CHAPTER 2

“T his was your room,” her mom said.

Mom. Hollis had a mom. She still couldn’t believe it. Her dad had never even shown her pictures of the woman, saying he hadn’t kept any after her death because it was too hard. That photo album he’d shown her had only had pictures of her and him together or Heidi by herself. She hadn’t wanted to cause her father any pain by bringing up her mom, so she’d only ask about her every now and then. She wanted to know if she was like her mother. He’d told her that she looked a little like her but was more like him than her mother in everything else. That hadn’t made a lot of sense to her growing up, though. For example, she loved to read. Her father hardly ever picked up a book. When he did, it was a how-to book that he needed for work. She liked the outdoors enough, but he loved it. She preferred to stay inside the cabin by the fire. He liked fishing and hunting. She’d never been able to shoot an animal and always wanted to toss the fish they’d catch back into the water. He wasn’t a clean man. She preferred things to be neat and organized. Now, she was standing in the doorway of her first bedroom next to her mother, who wasn’t dead and who had kept her room the same for thirty years.

“I know it’s silly. This is the room of a five-year-old child, and you’re an adult in your thirties now. I always felt like you were still alive out there, though. And, like I said, I’d hoped your father had you because that was the best I could hope for. I knew you were growing up. I’d celebrate your birthdays in this room. I baked you a cake and got you gifts I thought you’d like. I’ve done that every year for thirty years now. And while I knew you were a teenager and then an adult, I still couldn’t change the room. I thought that if I found you one day, you’d maybe want to see it how it was, and that if you couldn’t remember – because the therapists and doctors and officers and agents kept telling me that it was possible you wouldn’t remember me or this place – it might help you remember.”

“Monty, my stuffed monkey, used to sleep with me in this bed,” Hollis said, smiling at the warm memories that came rushing into her mind. “And you and I colored over there.” She pointed to the small rainbow-colored rug next to the bed. “I had my art supplies in the closet. You’d pull them out for me, and we’d…”

“Sit on the floor for hours. You loved to color,” Olivia finished for her. “And your books are still here. They might be worse for wear, though – I read them to myself often. Silly. They’re children’s books.”

“Mom, nothing you’ve done is silly,” Hollis told her, turning toward her. “He took me from you. You did what you had to do to take care of yourself.”

Her mother nodded and said, “I didn’t know how much I missed being called that until you said it at the door earlier. The last time I was called ‘Mom,’ I dropped you off at school, and you said, ‘I love you, Mommy.’”

“I remember now,” she replied. “You told me you’d pick me up, and I was surprised when Dad was there instead. He told me you were still at work, I think. It’s hard to remember everything. He… Well, he told me things that, I’m starting to believe, aren’t true, so everything’s just mixed together in my head. I’m still trying to sort through it.”

“Honey, I am so sorry,” Olivia said, sitting down on the bed, needing a rest. “I had no idea he was that angry with me. Your grandmother and I were worried about his drinking, so we’d asked the judge for full custody and supervised visits until he could get it under control.”

“He drank?” Hollis asked, sitting beside her mother.

“Like a fish,” her mother replied, shaking her head. “He also smoked like a chimney. He quit both when we brought you home, and things were good for a while, but then, the fighting started, and he was drinking and smoking again. I didn’t want it in the house, so we separated. Then, he got a DUI, and when I filed for divorce, the judge only gave him those supervised visits until he could find an apartment that had a bedroom for you and until he got a job and could pay child support. I never thought he’d take you away from me. He was your father, though, so he was technically authorized to pick you up from school, and when I showed up to get you, your teacher told me he’d picked you up already.” The older woman took a moment to catch her breath.

Hollis watched her mother, who was clearly in pain, and she had so many questions to ask her about cancer, her treatment, and her prognosis. She’d heard from the agent in Vancouver that he didn’t think her mom had long, based on their conversation, but Hollis needed to know more than that. She needed to know how much time they had because she had so many questions. She wanted to know what kind of life she might have had if her mother had been able to pick her up from school that day. She wanted to know what her mother had wished for their life together. She wanted to get advice from her. How did she get wine stains out of clothes? How did she cook a perfect lasagna? What made a great relationship? How did she know she was ready to get married and have kids? How would Hollis know?

“You know, the funny thing… I wasn’t even worried when your teacher told me that,” Olivia continued. “I just thought maybe he’d gotten his license back; maybe he just wanted to take you out for ice cream or something, and when I’d come home, you’d be there with him. When I got there, I called him. He didn’t answer. I left a message and waited. After a while, I went over to his apartment, saw his car was there, knocked and knocked, but he didn’t answer. That’s when I got worried. I went back home, in case you were there, but you still weren’t, so I called the police.”

“He had a different truck, and he told me we were going on an adventure. We drove for hours, so I fell asleep. When I woke up, though, we were still in the truck. I don’t know how far we drove before he stopped, but I remember a few motels. Then, we were in this really old house by a lake. We weren’t on the water or anything, but we went to the lake a lot. I guess we were in Michigan. That’s what the FBI told me.”

Olivia nodded and said, “We have time to go back and talk about it all. I want to hear whatever you want to share, but I’d also like it if you would tell me about your life now. I only know what the agents told me, and I found a little online. I’m old, but I can use Google.”

