Page 51 of Starlight & Dark Nights

“I know.” Catherine was still holding Jude’s hands and she shook them lightly. “But I need to say one more thing, and I think it’s really important for you to hear.” Her eyes searched Jude’s for a moment as they stood there beside the grave of an actor who’d died in the forties, fingers intertwined. “Judy, don’t drown your sorrows anymore, okay? Because sorrow can swim. Trust me.”

Jude nodded. Catherine had seen her at her worst, and she'd put up with all of her idiosyncrasies and insecurities. And, somehow, she'd loved her anyway, which was enough.

It was absolutely enough.

Two weeks later, Jude met Vance at the Burgundy Room and they'd gotten married three months later.

And the rest is history, Jude thinks now, breathing as she holds the phone to her ear and waits to hear what Harrison Watts has to tell her about his search for Catherine.

"Well," Harrison Watts says, "I was able to locate her. My apologies that it took all this time, but it's more difficult than you think to find someone who doesn't necessarily want to be found. Maybe someday there'll be an easy database we can use to access everyone on the planet, but for now, it's just an old-fashioned hunt and search."

"Right, I understand," Jude says, trying to hurry him along.

"Wait, would you rather meet in person?" Watts asks gruffly. "I have an updated photo of her driver's license if you'd like that."

A huge breath escapes from Jude and her chest deflates with relief; Catherine is alive. If she has a current driver's license, she's alive.

"No, I'm happy to just hear for now where she is or whatever you found out, and then maybe you can mail me the information."

"As you wish," Watts says. On the other end of the line, he shuffles some papers and clears his throat. "Okay. Catherine Maryellen Hamnett, who now goes by Cathy M. Pulido. She lives in a small town outside of Las Vegas with a husband, Nestor Pulido. They raise horses and have four children, ages six, four, two, and three months. Cathy is, by all accounts, a farm woman and a full-time mother. I was able to send one of my associates who is located in Nevada to Blue Diamond--that's the town she lives in--and we got photos of her on horseback. Quite lovely," he adds as an aside. "You might want those ones."

Jude nearly laughs out loud at the joy of hearing that Catherine is alive and well and raising four children and riding horses in some small town called Blue Diamond. "Wow," she says, shaking her head. "Just wow."

"I love a story that ends well," Watts says with little emotion. "Happy we could track your friend down for you."

"I'm scared to see the bill for the work, but I'm happy, too," Jude says. "Really happy."

"Alright then. I'll get the photos and the information in the mail to you this afternoon, along with a bill for my services."

"Thank you, Mr. Watts," Jude says. "I appreciate all your hard work."

Jude floats through the rest of the day on a cloud, daydreaming about Catherine and her life in Blue Diamond. She feels nothing but joy to hear that Catherine is doing well, but a pang of wistfulness hits her every so often as she remembers her friend's pretty, young, hopeful face. They'd been not much more than girls together; young women whose futures were still almost entirely unwritten. Inexperienced girls just embarking upon the path to womanhood, entirely uncertain about where they'd end up.

It's a few days later when she opens her mailbox and finds a large manila envelope addressed to her in a scrawling cursive script with a return location in Daytona Beach. Jude holds it, knowing what's inside as she looks at the looping lettering, wondering whether the handwriting belongs to Harrison Watts or to his secretary.

She goes inside, willing herself not to stall any longer.

Standing in the middle of her kitchen while the house is quiet--the girls have been invited to Jo Booker's house for the afternoon to swim and play--Jude holds the envelope reverently. For a split second, she wants to pour a drink before opening it, but the desire passes and she lets it fade and settle around her, as she always does.

Don't drown your sorrows, Judy...sorrow knows how to swim.

Without another thought, Jude tears the envelope open and pulls out its contents: a piece of paper with an address for Cathy Pulido in Blue Diamond, Nevada; an image of Catherine's smiling face from a database of Nevada drivers; and, finally, a black and white 8x10 photo of a blonde woman on horseback. The picture is just as lovely as Harrison Watts had said it was. In it, Catherine sits confidently in the saddle, back straight, head turned sideways. The wind lifts her hair, and she's looking into the sun, clearly unaware that someone is capturing her image. It brings tears to Jude's eyes to see her.

There is one more thing in the pile of documents from the envelope: a folded piece of paper with the distinct scrawl of a man.

Mrs. Majors--

I am happy to send you all of these documents on your friend. Seeing her, I can appreciate your desire to find her once more, or at least to ascertain her safety and happiness.

In our talks, you told me some things about your life that I jotted down, and I hope you won't think it forward of me, but I did a bit of sleuthing of my own accord. In that poking around, I found your mother, who I know you did not ask me to locate specifically, but I wanted to.

No one should be left wondering how and where their parents are. In my vast experience, life is far too short for that.

As it turns out, Keiko Nagasaki gave birth to a son named Rodney in 1953, which means you have a little brother--congratulations! Following is her last known address in Honolulu. I wish you all the best in finding her, or I hope that it simply brings you comfort to know that she's alive and well.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further need for my investigative services.

All my best--

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