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"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." – unknown.
Mary-Anne sat incredibly close to me as I flipped through the album.
She was taking each photo in.
"Oh my, it's you as a baby!" she beamed as she pointed to the picture. Mary-Anne pulled the photo out from behind the clear plastic cover and flipped it over.
Written in pen on the back of the photo, it read January 98' Baby Maisie sleeping with her favorite stuffed elephant, Lola
Now I understand what she meant when she said she had a descriptive photo album. Grandma Mary- Anne wrote captions for everything on the back of each photo.
Date.
Where.
The clothing being worn.
Names of people in the photograph.
This might benefit me.
Mary-Anne touched each image as I flipped through the album. Her expression changed from happy to sad each photo we stumbled upon.
There were so many photos of my dad.
---- I'm surprised she kept so many. I can only imagine some of the photos triggering a very sad memory in her life.
She missed the time she could have had with her son.
I was almost nearing the end of the photo album, when a sinking feeling entered my stomach.
I found nothing.
"Do you have another album?" There had to be more photos somewhere.
-----Years worth of memories in an album.
There had to be more.
"No dear. That's all," Mary-Anne sighed heavily, shaking her head.
I stood to leave, disappointed to the extremes when my eyes skimmed over a photo. It wasn't 'the' photo I was looking for, but it was something.
It was the guy from the photo Melody found.
It was a different one, a picture in the park but my dad wasn't in the photo with him.
I was.
"Whose that?" I asked, pointing to the picture.
My grandma looked down to where my finger rested. "That's Stanley; he was one of your dad's closest friends. He was a swell man."
I removed the photo out from behind the clear plastic covering and flipped it over.
January 14 1999, 1yr old Maisie with Uncle Stanley at Kylde Warren Park. Mom Dianne and Daddy Daxton celebrate Uncle Stanley 31st birthday.
"Uncle?" My heart pounded in my ears.
"He's not your biological uncle," she began to say. "He's someone who your father always felt was family."
I let out a relieved breath.
I couldn't take any more secrets.
---Secret relatives.
----Secret lives.
At least one thing was being cleared up in this very moment.
I had to learn more about this Stanley guy.
I needed to know more about my dad and Stanley.
How they met?
If there was any problems in their friendship.
If girls somehow came between their friendship.
I needed to know absolutely everything.
"How'd they met?"
Mary-Anne tapped a finger against her chin. "Work I believe. You're dad's business hired Stanley to create prototypes of their inventions."
Inventions?
"I thought dad was just into marketing." He created websites and links for some pharmacy company. What would inventing have to do with his marketing job?
"He worked primarily in marketing but I do know that somehow into your dad's 3rd year with the company, he created a prototype that his business thought would create more revenue."
"What kind of prototype? A medical prototype?" What kind of idea did my dad come up with? His company must have been operating illegally. This could explain why my dad's name was brought up in this stupid mess.
"Oh, I wouldn't know that, dear." Mary- Anne rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know much about that."
"Do you know if anyone else would know anything?" I needed someone else I could talk to about this 'invention.'
"You could try asking some of your dad's old co-workers but I wouldn't count on any of them talking to you about it."
That made me only more suspicious.
If no-one is willing to discuss this invention with anyone outside of the company, something fishy is going on.
Drugs could have been smuggled.
A teleportation device could have been created.
There were so many possibilities here that I wanted to know more than ever what it was. This invention could be the reason why Levi was killed.
It would explain so much...
"What about Stanley?" I asked. If this guy was close to my dad as my grandma thought, maybe he'd tell me.
"I wouldn't know how to reach him, Maisie. A year after your dad was incarcerated, Stanley just up and left. No one has heard from him since."
---Even more suspicious.
**
Carmen and I looked for empty seats in the hospital cafeteria with a tray of food in our hands. There was one empty table in the very back of the cafeteria, so we sat down.
Carmen nudged me with her elbow, "Did you find anything?" Her eyes were wide.
"Sorta," I said. "I have a lead."
"That's good; you have a place to start."
I shrugged.
I picked up my fork and took a bite of my Rigatoni pasta. There is nothin' better then zesty marinara sauce, course I think restaurant Rigatoni Pasta is a lot better tasting. ----Something was funky with the hospitals version.
Carmen tapped her fingers against the table. "Doctor said earlier that he was looking better."
"Yea, it's great news." I half smiled. I just want him to wake up soon.
"When he wakes up and is released, we should all go on a little vacation somewhere. We could go camping," Carmen suggested. "Do something as a family."
"Maybe, I don't know." I took another bite. I can't play house in Dallas forever. I have school and another life in North Carolina.
"i just thought you'd be able to stay a bit longer. You really haven't had a vacation yet and spending every second of the day in the hospital surely doesn't count as one."
My aunt was persistent.
"I'll have to visit again soon," I said. "I've got school and work."
Carmen nodded.
How will I learn more about Stanley if I leave though?
My dad's co-workers are here.
Stanley could very well still be around.
If I leave....I'd be taking ten steps back.
"When you come back, hopefully you'll be able to stay a bit longer," she tells me.
"Sure thing," I laughed. "Mmmm, so question for you."
"Of course."
"My dad use to be close friends with a guy named Stanley according to Grandma. She hasn't heard from him in a long time and I was just wondering if you've heard from him."
Carmen shrugged. "Your dad was friends with a lot of Stanley's. You'll have to be more specific, Maisie."
"Well," I say. "Grandma said Stanley and dad worked together."
I watched her, hoping to see something trigger her memory. Sure my dad could have known many Stanley's, but there had to be only one Stanley that worked closely with him.
"I know your dad worked with a Stanley Jefferson. Does the last name sound familiar?" she asked.
"I only got a first name."
"Oh. Well that's the only Stanley I can think of that your dad worked with."
"Did you...do you know him well?" I asked.
"I knew enough about him," she says. "He was a nice but really shy guy. He didn't have any family in Dallas so your dad would often have him over. They were really close."
Sounds like the same guy Grandma was telling me about.
"Have you heard from him recently?"
"Actually," she began. "He called my house a week ago, just to check in."
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