Page 49 of Mistletoe & Mischief

Maya realized, then, that the Albright Mansion needed a Christmas tree for the holiday season. It would be her first Christmas tree since the age of six.

Maya knocked on the front door and heard the noise echo through the enormous house. Footsteps came closer and closer until the innkeeper opened the door and smiled. Her fingers were stained from the tomatoes.

“Good afternoon,” Maya said. “My name is Maya. Is Olivia around?”

“Olivia? I believe she’s in her room,” the woman said. “Won’t you come in?”

Maya followed the innkeeper through the foyer and into the living room, where a fire crackled happily in the fireplace, reflecting its light upon the Christmas baubles on the tree. Maya sat on the couch as the innkeeper traipsed upstairs.

“Olivia? Someone is here to see you!” the innkeeper announced. Maya was grateful she didn’t say her name. Olivia might have avoided her.

A minute later, Olivia appeared at the bottom of the staircase and stared at Maya as though she were a ghost. Maya stood abruptly and stared back. Now that she knew who Olivia was, there was no mistaking that they looked like sisters.

Even the innkeeper suggested it as she headed back to the kitchen. “Are you family? You could be twins!”

“We are,” Maya announced, sounding braver than she felt. “Aren’t we, Olivia?”

Olivia remained silent. As soon as the innkeeper disappeared into the kitchen again, Olivia spoke very quietly. “How did you find me?”

Maya sighed. “I’ve been calling you all week.”

“And I haven’t answered. For a reason.”

“I understand.” Maya swallowed the lump in her throat. Stubbornness marred Olivia’s face. “Will you sit with me? I promise I won’t take up too much of your time. But if I don’t say a few things to you, I’ll regret it forever.”

Olivia stumbled toward the chair opposite the couch, sitting as far away from Maya as she could. She crossed her hands over her lap and looked Maya directly in the eye. It was like looking in a mirror.

“Can I ask you a question?” Maya asked, surprising herself.

Olivia raised her shoulders.

“How did you find the necklace? I looked all over for it. I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

Olivia’s cheeks were pale. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“I don’t need it,” Maya assured her. “Now that I know the truth about the Albrights— and about you— I don’t care about the money at all.”

This seemed beyond Olivia’s comprehension. She squinted at Maya.

From Maya’s purse, she retrieved the photograph of Bethany and baby Olivia, taken so long ago. She handed it to Olivia, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Olivia handled the photograph as though it were about to explode. For a long time, she stared at it. Tears spilled from her eyes.

“I couldn’t make sense of this photograph when I first found it,” Maya went on. “But then, I found your adoption papers and our Grandmother Diane’s diaries.”

Olivia forced her eyes back to Maya’s.

“She was a truly horrible woman,” Maya said, her voice cracking. “I don’t say this lightly. It seems like she locked our mother away when she got pregnant with you and then made her give you up for adoption. After that, she was somehow surprised and broken-hearted when our mother ran away.”

The words “our mother” rang in the air between them.

Olivia swallowed and put the photograph on her lap. “But why? Why didn’t our mother come look for me?”

“Maybe she did,” Maya said. “I’m guessing our grandmother never told her where you were. Maybe she never stopped looking for you.” She paused, bringing Bethany’s face back to her mind’s eye. “I can’t imagine she ever did. The woman I knew, the mother I knew, loved powerfully.”

Olivia shook her head. “I don’t know what to say. I can’t make sense of any of it. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve known I was an Albright…”

“But by then, our mother was already gone,” Maya whispered.

Olivia rubbed her eyes as though she were a child. “And you were there. With her, I mean.”

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