Of course I do.
“I kept apologizing. That’s what I remember most. I repeated again and again… ‘I’m sorry… someone is waiting for me.’”
I covered my mouth with my hands while Rebecca was still reading.
“He broke the window. He helped me out. Then he looked inside the car.
My daughter was still inside. He said, “One more minute.”
I closed my eyes.
That’s how Michael was… always believing that one more minute would suffice.
“He removed the white flower from the lapel.”
I gently touched the boutonnière. A tiny, yellowish note was tied under the tape.
He had finally returned to his destination.
The next sentence made me literally collapse on the ground.
For your beloved, Giselle.
“Keep reading,” I whispered as Rebecca helped me sit in a chair.
She nodded and turned her eyes to the paper.
“He kept it inside the handkerchief. I asked her why.
He smiled and said… ‘If something happens… this is for Giselle.’”
I cried in silence.
Incluso entonces, Michael seguía intentando volver.
“Llevó a mi hija en brazos hacia la carretera. «Acababa de llevarla…» Rebecca hizo una pausa. «…cuando otro camión perdió el control. El impacto destrozó lo que quedaba de la barrera de seguridad. La corriente ya era violenta. Michael desapareció en el río».
El misterio con el que había convivido durante cuarenta años cobró sentido de repente.
Rebecca continuó en voz baja:
«Solo sabía un nombre… Giselle.
He told me that he had left her at the prom while running back to the store to find a gift that, by mistake, he thought he left in his truck. He had promised to return in five minutes, and each of his words made it clear that he was desperate to return to her. I searched the news of the newspapers, but there were several girls named Giselle in neighboring counties, and I never knew which of them Michael was referring to.”
I felt my heart sink like a stone.
“Then my husband was offered work in another state. We moved out. I kept the handkerchief. And the flower.”
Rebecca’s eyes filled with tears.
«Mi abuela no dejaba de decirse: “Cuando sepa lo suficiente… la encontraré”». Rebecca bajó la mirada. «Pero la vida seguía su curso. Cada año resultaba más difícil admitir que había pasado otro año de espera».
After her grandmother’s funeral, Rebecca looked for me. Three days ago, Tori mentioned a kind woman named Giselle who worked in her new school cafeteria. When she added that she had heard a partner ask about my prom, Rebecca finally pulled up.
“When he said you were called Giselle, I wanted to know you properly,” Rebecca admitted.
I felt something unexpected.
Ira.
“I had the right to know,” I replied abruptly.
Rebecca nodded right away. “That’s right.”
