48
William arrived at the Byronville home. It was less than a month since he was there last, yet the house looked so different. The small trees at the front of the house were fully grown. The dirt laneway from the front gate was now paved with cobblestone. A new structure stood to the left of the main house that was not there before. A three-car garage had been built and in front stood a beautiful convertible sports car being polished by a young lady.
“Excuse me, miss, can you tell me if Mr.or Mrs. Byronville are home?” William had walked over to the young lady polishing the car. The woman did not stop. She continued to polish the windshield.
“I hate removing the remains of insects from the wind screen of my automobile. There!” Having removed the stubborn spot, the young lady stopped and threw the towel in her hand into a pail at her feet. “May I ask what your business is with my parents, sir?”
William remained there dumbfounded. He could not find any words to speak. He could only stare at the person in front of him and hear her words over again in his mind.
“Sir?”
“I-I, do not know what to say! Are you a daughter of Thomas and Sarah Byronville?” William realized he was being presumptuous that Thomas had married his mother. But in his heart, he knew that this most likely was the case.
“Yes, I am their daughter. And who might you be?”
“Are you the only one? Do you have any siblings? What is your name?”
“Look, sir, unless you make your intentions known to me, I must warn you if I lean on this horn, there will be more men here in seconds than you could possibly overcome.” The young lady had her hand on the center of the steering wheel and the look on her face was one of concern for her safety.
“Let me explain, please. I do not mean to frighten you. My name is William.”
“William? Did you say William? Are you the William? William Monterey? That William?”
“Yes I am, you know about me?”
“Know about you?” The young lady released the steering wheel and moved forward toward William. She stepped forward and grabbed each of William’s hands. “Let me look at you. Wow, you do resemble Father! We do not have any other siblings, I am your only sister, and my name is Danielle. I guess I was named after you. Mother told me that one day you would return to visit us. She referred to you as William Monterey. I never understood why you changed your surname and Mother could not explain it to me.
“How old are you?” It was the only thing that came to William’s mind. All of his other thoughts seemed to be blurred.
“Twenty-five tomorrow. What a beautiful birthday gift.” Danielle leaned forward and kissed William on the cheek. She hugged him and led him by the hand toward the house.