Ten Thousand Truths by Susan White Page B

Put that macaroni in the pot would you, please? My dad died in the fire.”
    Rachel didn’t know what to say. She was well aware of the awkward silence that always hangs in the air after you tell someone your parent is dead. She just stood there, silently waiting for Zac to continue or change the subject.
    After a minute or so of silence, Zac spoke again. “It took me too long to jump. I was afraid and I stood there crying. Dad kept telling me I could do it and he forced me through the window. The roof collapsed just as I jumped from the windowsill and I got burned on my back and shoulder. My dad was knocked down and didn’t make it. Amelia got me through those first few weeks and months.”
    Rachel stood stirring the macaroni, knowing there was nothing she could say to Zac that would take away his pain.
    Two days later Rachel set Amelia’s supper tray down and sat on the chair beside her bed. “Finally I’m getting some real food,” Amelia laughed, stabbing a piece of chicken with her fork. “I hope I don’t see tomato soup again for a good long time. And that disgusting medicine Dr. Hollway gave me, I’ll be glad when I’ve taken the last of that. You kids have been great, though. The way you’ve been taking care of me, you’d think I was royalty.”
    â€œYou would’ve done the same for any one of us,” Rachel said. “Zac did most of the work.”
    â€œZac’s been amazing. He has waited on me hand and foot during the day. He brought me tea this afternoon, and he decorated the tray like he was serving tea at the Empress Hotel. I could almost picture myself sitting in the dining room of the Empress, having tea and scones.”
    â€œWhere is the Empress Hotel?” Rachel asked.
    â€œIt’s in Victoria, BC. It was built in 1908 and at the time it was the grandest of all the hotels. For many years it didn’t even have a sign above the front entrance and, as a worker erected a sign years later, he was quoted as saying, ‘ Anyone who doesn’t know this is the Empress shouldn’t be staying here .’ In 1965 there was a debate about tearing it down but in 1966 they did a $4 million renovation that they dubbed ‘Operation Teacup’ and in 1989 they did an additional $45 million restoration.”
    â€œIt sounds amazing,” Rachel said. “I’d love to see it someday. But in the meantime, why don’t I go perform my own Operation Teacup? The twins made your tea. I’ll go get it and bring it up to you.”
    â€œThanks,” said Amelia, “but I think I’ll get my lazy self out of bed and come downstairs to have my tea. This old house might not be as elegant as the Empress Hotel, but I’ll be happy to see the rest of it. I’ve had enough of these four walls in the last few days.”
    The second letter came in mid-January. As soon as Rachel saw it in the mailbox she knew it was from Audrey Anderson. The beginning of it read like a tourist brochure for the town of Golden. Obviously Audrey Anderson had needed to really stretch to think of anything to write to a granddaughter she didn’t even know. Apparently Golden had a population of 4,100. One of those 4,100 was Rachel’s father. The town was 262 kilometres west of Calgary. So what! Rachel thought to herself. Walton Lake road is about a million kilometres east of Calgary. Who cares?
    The letter went on to tell Rachel about all the exciting things there were to do in Golden: white water rafting, Heli skiing, snowmobiling, and hiking. Golden was nestled between two mountain ranges, the Purcell Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, in a place called Kicking Horse Country. What is she, a travel agent or something? Rachel wondered. Is she trying to sell me a trip to Golden? She read on to learn that Audrey Anderson lived next door to a place called “A Quiet Corner Bed and Breakfast” which was run by her friends Owen and