by Graham, Jan
“Ready to go, beautiful?” She glanced up to Daniel standing in the doorway.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She smiled, feeling the butterflies in her stomach turn into stampeding elephants.
Angel hoped everything went well during the visit. According to both men, Andrew Shore was the nicest man in the world. Angel knew they were biased by blood and her experience of fathers hadn’t been a great one, but by all reports, Andrew was a down-to-earth, compassionate business and family man with a good sense of humour. He had been widowed when the boys’ mothers had died in a car accident and re-married about five years after their deaths.
Andrew’s wife, Denise Harris-Shore, was described as a nice woman, somewhat traditional, and very much in love with their father. In recent years, her semisilent concern at the brother’s choice of lifestyle had morphed into a dislike of both Christian and Daniel.
Denise had decided to blame both men for what Denise referred to as “their stepsister’s decline into amoral behaviour.”
Mercedes Harris had studied business and law at university and paid her way through the five years of study by working as a Madam. Since leaving university, she had built one of the finest BDSM gentlemen’s clubs in the city. Mercedes revelled in being rebellious. She had been a wild child from the moment she had been born, and everyone except Denise knew that Mercedes’s choice of lifestyle had nothing to do with either Daniel or Christian. At the age of twenty-six, Mercedes showed no sign of ever conforming to her mother’s standards of what a nice girl should be.
Angel’s nervousness increased during the drive. Especially after Christian advised her to ignore any snide remarks Denise made toward any of them. As they pulled into the large circular drive, Angel had flash of familiarity, which she assumed was due to the fact that the size of the home reminded her of the house she had grown up in. As they headed to the front stairs, Christian and Daniel flanked Angel on either side. By the time a tall, slender woman answered the door, Angel wondered if she had made a wise choice in coming on the family visit.
“Hello, welcome to my home. You must be Angel.” The slender woman extended her hand as Angel stepped inside. “I must say you look much nicer than the other tramps Andrew’s boys have paraded through the house.”
For someone so refined, this lady had a sting in her tone that shocked Angel to the core. Angel managed to smile in response to the woman’s greeting but wasn’t sure how to answer her. “Thank you” didn’t seem appropriate as Angel tried to decide if she had just been insulted. How could anyone welcome her to their home, call her a tramp in one breath, and still make it sound filled with warmth? Angel decided to just let the brothers handle Denise until she got her bearings and observed the woman some more.
“Nice to see you’re as welcoming as always, Denise,” Daniel snapped as he placed a protective arm around Angel, pulling her into his side.
“Yes, well, I try.” Denise eyed Angel up and down as she spoke. “I see your new friend has already got you to start lavishing her with expensive jewellery.” Denise glared down at the ruby bracelet before fixing her gaze on the pendant hanging around Angel’s neck.
“Actually, they belong to Angel, a family heirloom I believe, aren’t they, sweetheart?” Christian smiled back at Denise while Angel nodded silently. “I assume Dad’s out the back.” He continued to walk straight ahead, pushing Denise aside before gesturing for Daniel and Angel to lead the way.
“They’re not a family heirloom. They were given to me by a transvestite I know in the city,” Angel whispered as they got clear of Denise’s gaze. “He likes to mother me, and it was a ‘welcome back to the city’ gift.”
“Mothers you, does he? Well, that’s exactly what I said…Family heirloom.” Christian laughed as he took hold of Angel’s hand.
As they reached the large, glass door at the back of the house, Angel heard a scream coming from the outdoor entertainment area. Suddenly a tall, slender young woman with angular features and deep, brown eyes came bounding through the doorway. She looked like a much less wrinkled version of Denise and seemed to have a friendlier disposition as she raced toward Angel.
“Oh my god, she’s gorgeous,” the young woman yelled before dragging Angel out of Daniel’s grip and throwing her arms around her. In the distance Angel saw a tall man with dark gray hair glance up toward the house when he heard the commotion. “I’m Mercedes. Welcome to the family.”
