truthful. Ellis didn’t push on that one. “I’m sad to say I’ve never been west of Ohio. That’s gotta be quite a change, from one coast to the other.”
“It certainly is.”
“Something in particular bring you out this way?”
Alfred took another puff, blew it out. “Family reasons more than anything.” When he didn’t elaborate, Ellis had to nudge.
“Family, huh?”
“My wife and I had long talked about living closer to relatives in New York. When the position opened up here at Century Alliance, I finally had the opportunity to make that happen.”
“That’s dandy.” Ellis jotted a note, neither of them mentioning his predecessor’s grim end. “And how’s the rest of your family been with that? As far as adjusting to the move.”
Alfred gave a small shrug. “You know how kids are.”
In a friendly manner, Ellis displayed his left hand, bare of a wedding band. “You’ll have to enlighten me.”
Alfred hummed in acknowledgment and leaned back in his chair. “As parents, I suppose we can’t help but worry…about new schools, new friends. We want to protect them. Keep them safe from the world, from anything that could possibly hurt them…from what we can’t see coming…” His voice gained a distant quality, same for his eyes.
After a moment, Ellis wondered if he should speak, cutting short Alfred’s evident drift into the past. But then the man continued. “In the end, of course, they’re the ones who adapt and persevere without batting an eye. We can learn a lot from our youth.” He looked straight at Ellis. “Don’t you agree?”
Ellis nodded before the sentiment rang with familiarity. In essence, it echoed his own article that had accompanied the Dillards’ picture.
Had Alfred, too, done his homework?
“Mr. Reed, I’m going to be honest with you.” Alfred suddenly lowered his volume, followed by his pipe. “And this is off the record.” He shot a glance toward the door, as if confirming its closure.
Ellis tucked his pencil in his notepad, his neck muscles tensing. “It’s off.”
How much did the man know? How much was he willing to share?
“A bank in New Jersey,” Alfred said, “would not have been my first choice.” He confided this in all seriousness, though he trailed it with a smile.
From the release of tension, Ellis couldn’t help but smile back.
There was no mention of a fatal car accident, nor of how Ruby and Calvin had joined the Millstones. There was also nothing, as best as Ellis could tell, in Alfred’s manner that merited alarm.
“Sometimes,” Alfred added lightly, “we have to make sacrifices for the ones we love. You understand.”
Ellis thought of Geraldine. What she’d chosen to give up, purely for the benefit of her children, was a prime example. “I do, sir.”
A knock came then, announcing the secretary’s return. In the doorway, she held a brimmed hat and overcoat. “Mr. Millstone, it’s time you departed for the station.” A suitcase and cane was posted outside the door.
“That late already.” He sighed and returned to Ellis. “Business trip to Chicago. I’m afraid we’ll have to wrap up for today.”
“No problem at all. I think I got everything I needed.”
“Excellent. Well, I’ll be back on Sunday. Feel free to ring me if you have any other questions.”
“I will, sir.” They both stood to shake hands, and Ellis thought to slip in a disclaimer. “Naturally, it will be up to my editor when, or even if, to run the piece, but I’ll certainly keep you updated.”
Alfred smiled. “I do hope so.”
• • •
Ellis had conjured the profile idea solely as an excuse to assess the banker. Now he was actually tempted to pitch the thing to Mr. Walker. No matter how horribly inconvenient, the reality was that Alfred seemed to be as nice a fella as they came.
Something Geraldine might have pegged from the start.
Clearly she wasn’t the type to hand off her kids to just any stranger, even a wealthy, dapper one. She’d chosen them a good home in every way, it appeared. With Ruby and Calvin settled in after all these months, perhaps they were genuinely happy where they were.
And really, wasn’t that the most important thing? That they had the best life possible? Harsh as it sounded, it wouldn’t take a bookie to calculate the odds of which future held the most promise. Geraldine no longer even had a home of her own. Her only requests were to know her children were all right, and that the arrangement be left alone. In going further, wouldn’t Ellis and Lily be overstepping largely for the sake of