she couldn't real y explain, even to herself. She just felt compel ed to go through the pictures that had been taken over the generations, to learn more about these two people who'd met al those years ago. Details of their story had been snapped throughout the decades, and each image she found gave her a new understanding of their lives—and their love.
A photo on one of the piles caught her eye and she picked it up. "Here, this is Grandpa Frank and his two sisters. The older one is Clara and the other one's Rebecca."
He studied the picture, then shook his head. "Okay, now I'm getting worried. You have way too much information about them. I mean, I didn't even know Grandpa Frank had sisters."
She stared at him. "Did you think he was an only child like G.G.? He had two sisters. Clara was older and married Sam. They moved to the east coast sometime after Grandpa Frank left Davenport, and they had some kids of their own. Grandma used to get Christmas cards from them. Mom probably did, too."
Preston lifted his hands. "I don't need al the details."
"You would like to know about Aunt Rebecca." She tapped the picture she was holding. A young girl with pigtails grinned at them, her bright expression a contrast to the more somber expressions of her brother and sister.
"What?" The word was long and drawn out.
"She married a restaurant owner. They stayed in Davenport for a few years and then he decided to move to California. Hol ywood. His restaurant was very popular with movie stars in the forties and fifties. Aunt Becca, as they cal ed her, was the hostess and everyone loved to see her."
He squinted at the picture. "This aunt?"
Hannah nodded. "Yup. Somewhere there's a picture of her al dressed up. She's wearing a ful -length fur coat, before everyone said fur was wrong. And she used to wear the highest heels you ever saw."
"Did you meet her?"
Hannah shook her head. "No. Just heard stories about her. Mom and her cousin Marcia were talking once.
Aunt Becca died young, probably from lung cancer, only nobody's ever said that to me. She smoked a lot, something else people used to do without knowing how bad it was." G.G. smoked at one time; Hannah knew this from the snapshots, but she'd never seen her smoke.
"Hmm. "Preston held the picture in his hand. "Did she have kids?"
Hannah grinned at his interest. "They adopted two boys. I have no idea where they are now. They'd be Grandmas cousins, so maybe she hears from them. One was a general in the army, with a bunch of stars. I'm not sure about the other guy."
"A general?"
She nodded. "Yeah, probably top-secret special clearance and al that other government stuff." Her brother was interested in the various branches of the service. His room was ful of books about soldiers and their deeds.
If only there was a book to explain G.G.'s reluctance.
"Maybe I'll ask Grandma about him," Preston was saying.
"You could. She likes to talk about the family."
Preston put the picture back on the stack. "Hey, Hannah, why don't you go to the pool. Go make a fool of yourself over that lifeguard you said was so cute."
"I can do that anytime. I only get two weeks every summer to look at Grandma's stuff." Her mother, Kate, who was a teacher, shared stories whenever she could, but her life was so busy, she barely had time to keep up with her classroom activities during the school year, let alone delve into family history. And in the summer, she liked to travel with their dad.
Preston hopped off the window seat and headed for the door. "Wel , I'm going outside. And I might just go to the pool."
"You do that, Preston. Oh, and if the lifeguard on duty is a girl, don't act like too much of a fool."
He stuck out his tongue and she laughed.
The door shut behind him and she sank onto the floor, gathering the photo albums closer.
**********
Frank And Marian’s Story
Chapter 7
August 1929
By the time Frank came home for lunch that first day, Marian had succeeded in cleaning and organizing the
A photo on one of the piles caught her eye and she picked it up. "Here, this is Grandpa Frank and his two sisters. The older one is Clara and the other one's Rebecca."
He studied the picture, then shook his head. "Okay, now I'm getting worried. You have way too much information about them. I mean, I didn't even know Grandpa Frank had sisters."
She stared at him. "Did you think he was an only child like G.G.? He had two sisters. Clara was older and married Sam. They moved to the east coast sometime after Grandpa Frank left Davenport, and they had some kids of their own. Grandma used to get Christmas cards from them. Mom probably did, too."
Preston lifted his hands. "I don't need al the details."
"You would like to know about Aunt Rebecca." She tapped the picture she was holding. A young girl with pigtails grinned at them, her bright expression a contrast to the more somber expressions of her brother and sister.
"What?" The word was long and drawn out.
"She married a restaurant owner. They stayed in Davenport for a few years and then he decided to move to California. Hol ywood. His restaurant was very popular with movie stars in the forties and fifties. Aunt Becca, as they cal ed her, was the hostess and everyone loved to see her."
He squinted at the picture. "This aunt?"
Hannah nodded. "Yup. Somewhere there's a picture of her al dressed up. She's wearing a ful -length fur coat, before everyone said fur was wrong. And she used to wear the highest heels you ever saw."
"Did you meet her?"
Hannah shook her head. "No. Just heard stories about her. Mom and her cousin Marcia were talking once.
Aunt Becca died young, probably from lung cancer, only nobody's ever said that to me. She smoked a lot, something else people used to do without knowing how bad it was." G.G. smoked at one time; Hannah knew this from the snapshots, but she'd never seen her smoke.
"Hmm. "Preston held the picture in his hand. "Did she have kids?"
Hannah grinned at his interest. "They adopted two boys. I have no idea where they are now. They'd be Grandmas cousins, so maybe she hears from them. One was a general in the army, with a bunch of stars. I'm not sure about the other guy."
"A general?"
She nodded. "Yeah, probably top-secret special clearance and al that other government stuff." Her brother was interested in the various branches of the service. His room was ful of books about soldiers and their deeds.
If only there was a book to explain G.G.'s reluctance.
"Maybe I'll ask Grandma about him," Preston was saying.
"You could. She likes to talk about the family."
Preston put the picture back on the stack. "Hey, Hannah, why don't you go to the pool. Go make a fool of yourself over that lifeguard you said was so cute."
"I can do that anytime. I only get two weeks every summer to look at Grandma's stuff." Her mother, Kate, who was a teacher, shared stories whenever she could, but her life was so busy, she barely had time to keep up with her classroom activities during the school year, let alone delve into family history. And in the summer, she liked to travel with their dad.
Preston hopped off the window seat and headed for the door. "Wel , I'm going outside. And I might just go to the pool."
"You do that, Preston. Oh, and if the lifeguard on duty is a girl, don't act like too much of a fool."
He stuck out his tongue and she laughed.
The door shut behind him and she sank onto the floor, gathering the photo albums closer.
**********
Frank And Marian’s Story
Chapter 7
August 1929
By the time Frank came home for lunch that first day, Marian had succeeded in cleaning and organizing the
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