She woke to the sound of someone softly singing to her and the feel of someone holding her tight. Turning her head she saw Howie and breathed a sigh of relief, "at least it wasn't him," she thought.
"Good morning beautiful," he said noticing she was awake.
"Hi, what are you doing here?" she asked curious as to how he got into the room.
"I paid the manager to let me. You looked so scared last night I had to make sure you were okay. Wanna talk about what happened?"
"It's a long story Howie, how about after breakfast?" she said smiling for the first time in many years.
*An hour later*
They sat across from each other at the table in her hotel room. He waited patiently for her to begin her story. "I don't know how to tell you this so I'm just going to say it. I ask that you just let me speak and don't interrupt until I'm finished okay?" At his nod she continued. "My grandparents hated my mother, she was poor American trash to them and had stolen away their only son, their only child when my father had married her and moved to America. They'd disowned my father and wanted nothing to do with him until he'd learned he had cancer. By then my mother was dead, killed in the car accident, so they could forgive him for his mistake. Only because he'd asked on his death bed did they agree to take care of me. I moved in to their house and was ignored by my grandfather. Nanna tried to make him change his way, she after all had realized that she'd been give a second chance at being a mother/grandmother and had accepted me. He wouldn't have it so he made my life as miserable as possible. Then he learned of our meeting, when you came to visit me at school and he tried to beat me. Nanna saved me because she knew I was pregnant. He sent me away to have the baby and then had the baby taken from me, given to another family somewhere to raise. When I returned I was forced to live in the house and commute to the local college so he could keep an eye on me. Four years ago he died in a boating accident, at least that's what we assumed because his body was never found. I spent the next two years helping Nanna deal with the pain while they searched for him and then for a year while she accepted his death. It took me this last year to find you after Nanna gave me all the letters you had written that he'd kept them hidden from me all those years. So here I am Howie. I have wanted to tell you every day that I had our son and I want to find him. I know he's almost seven now and won't know us but I want to see what he looks like, know his name..." she said breaking into tears.
"Shhh.." he said walking around the table and pulling her into his arms. He lifted her and carried her to the coach. Sitting down he continued to sooth her. When she stopped crying he asked, "so wanna tell me who the guy downstairs was and why you ran like that?"
"That was my grandfather..."
"Oh my..." Howie started but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sliding her off his lap he walked to the door and opened it to find an elegant woman obviously in her late 60's early 70's. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for my granddaughter..."
"Nanna?????" Monika asked walking up behind Howie after hearing the familiar voice. "Nanna!!!!!" she screamed hugging the older woman. "What are you doing here?" she asked moments later as she broke the hug and lead the woman into the room and to the couch.
"I came with your grandfather. He's alive as you saw yesterday. After the ship sank he managed to swim to shore but had been hit on the head by something and suffered amnesia. He spent a year in the hospital before he recovered fully except for his memory. He spent the next 2 and a half years living with a family nice enough to take him in and taught at a local college. They loved him. In the last six months his memory started slowly coming back to him until he finally remembered everything, including what a horrible man he had been. He came home as fast as he could and couldn't stop apologizing for it, wanting to find you and make it up to you. He's a changed man Nika, I promise you. Give him a chance," she pleaded, wrapping her arms around her crying granddaughter.
"I...I don't know..." was all Nika could say through her tears.