“Does she know this? Where is she now in Italy?” Alex could no longer hold back his tears. He fell on Dylan’s shoulders and wept, showing him another photo of him with Catherine shot during an excursion.
“No, I never told her how I felt for her. And I don’t know where she is, but if I get a chance to tell her how much I love her, I’ll happily do it before I die. The last time I saw her was 48 years ago when I gifted her a blue stone-studded bracelet with a silver locket on her 29th birthday, just a day before she left for Italy.
I never saw her again after that.”
“Didn’t she give you her address in Italy, grandpa?”
“She said she would write me letters. But the old block we lived in back then was torn down to build a theater after the owner sold it. I moved in here after that.
I never got any letters from her, and I am not sure if they were sent back to her.”
Dylan’s heart sank hearing this. He patted his grandpa and told him he would help find his long-lost love. “Don’t worry, we will find her.”
“What?
But how?” Alex exclaimed. Dylan assured his grandpa they would find Catherine. But his only worry was how to find her and if she was still alive.
Her whereabouts in Italy were too challenging to find out, but Dylan did not lose hope, and he kept looking. For the next few days, Dylan searched for a specific “Catherine Douglas” on the internet. Many young and older women by that name made it difficult to find the one they were looking for.
Then one day, Dylan scanned through photos on Facebook and found a picture that looked like the one his grandfather had. He opened the profile that belonged to Cynthia Douglas. “Got it, finally!” he shrieked in joy after rummaging through the user’s profile and seeing pictures of her with her grandma, Catherine Douglas.
Dylan messaged Cynthia and told her about his grandpa and her grandma’s good old days. “Yes, that’s right. Your grandma Catherine and my grandpa Alex were neighbors and best friends.
He still thinks about her a lot…I mean, A LOT!”
Cynthia was overwhelmed. She teamed up with Dylan to reunite her granny with her best friend after 48 years of no contact and arranged for a trip to her place. “To Italy?
Are you serious? You found her?” Alex exclaimed in shock when Dylan offered to travel with him to Padua, Italy. “Not sure if it’s her, grandpa.
But I’m sure you won’t regret it once you see her,” Dylan said. Alex was over the moon hearing this. Deep inside, he hoped and prayed to see his long-lost love once again.
With a heart full of hope, he and Dylan flew to Italy the next day. On a pleasant March evening, Dylan and Alex rode to a beautiful café in Padua. The grandpa was lost in deep thought, remembering how his long-lost love, Catherine, loved Italian cuisine and architecture.
Meanwhile, sitting at the cafe, Catherine had many questions for her granddaughter, Cynthia. “Sweetie, what was the need to bring me here? You know I don’t like to go out often after grandpa passed away.
And why did you ask me to wear this bracelet? I don’t like wearing it because I’m scared it’ll get damaged…It’s a beloved memory of someone I know.”
“Just trust me, granny. You will never forget this day, and it’s going to be very special,” Cynthia said, smiling.
Moments later, Dylan led Alex to a table opposite Cynthia’s. He arched his eyebrows in excitement and smiled at her as Alex took a seat facing Catherine. Dylan and Cynthia waited for his reaction when he saw Catherine’s hand.
She was wearing the same bracelet he had given her 48 years ago. “That bracelet…it looks familiar. No, it can’t be.” Alex shrieked, walked over to the woman at the table nearby, and burst into tears after seeing her face.
“Cathy?!” he exclaimed in joy. “Oh my God! This has to be a dream…Don’t tell me I’m dreaming…Cathy?
Is it you?”
Catherine jumped up from her seat and gasped in shock. Only one man, her best friend Alex, addressed her as Cathy. She burst into tears as she recognized him.
“Alex! Oh my God! Alex, is it you?
Oh my God, Look at you! I don’t believe this…What’s going on?” The two embraced and cried joyfully, and Dylan saw his grandpa so happy for the first time in years. “So, how do you like my surprise, grandma?” Cynthia laughed.
“I told you that it’s gonna be special.”
The four of them laughed and spent a long time together. It was also the first time in 12 years that Cynthia saw her granny smile and laugh her heart out. She had been heartbroken since her husband died of a stroke 12 years ago.
Meeting her best friend Alex brought some new hopes into Catherine’s life. The four spent several days touring the city, and ultimately, Dylan and Cynthia fell in love. They began dating and planned to move in together in Padua.
Two weeks later, Alex and Dylan flew back to the US to proceed with the necessary paperwork. Ultimately, Alex realized he could no longer live without Catherine, so Dylan was more than happy to take his grandpa to Italy. A few months later, Dylan and Alex moved to Padua and lived in the house they bought.
Cynthia moved in, and together, they devised another surprise for granny Catherine. On a breezy evening during dinner at the same restaurant, Alex suddenly popped the question, moving his sweetheart to tears. “Will you marry me?” he dramatically asked her, kneeling on one knee while holding up a ring.
Catherine blushed and nodded in tears. Dylan and Cynthia cheered in joy, and the four drove home. Alex took his grandson’s hand and gently kissed it.
“Thank you, darling. You painted a beautiful portrait in my life that was once dull and incomplete.”
“Anything for that smile on your face, grandpa,” Dylan said. “I’m happy for you and Cynthia, son,” Alex exclaimed.
“But will you regret what you’ve done at any point in your life?”
Dylan looked his grandpa in the eye and said confidently that such a moment would never come. “Not at all, grandpa! I learned from you that it is better to do something than not to do it and regret it for the rest of my life!”
A few months later, Alex married Catherine at a traditional church wedding.
He felt happiness spring back into his life as he slid the wedding ring on his beloved’s finger and kissed her. Meanwhile, Dylan and Cynthia decided to tie the knot a few months later because they wanted to explore Italy a little more!
