“Well? Are you satisfied?” Mr. Clark asked as he walked Hanna to the front door of the bank.
“As a matter of fact, I am. My father’s painting will see the light of day once more. I have kept my promise to him, to always keep it in our family and never sell it. And, as an added bonus, I was able to stare into the faces of two of my grandchildren, however briefly. Even you have to admit: it was well worth a couple of trips to the post office, even if one of them was all the way in Canada. You know you will always have my eternal gratitude for all you’ve done.”
“And why not just reveal who you are now, Hanna?”
“After all that they have gone through to discover the truth, if they want to come back and meet me, they know where to find me.”
Hanna said goodbye and made her way toward the bus stop. Mr. Clark watched as she marched away, as dignified and graceful as ever.
EPILOGUE
On January 1, 2017, Ray Donovan started a strict diet with the aim of fitting into his dinner jacket.
On April 2, 2017, Eleanor-Rigby and George-Harrison married in Croydon. It was a beautiful ceremony. Maggie dumped Fred and went back to college, determined this time to become a lawyer, although next year she would shift gears once more to pursue a career as a veterinarian.
The night of the wedding, Vera and Michel announced that they were moving to Brighton together. Michel had read that fresh sea air was far healthier than city air for pregnant women. A logical choice.
Seated in the back row as Eleanor-Rigby and George-Harrison took their vows was Hanna Stanfield—attending incognito, more or less. During her stay in England, she also went to pay her respects at her daughter’s grave. Having now laid eyes on all her living descendants, she left with a smile on her face.
On April 20, 2017, Professor Morrison published a book titled The Last of the Stanfields, which would go on to become a smash hit . . . at least among the handful of his peers who received a copy.
Today, Eleanor-Rigby and George-Harrison live together in Magog. The house that George-Harrison built has been relocated outside the hangar.
As for May, she lived long enough to meet her first grandson. Sam is a remarkable baby boy, not least of all because he may be the only child in history to have a masterpiece by none other than Edward Hopper hanging in his bedroom.
Sometimes, just before falling asleep, he says good night to the young woman looking out the window.