Before Angel could answer, Mercedes turned her attention to Christian and Daniel.
“What have you done to her? The poor sweet thing is trembling,” she said, slapping each of them on the arm in turn.
“She just met Denise.” Daniel smirked as he gave his stepsister a hug.
“Well, that explains it.” Mercedes laughed. “Don’t you let her scare you, Angel. My mother has issues with life. Mainly my life, not hers, but I’m hoping she’ll get over it before she dies.” Mercedes took hold of Angel’s hand and walked her outside to the large, wooden dining setting.
“Actually I was nervous before I met your mother,” Angel confessed. “I’ve never met anyone’s parents before.” Angel watched the shocked expressions of Mercedes, Daniel, and Christian. “I mean, parents of people I’ve been in a relationship with. It’s all a bit new.” Angel felt embarrassed to admit it but it was the truth.
“You’ve never met any past boyfriend’s or lover’s parents?” Daniel spoke the words with an edge of wonderment in his voice.
“Oh God, then Denise was your first parent experience.” Christian pretended to be mortified. “That must have hurt. Let me kiss you better,” he stated as he grabbed Angel into his arms and started planting kisses all over her face and neck.
“We’ll have none of that here unless I get to have a turn.” A deep baritone voice boomed across the outdoor area.
“Hey, old man, go and find your own beautiful, young woman,” Daniel quipped before striding toward his father and hugging him affectionately. Angel watched the embrace as Christian placed his hand in the small of her back and moved her toward the distinguished-looking man standing at Daniel’s side.
“Dad, this is Angel. Angel, this is our father, Andrew Shore,” Christian said as they approached before moving past Angel and embracing his father with the same amount of affection she had just seen Daniel display.
Angel looked at the man who stood before her. Andrew Shore was tall like both his sons. He had Daniel’s dark hair, Christian’s lighter brown eyes, and a smile so warm it would melt ice. He seemed to be looking at her with slight surprise, and Angel wasn’t sure why.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Mr. Shore.” Angel smiled.
“Andrew,” he replied. “Call me Andrew.”
“Stop staring at the poor girl like you’ve seen a ghost, Dad. She’s already been scared by Denise on her way in. We don’t need her to think the only person in the family that’s sane is me,” Mercedes said as she sat at the table, sipping her drink.
“Of course, how rude of me. Let me get you all a drink, and we can sit down and get acquainted,” Andrew stated, his eyes still transfixed on Angel. “Christian, help with the drinks, would you, while Daniel and Angel make themselves comfortable at the table.”
Andrew felt like he had seen a ghost, and he knew his first response to Angel had probably shocked and confused her. She was like a vision from a bygone era that flooded Andrew with thoughts of the two women he had loved so dearly, and who had been taken from him before he was ready. He recognised Angel’s smile, the familiar emerald-green eyes, and he smiled with satisfaction, knowing she was now part of his life again, protected and loved by his two sons. Over the years, Andrew had often thought about the little girl he had so desperately wanted to help but had been unable to. Because of his own grief, Andrew had not followed through on the plans that Christian and Daniel’s mothers had attempted to put into place when Angel’s mother had become ill.
“This is why you rang and asked me about Harold Wylde?” Andrew asked Christian
as they walked over to the outdoor bar.
“Yes. What’s going on?” Christian asked as he grabbed three cold beers from the bar while his father poured a glass of chardonnay for Angel.
“Did he hurt her? Does she have scars from being left with him?” Andrew’s voice had an edge of concern.
“Who, what are you talking about?” Christian asked. Andrew realised his son was trying to make sense of the question.
“Did Harold Wylde hurt her? Does she have any problems because nobody got her away from him and her brothers?”
Andrew Shore’s gaze was firmly set on Angel sitting at the table, laughing at whatever Mercedes had just said. He noticed Daniel glanced over at him, seemingly unsure what was going on. It didn’t surprise Andrew that Daniel stood and made his way over to the bar.
