by Lyssa Layne
After flexing her hand, she fingered the key and felt a chill wash over her. This key could very well change her life entirely. As things stood this very moment, she felt even more like an orphan than before. What to do? She could ignore the key and go on as usual. But if she did that, she’d never know who she was, where she came from, or what happened to put her in this situation?
The family she had grown up with, had a million and one cherished moments with, and missed desperately was suddenly just one big fat unimaginable, heart-wrenching lie.
While everything in her cried out for her to hang on to her memories, the more time that passed she realized that in all likelihood she was indeed Destiny and Jeff's lovechild.
The resemblance between them was remarkable, even if everyone was too polite to bring it up. Everything from a mutual hair color, eyes, and even the shape of the nose and lips were too similar to ignore. Destiny was her mother.
A wave of loneliness invaded her body. Unable to remain seated, she wandered around the den as if she were seeing it for the first time. One by one she lovingly held the possessions her parents treasured most. She tried to invoke all the love they showered on her for as far back as she could remember, in desperate need of the warmth their love had always provided her.
The statue she'd given her dad for Father's Day when she was twelve, that said World's Greatest Father. The pencil holder she made in school for his birthday when she was eight. The handprint she'd made for them both for Christmas in kindergarten.
Childhood gifts, made with all the love she had in her heart, just for them, and cherished by them as if they were made of gold.
Out of the corner of her eye she spied a framed picture on the side table, taken of the three of them while they were on vacation to the Grand Canyon when she was six.
This was her most precious memory of all. It had been the summer before she started first grade and they had been visiting Grandma and Grandpa Michaels in North Dakota, where she went on her first fishing trip and learned to ride a horse.
Then on the drive back home they traveled through the Grand Canyon. The picture was of her parents and her standing at the guardrail with the spectacular view of the park in the background. Another tourist had taken the photograph.
Cherie bent over picking up the picture then walked over to the couch. Her head suddenly began to ache so she reclined back against one of the throw pillows in the corner of the couch.
She took herself back in time as she hugged the picture. She remembered that summer so vividly. Catching that first trout at Turtle Lake, proud as can be, holding the stringer while Grandpa captured the event on the camera.
Another memory trickled into her mind as she lay there. It was the memory of riding Tonka, her Grandfather's horse, the most beautiful black and white paint she'd ever seen. She remembered thinking he had also been the biggest horse. But the time passed, in later years, she realized that it was her size that had made him seem so much bigger.
Her chest clinched when she remembered how upset she'd been to hear that he had been put down. To this day, she loved her memories of riding him every chance she got while visiting her grandparents every summer.
Thinking about her parents, the Michaels, she loved them, but she also knew that the love between a man and a woman was very different from the love between parents and a child. Cherie would definitely miss them because it would be impossible to erase their memories, no matter how much their secret hurt her.
Suddenly she remembered another picture, the one of Destiny and Jeff at Olivia's house. She gained some warmth in knowing that at least her real parents had loved each other and probably would have loved her too if he hadn't been killed and she hadn't slipped into oblivion.
It frightened Cherie to think of ever loving someone so much that the death of that person could send her into another realm.
Before she was aware of what her memories were doing to her, she shut her eyes to all the loss around her.
How strange that one minute she had two loving parents and the next they were gone to someone's careless stupidity. Now, to discover they were her adoptive parents and that she'd also had another set of parents, ones she never knew existed. Parents she would never get to know. Even the pain of losing them felt like a cruel trick.
Her mind wandered to Olivia, realizing what a wonderful influence she would have been in her life. Not that she meant to compare her adoptive family to her blood kin, but it didn't take a brain surgeon to realize that Grandma and Grandpa Michaels and Grandma and Grandpa Childers were nothing like the Alexander's.
Both set of adoptive Grandparents were simple folks while the Alexander's obviously were used to very different privileges. Cherie was sure that had she grown up with Olivia and Lawrence as her guardians her life would have been very different.
She said a silent prayer grateful she was better off growing up exactly as she had, with two people who loved her unconditionally, who taught her to think for herself, and gave her the encouragement to be the best she could be. Somehow, the thought of growing up with Lawrence dictating her every move and trying to run her life as he did his wife and daughter made her blood run cold.
Knowing what she did about him, of how his total disregard for his own child's precarious health condition just to keep his name free of tainted whispers totally disgusted her. After all the things he did to his family, no wonder his guilt got the better of him before he died. Hell, as far as she was concerned it was probably that same guilt that ate at his subconscious and killed him. She would never voice her thoughts, but good riddance.
It was beyond her how a man could turn his back on his only child the way he did. What would he have told Destiny had she ever come out of her cocoon and asked where her child was? How would he have responded? Would he have lied to her to protect himself, or would he have totally disregarded her feelings again and told her the truth? At this point, Cherie was glad that Destiny had a safe world to hide in because the reality of what her life could have been was just too frightening to think about.
Rubbing her temples, Cherie tried to blank out her mind, releasing the discombobulated mixture of unhappy thoughts that preyed on her.
