by Karin Breuer

Created on: June 09, 2009

The Resurrection of Ollie

It had been a long day. Usually I would be going home but tonight I had a meeting; the local chapter of Women Educators International. The meeting had already started when I walked into the room and quickly looked around for an empty seat. The speaker caught my entrance, interrupted her speech and said Carol, please don't sit down, your sister wants you to call immediately. It's urgent.

I swallowed hard. Cecelia must have called home and tracked me down; it had to be important for her to leave a message with people she didn't know. My mind raced. It must be mom. Something must have happened to mom. Why else would Cecilia say it was urgent?

The color of my face must have drained away but I was unaware of the sympathetic looks I received as I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me. I was in automatic, flipping open the cell phone and speed dialing my sister. She picked up at the first ring. Thank God you are there Cecilia. What happened? What's wrong?

She laughed. Who was that guy you used to go out with when you were 17 who was from Norway?

Ollie I said, Why?

Well there is someone in Norway who is trying to find you and has hired a private detective agency to do that.

A what?

A private detective! Apparently this guy phoned Sandra asking for you and left his 1-800 number with her. She phoned me and now I'm phoning you.

My mind raced wildly back to the year that I had left home. But Ollie died in a boating accident on Purden Lake the year I left to go to university. It was written up in the local newspaper. They never found his body but they found the boat that he had bought to go fishing. It was on the lake with his rod and a jacket that they figured he had taken off because he was too warm. I think I still have the article in one of my scrapbooks.

Cecilia laughed again. Well, someone in Norway wants to find you.

Thanks I said, feeling strangely unsettled. I copied the 1-800 number on a piece of paper and rejoined the meeting. I heard little in the meeting as my mind continued to race with this strange news that Cecilia had relayed to me. Did Ollie have a brother? I can't remember. Yes, yes he did. Let me see, were his parents still living? Yes, when we dated I remember Ollie saying he was the oldest and named after his dad. His dad was very angry with his coming to Canada and threatened to disinherit him. Was that what it was all about? Was his dad facing death and

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>