Teen Ink

Chapter Five

45 Years Later
The Winter of 1990
“Grandma!” Lilliana and Rosaline, my granddaughters, chimed in the hallway.
“Lillianrose! My little beauties!” I said with a thick German accent. The girls then ran outside into the snowy backyard after they had greeted me. Their light golden blonde hair had little flakes of snow as their feet pitter-pattered out of the kitchen.
“Hey Mom,” Daniella, my daughter, had come into the room. “Where’s Pops?”
“Ah, he went down to the restaurant to pick up dessert.”
“Oh. I was expecting to see him here because I think I found an old school photograph of him.” She took off her thick wool coat and hung it in the coat closet.
“Let me see.”
“Yeah, I found it in your basement the other day while I was looking for any old pictures. This was in an old locket of yours, I believe.” Daniella took the small photograph out of her wallet and handed it to me.
“Oh my, my.” I removed my glasses and opened my eyes wide enough to see clearly. “This picture is very old.”
She laughed and said, “Yes, Mom, I see that. So, is it Pops?”
“No, dear.” I still held the picture in my fingertips.
“Uncle Frankie?”
“No, it’s a story I will have to tell you later. When we know for sure that your Pops won’t be around.”
Daniella smiled the same smile that looked like my long gone friend. “Who is it? I’ve never seen this person.”
“My love, this is the person you were named after. My first love.”