Calling Carol Holloway

In the evening, I decided to take another try at finding Carol Holloway, and phoned her great-aunt. I’d done the same last year [June 28], and learned her married name ("Lyons") and that she was living in Washington. But Lyons is a common name, and Washington D.C. is a big city, so nothing came of it.

But this time her great-aunt had more to say. Carol lived in Washington state — in Spokane — not Washington D. C., and her marriage was on the rocks. Excited, I called Spokane information, got a short list of C* Lyons entries, and on trying the second one I heard her familiar voice for the first time since the 1960s.

I had half expected her to say “Kent who?”, and figured the conversation would be friendly, but neutral — but there was unmistakable warmth in her voice, and it was as if we’d talked just yesterday. We reminisced about the days when we were dating each other, and when she asked what had happened between me and Penny, I found myself confiding more openly to her than I had with many close friends. Meanwhile, she’s separated from her husband, probably for keeps, and has three young children.

This is the best thing that’s happened since I don’t know when! But she lives a thousand miles away…