“Does she have scars?” Christian obviously wasn’t sure what he was asking him. “Why are you so concerned about this?” Christian stepped in front of his father, breaking the gaze Andrew had on Angel.
“What’s going on, Dad? Why the strange glares at Angel?” Daniel asked. The look of concern on his face as well as Christian’s conveyed to Andrew exactly how much Angel meant to them.
“I need to know she’s okay, that Harold didn’t hurt her. That the boys didn’t do anything they shouldn’t have.” He looked between his sons with a growing sense of urgency. “One of you answer me, damn it. I need to know she’s okay.”
“She’s okay, Dad. Daniel and I are taking care of her now.” Christian touched his father’s arm softly. “She doesn’t see her brothers, and Harold is dead.”
“Nothing to do with them, you say…good. Keep it that way, son. The man was evil, and so are his sons. He didn’t deserve to have her in his life. He never did.” Andrew knew he hadn’t given either of his boys an explanation for his reaction to Angel but now wasn’t the right time. He just needed to assure himself that Angel was all right. Explanations would come later.
“So you know for sure he didn’t hurt her?” Andrew repeated.
“Yes, Dad, he hurt her. She didn’t have a great life with Harold. He used her as a maid from the time she was seven. She told me about being hit a few times, pushed down stairs by him once when he got angry with her. According to Angel, the thing that hurt the most was being ignored and growing up knowing she wasn’t wanted once her mother died.” Daniel’s tone was solemn.
“I should have done something.” Andrew felt a wave of regret flood him. “Your mothers would have expected more of me, and so would have Angel’s mother. I let them all down.”
“We need to know what’s going on, Dad. Cut the cryptic bullshit and start making sense,” Christian snapped.
“Not now. Let’s give Angel the lovely family day she deserves, and we can discuss everything with her later before you go.” Andrew feigned a smile at his two boys, picked up the glass of wine, and carried it over to the table.
Andrew glanced over at his two sons, who stared back at him in amazement as he placed the glass in front of her, leant forward, and kissed her on the cheek. They would have to wait for answers, whether they liked it or not.
“I have a gift for you, Angel. Remind me to get it out of the study before you leave today.”
“Do you think we should be worried?” He heard Christian ask Daniel the question as they both walked back to join the others.
“I have no idea,” Daniel replied. “But we will definitely make sure that we get the answer to whatever is on Dad’s mind before we go today.”
Denise arrived with pre-lunch nibbles as the men seated themselves at the table. Christian appeared to shudder as he heard Mercedes telling Angel about some of the misadventures he used to get up to when he was younger. God knows what Mercedes would tell her by the time the day was over, but at least Angel looked more relaxed than when she had first arrived, which obviously made him happy. As the day went on, even Denise joined in the storytelling about the boys as young men. At one point she actually managed to crack a smile. Angel answered all the obligatory questions that people get asked when you meet someone for the first time. What she did for work, where she had grown up, how she had come to meet Christian and Daniel. Christian noted the way Angel skirted around the issue of family. Mentioning both her parents were dead was a good way to end any prying questions from both Denise and Mercedes.
Angel loved hearing the stories of what Christian and Daniel were like when they were younger. She even joked with them about what good ammunition she now had in case either of them stepped out of line. Even Denise had seemed to warm to her. At times the woman seemed genuinely interested in what Angel was saying. There were no snide comments like the one she had made when Angel first arrived, and Denise even gave her an invite to go shopping one day while the men were all at work. Angel relished sitting there feeling the sense of family. It was everything she had imagined being in a group of people that cared for each other would be like. This was nothing like the fake every one is happy all the time TV shows she watched as a child. This was a genuine family.
Here, each family member had their own opinions and was free to state them without retribution. There were issues that rested under the surface of their relationships to each other, but ultimately they all shared a mutual respect and love.
