Page 138 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“Don’t be; he was planning to marry me off to some guy so he could keep my money to himself.” The air turns a shade of blue as my auntie calls my father every name under the sun, as well as some I have never heard before.

I take my aunties hands in mine and make sure she is looking me in the eye.

“We know it’s because of him you are in here. I’m going to get you out. We found the real diagnosis paperwork and know what he’s been doing. I won’t stop until you are home.”

Trish lifts her hand and places it on my cheek.

“There is so much you don’t know, Jellybean. So many things that have been kept from you.”

“We know everything, Trisha.” Travis steps beside me and places a hand on my shoulder. “We know he's not her real father. We also know about the drugs and the money. We know about it all except who her real father is.”

Travis retrieves the bag he placed down by the door and pulls out the small safe.

“Oh my god. Where did you find it?” She takes it from his hand and places it on the bed beside her.

“He had hidden it in a larger one in the basement where we used to dance,” I reply, watching as she runs her hands over it like it’s the most precious thing in the world to her.

“I never thought I would see it again.” She wipes a tear from her cheek as she stands from the bed and walks over to her wardrobe.

“When they put me in here, your father, well, Henry, asked me where the key was. I told him he would never find it.” She looks over her shoulder at me and grins. “He hated not being in control; that’s why he made sure I had the accident. He found out what I was up to and that I knew the truth.”

“What were you up to?” Travis asks.

“Finding out why the guys really left Miriam.” She reaches to the back of her wardrobe and pulls out a shoe box. Carrying it over to me, she holds it out. “The key is in here.”

Travis’s hand on my shoulder squeezes slightly as I take a deep breath. I know once I find out what’s in that safe, then there is no pretending it hasn’t happened any more.

“You don’t have to do anything yet, you know that.”

My auntie looks at Travis beside me and smiles before looking back at me.

“He’s right. You could take the key and the safe and deal with this when you are ready. It sounds like you have had to deal with a lot recently.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Travis laughs beside me. “But she has handled it so well, and we are all very proud of her for it.” he gives me that looks the tells me he is proud of me, and I feel my heart warm.

“Okay, give me the key,” I say, looking at my Auntie, who grins at me, opens the box, grabs a slipper, and holds it out towards me. My heart sinks as I realise she must have had her medication, or she really is slightly mad.

“Don’t look at me like that; take the damn slipper and look under the sole.”

Travis laughs as my auntie winks at him. “Well, I am the crazy aunt,” she laughs before dropping the box and shoving her hand into the slipper.

“Do you remember my friend Susanne?” When I nod, she continues. “Well, I had given her this key for safekeeping. The first time she came to see me she asked if I wanted it back and I said yes. But I knew your dad was after it too, so I shoved it in here and never took it out again.” When she removes her hand from the slipper, I realise she has the key she holds out for me. “Go on, take it. Everything that’s in there is yours now anyway.” Lifting the key from her hand, I look at the safe and take a deep breath before opening it.

Inside, I see two notebooks and all kinds of papers and documents.

“I don’t know where to begin,” I admit, looking up at my auntie who sits beside me. She reaches into the safe and pulls out the top notebook.

“This was Henry’s. I found it about a month after your mum died. It explains how he came to be there that day and why he was so obsessed over her.” Trish places it on her knee and pulls out another notebook.

“This holds the last known addresses I have for the guys who were in a relationship with your mum. One has moved on and married, and have kids of their own. The other never got over Miriam and has spent his life travelling. But I know each of them would welcome you with open arms if they were your father.” She places that notebook on top of the other and pulls out a hand full of papers, envelops and pictures. She flicks through them for a moment before stopping to look at a picture with a huge smile on her face.

“This is your mum with the two guys.” She turns the picture around so I can see it. It's slightly discoloured with age, but there is my mum. Her long blonde hair hung loosely in waves over her shoulders. She stands between two men. She looks so tiny next to them, but all three have the biggest smile on their faces.

“The guy there on your mums right, with the black hair is Jerry. He was the first one she was with, they met at a fair and they fell head over heels for each other. Miriam couldn’t wait to introduce him to me, and I knew they were meant to be.

“The guy on the other side of her with the light brown hair is Dave. He was an old friend of Jerry’s. He came to visit one weekend and she fell for him as hard as she did for Jerry and the three of them decided they would try a polygamous relationship. They were so happy together.”

I look at Dave and see that he has the lightest hair out of the men. There is also something familiar about him.

---