“Baking is love made visible.” – Anonymous

For one Chicago resident, the bakery in his South Shore neighborhood was a favorite place to visit. Give Me Some Sugah Bakery had amazing desserts and something even more special, an owner who cared about the customers who visited her shop.

“The pancakes, the lemon bars, the chocolate chip cookies…oh and the lemon pound cake, so good,” Vamarr Hunter said. But, it wasn’t just the food. He loved talking to the owner, Lenore Lindsey. “She interacts with you on a personal level,” he said.

I just felt comfortable there.”

The place, Hunter said, made him feel at home. And that feeling was important for the 50-year-old. He had found out when he was 35, that he was adopted. Hunter was determined to find his birth mother. So, after reaching out to a genealogist and getting a genetic profile done, he was finally able to find his birth mother. Once she was notified about her son, she was given his phone number.

Lenore Lindsey and her son, Vamarr Hunter. Photo courtesy of ABC7

The phone rang, not long after the number had been given. Hunter said at first he couldn’t quite figure out who was calling. The caller ID said: Give Me Some Sugah Bakery, a number he had programmed in for deliveries.

“I had the bakery’s number in my phone, yes the number was locked in,” Hunter said. “When I saw the number, I’m like, ‘Give Me Some Sugah?’ And all I’m thinking in my head is, ‘Why? Why are they calling?'”

Within seconds, he had his answer – Lenore Lindsey was Hunter’s biological mom. The pair, who had known each other for more than a decade now, were stunned at the knowledge that they had managed to find each other, not knowing the connection they shared.

Lenore said she had to put Hunter up for adoption when she was 17 years old in 1954. “Yeah, you know, that was still something that you were ashamed of. I left the adoption open, and I said, you know, if he really wants to find me, then he’ll be able to find me. But otherwise, his life must be great. I wouldn’t interfere in that life,” Lenore said.

The two have more than made up for lost time. Lenore, who is now partly retired, has given Hunter the day-to-day responsibility of running the bakery. The mother and son are thrilled to have found one another.

Lenore Lindsey and her son, Vamarr Hunter, work in Lindsey’s bakery. Photo courtesy of ABC7

“I love my son, and having him now all these later years later. That’s just God and God is love. I am so incredibly full and so incredibly grateful to the Father for this gift. This is a gift, and there is no way this happened without God,” Lenore said.

For Hunter, he has found peace with this discovery. “It’s been a great experience. It further strengthens my faith.” Most of all, it has taught him the importance of living in the moment. “You can’t make up for time and days gone by. What you can do is properly utilize the time that you have,” he said.

Sources: People | NBC Chicago