Chapter 2 - THE PHOTOGRAPH IN HIS POCKET
I stared at him.
“You’re thirty-four.”
“I know.”
“My mother would have been twenty-five.”
“I know.”
“You were seven.”
“Yes.”
The anger in me stumbled over confusion.
Diane closed her eyes.
“Ethan, don’t.”
He reached inside his suit jacket.
My first thought was insane.
A ring.
Another ring.
Some secret promise to my mother.
Instead, he pulled out an old photograph.
The edges were soft with age.
A little boy stood beside a lake holding a red plastic boat.
Behind him was a younger version of my mother.
She had one hand on his shoulder.
Beside her stood a man I had never seen.
On the back, written in faded blue ink, were four words.
Diane, Thomas and Ethan. 1999.
“Who is Thomas?”
Neither answered.
I looked at my mother.
“Who is he?”
Her lips parted.
A church coordinator appeared around the corner.
“Sarah? Father Nolan is asking if we should delay.”
I folded the photograph into my palm.
“Yes.”
“How long?”
I looked at Ethan.
“Until someone tells me why my mother was in his childhood pictures.”
The coordinator wisely disappeared.
Diane sat on a stone bench.
She suddenly looked older.
“Thomas was Ethan’s father.”
I waited.
Nothing made sense yet.
“And?”
“He was my friend.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“That’s what she told me too.”
Diane looked at him sharply.
“Don’t.”
“Why? We’re already here.”
He turned to me.
“My father died when I was eight.”
“I know that.”
“You know he died in a car accident.”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t.”
My mother stood.
“Ethan.”
“He was killed.”
The wind moved through the oak leaves.
I felt cold beneath my wedding dress.
“By who?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“That’s why I’ve been meeting your mother.”
I looked from him to Diane.
“You kissed because you’re investigating a murder?”
“No.”
His answer came too fast.
My throat tightened again.
“Then why?”
Diane whispered, “Because he found something this morning.”
She opened her purse and removed a small brass key.
“There is a safe-deposit box in your grandfather’s name.”
“My grandfather has been dead for twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He left instructions that it could only be opened on your wedding day.”
I stared at the key.
Ethan continued.
“Your mother asked me to meet her behind the church because she was afraid someone inside was watching.”
“Who?”
Diane looked toward the stained-glass windows.
May you like
Then she said a name that made my skin crawl.
“Your father.”
