PART 6 — THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
Walter Bennett was tall, thin, and stooped slightly at the shoulders.
He wore khaki pants, a hospital volunteer vest, and glasses attached to a cord around his neck.
When Caleb walked toward him, Walter took one look at the boy and covered his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Caleb looked at me.
“For what?”
Walter wiped his eyes.
“For frightening you.”
“The money was kind of scary,” Caleb admitted.
Walter laughed through his tears.
“That was not my intention.”
We sat in the hospital cafeteria.
Jenna and Sophie came too.
Sophie was wearing the red dress again.
The moment Walter saw her, he stared.
Not in a rude way.
In the way someone looks at a door that suddenly opens into another lifetime.
“That’s Sophie,” Caleb explained.
“I know.”
Walter’s voice shook.
“I saw her picture.”
Caleb placed the old photograph on the table.
