Page 42

NOW

August 2023

Kimberly

Ace Funds, Ormonde Quay, Dublin

Tomorrow was the day of reckoning. Kimberly had been marking her calendar with an X every morning, each day bringing her closer to the truth. The wait was agonising, filled with a mix of anticipation and anxiety. Lily had called to see her at the office the day before. She’d not seen her daughter so animated. Nervous energy filled her every move as she stumbled through her tale of trips to Ronda and Marbella, and ultimatums from Zach’s family.

Not to mention Inspector Ortega.

Kimberly had not seen him for decades, but sometimes, if she smelled cigarette smoke, it brought her back to that time. He’d been kind to her. At no point had she felt his finger of accusation, not in her direction at least.

Jason’s face came to mind, followed by a familiar ache. She missed him, even after all this time. Their love had been a rollercoaster, with moments of intense passion and fleeting togetherness. There had been times over the years when they’d rekindled their love affair. And, for a while, they would be back in sync again. Until Robert’s name came up. And then their fragile unity would crumble to ashes between them.

Lily had shared her hope and excitement that when Zach was proven to be Robert doubts and accusations would finally be removed from her father’s direction. And Jason deserved the peace that would bring. He’d spent forty years of his life chasing false lead after false lead.

Kimberly’s heart ached a little more as she worried about the results and the devastation they would bring. She knew that it was a win-lose situation for her and for Zach’s family in America.

Kimberly sighed, her mind clouded with uncertainty. What to do? The decision weighed heavily on her. Should she wait it out until Lily called from the clinic tomorrow? Or should she go through with her plan, which she’d been contemplating for days? She was unsure of the outcome, but driven by a desperate need to see Zach for herself. It was a physical pain, knowing he was in Dublin, so close, but out of her reach.

Kimberly had to move forward.

That’s what she had done her entire life when faced with curveballs. She brushed her ash-blonde hair. She wore it short now, in a blunt bob cut above her jawline. Kimberly knew that she looked very different from the woman who’d held Robert in her arms forty years ago – and unrecognisable as the young girl she’d once been.

She smoothed down her cream linen dress and grabbed her handbag as she left her house to take an Uber taxi into the city centre. Twenty minutes later, she stood in Ace Funds’ glossy marble reception area. Kimberly felt a smidgeon of pride in her heart at the thought that her boy worked there.

‘Can I help you?’ a pretty receptionist asked as she approached the desk.

‘I’d like to see Zach Brady.’

‘Do you have an appointment?’

‘No, I don’t.’ Kimberly held her hand up as the receptionist was about to tell her that her request was futile. ‘If you tell him Kimberly Murphy is here to see him, I’m sure he will be available.’

The receptionist briefly thought about it, then dialled Zach’s number. Kimberly was immediately led to a bright meeting room that sat a few feet from the reception.

Her eyes focused on the sizeable black-and-white clock on the wall above the long mahogany desk. She watched the second hand move, one step at a time. Then the door opened, and Zach was standing there.

Tall, dark, tanned, with eyes that sparkled with emotion beneath black-rimmed glasses, he wore a pair of beige chino trousers with a crisp white shirt. A smartwatch with a brown leather strap flashed on his wrist. His hair was wavy, worn a little long on top but neat on the sides, and he had a manicured beard – one of those trendy ones, not like the one Jason had when he went feral after their divorce, refusing to shave or get his hair cut for years.

Kimberly pushed the thought of her ex-husband from her mind. She knew he would have wanted to come with her if he’d known she had planned this. But Kimberly had to do this on her own. She needed to be with her son, without anyone else taking his attention.

‘Hello,’ Zach said.

Kimberly had dreamed of hearing his voice again. Now, hearing his deep baritone American accent, she felt a rush of emotion.

This man, this stranger, was her Robert.

She stood, holding on to the table for support. Beyond coming here, Kimberly had not known what she would do next. She’d known only that she must see him. She couldn’t wait for any DNA results; she had to see him with her own eyes.

‘Hello . . . Robert,’ Kimberly replied tremulously.

His steel-blue eyes became glassy as he whispered in awe, ‘You believe I’m Robert?’

‘Yes, I do. Now that I’ve seen you, I want you to know that I believe you are my boy, without any need for DNA results.’

And then they moved towards each other.

In one fluid moment, she held her arms out wide, and he fell into them.

They stood as one, reunited again, silently weeping for forty lost years.