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Then Pam turned to Lisa. “Is it? Why didn’t you date?”
Handing the photo back, Lisa shrugged. “I guess I didn’t need the attention of a guy. Daddy and Brent doted on me; you know that.”
“Your father was never around.”
“Yeah, but when he was, he focused on me.”
“I know it, and I will be honest with you. I wondered if it was appropriate.”
“He never said or did anything to me or to Brent, Mom. We saw how he was with Aunt Marie, and maybe that had something to do with it. We just thought you knew he was horsing around with her and you didn’t mind. She was our aunt. At the time, it seemed okay. We only saw the flirtation.”
“Sorry.” Pam sighed, placing the photo on the pile and reaching into the box for another photo. “Ignorance is bliss.”
She studied the next photo, annoyed that it still had the power to hurt her.
“Who’s that?” Lisa asked, pointing to the picture Pam held in her hands.
“It’s a photo of Jack and Gina. Your half-sister Alison’s mother. Our wedding day.”
She handed it to Lisa, who studied it, frowning. It was a classic wedding photo, the beautiful bride in the center, flanked by the handsome groom and the lovely maid of honor. The bride looked like royalty. The groom wore Halston, the fashion designer of the day, his eyes riveted on the bride. The maid of honor’s eyes were on the groom.
“Wow, if photos could talk,” Pam said, shaking her head. “I didn’t see it then. But it’s glaring now. She was interested in Jack, and it’s our wedding day. Duh.”
“She could be your sister. She looks more like you than Aunt Marie did.”
“We met Jack when he was an adjunct at our college. She encouraged me to see him, and all along, she was seeing him. I just never understood it. Why not grab him for herself? Why get me involved with the man and then two-time me?”
“Mom, Daddy wanted you, not Gina. He was married to you. He never, ever gave his other children the time of day, and he had to know Alison was his child. Not that it’s nice, but it should tell you a lot about what his priorities were.”
“Evidently, he had both of us for a while. I never suspected. Well, that’s not exactly true. I found her sweater in the back seat of his convertible.”
“Mom, I’m so sorry. What happened between you after you got married?”
“Me and Gina? We went our separate ways. You know what happened after that. Daddy must have been seeing her all along, and they had a child together. I don’t know what transpired between the two of them.”
“It’s not important now, Mom. We have Alison in our lives, and for the first time in a long while, she’s happy. Adam loves her; the kids are doing well, and Gina is dead.”
“She was my soulmate,” Pam muttered. “I need to rethink the meaning of that word.”
Lisa kissed Pam’s cheek. “I’ll send Ryan down with the car later to pick up the box, if that’s okay.”
“It’s just fine,” Pam said. “I’m so glad you’re interested. I wish I had someone interested in Brent’s stuff.”
“Oh, Mom, that’s so sad.”
“It’s okay. Sandra might want the memories for little Brent’s sake.”
“Let me go through the box first,” Lisa said, realizing taking on the task might be more than she had bargained for. “I’d like to do a memory book of my own of Brent. Or I can do one for his son, too. Are you in a hurry to get rid of it?”
“No, not at all. I’m thinking of him today. I just felt like going through old papers.”
“Knock yourself out,” Lisa replied, chuckling. She kissed Pam on the cheek again and left, calling after her as she mounted the steps. “I’ll let you know when Ryan is on his way.”
Pam returned to the boxes, looking through the contents. There was one near the bottom that she knew was full of greeting cards—old cards from their wedding, cards Jack had sent her, homemade cards the kids had made them. She pulled that out and opened the lid.
As she shuffled through the stack, a large, faded pink envelope got her attention, the memory of the card making her smile. The flap had torn a little, probably in her haste to open it. Jack had never dated the cards, but she’d remembered to add it; he’d given it to her after Lisa was born.
Roses are red, violets are blue, you gave me a daughter, after a mind-blowing screw.