Angel wondered, would her family have been more like the Shore household if her mum had not died? Would her brothers have turned out to be better men? Would her father have been less ignorant and hurtful toward her? Would she have had some sense of family rather than sitting here feeling like the odd one out, even though everyone present was accepting her into their lives with such kindness? Angel felt a twinge of sadness as she realised that she would never truly know.
Later in the afternoon, Denise and Mercedes departed. Denise was driving her now slightly drunk daughter home so Mercedes could sleep before she went to work later that evening. Mercedes was all kisses and hugs for everyone before she left. She even managed throw in a statement about loving her new sister and warning both Daniel and Christian to make sure Angel was treated well and kept happy at all times or face the wrath of Mistress M as a consequence.
As the two women left, Andrew stood and announced it was time to adjourn to the family room. He instructed Daniel to make coffee before disappearing down the hallway.
Christian and Angel sat down on the sofa in the family room and waited for both men to return. Daniel arrived with a tray of mugs filled with coffee, and shortly after, Andrew appeared in the doorway carrying a carved, wooden chest which he placed on the coffee table in front of Angel.
The wooden chest was engraved with the words I will love you always, dear Angel.
The gold engraving sparkled like it was new. The chest was well cared for, but it had an antique appearance. Angel wondered where it had come from and why a man she had only just met was giving her a gift with such an intimate engraving.
The chest had a gold lock attached to the front it, too, which showed signs of age just as the chest did. When Angel lifted her gaze to meet Andrew Shore’s eyes, she noticed him fingering a delicate gold key attached to a red silk ribbon. His eyes appeared to glisten as though any moment tears would begin to fall.
“Before I give you this key, Angel, I need to say that when I saw you arrive today with my boys, my heart filled with emotion. I hope that this gift becomes precious to you because inside this chest is pure love. I have kept it for many years now in the hope that this day would arrive.” Andrew paused briefly and cleared his throat. “I want to tell you that it is not my intention to cause you any harm or bring sorrow into your life, but before you open this chest, there is a story that must be told, and, I am certain, tears that must be shed.”
“Dad, what are you doing?” Christian glared at his father with uncertainty. “Apart from scaring Angel to death, that is.”
“It’s okay, Christian. Let your dad speak,” Angel replied. She felt very serene, not scared, and a chill of excitement and wonder settled in her stomach.
“I’m not scared.” She stood and moved to sit next to Andrew. “I’ve learnt something from your two boys recently.” She smiled up at him and took Andrew’s hands to still the nervous play with the key.
“And what would that be?” He grinned.
“Love isn’t scary, and if you shed tears when there is love around, it’s not nearly as painful as shedding tears without it. Tell me the story, Mr. Shore. I want to hear what you have to say.”
Angel watched Andrew smile down at her. His hand gently stroked her cheek before he spoke.
“You look so much like your mother. You have her eyes and her spirit.”
Andrew placed his arms around Angel and gave her the most affectionate hug. She felt him sigh against her and kiss the top of her head. Angel wondered where the affection was coming from. It definitely felt like he knew more about her than she knew about him. Angel sensed there was a history between them that she just couldn’t place.
“Do you remember this house, Angel?” Angel shook her head. “No, I expect you wouldn’t. The last time you were here you were only five years old. It looks very different inside now. When I married Denise, she insisted on making the house reflect her taste and ideas and redecorated a great deal. Anyway, the last time you visited with your mother was the day she told Christian and Daniel’s mums that she was losing her battle with cancer. Over the next little while your mum and the boys’ mums started to plan for what would happen after she died. She kept on with the treatments that the doctors wanted her to have, but she knew it was not working. She got to the stage where she couldn’t travel, and so the boys’ mums would go and visit at your house when your father was at work. Your father and I had ended our business dealings by that stage. There was no love lost between any of us. But your mother remained our friend, and that’s why she asked that we look after you when she was gone.” Andrew gently cupped Angel’s face with his hands and kissed her forehead. “Unfortunately I was not able to fulfil her wish, and I am so sorry for that.”
