The Restoration of Celia Fairchild - Marie Bostwick Page 0,89
that stinks.”
For all that he was late, Teddy didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. I didn’t want to blow him off, but things were getting a little awkward, so I smiled and gestured toward Trey.
“Teddy, let me introduce you to a friend of mine—”
“Hey, Mr. Holcomb. Sorry I’m late.”
I blinked a couple of times. “Oh. You’ve already met?”
“No.” Teddy shrugged. “I just figured. He said he’d be wearing an ugly black suit and that’s about the ugliest suit I ever saw. It’s too bad my momma’s not here. She could have fixed it for you, made it fit right. She was a seamstress when she was alive, sewed dresses for ladies all over Charleston. Now she’s an angel.”
Teddy paused for a moment, then frowned.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Mr. Holcomb. Your suit’s not that bad. Anyway, it’s clean.”
Trey smiled and extended his hand. “You never have to apologize for telling the truth, Teddy. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. I was so happy when you called me.” His frown was suddenly displaced by a sincere and radiant smile. Teddy swiveled his head in my direction. “And I am so, so happy we’re going to be cousins, Celia. I am. It’s been lonely with no family.”
Chapter Thirty
Calvin was dumbstruck. As far as I could recall, this was a first.
“Are you serious?” he asked after an uncharacteristically long silence. “You mean the Teddy you told me about before? The big guy from the coffee shop who makes great mochas and told you to take more breaks? He’s Calpurnia’s baby?”
“And my cousin,” I said. “Yes.”
“Really. Wow,” Calvin murmured. “That’s just . . .”
“Unexpected. I know.”
When Teddy told me how happy he was to know we were cousins, it took a second for the truth to sink in for me as well. Talk about something I never saw coming. But once my brain got done processing the information, I agreed with him. It was lonely without any family and I was glad to have a cousin, especially one I liked as much as Teddy.
“And sad,” Calvin said. “The kid getting killed in the war, Calpurnia left all alone and having to give up her baby. Do you think he knew she was pregnant?”
“Don’t know. I didn’t find any letters between them. Maybe it was just a fling and she decided not to tell him? Or maybe she did and he didn’t care or didn’t respond? Or maybe he was the love of her life, and they were planning to get married but RJ was killed before they could arrange for a wedding.”
Though there wasn’t any way for me to know for sure, I hoped it had been like that. Calpurnia’s life had been so hard, I hated to think of her being rejected in love on top of everything else. I would never know how RJ felt about Calpurnia or the prospect of unintended fatherhood. But I felt certain that he truly had been the love of her life and that losing him had broken her heart. Why else would such a pretty, young woman never have married, or even dated?
“RJ was from Alabama but it seems he had family in Charleston,” I said. “Teddy was adopted by Eloise and Clinton Hunter. She was a dressmaker and he worked at an auto body repair shop. They were an older couple and had never had children of their own. I did a little online research; Eloise seems to have been RJ’s aunt.”
“So you think the two families might have gotten together and arranged for a private adoption?”
“It all fits,” I said. “Back then, they would have wanted to keep things quiet. Calpurnia wouldn’t have had much choice except to give up the baby, especially after RJ was killed. If he was adopted by a Charleston family, maybe she thought she’d be able to keep in touch with him.”
“Did she?” Calvin asked.
“I showed Teddy some pictures but he says he doesn’t ever remember meeting her.”
“Well, that’s an amazing story,” Calvin said. “But poor Calpurnia.”
“I know. I wish Calpurnia had told me what happened. Teddy is such a sweetheart, but I feel sorry for him. It’s been rough since his mother died. He’s just not happy in the group home. He has to take two buses to work or just about anyplace else. Also, there’s almost no outdoor space. Teddy loves to garden and—”
“Celia Fairchild,” Calvin interrupted. “Please, tell me you’re not thinking