The Fourth Sunrise (21 page)

“
I think I know,” I said.

“
Why?”

“
She was protecting your dad. If your dad ever read the series, he’d know in a second that it was me and that the story was true.”

“
I think you’re right, but odds were, my dad reading my series wasn’t too likely. Trust me when I say Captain Jack wasn’t a romance reader, even if it was a bestselling series by his own daughter. He was more of a Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler fan.”

I said, “How do you know I’m not a crazy fan who memorized the plot to your book and found you and told you an outrageous story?”

“
Because you didn’t find me. I found you.”

I nodded. “One thing I don’t understand is this—how did you find me? How did you know who the real character was?” I was obviously not a crazy fan of a book series that I had never even known existed. I was going to have to take her word for it. Or should I?

“Do you have a copy of one of those books back at your car?”

“
One of my
Sunrise
books?”

“
Yes.”

“
Actually, no, I don’t.”

“
You don’t?”

“
Nope. Not in my car. I have one in my bag, right here. I had a feeling if I admitted who I was, you were going to ask to see the book.” Megan reached in her bag and I needed to pull over to look at it. It was in a little three-book box set. There they were.
The First Sunrise, The Second Sunrise,
and
The Third Sunrise
.

“
Hold on. I need to get a better look.” I pulled over to the side of the road so I could see these books that were about Christine and me. I wished the dome light in my truck worked better, but I went through all three books, slowly, for the next ten minutes, on the side of the road. There was actual dialogue that I remembered saying…word for word. There were other parts where I remembered saying something similar but I really liked the way that Megan had written it. Her
take
on my original words was a lot more elegant than any way I could have said some of the things that she had me saying. I sounded better in the book. I shook my head in wonder.

I flipped the books over. It was priced at $29.99 for the box set.

“Wow, people pay that much to read about me?” I laughed.

“
You’d be surprised, Joel. Women love this...love story. Some have written me fan letters, asking me if deep down this was really a true story. They say there seemed to be too many natural human elements in it for the books to be fiction.”

“
Truth is stranger than fiction. Isn’t that the saying?”

I started up the truck and we got back on the road. I was sleepy, but I fought through it, knowing that Christine was at the end of the drive. One thing that always kept me awake was talking and Megan did want to know what happened in the hotel room. There was a reason why probably both Christine and I had written our own versions of what actually happened.

I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. “So, Megan, you want to know what happened at the hotel?”

“
Yes, I do. My mom was very brief and if that is the ending to my story, then I would like to know what actually happened.”

“
I was numb. I didn’t like to think about this story. From this point, until I was contacted three months ago, my entire life was affected by what was said in the hotel room.”

“
I know.”

I paused, full realization setting in. “So, it’s been you contacting me on Facebook? Not Christine. Not once?”

“Yes. It was me, every time, once I found out what your name was. I knew lots of details from hearing Mom’s stories. I just looked and looked until I was convinced the Joel Murphy I found was you, my mom’s Joel Murphy. Your posts on a vintage baseball Facebook group kind of clinched it.”

“
Yup, that’s me, vintage baseball Facebook groupie. You are a regular Columbo,” I said.

“
Who?” Megan asked.

“
Exactly.” I laughed that this young lady wouldn’t know who Peter Falk was, the actor who played
Columbo
on the TV series, many years back.

Again, we were quiet. But I had a couple of questions for Megan. “You never had a date tonight, did you?”

She smiled. “Joel…Technically, I did, and he did show. I’m just sorry that you felt stood up all night.”

“
You texted me from the ladies’ room in the coffee shop? Pretending to be Christine, standing me up?”

Megan nodded.

“Megan, why tonight? Why on this night?”

“
It seemed like a perfect way to convince you to come and see my mom.”

“
It wouldn’t have taken much convincing to get me to come. You could have messaged me on Facebook and I would have been out the door in one hour and on a plane here.”

“
I didn’t know how you would respond to the entire truth. I just knew I needed to meet you and hear your side. Then I would tell you who I really was. Just tell me one more thing, please. What was said in that hotel room?”

I began to tell Megan Sharee Shores the real story.

1998 – Delta, Colorado

“
We got my vehicle and I drove her back to my hotel. The letter was lying face up on my desk in the room, obviously just read by me the night before.

“‘
What’s that?’ Christine asked.

“‘
It’s the letter,’ I said.

“‘
I know it’s the letter, but why is it out?’

“‘
I might have read it before I left.’

“‘
Why?’

“‘
To remind me,’ I said.

“‘
To not come?’ Christine asked.

“‘
No, just what was at stake. I knew it was going to be all in.’

“‘
What does that mean?”

“‘
All in
means this...’ Then I did something that I had planned to do all day, all evening, and all of my adult life. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box. Then I dropped to one knee. I flipped open the ring box and said, ‘Marry me. Leave him. Your kids are almost grown. You don’t have to live in your prison of a marriage any longer. When your daughter turns eighteen this month, become my wife.’

