Page 2 of Coral Memories

Marina brought a glass of water to her and settled beside her as Ginger sipped it. She glanced at another image. “Are those your brothers?”

Returning her focus to the old photographs, Ginger let out a small sigh of remembrance. “Yes, the four of us. We were nearly inseparable then.” She glanced at Marina. “Tell me, how is Jack? Is he busy?”

Marina looked mildly surprised at the change of subject. “He just finished an assignment. Until edits from your publisher are returned, he plans to sift through ideas for another project and spend time with Leo.”

Ginger nodded thoughtfully. She may have a window of opportunity. Marina’s husband, Jack, had won awards for his work in investigative journalism. Since they had been collaborating on a successful series of children’s books, she had grown to trust him.

Jack had been angling to write her biography for some time.

With her memory still excellent, Ginger recalled everything. She turned the page and pointed to a photo of her younger brother, who remained forever young in her mind. “This was Jesse.”

She was acutely aware of the passage of time. Even now, she felt her brother’s presence, as she always had. His memory still motivated her.

In essence, she was determined to live for both of them. Ginger had learned to listen to her intuition, and now she wondered at the sudden urge to memorialize her life. “I should make notes about the family.”

Gently, Marina touched her shoulder. “I’d like that. Brooke and Heather would, too. And Jack thinks you’ve led such a fascinating life.”

“I’ve been fortunate,” Ginger replied, shrugging off her granddaughter’s admiration.

“You’ve always told us that we create our luck,” Marina said. “Do you think you’ve done that in your life?”

“Luck cuts both ways, my dear.” Yet, besides her resolve, Ginger considered herself born lucky—even destined. “Some fortune is earned; some is a pure gift.”

Her great fortune was in her brain’s natural processing power, pattern recognition, neuroplasticity, and nearly total memory recall. Even as a child, she’d experienced the world in mathematical terms. Patterns, such as the Fibonacci sequence—and many others—shimmered to her consciousness in countless areas, from nature and stock market charts to the codes she enjoyed disassembling.

As much as she had worked to illuminate the truth, she had also been required to conceal it.

Ginger turned the page to her wedding photos and pressed a hand to her heart.This photo...we had such a wonderful life ahead of us then.A few short years later, she would discover more riveting pursuits for her skills.

Marina leaned in. “Grandpa looked like a movie star.”

“Even better, in my mind.” Warmth filled her chest. Her Bertrand was incredibly handsome.

Marina studied the old photo. “You were very young when you married.”

“You weren’t but a few years older.”

Marina nodded in acknowledgment. “Still, I can’t imagine Heather being married. She and Blake seem serious, but I want her to get to know him better.”

Ginger had married for love, though she likely would have followed a different path today. At that time, few positions for women with keen mathematical abilities existed. Rather than wither under endless, meaningless conversations with boys her age, she’d chosen life with a more exciting man of thirty.

“Was it love at first sight between you and Grandpa?” Marina asked.

“I don’t believe in insta-love.” Ginger sniffed. “Still, I quickly deduced that Bertrand and I were an excellent fit, and I wasn’t wrong. He became the love of my life.”

She had grown to love him much more than the day they married. Bertrand saw her as she truly was. He admired her intelligence and encouraged her; her success didn’t dim his in any way.

Her sweet darling Sandi was born the following year.

The old wound in her heart opened once again, but Ginger caught herself. Years ago, she’d sworn to remember Sandi with joy rather than grief. With a slight lift of her chin, Ginger regained her smile. How fortunate that she had a trio of lovely granddaughters.

Marina scanned the photos. “And this ship?”

“That was our maiden voyage to France. Oh, what a world we stepped into.” Even today, her skin tingled with the anticipation she’d felt. She would never forget the grand ball in Paris that changed her life—or anything that happened afterward.

Especially what happened afterward.

Her youngest granddaughter Kai swept into the room, her sunflower print sundress swirling around her. “A letter just arrived for you, Ginger. It’s handwritten, so I thought it might be important.”

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