White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner

see him step through fallen leaves, and we see the trail he makes with his footsteps. He’s looking for the headstone of his grandfather who died at Treblinka. He’s been to many cemeteries. This is a man who’s looking for truth. He wants to know the truth. His grandfather died behind a wall of oppression, and no one mourned. He wants to know the truth of what happened behind that wall, of what happened while everyone looked away and pretended there was no wall.”
    Chase looked down at his cousin. She was staring at him, mouth half open.
    “That would be cool.” Matt looked past Chase to a place in his mind. “That would actually be very cool… Oh. Hey, I get it. The man in the cemetery is your uncle Bart. Awesome. Yeah. That’d be awesome.”
    “No,” Tally whispered, her eyes still on Chase.
    Matt turned to look at her. “Yes, it would be awesome. Trust me. I know Gimble. He’s going to love this.”
    Chase held his cousin’s gaze. Something secretive hung there. “Why not?”
    She shook her head, her eyes still locked with Chase’s. “I don’t want my dad brought into this.”
    “How come?” Matt asked. “It’s the perfect setup.”
    Tally turned to look at Matt. “I don’t want to make thisabout my dad. Let’s keep it about the guys at the nursing home, okay?”
    “It’s about truth,” Chase replied. “It’s about what’s true. Your dad is just one little part of it. You can’t pretend he’s not. His grandfather—our great-grandfather—died at the hands of the Nazis. That makes Uncle Bart part of it. Makes us part of it.”
    “If I’m part of it, then I want to make it an anonymous man who walks through the graveyard. We don’t have to say it’s my dad.”
    Chase just looked down on her, wordless. But Matt was quick to argue. “Yes, we do. It makes our project personal. It will stand out. We have to.”
    “No, we don’t,” Tally said. “There are probably tens of thousands of people like my dad who are looking or have looked for relatives who died during the war. An anonymous man can represent all of those people.”
    Matt shook his head. “No. I like it better that it’s specific. This is what’s going to set our project apart.”
    “But that’s not why he’s there!” Tally said angrily.
    “Then what’s he looking for?” Chase’s tone was calm and measured.
    Tally lifted her eyes to him. They were anxious, her eyes. He wondered again what secret she carried. He knew she wouldn’t tell him.
    “It has nothing to do with what happened in the concentration camp, okay?” she said.
    “Then why’s he there?” Matt’s facial features were crossed with curiosity.
    “He has his reasons.” Tally resumed stroking the sleeping dog.
    Matt hesitated a minute and then leaned toward her. “Is it illegal? Is that why you won’t say?”
    “Matt,” Chase said.
    “What? That would explain why he’s missing.”
    “It’s not illegal,” Tally replied.
    Matt turned to her again. “Hey, my uncle’s a lawyer. And I’m not just talking an ambulance chaser. He’s in international affairs. If your dad needs a lawyer…”
    “I just told you it’s not illegal!”
    The dog awoke and lifted its head.
    “Then why haven’t you heard from him? What if he needs help?”
    “Matt!” Chase raised his voice also.
    “What?”
    “Chill.”
    Matt raised his hands. “Fine. Just trying to help.” He lay back on the bed and huffed. “A guy tries to be nice…”
    “We can make the man in the intro anonymous, representative of everyone on the search for truth,” Chase said evenly. “It’s not going to make or break the project.”
    “Fine,” Matt mumbled.
    Tally looked up at Chase. She didn’t smile or whisper a thank you. He half expected her to, but she didn’t. Then she turned her head toward Matt, who was sprawled on the bed.
    “He’s not into anything illegal. This is just how my dad is, Matt. I’m used to it.”
    “Used to what?” Matt didn’t look at