“‘
I’m somebody else’s wife.’

“‘
I know. But you know there is a way where you can quit being his and eventually start being mine.’

“
Christine looked me in the eyes and said, ‘I can’t. Not like this. I can’t treat my family as if they were my prison sentence. I love my two kids more than anyone will ever know and I never want them to feel that
they
were my prison.’

“
Then she paused and looked in my eyes and said ‘Joel, I did mess up, but my mistake gave me the two most important people in my life. My children. I owe it to them not to leave their dad on the grounds that he’s dull.’

“‘
It would be on the grounds that you found me,’ I said pleading.

“‘
Joel, you need to hear what I’m about to say. In my heart I have an abundance of love. To the right of my heart, I have a family and I love them dearly and it feels all the right side of the heart. But you see, Joel, there is this other side, the left side, where my heart is full also. It is where I met the man of my dreams, the absolute most perfect person God could have designed for me. Joel... that’s you.’

“
I looked at Christine and knew once again that it wasn’t enough. ‘The problem is the right side fills most of your ear. It spills over to the left and nearly drowns me out.’

“‘
It’s a mother’s instinct to be there for her kids above everything else, even the man of her dreams.’

“‘
You believe that? That I’m the man of your dreams.”

“‘
Yes, I do. I always have. Life threw me a curveball as much as it threw you one. You need to understand, Joel, you are with me every day. Not a day goes by that something doesn’t fill that left side with love because I am reminded of you. You see, I cherish you and I need you. But I do it from a distance, so I can see. I love you more than I ever have. But I have to do it from afar.’

“
I paused and took everything in and said, ‘You don't plan on going anytime soon, do you? You gave yourself an out by saying “organically.” The truth in your mind is that you could probably handle seeing me again in fifteen more years because all you need is for me to fulfill your fantasy with my letters each month.’ I held in my tears but knew I had to tell her how I had been suffering without her. ‘I can’t live like that. I can’t reside there any longer. I gave you my last plea for my love and you made your choice, and now I must make mine.’ I paused and took in a deep breath. ‘My heart, my joy, you are all I have ever wanted in this world but I will have to part ways from you forever. I can’t ever see you again. It is too heart-wrenching, trying to live this life without you. This is it, Christine. My love for you is abundant, but to say it knows no bounds would be a lie, because my love has boundaries. My love has limits. This is where I must say goodbye to you. This is also where I must ask you one last question.’

“
Christine was absolutely stunned. She managed to muster out, ‘Okay.’

Present – On the road to Aspen, Colorado, 4:30 a.m.

“How did you part?”

“
We did what we do best at the sunrise. We slow danced. We just danced until there was nothing else to do but leave. We left without saying a word.”

Megan was quiet and I could tell she was debating how she was going to speak to me. I wasn’t sure if she was struggling with telling me anything at all or if she was trying to figure the correct way of saying it.

Finally, she said, “You still came tonight? Why?”

“
I love your mother. I love her with all that I am. From the day I met her and fell in love, I have never quit loving her. Can I ask you a question? Why tonight?”

“
Because, just like something you said earlier: ‘Sometimes the stars are aligned just right.’ I’m going to add that sometimes the stars are aligned just right for a miracle to happen. Joel, you need to hear this. Like I said, my mom shows signs of coming out of her coma. I’m scared to ask you something, not because I’m afraid you won’t do it, but I’m afraid you’ll do it and she still won’t wake up. I told you earlier that my mom and I were close. You see, Joel, I could feel her needing answers, needing something that was in my reach, but not in hers. Something I could attain.”

“
I’m not a doctor and I won’t be able to heal her. Only God and the hospital can do that.”

“
But I know there was a journey that I was supposed to experience, a journey that led me to find you, Joel.”

“
You found me. Tell me, how I can help?”

“
My mom began responding to my voice. We could see signs in her physical body that she was trying to wake up. This went on for a couple of weeks. She would sit still until she heard my voice. Then I would see little twitters. Little signs of hope that she knew I were there. There were even times when I swear I saw her smile. Her mouth didn’t move, but I could feel her smiling underneath. I can’t explain it. But you want to know when she shows most signs of life?”

“
When?” I asked.

“
When I read these.” Megan reached in her leather briefcase-type bag. She began to pull out what appeared to be over a hundred letters. All written by me.

I was stunned. “How did you find those letters?” There were hundreds and hundreds of written letters from me. Some places were even highlighted.

“Why are parts of them highlighted with a marker?”

“
These are only copies. Your original letters are back at my house. I used these as research.”

“
Research?”

“
Yes, research to find you!”

“
Was I transparent?”

“
It took a while, but I was able to get a working email that you responded to.”

“
Only because I thought you were Christine!”

“
I knew that would be the only way you would respond.”

“
I’m still confused. Why the letters? Why me? On this night? Why now?”

“
You see, my mother used to respond to my voice. So I began to read to her daily. I would only see a twitch on a mild expression change on her face, but I knew she was listening.”

“
How did you know?”