Without realizing it she drifted off to sleep. In her dreams she saw all the same events she remembered with her adoptive family, but this time it was with Destiny and Jeff.
When she woke up less than an hour later, her mind was so into her dream that when she again looked at the picture of her parents that lay upon her chest, she was shocked to see it was of the Michaels and not her real parents.
The reality of her situation was more than she could deal with. She called Trish at work and gave her the rundown of the past thirty-six hours. Trish, bless her heart, suggested that perhaps it would be the right thing to do to call Olivia and see if she could stay with her for a couple days until she could make sense of her life.
“I know it’s hard, but call her. She sounds like she’s as devastated as you are. Frankly, it sounds like you need each other. As long as you don’t feel threatened, what’s the harm in asking to stay with her until you’re ready to be on your own? I wouldn’t blame you a bit,” Trish said impressing upon her that no matter how much she loved the Michaels, she owed it to herself to explore where she really came from, even if the results weren't what she bargained for.
Before they hung up, Trish promised to come back for a visit either at Thanksgiving or Christmas so Cherie wouldn't be alone.
After talking to Trish, Cherie felt better about what she should do and placed a call to Olivia.
The phone was answered on the second right, Martha set the phone down to go find Olivia.
“This is Olivia.”
Cherie didn’t want to admit the sound of Olivia’s voice offered her some consolation. “It’s Cherie. I was wondering if I’d be putting you out—I mean—would you mind—um, can I stay with you’re a while. I don’t want to be alone?”
“By all means, please do. I was afraid I’
d sound needy but I wanted to ask you to do just that.” Oliver sighed.
“Let me pack a few things and I’ll be there shortly.”
“We’ll have some tea when you get here.”
Not only had Cherie called, but that she had also asked if she could stay with her for a few days. Did that necessarily mean there was no question about her birth? She still didn’t want to admit it, but the proof was all around her.
Cherie packed a few necessities. Once she had her overnight bag packed and grabbed a dress for her date with Jason, the key to be checked tomorrow, and other paperwork so she could work with Mark.
She headed to Olivia's, surprised that she was anxious to share what she’d discovered.
##
Cherie rapped the Lion’s head door knocker.
Jennings answered the door as if he'd be expecting her.
“Good day, Miss Michaels.”
She smiled in spite of herself at his mock bow, “Cherie, please, Jennings?”
“As you wish.” he nodded, “Mrs. Alexander is in the library. She asked that you join here there after you’ve unpack.”
“Thank you Jennings, I'll join her momentarily.”
Cherie rushed up to her mother's old room, hung her dress in the closet and set her suitcase on the bed. Taking a quick look at the picture of her parents again, she smiled, happy to see they still looked as blissfully happy as they had the night before.
On the way down the stairs, she realized she felt immediately right at home. That thought on her mind, she hit the stairs with jaunty bouncing dance to her step.
Just as she reached the bottom stair at the base of the marble floor in the foyer, Olivia rushed from the library, her cheeks pale, her breathing harsh, and holding her chest.
When Cherie read the startled expression on her Olivia's face she rushed to her side.
“Olivia, are you okay?” Instinctively she put her arm around her grandmother and began to escort her back toward the library.
Once she was comfortably seated, Cherie sat on the floor at her feet and took hold of her hand. “Are you ill?”
Olivia swallowed a deep breath, releasing the flood of anxiety she held in her lungs.
“I'm fine now, my dear. For a moment there you almost gave me a coronary. You have no idea how much you sounded like your mother bounding down those stairs as you did. For a moment I thought she'd come home.”
Feeling guilty for frightening her grandmother, Cherie had a hard time looking at her.
When Cherie didn't immediately look up, Olivia took her by the chin, lifting her face. “Honey, I'm not upset. Not in the least. It did my old heart good to hear the sound of youth back in these halls. They've been silent much too long.”
Seeing that wonderful smile back on Olivia's face was all she needed to feel relief.
“I'm sorry if I took you by surprise. It just felt so good to be here, close to you, that I couldn't help myself when I bopped down the stairs.”
“Don't you dare apologize, young lady, not when you've made me so happy by simply agreeing to be my guest?”
“I do thank you for letting me stay here. I can't tell you how strange it felt to suddenly feel like an outsider in my own home, especially when I have so many happy memories wrapped up in that house, but that's what happened. I suddenly felt trapped and needed to be somewhere else.”
“I don't care what the reason is, so long as you're here.” Olivia clutched Cherie's hand in hers then kissed it.
“I don't know about you, but some tea right about now sounds like heaven.”
“I have always loved tea, so I'm not going to argue. Especially if Martha has more of those wonderful cookies she brought us yesterday.” Cherie licked her lips almost tasting the peanut butter on her lips.
“I'll be sure to tell Martha you like them. Once she hears that I can guarantee you that she'll always have them on hand. They were your mother’s favorite as well.”
What else did they have in common? She wanted to ask so many questions, but somehow it felt like the timing was off. But when the day came, she wanted to find out all she could about the woman they claimed was her mother.
