My behalf?

Yeah Sis. It turns out that your mother was Rosalie’s first cousin.

What? Kit takes a large swallow of her drink wishing it wasn’t so pure.

Yeah I was as surprised as you were when Rosalie was telling me this. Of course, Karen knew before she sent me. Bette says as she looks over at Karen and smiles.

Sorry but I thought it best you heard it from her.

So what did she tell you about my mother?

She was a beautiful jazz singer in one of the swing joints back then. When she was little she would sneak and go listen to her sing. She said your mother had the prettiest voice she ever heard. She had also heard that a rich man married your mother and that she had had a child. Later on she heard that your mother died of an overdose.

Kit was all ears listening …anything else?

She had a younger brother. That’s all Rosalie knew and I asked Karen to see what else she could find.

Kit looks over at Karen with anticipation.  Well I had to back up to find your grandparents’ death certificates…she placed them in front of Kit…then I found your mother’s birth and death certificates… these made Kit cry. Bette moved over and put her arm around her shoulder.  You ok? If you need this to stop we can…

No keep going…I want to know everything. She looks at Bette then to Karen to continue.

Ok here is your birth certificated which I’m sure you have a copy of.

Yes. Kit takes it and looks it over it’s the same as she has.

Your mother had no other children but she had a sister who died at age six of influenza. She gives Kit copies of both birth and death records. Her name was Carol Ann.  Kit wipes away a tear.

And she had a younger brother. David Williams.

Yeah Rosalie said they called him Davy the cry baby because he cried about everything.

They laugh…But then Kit stops and looks at Karen…Is he…

He is very much alive and living in Ohio. He is a retired school principal. He has two children, Mathew and Josie Caroline who both followed in their father’s foot steps by becoming educators.  Mathew lives in Massachusetts, is on the Board of Education, and has three children. Josie lives in Indianapolis, is a principal at a private school, and has a doctorate in education. She has one child. Karen gives her all the documents she has collected on her family.