Chapter 16 - The Woman in the Photograph"Missing from our lives," Grandma clarified when I reached for my phone. "Not missing from the world. Celia Moreno moved to New Mexico after her husband died. She stopped answering our Christmas cards."
Celia and Mom had opened Willow House together. Mom handled the children and the glasswork; Celia managed grants and bookkeeping. After Mom died, Celia helped create the trust, then left town when the building's future became a family argument.
Naomi found her through a glass artists' association. Celia answered the phone sounding surprised and angry in equal measure.
"Leah wanted the place used," she said. "The land couldn't be sold without both trustees and Hannah's written agreement after she turned twenty-one. That's why we wrote the trust."
"Do you have a copy?" Naomi asked.
"I have a certified one and three years of records. I've kept them because I didn't trust Robert to stand up to anyone after Leah was gone."
Dad heard that on speakerphone. He lowered his head.
Celia agreed to give a sworn statement and overnight her records. She also told us something I'd never known. Mom had asked her to set aside a small box of letters for students who completed their first year at Willow House. Each letter described a mistake Mom had made while learning glasswork, and how she tried again.
"Leah didn't want children believing broken work made them failures," Celia said.
I thought of the smashed ornaments and swallowed hard.
Then Celia mentioned one last thing. She had received an email from Vanessa in September asking if the trust could be dissolved because the building was "dangerous." Celia had refused and asked for a structural inspection.
"Did you ever hear back?" I asked.
May you like
"No. But I saved her reply. She told me she had another way."
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