No Place Like Home Chapter 12

Rose got out of bed and looked out the window.  It was New Years Eve and snow had settled across the yard, softening the landscape.  Many people still had their Christmas lights on and the street was lined with garbage cans that were overflowing with paper and packaging.  She wasn't’t sure that she felt ready to start a new year.  The last year was disappearing into oblivion, leaving behind a lot of unfinished business.  She had taken an extra week of vacation due to her miscarriage, so she would not be expected back at work until the second week of January.  That gave her time to think and she hoped would help put her life back in perspective.  1

She wanted to go to the library and find out more about the Mormons.  Reading the books that she’d borrowed from the cabin had left her with more questions than answers.  She did not agree with some of  the concepts and found them foreign, but she thought it might help her satisfy her curiosity.  She really wanted to go back out to the old house in the woods, but the roads would probably be in poor shape once she got outside of town.  Grabbing her jacket and purse, Rose checked to make sure she still had her library card and stepped out of her room, hoping that everyone had gone so she could leave without being interrogated.  Almost to the door she nearly jumped when Charlie came around the corner and stood in front of the door.2

“Hey!  Where are you going?”   he asked.3

“To the library.”4

“Why do you need to go to the library, don’t you think you should be resting?”5

“Who are you?  A member of the ‘Keep Rose in Bed Because She Had a Bad Week Police’!”6

“Just asking, someone’s got to take care of you, ya know.”7

“Yes, I do know Charlie, and that person would be me. Now move out of my way before I have to use excessive force.”8

Charlie did and he was asked and brushed past her, chuckling and rolling his eyes.  Rose was surprised by the electric rush she felt go up her arm when they touched and hurried off to the library.  9

When she got there she headed back to the card catalog.  She had wanted to do some research on Mormonism, but found herself side tracked by a familiar voice behind a row of books.  Rose walked around to the other side of the shelf and was surprised to see Gilbert sitting at a table trying to read out loud.  When he looked up and saw Rose he grinned shoving the book in her direction and asking her to read.10

“Cat…Hat” he said, pointing at the cover of a Dr. Suess book.  11

“You like “Cat in the Hat’” Rose asked and Gilbert nodded.12

“Do you come here often to read books?”13

Gilbert shook his head.  “Cold Outside!”14

You’re here because it’s cold outside, too?15

Gilbert nodded again.16

“Darlin’, why don’t you come stay with me or my Mom if your cold.  I know she won’t mind.”17

At the mention of her mother Gilbert looked as if he was going to cry.  “Mommy.” he said, and got up from the table.  He was nearly to the door when Rose stopped him.  She wanted to tell him his mother was dead, but one look into his innocent green eyes and all she could do was let him go.  She watched him carefully walk down the icy stairs and into the parking lot before she turn around and went back inside.18

On her way back in she walked past a micro-film machine and decided to stop and take another look at old papers.  Maybe she could find out what happened to the family that had lived in that house in Meriden.  She was certain there were important elements she was missing and a little detective work always put her in a good mood.  A lot of things like birth dates, deeds, and obituaries were matters of public record.  After  hours of searching she came up with what she already knew.  Rose got a piece of paper and began making a list of things that she knew for sure and things that she suspected. 19

An announcement in the Topeka Capital Journal confirmed that Cindy Tamladge had indeed given birth to a boy at St. Francais Hospital on April 6, 1970.   That child’s name was Gilbert Scott Talmadge.  The deed to the cabin was in David Sandal’s  name and ownership had in fact been transferred to him from  Cindy Talmadge.   She walked over to a library attendant and asked if she would be able to trace a name using micro-fish and the woman smiled.20

You could, but it would be much easier to just use the computer.  You’ll spend hours on that old machine looking for information that our new computers can pull up in seconds.  We just got connected to high-speed Internet here at the Topeka Library.  She ushered Rose into a room full of computers and pointed to one in the far corner that was unoccupied.  Rose sat down and typed in Talmadge.  A bunch of  Genealogy sites  came up and the name Talmadge was found on nearly all of them.  The majority she found interesting were Mormon‘s from Utah, but those records dated back to the late 1800’s and   Rose was looking for something a little more recent.  She came across a family of Talmadges that had lived in Wichita during the 1930’s and started writing down their names. One by one she entered their names into a genealogical search engine. 21

Her excitement was hard to contain when a picture came up onto the screen that closely resembled one of the Talmadges she recognized.  She almost laughed staring back at her from the monitor was a slightly plump, elderly woman who looked just like Gilbert!  The incredible resemblance made her do a double take.  22

The woman’s name was Maragarite Talmadge.  Excitedly Rose scrolled down the page hoping that this woman was still alive.  Sure enough, there was no record of her passing and she frantically began searching for more information on how to find her, but her name was not in the Topeka directory so she tried Lawrence, Meriden and other nearby towns.  Still, her search turned up nothing so she decided to track down Gilbert.  Maybe he knew something that could help his current situation…he just didn't’t realize it.  What if this woman was his grandmother?  Maybe she had the financial means to get him off the streets.  Like a dog on a trail she forgot why she’d come to the library to begin with and went on a mad search for Gilbert.  23