The Search for Paradise
It was a Saturday morning and I went to the gym like I do every Saturday because I don’t have to work on the weekends. I have a membership to the local gym, and I enrolled myself in a unisex spinning class on Saturdays. Victor Forman, a close friend I met in college, was also in this class. Victor had red hair and pale green eyes. He was very sensitive. He was also very trustworthy and forthright. I’d known him for nearly ten years, so we had become extremely close. He was one of my best friends.
Right before the class began, I asked Victor if he wanted to go to lunch with me afterward. He accepted my offer. Through the entire class he kept looking at me and smiling. I could tell the thought of going out today made him pretty happy.
Soon enough our instructor gave us the go-ahead to dismount our bikes and stretch our legs out. This meant we were finished for the day. Victor got off his bike and approached me. “I need to change first if you don’t mind waiting.”
“Not at all, go ahead!” I replied. Together we made our way out of the bicycle-filled room. We ventured over to the restroom near the busy entrance in the lobby. Victor set his bag on the floor, crouched down, unzipped the bag, and began trifling through it for his fresh clothing. With a bundle of clothing rolled up in his hand, he silently pushed the hinged door and disappeared into the men’s bathroom.
I had forgotten my bag with my extra clothes this morning, so I waited patiently while Victor changed.
Moments later Victor emerged from the men’s bathroom wearing a white and gray striped shirt that emphasized the pale green color of his eyes.  He reached to his bag and returned his workout clothes to a neat folded position inside. Out of the side pocket he retrieved a gold watch that he always wore. Once I had asked him about his watch and he got very emotional, but never explained why, which was so unlike him. I watched as he carefully buckled the watch onto his wrist, picked up his blue sports bag, and flippantly offered me his arm to escort me out the building. 
We weaved our way through the crowded sidewalks of the Lancaster suburbs in sunny California, playfully chattering as we walked. 
“I know a beautiful detour,” I said running around a street-corner as we neared the residential areas.
“Stop, Julie! You’re going to get us lost!” Victor yelled anxiously.
“I know my way around,” I reassured him. We continued to walk the beautiful, shaded sidewalks, speculating the large, Victorian-style houses, many having gorgeously trimmed hedges and iron wrought gates. We approached a well-dressed woman with a sun umbrella angling off her right shoulder.  We were walking behind her, so we awkwardly slowed to match her pace, following her about ten feet behind.
Suddenly I noticed the stunning, glittering, gold watch on her wrist. “Victor, that lady’s watch looks just like yours!” I exclaimed to him in a hushed voice.
“Yeah,” Victor agreed. He sounded kind of nervous. I was confused as to why this would bother him. “I wonder where she got it. I want to ask her.”
This idea seemed a little odd to me, but maybe he was going to go somewhere with this. “Alright,” I approved. We ended up following the lady for another block and a half. Luckily she didn’t notice because her sun umbrella separated us from her peripheral vision.
Just as the lady went to turn the corner into the front pathway of one of the houses, Victor got her attention.
“Wait!” he exclaimed briskly.
The lady lowered her umbrella, allowing us to get our first glimpse at her face. As she turned her head to look at Victor, her strawberry blonde curls streamed through the air.
We proceeded to approach the woman, who kindly awaited us at the opening between the hedges. Although this woman appeared to be in her upper fifties, her beauty was astonishing. She had a plump face, sharp blue eyes, and her face was framed with her beautiful hair that fell graciously over her shoulders. But what could Victor want from this woman? He seemed a little anxious since I had brought up this woman’s watch.
“Where did you get this watch?” Victor enquired as he picked the woman’s hand up by her wrist, examining the smooth surface of the watch.
“It is a family treasure,” the woman replied, staring down at the gold band around her wrist.
After seconds of thought and silence, Victor asked with hesitance, “Do you have a son?”
I had no idea what was going on, but I stayed quiet and listened.
“Victor?” the lady responded.
“Mom!” Victor said, now much more emotionally as he dove in to hug the woman, who invited his embrace. “Why did you leave? What have you been doing?” I heard a bit of anger sift through his voice, but it was soon replaced with wonder.
“Why don’t you come in and have some lunch?” She turned out of their hug and placed her attention to me. “You may come too if you’d like.”
“Oh! Sorry!” I apologized. “I’m Julie Schroeder, Victor’s friend.”
“And I’m Annette Kane, Victor’s mother.”
“You changed your name?” Victor was shocked.
“Yes darling. Why don’t you come in, and we can talk?”
We settled into Miss Kane’s spacious and elegant home as she disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve a small snack. She returned carrying a silver serving tray with small tea sandwiches arranged on top. She set it down on the coffee table and smoothed her skirt over with her hands before sitting down.
I wasn’t quite sure what to think of this whole coincidence, so I sat and listened as Victor and his mother recalled memories.
“Why did you leave?” Victor asked. Once again I sensed a slight twitch of anger in his tone.
“I wanted to be an actress. I wanted the best for you and the family. At the time that seemed like a sure way of getting money,” Miss. Kane explained. “So I moved to the California and changed my name. Annette Kane,” She said dreamily. “It sounds so much more elegant than Pauline Forman. I was just looking for a better life. I guess you could say I was searching for paradise.”
“How come you never came back for dad and me?”
“I did. As soon as I had my big break and made all the money I could ever want, I went back to find you, but our old house was abandoned. I had no idea where to look. I hadn’t been able to keep in touch because I was so concentrated on my new career. When I did decide to call, the landline had been disconnected. I talked to different people in the town. They all said no one had lived there for years. I searched and searched, but eventually I gave up, so I settled down in this house. It’s been a lonely journey ever since I lost you, but now you’re here!” Miss Kane said. Her voice cracked as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“It’s ok,” Victor assured her, grabbing her hand lovingly.
“What about the watch,” I interjected. “I mean, how did you know she was your mother?”
“Well…” Victor began.
Victor explained to me that when his mother left, she promised she would return. She bought them each identical watches and said that she would be with him in time.