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He gave uestroom not far from his But after I brushed my teeth, I made my way to his bedroom Wherever it was he’d wandered off to do his work, it wasn’t here I used the time to inspect his room, struck by how impersonal it seemed It was exquisitely decorated to look like a beach cabana, with canted ceilings lined with ba over floor-to-ceiling s and the smooth floor was inlaid in different colors of wood in intricately patterned parquet

But there were few personal touches that gave any clue about who he was, except for the desk Iover its shiny surface There were pictures of his Uncle Peter with an arm around both of his cousins, Britt with her two adorable boys There was a picture of Ada beside Mickey Mouse I smiled at each photo, relieved to have found even small clues to the person underneath the persona that he showed the world, even iven what I knew of his situation growing up, I wasn’t surprised But the last picture in the row gave me pause It was a snapshot in a 4 x 6 fra the two children in it

The color was faded but the younger child, a dark-haired boy, was obviously Ada wildly nevertheless He had his arirl, this one honey-blond with green eyes She looked to be in her preteen years She glanced at the ca her picture taken, but her aruessed that this must be Sabrina, his sister

While I studied the photo, I felt a presence behindI spun and faced Ada, his expression sobered

"She was a pretty girl," I said lalance at me, then laid the laptop hooked under his arht "Yes," was all he said

"You don’t look very much alike"

"We had different fathers"

I looked down at the picture again and replaced it gently "I’m sorry for your loss You loved her a lot"

He took a deep breath, still staring at the picture "Yes I loved her more than anyone else on the planet"

I approached him and wrapped my arms around his torso "She was very lucky, then To have your love"

Adalanced up and he was still staring fixedly at that faded photograph "That’s the only picture I have of her and yet in my memory, I can’t remember what she looked like then Or later, before she died"

"How old was she?"