Finding Family by Richard Hill

Author:Richard Hill [Hill, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781475190830
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2012-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

26

ROY

I rechecked all my records and the only man with a name close to Gerald was Jerry Jarskey, one of the men Jackie had dated. But according to an old city directory, his formal name was “Jarrold” with a “J” and not “Gerald” with a “G.”

I tucked away the information on my original name, not knowing if it would ever prove to be useful or not. Then I turned my attention back to the best suspect I’d had since Conrad: Roy Klann.

Wanting desperately for all the pieces to fit, I wondered if Cookie Girl’s boyfriend, whose father looked like me, could be a grandson of Roy Klann. If that were the case, there might be a young man named Klann living in the Grand Rapids area today.

Anxiously, I checked the local phone book for the name Klann and found a single listing. Without any plan at all, I dialed the number. As it was ringing, I decided to ask if he had ever dated a girl who worked at the now-closed cookie store in the mall.

A man answered who identified himself as a roommate. He said Klann was out but would return the following afternoon. I thanked him and hung up.

With time to think, I realized that an out-of-the-blue call from a complete stranger about one’s dating history might be kind of alarming. Not wanting to upset anyone, I decided not to call again.

Still, my call wasn’t wasted. I now knew that the Klann in Grand Rapids was single and lived with a roommate. That suggested he was young enough to be Cookie Girl’s boyfriend.

Once again, pieces of my puzzle seemed to be falling into place. Even though I had to put my search on hold through the holiday season, I enjoyed the warm glow of optimism that had been missing since the paternity test with Conrad.

In mid January 1991, I called Jeanette only to learn that she was leaving for Las Vegas and would not return until late February. I was on my own for awhile.

Before contacting Roy, I figured it would be nice to know if I looked anything like him or his offspring. If one of his sons was, indeed, the father of Cookie Girl’s boyfriend, the resemblance should be obvious.

On the first Tuesday in February, I took a half-day vacation and made another trip to Plymouth. My first stop was the historical museum that had the old Plymouth High School yearbooks. I didn’t know if Roy went to the same school that Jackie had attended, but it was possible.

Checking the Plymouth yearbooks for the period did not yield any students named Klann. The city directories listed a Fred and Dorothy Klann in the Plymouth rural routes. I wondered if they might have been Roy’s parents.

The area east of Plymouth, formerly Livonia Township, was now the city of Livonia. Since that was Roy’s current residence, my next stop was the Livonia Civic Center Library.

If Roy had lived in Livonia when his sons were growing up, they might be in the Livonia high school yearbooks.

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