Mimi
1997, Fort Lauderdale
Mimi told herself if the safe didn’t open on the third try, she’d just have to ask her parents for a copy of their marriage certificate. But she really didn’t want to do that. Her heart was set on surprising them, and they would know something was up if she asked to see it. Not just see it—she’d have to borrow it to have the plaque made.
She sat cross-legged on the floor and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the telltale click of the safe releasing. She turned the handle slightly and tugged. There was a suction that grabbed for a split second, but gave way when she applied more force.
After seeing its contents, she hesitated. She sat up straight and resolved to handle this as professionally and maturely as possible. After all, she was almost a teenager. If you want to be an investigator, Mimi, you’re going to have to probably see things worse than this. She memorized how everything looked so she could be sure to put things back exactly as she found them.
Inside the safe were some dark tan envelopes stacked on top of each other. She was certain they contained what she was looking for. But it was what was on top of them that had her swallowing hard. Two handguns and several stacks of cash.
She tried not to think about why her father had guns and cash. It was probably something all fathers kept hidden away from their families. He was their protector, and he was responsible enough to keep the guns locked away where a child couldn’t get to them. And the cash she was certain was for emergencies. There were also some small boxes, she realized. Probably some of Mom’s more expensive jewelry.
With surprisingly steady hands, she removed the guns one by one and set them to the side. She did the same with the cash and small boxes. She reached in for the first envelope and smiled when she noticed her brother’s name written on the front. Jason. The one below it had her name written on it. She set them both down.
The final envelope didn’t have anything written on it. It was thicker than the other two. She turned it over in her hands and decided to undo the clasp. She opened it and pulled out the stack of papers. There was a large cluster held together with a big paperclip. It looked like the deed to the house. She fanned through the rest and saw what she thought were life insurance policies. There was a Last Will and Testament with both of her parents’ names.
It has to be in here somewhere. She rifled through the papers, found her parents’ birth certificates and laid them aside.
“Found you!” she exclaimed out loud as she saw the marriage certificate. She held it carefully and read slowly.
Her smile faded when she got to the date. According to this document, her parents’ anniversary was off by almost two months. This can’t be right. Unless...
No. Not her parents. Especially not her mother. There was no way her mother was pregnant with her before she married her father.
Mimi let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. So her parents weren’t perfect. That was okay. It might’ve even been a bit of a relief. They got married and stayed married, and that was more than she could say for a lot of her friends’ parents. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to surprise them with a silver-plated marriage certificate without letting them know she knew their secret. She harrumphed out loud when she realized her surprise wouldn’t have worked anyway. They would surely know where she’d found their marriage certificate—and they’d know what kind of snooping she’d have done to find it.
“Sometimes you don’t think, Mimi,” she said aloud.
Carefully, she put everything back in the envelope, closed the clasp, and laid it at the bottom of her father’s safe. She reached for the envelope with her own name and started to put it away, but stopped herself. What kind of things were her parents keeping for her? She’d come this far. What was a little more investigating going to hurt?
She undid the envelope and pulled out the contents. The first item gave her pause. It was the deed to a house. It looked like the same type of paperwork she’d seen in her parents’ envelope, except this deed was in her name. Miriam Ruth Dillon. And the address on the paperwork was in the Shady Ranches subdivision. She recognized the address immediately. Why was her name on the deed to Uncle Bill and Aunt Carter’s house?
She shuffled through her immunization records and First Holy Communion and Confirmation certificates, then came to her own birth certificate. She smiled to herself as she held the document and realized she really didn’t care if her parents weren’t married when she was conceived. One thing she knew for certain—she was a baby made out of pure and sheer love. She sometimes watched how her parents looked at each other, and it was obvious even to a twelve-year-old how completely devoted they were. Their little secret was safe with her.
She picked the stack of papers up and shuffled them, banging them slightly against her knee to straighten them so she could fit them back into the envelope neatly, when a smaller white envelope fell out and landed on her lap. She picked it up and studied it. It was sealed and didn’t have anything written on the outside. What could this be?
Carefully, she broke the seal. It was so old that it came loose easily. She took out the paper folded up inside and squinted as she tried to understand what she was seeing.
It was her birth certificate. Again. Wait, hadn’t she already seen this? Why was there another copy folded away in an unmarked envelope? This was identical to the one she’d just read, so why...
Her eyes widened. Was she reading this right? There must be some mistake. This was her name—well, part of her name. They got her first and middle name right, but not her last name. Her birthday was correct. Her mother’s name was clearly written. Guinevere L. Lemon Dillon.
But where her father’s name should have been was a name she didn’t recognize, and one she was certain she’d never heard before.
Who the heck was Jason William Talbot?