Page 82 of Gulfside Girls
“13 Gulfside Way. It would have been a real estate transfer in the 1980s.”
“Uh, good luck. None of those are digitized. You’re going to need to go to room 205, that’s down the hall. Let me write down the cabinet.”
“The cabinet??”
“Yeah, anything prior to my time here, so 1980, they’re in the cabinets in 205. There’s a microfiche reader. Instructions are on the side.”
“Any advice on how to find it?”
“Well, take your best guess at the year and find that cabinet, then address by address.”
“Oh, okay, wow.”
“Yeah, so much easier to Google, ha. But then I’d be out of a job, right?”
“Yes, uh, well, that would be bad, uh, no?”
The woman rolled her eyes at Ali.
“Don’t worry, I’m joking.”
The woman pointed her in the right direction and Ali let her presumably get lost in paperwork hell.
Ali had done some research here and there for her job with the convention center. They’d pulled permits for expansion and dealt with building regulations and liquor licenses, and she feltconfident she’d find something. Even if she didn’t know exactly where to look here.
Ali wound up in a room full of file cabinets and walked by the early 2000s, past the 1990s, and finally found cabinets labeled with 1980 on the front.
She narrowed it down to 1984 and then through the streets, listed alphabetically. Gulf had half a file cabinet and three drawers. She figured that owed to the fact it was the longest street on Haven Beach. She made her way through the addresses, and after only fifteen minutes in the records room, she found the file cabinet she hoped had answers.
In 1984, the Sea Turtle Resort was given over to her and her sisters. They were little then. Only children.
Why? Who would give three little girls this property? Was it an investment? How in the world did it come to be?
She looked at her phone. Back in Toledo, she’d taken a picture of the deed. There should be an exact duplicate in here.
They were arranged by street, and then by date. Ali pulled the microfiche reel out and loaded it into the machine.
This had to be it!
She hoped this was right. A surprising mix of emotions tumbled around in her chest. She didn’t know why she was nervous, but solving a mystery where you were the mystery probably explained it.
The machine was easy to work, so Ali cranked the handle to advance the film.
She read one deed transfer after another, addresses she didn’t recognize, until there it was:
13 Gulfside Way.
She read the description of the property. Six single-family cottages, a swimming pool, and an office structure. This was it.
It was doing business as the Sea Turtle Resort, even back then. She had to imagine not many places had retained theirold names or structures. The state had expanded so much. At that point, Epcot at Disney World was brand new. The tourist machine of the state was in full swing, but nothing like it would become.
There was a copy of the deed she’d found. She and her sisters were listed as the owners. And then she flipped back one more document.
The deed was transferred from Joetta Bennett to Ali, Faye, and Blair.
Ali audibly gasped.
Joetta Bennett was her mother, it had to be. Their father said her maiden name was Joetta Bowles. But not once had she ever seen a thing related to that name.Why did he lie about her name?But at least now Ali knew why there was no trace of Joetta Bowles, other than in their own home. Joetta Bowles didn’t really exist. JoettaBennettdid and at one point she’d owned the Sea Turtle and beautiful gowns and jewels.
