This would change everything. This would make her a thief. No, worse than a thief, a predator who took advantage of an old woman’s love. It was wrong, so very wrong. She needed time to think, but there was no time.
She paced back and forth for a few moments then stopped and said, “I can’t let you do this, Grandma Ida. I just can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t let me do it? Why not?”
“Because I’m not really family. I’m not who you think I am.” Suzanna turned away, ashamed to let her eyes meet Ida’s. “I’m not Darla Jean.”
She waited, thinking Ida would say something, but when there was only silence she stood looking up at the ceiling and told her story. She spoke of how on the day of William’s memorial service she’d come to the Elks Club hoping she and Annie could get a free meal, and how when Ida had mistaken her for Darla Jean she’d been too embarrassed to say otherwise.
“I planned to leave right away, catch the next bus to New Jersey, but you were so kind to us, and we had nowhere else to go…” A sob filled her throat, and she choked on her words.
The shame of it was greater than Suzanna had ever known, and in that moment she wanted to disappear, vanish from Ida’s sight. “I know what I’ve done is unforgivable, but I never thought it would come to this. I thought if Annie and I lived here, I could help out and—”
A withered hand touched her shoulder, and she turned to face Ida. “I’m sorry, Ida. I’m so very, very sorry. The last thing in the world I would want is to hurt you—”
“Then hush crying.” Ida wrapped her arms around Suzanna and tilted her face so that their eyes met. “You’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said? I’m not really your granddaughter. I am not Darla Jean.”
The corner of Ida’s mouth curled, and her expression softened into a smile. “I know that. I’ve known it for a long time, but I was happy having you here and didn’t see any reason to give up that happiness—”
“You knew? When? How?”
Ida grinned ever so slightly. “A week or so after you came, but by then I’d already fallen in love with Annie and couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving.”
“But how? Did I say something? Do something?”
“No, it was your eyes. You’ve got the same blue eyes Bill had. That’s why I originally thought you were Darla Jean. Then later on I got to thinking about it and remembered that baby didn’t have blue eyes. She had brown eyes like her mama.”
“But you never said—”
“Why would I? For the first time in a long while, there was some happiness in this house. You and Annie gave me a reason to live again, and I loved it.”
“But you knew I wasn’t really family.”
“There’s all kinds of families, Darla Jean. Some people are born into belonging to one another, and that’s their family. But there’s another kind of family, one created by people who love each other and are willing to hold onto what they’ve found. We’re that kind of family.”
Suzanna stood there with tears streaming down her face. “But you don’t even know my real name.”
“I don’t need to. I’d love you just the same regardless of what you call yourself. I love you because of the kind of person you are, not because of your name.” She reached up and wiped the tears from Suzanna’s cheek. “Now stop that crying. There’s nothing to cry about.”
Suzanna’s breath hitched, and she sniffed back another sob. “I’m trying.”
That evening they sat side by side on the sofa and talked until the wee hours of the morning. Suzanna told everything there was to tell: how her daddy had thrown her out of the house, how she’d moved in with Earl, and how she’d finally left to make a better life for Annie. After a fairly long silence, she also told how Bobby had come back into her life looking for nothing more than a good time.
“He’s a married man who doesn’t love me or Annie,” she said solemnly.
“Do you love him?” Ida asked.
Suzanna thought for a long while before she answered. “I did, but that was a long time ago. When he came back, I thought he wanted us to be a family. I thought he cared about being Annie’s daddy. He doesn’t, and the likelihood is he never will.” She gave a heavily weighted sigh, then said. “It’s such a shame, because Gregg would have been a great daddy.”
“Does Gregg know about this?”
“Not really.” Suzanna went on to tell how he’d proposed that Saturday night and she’d answered saying that she needed time to think. “He said if a person is truly in love, they don’t need to think about whether or not they want to marry you.”
“He’s right,” Ida said. “When it’s true love, you find a way to overcome the obstacles. You don’t just give in to them.”
“I know that now, but it’s too late. Gregg’s gone, and I doubt he’s ever coming back unless it’s just to clear out his things.”
“If you don’t give up feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it, you’re probably right.”
Suzanna looked at Ida with a puzzled expression. “I doubt there’s much I can do. He left without saying goodbye, didn’t bother to leave a note, and hasn’t called since then. I’d say he’s pretty much made up his mind that he’s through with me.”
“Hogwash. Gregg may be angry, but my bet is he still loves you.”
Suzanna shook her head dubiously. “Don’t you think if that were the case, he would have called?”
“Not necessarily. A man’s got pride. You’re the one who turned him down, so if you want him back you’re going
