Sandra got the call from her mom, Emma, that her dad, Frank, had passed away. She felt very mixed emotions about this news. Sandra knew she was supposed to feel more grief than she did but somehow those feelings just wasn't there. Her dad had always seemed so cold and distant toward her. He had never showed her the affection he had given her younger sister and brother. Her mom had tried to make up for this by giving her attention but Frank would act mad and then Emma would pull away from Sandra. Sandra had never known how a loving family should be until she married Mark. His family was so close and loving toward every member. Seeing this made Sandra know just how much dysfunction had been in her family life while she was growing up. Sandra had very bad memories of her childhood and how out of place she had felt. There had been one lady who came to visit her that had made her feel loved. This lady told Sandra to call her Aunt Kate but she wasn't related to Sandra's family in anyway. Aunt Kate would bring Sandra birthday and Christmas presents. She kept up these visits until Sandra's eighth birthday. On that day Frank told Aunt Kate she was never to come back again. Sandra hadn't seen her since that day. She had called several times but Frank would never let Sandra talk to her. Sandra took a plane back home for the funeral. She was going to stay at a hotel but Emma ask her to stay at her house. The day after the funeral when Sandra was packing to catch her flight home, Emma came in and ask to talk with her. Sandra was so shocked when her mom told her "the family secret." Emma told Sandra when she was in high school her parents moved here from her hometown. She said when they moved she had to leave all her friends including her boyfriend, James. Here when she began school Emma met Frank. Then soon after they got out of high school they got married. The marriage however wasn't a happy one for Emma because she had never forgotten James and still loved him. Frank was called to the Army when they had been married about a year. He was going away to be a soldier in World War II. The day he was getting ready to leave, Emma told him she wasn't in love with him and she wanted to get a divorce. He told her he loved her and wouldn't give her the divorce. When Frank had been gone several weeks, Emma returned to her hometown. There she saw James. He was in the Air Force and was also leaving for World War II in a few weeks. They were still in love so they began an affair which lasted until James had to leave for his military service. Emma then returned home. She wrote Frank telling him of her love for James and that she wanted a divorce as soon as Frank returned home. Several months after James left Emma found she was pregnant with his child. She wrote him and he was very happy about the baby. He wanted to marry her when she was free and he could return home. Emma also wrote to Frank about the baby. However, before she heard back from Frank, she had a visit from James's sister Kate. Kate told her James had been shot down over Germany and was dead. Only about a month later Emma gave birth to a daughter and named her Sandra. Emma was so upset over losing James but was very happy about her baby. When Frank found out James had died, he ask Emma to stay married to him. He said he would raise the baby as his daughter. Emma didn't know what else to do so she stayed married to Frank. At times Emma thought that was a mistake because often Frank had gotten angry about the affair and Sandra's conception when he was drinking. Kate had wanted to see Sandra, so they made an agreement that she could visit on Sandra's birthday and on Christmas. She could never tell Sandra who she or Sandra's real father was. Now everything about her childhood made sense to Sandra. Now she knew why Frank had never treated her as he did her sister and her brother. She now knew why she had always felt she didn't belong. She now knew who Aunt Kate and her real father was. This family secret had caused her to live through a nightmare childhood. She thought to herself, if only they hadn't kept that secret, maybe her life would have been different. Maybe Frank could have dealt better with his feelings if this secret had been brought out in the open. Copyright @ 2003 M. Doris Fuller This story is dedicated to Lynn and everyone whose childhood was devastated by "The Family Secret." View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook