Family Secrets

"We haven't really discussed it but off the top of my head, since we are blending basically three families into one. It might be to our advantage if we made it a real family affair. Barb could be my maid of honor. Lou, Paul's best man. His other two brothers-in-law, the ushers. Susan and Sandra, the ladies in waiting. Tammy, the flower girl and Timothy the ring bearer. Dad, will you walk me down the aisle with my father?" Jackie disclosed with a big grin.

"Depends on who's paying the bill!" Dad replied in laughter. "and whether or not the nineteenth hole is stocked with Jack Daniels Sour Mash."

"What do you think, Paul." Jackie asked.

"It would be the perfect way for us to bond together. We all would be united in a common cause. If that is what you want, then let's do it.' I replied. "Do you think we should invite Sharron?"

Both of my parent quite firmly said no.

"Mom, Dad, over the next few weeks in the media a lot of things are going to be coming out. I'm suing the federal government, Sharron's parents and her husband. I have come to the belief that Sharron was just as much a victim of the circumstances back then as I was. I paid the price years ago. Sharron will be and is paying for it now. In ways we can only imagine. She believes she has lost her daughters forever." I explained. "Inviting her to the wedding might give the twins and her the opportunity to forge a new relationship by helping them let go of the past."

Jackie looked at me in awe, as did my parents.

"Where did that wisdom come from?" my dad said seriously.

"It's what these last few days have done for me." I replied, while holding Jackie's hand. "Saundra coming into our lives kicked started me back into grasping life, not just observing it."

We went back to my room where I promptly went back to sleep. The operation had taken more out of me than I realized. Jackie never left my side. As a result, she watched the mass media news. Christopher McCormick had been arrested so had Arnold Press. Both were facing charges of lying to the FBI. The person behind the Company named as having taken the contract on my life had turned state's evidence. My lawyer had released the information on how and why I was fired from the FBI. The Fed's had begun an internal review. When I woke up, Jackie caught me up with it all.

Dr. Proctor informed us when he came in that both my Mother and I would be released the next day. You will have to see your regular doctor for follow ups and to get the stiches removed. He said that Susan was doing better than he expected. The big question was how her body would respond as they weaned her of all her meds.

We went down to talk to my parents. They were not leaving the city until they knew that Susan was completely on the road to recovery. It was decided they would fly back on the private plane with us. Dad booked into the same hotel as Jackie. The hired driver was instructed to head back with the bus.

Over the next few days, the mass media revealed the deception, backstabbing and the political deals made that enabled Chris McCormick to destroy my marriage to his daughter and my career. They spent one day alone discussing how Sharron's own father had manipulated her into believing the rumors and lies. Sharron was publicly dissected like she was a frog.

Jackie and I were headed up to visit Susan for the last time before heading for home. Dr Proctor had proudly said she was well on the road to a full recovery.

I guess someone didn't like the bad press concerning the feds past dealing with me. The security release my publisher and I were waiting for was granted. It allowed the over one million hard copies being held, released. In less than two weeks they would be out in the retail market. I had two first editions delivered overnight to me. After I signed them, Jackie wrapped them for me. I had them hidden in a shopping bag when we entered Susan's hospital room. We had made sure that Saundra would be there.

"Your dad and I have set the date for the wedding for the first weekend in August. Aunt Barbara is going to be my maid of honor so I was wondering if you two girls will be my ladies in waiting?" Jackie asked.

Susan yelled "Hell yes."

"When I first walked into Dad's office, Jackie, I was scared stiff. You took one look at me and before I said a word you said you're Sharron's daughter. How are we going to handle this? It stunned me. I didn't know what to say. You went on to say we will have to handle it carefully because he's never been told he's a father." Saundra disclosed. "You accepted me for being me from day one. I didn't understand how you knew till later that day. I will proudly be in your wedding party if you will allow me to call you Mom."

I didn't say a word. I just watched as the three of them hugged. It was wonderful to see Susan literally jump out of bed. When things settled down, I pulled the gifts out of the bag handing them one each. I had signed them saying. To ------ One of the two prettiest ladies who call me Dad, with Love, Jason Blackstone/ Paul Earl Carlson.

Susan was like an excited two-year-old when she unwrapped it. It was the biggest book I had ever written; over 600 pages in length. Her faced glowed with pride. She knew it wasn't even released yet. Flipping open the cover. she started looking inside till she saw my note. Then she lost it.

"Dad, you have already done so much I didn't need this." She sobbed as she ran into my arms. "Before you came into my life the hospital staff were saying that I just had very few days left. Saundra knew it too. I don't know what got into her mind to go into the attic but I'm glad she did because it brought us you."

She was holding me so tight I thought she'd never let go. Saundra watched us for a few seconds.

'Dad, you need to know. Dr Proctor believes if Susan had of gotten one transplant it would not have worked. It was the double that shocked her body into repelling and replacing. In the last six days she has gained back ten pounds." Saundra explained. "I didn't even know if you would come, but there was no hesitation on your part. You brought a tribe. Thanks to the family I'm getting my best friend back."

"How's your mom holding up." I asked my girls, trying to change the tone.

"She's filed for divorce. She is going for therapy to help her deal with a lifetime of lies. She says she understands now what you had to go through so long ago and is ashamed." Susan said. "No one, she now says, but someone who has gone through it understands that it is a living hell. If it wasn't for her work and personal friends, she would be totally lost."

"Mom is strong she will get through it. The key will be getting her to trust again. Right now, she does not know who or what to believe." Saundra stated.

"Even with the support of family it can take years. It requires an act of faith that gets triggered in an unexpected way. For someone to begin totally trusting again. For me it was Saundra walking through my office door." I said.

"Thank God you did. Paul had me believing I was going to die an old maid waiting for him." Jackie added with a sense of humor. "Now girls, stand beside your father so I can capture a few images. The best one becomes an eight by ten that will sit on his writing desk.

We stepped off the plane to a big surprise. Jackie's parents and children were there to greet us. No sooner was I off the steps than the kids jumped me, almost knocking me down. Their excitement was contagious because it affected us all. My Dad got a real kick out of hearing them call me Dad. I had to go through the welcome to the family stuff. That was when it hit me. Timothy was going to have two older sisters and one younger, just like me. It took us all by surprise when Tammy went over and hugged my mom saying, 'I'm sure glad you're becoming my grandmother.

I stood there reflecting on how fast my life was changing; seeing the unexpected blessings now coming into my life. What Jackie and I had been working on before Saundra dropping into my life was now going to be shelved until after our wedding. Jackie knew our needs so I would let her find what we needed. It would give me free time to attempt to write the first fiction book in my life. The rest had been exposes of corruptions and cover ups.

We kept in contact with the twins. Jackie found us a twenty acre property that we bought. It came with a barn that needed repair. Susan was constantly improving and had returned to school part time. We had a firm design our house out of steel and brick. Jackie got everything she wanted. I got an outdoor built in kitchen, a large patio, an inground swimming pool and my four bay garage.

Jackie being out of the office more than she was in, allowed me to work harder than before. My publisher had one of their own staff editors work with me. I let the words flow because I knew it was coming from my heart. I pushed out over three hundred pages before I was done. It would be the first book published in my real name.

Sharron had used my lawyer, with my approval, to divorce Arnold. It was a fair divorce, but she stuck him for alimony and post-secondary education costs. He'd be paying and paying for years. My cases were all in mediation; it seems they had lost the will to fight.

Tammy, Timothy, Jackie and I were waiting for the twins to arrive. Their last day of school had been on Tuesday. They had called to say they were an hour or so away. It was Timothy that saw them driving up the long driveway of our new house. We were all outside the front door before they came to a stop.

When they stepped out of the Explorer, I discovered I had a big new problem. Susan's recovery had been amazing because I now could not tell which was which. I looked at Jackie and she whispered, 'we'll figure it out.'

Timothy, being the big brother, carried their luggage to their rooms as Jackie proudly showed off the house. When they finally got to my office, sitting on my desk was three copies of my latest book called, Unexpected Blessings. It was a fictionized story of us.

finished