Hollis laughed and said, “I can tell you anything you want to know. Will you tell me all about you, too, though?”

“Of course, sweetie,” her mother replied before the phone she’d carried in with them rang. “It’s Kenna. She must have gotten my message.”

Olivia had called the reporter, Kenna Crawford, after they’d finished their tea and had left a message letting the woman know that not only had they found Hollis, but she was also sitting right there next to her.

“Hello,” she said into the phone after she put it on speaker.

“Olivia, how are you?” Kenna asked.

“I’m much better now,” Olivia replied. “My daughter’s home.”

Hollis smiled at her mother.

“Olivia, I am so happy for you. Was it really my book?”

“She saw her photo on the cover and came home to me,” Olivia shared.

“That makes me so happy. I can’t believe it. You found her. You never gave up, and you found your daughter.”

“She found me because of you, so, thank you, Kenna,” Olivia said.

“You never have to thank me,” Kenna replied. “I’m just so happy for you both. How are things going? She’s there now?”

“She’s right here. I have you on speaker.”

“Hello,” Hollis said awkwardly.

“Hello,” Kenna said back excitedly. “It’s Heidi, right? Your mom said in the message that– ”

“Hollis is fine,” she interrupted. “I’m going to go back to my name.”

“And you’re okay? You’re safe?”

“I’m good now,” Hollis told her. “Just lots to sort through, obviously. My father kidnapped me and is now in jail because I figured out who I really was. I’ve now also left my life in Vancouver, and I’m seeing my mom for the first time in thirty years while sitting in my childhood bedroom. It’s a lot to unpack,” she added, trying to laugh it off.

“I can imagine,” Kenna said. “Listen, I don’t know how long you’re staying, but I’ve been working with kidnapped children and adults, as well as the families of kidnapped victims, for a while now, and there’s a group. I don’t know if you need or want this right now – it’s so new still – but there’s a group that meets one town over from where your mom lives. I happen to know the person who runs it. I can give you the information, if you ever want to go talk to some people who have been through at least some of what you’re going through.”

Hollis hadn’t thought about talking to anyone other than her mother about this.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t know that I need that.”

“No problem. It was just a thought. I interview people for my show all over the country, so I have a lot of resources at my disposal. If you need anything, just let me know. Your mom has my number.”

“You’re a reporter. Do you always take such an interest in cases you cover?” Hollis asked curiously.

“Not always. But your mom made an impression on me. I’ve met a lot of parents looking for their missing children, and your mother never ever gave up on you. She followed every single lead herself whenever she could. She was tireless and pushy sometimes, too.” Kenna laughed.

Olivia laughed, too.

“She reminded me of me. I get called… assertive , at times,” Kenna added .

“She means annoying ,” Olivia said, laughing a little more.

“My wife called me that a few times when we first met,” Kenna replied. “Yesterday, too, I believe. Anyway, I won’t push you, but I can email you everything I have that you might want. If you need it at some point, you go to the group. If not, you don’t.”

“Okay. Thanks. That would be great,” Hollis said.

“And because I am annoying, I have to ask…”

“I knew it!” Olivia coughed a bit but laughed through it. “You want a story.”

“Well, I have to ask. It’s in my nature. Would you two be willing to talk to me on the show about what happened and how you two found each other again? Not tomorrow, obviously; I’m not trying to rush you. But we already did one episode on what happened, so I’d love to bookend it. You live close by the studio, and we could get some shots of the house. I–”

“I don’t know,” Olivia said. “It’s up to Hollis.”

Hollis looked at her mother and asked, “Do you want to?”

“I’d honestly do just about anything for Kenna. She wrote a book that brought you home to me. She also helped me find a therapist who’d worked with parents of missing children. She even did an episode on you to help me find you, and your picture is still on the show’s website.”

“It is,” Kenna confirmed. “I’ll have to take it down. God, this is such great news! I’m so happy for you two.”

“If my mom is okay with it, it’s fine with me,” Hollis told Kenna then. “But I’m not great with being on camera, so maybe take it easy on me.”

“Of course,” Kenna replied. “Now, my wife is staring at me, so I think that means I have to go. Do I have to go, Rip?”

“Yes. Your daughter needs you to look over her spelling homework like you said you’d do an hour ago,” someone said from far away on the other end of the phone.

“That’s how Ripley warns me that I’m in trouble… She reminds me that I said I’d do something.” Kenna chuckled. “Sh e’s right, though: I have spelling homework to check. And you two have a lot of catching up to do. How about I send you that information later tonight, and I’ll call you in a few days?”

“That sounds fine,” Olivia said. “Thank you, Kenna.”

“You never have to thank me.”

They hung up the phone, and Hollis stared at the closet door, which had a poster of the Care Bears on it.

“Do you want to open about thirty birthday and Christmas presents?” her mother asked her.

Hollis laughed and replied, “I don’t think I can do that all at once.”

“Most of the early ones are toys, but when you got older – I don’t know – something about how you always loved to read with me made me buy you at least a book a year. You probably have more books than I do now. Most of mine are in the guest bedroom.” The woman stood up slowly. “You’re staying here, right?” she asked, sounding concerned.

“I’d love that.”

“Good. Good,” her mom said. “I’ve made up the bed in there with clean sheets. You won’t even fit in this bed anymore.”