It took Rose a week to get the journal from Mom’s safety deposit box. But not for lack of trying. Before she gave up the pearl necklace, Mom had informed the girls of a key she’d hidden in her jewelry box. It took a couple of hours of digging through the boxes in the storage room to find what they were looking for.
In that time, Reen had closed off her life in West Virginia and moved her belongings into Brody’s apartment. The small space was enough for now, but Reen kept her eyes open around town for bigger places. Digging roots into one place was a change for her, but she wasn’t going to scrimp on the details. She wanted to show Brody she was in it for the long haul, and if it took her entire life to prove it to him, then she’d do it.
On the day that would change their lives forever, Reen and Rose chose to meet on the beach outside of their home on a Sunday morning. Just the two of them. As much as they wanted to include their friends and significant others, this was something Mom would have preferred them to do alone. It was enough that Mom wouldn’t tell her daughters about her past; until they understood it all, this secret stayed in the Barros family.
Rose handed Reen the leather-bound journal and sat in the sand. Reen dug her feet in, no longer denying the side of her that belonged in the water. The energy from the waves filled her up. The sea air enveloped her like her mother did when she was younger. She wished she’d had more time with Mom, but she would have never appreciated her home until she left.
‘Are you ready?’ Rose asked.
Reen opened the journal to the first page and started to read it aloud.