“I’ll get it,” I yelled. Dani and Kinsley were wrapping some last-minute gifts in their room.
I pranced over to the door on my tiptoes, anxious to see Jonah and Whitney. I threw open the door, “You just couldn’t wa—”
I stared at the middle-aged distinguished man who was not Jonah. He held a leather satchel across his chest like body armor. I didn’t recognize him at first, but then something struck me. His eyes. Not just blue, but sapphire, like mine. They may have been more crinkled around the edges, but I would know them anywhere.
“You look just like her,” the man choked out like he had a serious case of dry mouth.
I slammed the door in his face and leaned against it, hyperventilating.
Kinsley walked out of her room wearing ribbons around her neck and in her hair as if Dani had wrapped her. She was smiling until she saw me and heard another knock. “Are you okay? Who’s at the door?”
I had no words. I tried to say something, but my brain and my mouth were having a major disconnect. I tried pointing, but my fingers wouldn’t work either.
Concerned, Kinsley approached me. “Is it Jonah?”
Somehow my head was functioning, and I shook it no.
She started to reach for the door handle. “Who is it?”
I grabbed her hand. “Don’t.”
“Ariana,” the man shouted through the door. “I didn’t think you would recognize me, so this must be quite a shock to you. I’m assuming you must have some questions. I promise you, if you open the door, I’ll answer them.”
Dani walked out wearing ribbons too. “Who in the world is at the door?”
“It’s him,” I croaked.
Dani and Kinsley looked at each other, confused.
“Roger Stanton,” I squeaked out.
“No!” they said in unison.
“Please,” Roger begged. “I’ve come a long way.”
“Are you going to open it?” Kinsley asked.
“I don’t know,” I stuttered. Was this even real?
“Ariana,” he said through the door. “I didn’t know about the letters. I just found out about them. This must be very confusing for you—”
What? I threw open the door. “What do you mean, you just found out about them? You’ve been sending them to me for years!”
Roger swallowed hard and let out a deep breath. “I know that’s what you think, but please let me explain.” He held up the satchel. “If I could please come in, I’ll tell you everything.”
I looked at Dani and Kinsley to tell me what to do. I knew this was what I had wanted forever, but now that the mystery was about to be solved, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. What if I couldn’t handle what he told me? And where the hell had he been all my life? How could he not know about the letters?
Dani took my hand and patted it. “Maybe we should let him in to hear what he has to say?”
I nodded like I was in a trance.
“Come in,” Kinsley invited.
Once he’d walked in and Kinsley had shut the door, I stared intensely at him trying to process this very unexpected event. His hair was almost completely gray, and his hairline was a lot farther back, but he was still in good shape. He wasn’t as tall as I thought he would be, but he probably looked taller in the picture because my mom was short. Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing sky-high shorts. Instead, he was dressed neatly in dark jeans and a sports coat.
He stared at me with the same intensity, but it was as if he recognized me. He had said, “You look just like her.” Who did he mean? Surely not my mother. No one ever said I looked like her. Admittedly, I found comfort in that. Not that my mom wasn’t pretty—once upon a time she had been, she was beautiful in fact—but she had become hardened by life, by this man in front of me, I believed, and it had manifested itself physically.
“Who do I look like?” I blurted.
A soft smile appeared on Roger’s face. “I have a picture I’d liked to show you. Maybe we can sit down?” He held out his hand. “I’m Dean by the way, your—”
“Dean? No. You’re Roger,” I corrected the man like I knew better than him.
He extended his hand farther. “Ah. I think I know why you know me by that name. There is a story there I will share with you as well.”
This was getting more and more bizarre. I reluctantly took his hand anyway. When I did, something odd happened. It was almost as if I could physically feel a piece of my life’s puzzle click into place. Like I was supposed to know his hand. It freaked me out because I was supposed to hate him, so I pulled away, but Roger or Dean or whoever he was wouldn’t let go.
“I can’t believe I have a daughter and here you are.” He choked up. He squeezed my hand before letting it go.