The woman took the photo with both hands.

Her red lipstick trembled.

For a moment, she couldn’t speak.

The girl stood there holding the tray of roses, suddenly scared she had done something wrong.

“Where did you get this?” the woman whispered.

“My mom kept it under her pillow.”

“What’s your mother’s name?”

The girl looked down.

“Lena.”

The woman’s eyes filled instantly.

“No…”

The rose tray slipped lower in the girl’s hands.

“You know her?”

The woman pressed the photo to her chest.

“She’s my sister.”

The restaurant noise seemed to disappear.

“My father told me she ran away with a man and never wanted to see me again.”

The little girl shook her head.

“She didn’t run away.”

The woman froze.

“She cried every birthday. She said she had a sister who wore the other rose ring. She said one day I’d find you.”

The woman’s tears fell onto the table.

“Where is she now?”

The girl’s lips started trembling.

“She’s sick.”

The woman stood so fast her chair hit the floor behind her.

“Take me to her.”

The girl blinked through tears.

“Really?”

The woman removed the gold rose ring from her finger and placed it gently in the girl’s palm.

“I spent fifteen years thinking my sister abandoned me.”

Her voice broke.

“But she was sending me home through you.”

The girl finally cried.

“She said if I found you… I should tell you she never stopped loving you.”

The woman covered her mouth, sobbing in the middle of the elegant restaurant while everyone stared.

Then she picked up every rose from the tray and held them close.

“Come on, sweetheart.”

She reached for the girl’s hand.

“We’re not letting your mother say goodbye alone.”