without a family history how could anyone know their own identity?
She was determined not to give up, but for now, all she could do was wait.
"Are you ok?" Andrew asked his wife as she followed him into the real estate office. Ever since she found out the big news and learned that her mother had given up a child for adoption before she was born, Amanda had been unusually quiet and pensive.
Before, Amanda had been reluctant to even discuss looking for a house, so Andrew was surprised when she was the one who suggested meeting with a real estate agent. When she seemed to hesitate as they walked into the office, Andrew was worried that she was having second thoughts.
"Do you still want to do this?" he asked.
Amanda broke out of her thoughts and nodded. "Of course." She motioned Andrew to go forward and then followed him to the agent's desk.
"Hello, Mrs. Martin," Audrey greeted Amanda with pleasant surprise. "It's so nice to see you again. And this must be your husband." She offered Andrew a handshake. "I'm Audrey Jordan."
Both the real estate agent's face and name were familiar to Amanda, but she couldn't recall why. "Where do I know you from?"
"The Stuart-Townsend Corporation," Audrey replied. As she mentioned the name of the company Andrew frowned. "I interviewed for your secretarial position."
"That's right," Amanda said briefly. She noticed Andrew's bitter expression and hoped the topic would soon pass.
"Business must be doing well. Just last week I met with a client who also works at that company. I'm starting to feel sorry that I didn't get the job," Audrey remarked with a smile.
No longer able to hold his resentment, Andrew spoke up. "Be glad that you didn't."
When Audrey looked confused, Amanda was quick to explain. "I decided to keep the job after all."
"You did?" Audrey asked curiously. After a moment of awkward silence she added, "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. It seemed like such a nice place to work."
"You'd think," Andrew replied bitterly. "But it wasn't. Not at all."
Audrey wanted to ask more, but Amanda quickly changed the subject to the matter at hand, real estate. "Of course. Based on what you told me over the phone, I've picked out a few houses that might interest you. Shall we take a look?"
Meanwhile, Alma and Bernice were returning home from work at the end of the school day. The roommates car pooled to work and back and occasionally shared a meal together, but for the most part they did things on their own. The arrangement suited both Alma and Bernice just fine.
This afternoon, Bernice tended to her cats, while Alma went upstairs to her room. She went upstairs with no particular plan in mind, but perfectly content that her time was her own. She could do what she wished without answering to anyone. For the first time in her life, she had no one to be responsible for but herself and that feeling was very liberating.
When Alma was in her room, she closed the door behind her and settled down on the sofa with a novel she had been reading. But instead of reading, she started thinking about the first day she moved into this room.
When she arrived with her luggage, Bernice had greeted her cheerfully at the door. "Come in. I'm so glad you decided to rent the room. It's been empty for too long. I'll take you upstairs to see it and get settled in, but first you've got to meet everyone." Bernice stepped aside and introduced her cats one by one. "This is Cali, Fluffly, T.J. Whiskers, Boopsie, and Spork. If you don't want them in your rooms be sure to keep the doors closed. They have the run of the house."
Alma said that she would and followed Bernice upstairs. Privately, she was starting to have doubts about the arrangement, but she didn't have any better alternative. If this didn't work out, she could always move, she reminded herself, and decided to give this living arrangement a try.
Alma was glad that she had stuck to her decision. In the end it was all working out ideally. Yes, Bernice was attached to her pets with their silly names, but she was a good roommate and having Alma as a roommate was probably good for her. She didn't seem to have anyone else in her life.
When she heard a gentle knock on the door, Alma set her book aside and said. "Come in."
"Sorry to bother you, but you have a letter," Bernice said and handed Alma an envelope before leaving the room again.
Curious about who would write to her, Alma opened the envelope and read the letter inside. It was from Dr. Wilton. He had gotten her address from Amanda. In the letter he reminded her that he had once asked her out to dinner, but had never gotten her reply. He wanted to let her know that the offer was still good and he would look forward to hearing her answer.
After reading the message, Alma sat staring at the page for a long time, wondering if she should accept the date or not.
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