In less than ten minutes, Olivia and Cherie were comfortable ensconced in the details of Cherie’s day while sipping tea and crunching cookies.
As difficult as it was to admit to Olivia that it was looking more and more like she was Destiny’s daughter, she also felt a great deal of relief in knowing that the one relative she had left in the world honestly wanted her around. And not that she didn’t love her other grandparents, but they were getting on in years and lived a long way away. It was nice to have someone close by.
Before they retired for the evening, Cherie asked Olivia to come into her room and tell her more about her mother.
Too tired to bother with changing out of her clothes, Cherie laid on the bed with Olivia beside her holding Destiny and Jeff’s picture close to her chest. Olivia regaled Cherie with stories of Destiny’s childhood, so that Cherie could see that there was indeed some happiness on her mother’s life.
Just before Cherie dozed off, Olivia slid off the bed, put the picture on the nightstand beside Cherie then pulled the comforter up over Cherie’s shoulders. She kissed her on the cheek before shutting off the light and slipping from the room. The little attentive things Olivia did for her, made Cherie feel as if she where an innocent loved child again.
“Tomorrow we’ll discuss your mother’s condition. Get some rest.”
Cherie would forever remember the look of contentment on Olivia’s face as she smiled to herself as if she were truly happy to be alive. The woman had lost about as much as she had; to see the light in her eyes gave Cherie hope that she too would find her rainbow. Soon, she hoped.
##
After spending the morning talking about Destiny’s current condition, Cherie was truly surprised that Olivia startled and shook when Cherie suggested that they plan to visit her in the next day or so. After agreeing to go, Cherie called Mark to tell him she was at Olivia’s and that he could pick her up there before they went to the bank.
Cherie and Mark waited at the Bank president’s desk, while he double-checked the documents they had brought with them.
When they saw Mr. Thomas approach carrying a small safety deposit box, Cherie sucked in a breath so harshly that she started to choke.
Mark patted her back then took her hand and said, “Are you okay?”
Cherie was too overcome with emotion to respond, so she simply shook her head slowly.
Mr. Thomas placed the box on his desk, then, put his key in the hole, and waited for Cherie to insert hers.
When it opened, even Mark was holding his breath.
“Would you like some privacy to look over these papers Miss Michaels?” Mr. Thomas offered the use of his office.
“That’s not necessary. I’m going to take these papers home so I can go over them thoroughly.” Cherie replied stiffly, trying not to dwell on the contents as she placed three legal sized envelopes in her shoulder bag.
After signing the papers to close the safety deposit box account, Cherie shook Mr. Thomas’ hand a final time and left the branch office.
Once in the car Cherie started to shake. “Oh Mark, I’m not sure I’m ready for this? What if I find out something horrible? I’m worried about opening them in front of Olivia and finding things even she knew nothing about. She seems so fragile.”
Taking her hand, Mark tried to comfort her. “Hey, I’m here and nothing is going to happen to you other then you’re going to find out the truth about your parentage.”
“I know, but that’s just it, once I find out for sure, life as I knew it ends. What I’ll be left with is anybody’s guess.”
“Come on Cherie, are you trying to tell me that you’re afraid of finding out Olivia is your Grandmother? She’s the most harmless person I’ve ever met.”
“It’s not just that. Look at Destiny…she has mental problems, what if they’re inherited? I don�
�t want that worry on top of everything else. And just look at Lawrence, do you think I’m anxious to find out his genes are running through me? I don’t think so. That man should have been hung by his thumbs for what he did to his daughter and wife.”
“I understand how you feel, and given the same situation, I might be asking myself those same questions; but don’t you think it’s better knowing then having all these doubts and fears?”
For the remainder of the trip to Olivia’s Mark spent the ride trying to make Cherie laugh.
When they got back to Olivia’s, she had lunch waiting for the three of them. No doubt they ate in silence each staring at the envelopes on the table wondering what they were about to find out.
When lunch was over, Olivia suggested they go into the library to read the papers, since that room seemed to bring Cherie so much peace.
Once they were all comfortable seated, Cherie set the envelopes on her lap. One was labeled “Legal Document,” one was addressed to the Michaels, and the last was address to Cherie with a note to be opened upon the death of the Michaels.
Cherie shook as she decided which to open first. Deciding to see what the legal document was, sliding her finger along the flap opening it but also receiving a paper cut in the process. She pulled the document from its sheath. Her fingers shook as she unfolded the papers smearing her blood along the edge.
She scanned down the pages picking out key terms and phrases. She shook as she passed it on to Mark. “Is this a legal binding document?”
Mark checked it thoroughly before responding, “I’m no lawyer, but this has all the earmarks of a valid adoption.”
Passing the document on to Olivia, he said, “Olivia, is that your signature along with Lawrence’s on the last page?”
“I don’t need to look at those papers to know they’re the same ones my husband forced me to sign all those years ago, claiming to be in Destiny’s best interest as he had insisted.”