Chapter 1

His children rushed to his bedside. They all knew that the loss of their mother three years earlier took a toll on him. Their father James had himself put under the care of a live-in custodian/nurse. His four kids showed up and he excused the nurse to just outside the room.

“But, Mr. Whittaker...”

“Carol, my children will get you if necessary,” he said.

In front of him were: John, Kathy, Michael and Wendy.

“Kids, there’s ... something you all need to know about your Mother and me.” he said.

“What is it, Daddy?” Kathy said.

He continued, “Your Mother and I’ve had a secret from all of you for a very long time. When I die you’ll never know the truth, and knowing the truth is important.”

“Whatever it is Dad, we’re all here,” John the oldest said.

“Go ahead and sit down, this is going to take some explanation,” he said looking at each one of them.

They all gathered a chair as he took a few breaths, garnering his strength.

“Wendy, could you raise my pillow up higher so I can see you all better?” he asked.

“Sure Daddy!” she said sniffling a little.

“First of all; thank you for coming, I hope I haven’t interrupted your lives too much,” he said solemnly.

“Whenever you’re ready, Dad?” Michael responded impatiently, looking at his watch.

“Well here goes, my parents Evelyn and Jonathon Whittaker had a total of four children, me and three sisters.”

“Dad, Mom had told us you had two sisters, Phyllis and Carol. We never saw much of them growing up here in Indiana, with them all being back in Oregon,” John responded.

“That’s mostly correct son, but I did have three sisters - Phyllis, Carol and Sarah.”

“No, Daddy! Sarah was your wife, not your sister,” Kathy said. “You are confused.”

“Kids, Sarah was my sister AND my wife!”

He waited for that to sink in. The looks on their faces and their overlapping remarks, told him that they thought he was having a ‘senior moment.’

“QUIET, please – you all think that I’m confusing my sisters and my wife, but I’m not. Michael go to the file cabinet and find the envelope labeled ‘The Truth’ please.”

Michael got up and walked to the lone file cabinet and found the envelope.

“Sit down, please all of you – open the envelope and pass the contents around. These are the Birth Certificates of myself, James Boyle Whittaker and Sarah Rosemary Whittaker, your mother – and my sister. You’ll also find a Marriage Certificate in there.”

There were gasps and other utterances as they looked over the two Certificates of Live Birth, both showing Evelyn and John Whittaker as the parents of record. The Marriage Record seemed to have its effect as well.

“I can’t believe it, even though the proof’s right before my eyes,” Michael, the youngest boy said.

At this point, a description of the Whittaker’s is in order,

James Whittaker, grey, formerly brown hair – 6-foot-tall, with blue eyes. He’s currently 66.

John Whittaker, the oldest at 40, 6ft 2, thinning brown hair, blue eyes, with a wife of 10 years and two children, a boy 7 and a girl 4 years old.

Kathryn Whittaker-Jelmini, calls herself Kathy, is 38, 5ft 8, brown hair, blue eyes, with a husband of 2 years, no kids.

Michael Whittaker, 36, 5ft 11, brown hair, not married but has had the same girlfriend for close to 5 years.

Wendy Whittaker, the youngest at 33, 5ft 6, brown hair, blue eyes, No husband – no prospects!

The patriarch James went on, “Michael, I understand your concern, but as my father said to me many years ago, ‘You can’t control whom you fall in love with.’”

Wendy got up and went over to her Dad, looking him in the eyes, and then slapped her father in the face.