Free Christmas Wedding by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter Page B

about her that try as we might we could not break through. I remember that Melanie and I tried so hard to make her happy. Daddy too, of course. Now I know that it is not the child’s job to make the parent happy. We were just kids. If I’m lucky enough to have children, I’ll never put them in that position.”
    “ And you think she was grieving over giving me up?” Scarlett asked.
    “ Yes, I think so. Probably the hardest part was carrying the secret inside her. I know my parents had a good marriage, so I don’t know why she did not eventually confide in my dad. He was good guy, and very understanding.”
    “ My dad was too,” Scarlett said. “It wasn’t a problem for me to be raised by my grandparents. I knew from early on about my biological parents. Auntie Claire came to visit twice a year, and I was surrounded by my father’s memorabilia. There were pictures of him in every room of our condo, as a boy, as a man, in uniform. I’m sorry that my mother had such a miserable time of it.”
    “ When she was diagnosed with dementia,” I said, “Melanie and I thought that explained some of her odd behavior. Now that we know what was really at the bottom of it, well, it’s a help. Scarlett, it has helped Melanie and me to know about you.”
    Scarlett beamed at me. “Thanks, Ashley, it means a lot to me to hear you say that.”
    “ I just wish we had known about you sooner. If it was fear that my dad would think less of her that prevented her from telling us, why didn’t she tell us after he died? He died eight years ago, when I was a freshman at Parson’s.”
    “ Maybe by then it had become a way of life for her,” Scarlett said.
    “ You are very wise,” I said.
    “ Perhaps she did get around to wanting to tell you and then later it was too late. I had gone into the Witness Protection program and she couldn’t find me,” Scarlett suggested.
    “ Yes, that could be it,” I said. “What was it like, living in Witness Protection?”
    “ Very, very lonely,” Scarlett said wistfully. “I couldn’t communicate with anyone from the past. You can’t imagine how cut off that made me feel. But to do so might put them in danger. And I couldn’t make new friends because it was impossible to get close to anyone. Everything about me was a lie. And I missed dancing but I didn’t dare risk dancing professionally. That might have led Blackie to me. He had seen my face. He would have found out who I was. And then when I disappeared without a trace, he would have figured out the feds were holding me.”
    “ So if you didn’t dance, what did you do? Where did you live?” I asked.
    “ I was assigned to a U.S. Marshal. He made all of the arrangements for my relocation. They moved me to Phoenix, and enrolled me in a paralegal program at a community college. My new name was Susan Brown. Ha!” she laughed, “not very colorful. I worked at a law firm for five years. My job was very ‘behind the scenes’. Safer that way, the marshal told me. I was tucked away in an office. I had no social life to speak of. Maybe dinner with one of the other paralegals every now and then. I couldn’t get close to anyone because making up Susan’s life was just too difficult and I was afraid of getting caught in a lie and being exposed.”
    “ So you led a very low-profile life,” I said. “And after the life of a Rockette that must have been difficult.”
    “ Very difficult, Ashley. I had trouble sleeping, and suffered from migraines. Finally, it was all over. I testified before a Grand Jury about what I had seen that night. The feds had built a solid case against Blackie on additional charges, and there was enough evidence to put him away for the rest of his life. Both parties agreed to a bench trial, that is no jury. I testified there before the judge. He and his gang were sent away.”
    The party was going on around us, with guests coming and going, but for the moment no one interrupted our conversation. If anyone