I knew exactly how she felt. “Scary stuff when you see your man on those covers, isn’t it?”
She groaned and I could tell just from her expression that she finally could relate.
“I understand,” I said. “Believe me. Thomas’s cheating made me question every man’s motives. That kind of betrayal sticks with you forever. All I can say is follow your heart.”
“Or my vagina,” she said with a laugh.
I smiled at her.
“Speaking of confusion, where are you heading?” she asked.
“I brought all of those keys. Thought since we were over this way we could stop at the bank before the guys land.”
After arriving at the bank, we sat in the lobby, waiting for the next customer service person to help us. Marie tapped me on the thigh, noticing that the woman approaching us was smiling like a fangirl at me. I let her gush for a minute about how wonderful Ryan Christensen is before getting down to business.
The customer service clerk helped sort through the random baggie of keys, narrowing them down to a handful that might get me into Lockbox 291. Marie and I had found forty random keys when we searched; unfortunately none blatantly screamed “safe deposit box.” “Last key,” I said, trying the last one, small and made of brass. I almost felt giddy when it slipped in and turned.
We pulled the inner black metal case out and she set it on a table, leaving to give me privacy.
Marie raised her eyebrows, waiting in anticipation.
I pulled the top lid back, spying several stacks of letters rubber-banded together. The rubber was so old it crumbled around the envelopes.
I flipped through them, seeing that all of them were addressed to me from Private Joseph Malone. Who the hell is Joseph Malone?
“What is all of that?” Marie asked. “Who are they from?”
“I’m not sure.” I opened up one of the letters, scanning writing I’d never seen before.
There was also a twenty-dollar bill inside the envelope.
Dear Taryn,
I hope you had a fun birthday. Five years old now! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown. I promise when I come home I’ll take you to the toy store so you can pick out a new Barbie doll. I remember how much you liked playing with them. I’m at a place called Fort Gordon now. It’s in Georgia. You’ll be happy to know that they painted me green just like you said they would. I’m a real army soldier now. It’s really hot here. I’m learning how to do all sorts of crazy things, like crawl through the mud and climb over tall obstacles. I’m a good climber. I hate crawling in the mud. I think you’d find the mud yucky, too.
I have another six weeks to go and then I might go over the big ocean in a huge airplane. I hope your daddy will use the money I put in the envelope to buy you a new dolly for me until I can see you again. Be a good girl like I know you are.
Love you forever,
Joe
“Who’s Joseph Malone?”
My hands shook. I felt a trickle of sweat slide down my spine, or maybe that was just my nerves. “The only Malone I know is my aunt Joan. That’s her married name.” I dug through the piles, feeling nauseous. There had to be thirty or forty letters from him addressed to me from all around the globe.
Was my father protecting me from a stalker?
At the very bottom of the pile was a thick white envelope with the word Original written in blue ink. I swallowed hard.
As soon as I opened up the folded papers, I felt a warm rush of panic roll throughout my entire body.
“Oh my God. No. No.”
I couldn’t get to the garbage can in the corner fast enough before I threw up the entire contents of my stomach.
“Oh no. Oh, Taryn,” I heard Marie say as I retched into the steel can.
I faintly remember Marie driving us home.
I sat at one of the booths in the pub, reading letters about Joe’s army life, his travels to the Persian Gulf, trying to piece it all together while Marie hovered.
We had an hour before we’d open the pub and a band was scheduled to play, but I couldn’t stop the tears. I wasn’t even sure what I was crying about anymore. My entire world—everything I’d ever known—had been turned inside out, where truth and lies and real and alternate insane realities had reversed.
I didn’t even know who I was anymore. Of all the things to find in a lockbox, this was something I wouldn’t have ever guessed. It was all so overwhelming to process.
I was in a state of shock when Ryan and Mike arrived. I saw Marie run for the kitchen door.
The moment I saw Ryan standing a few feet away, calling to me, I lost it, hurling my body at him and clinging to him like a lost soul in need.