Untitled: Part 1

Synopsis: Paul and Nora have been happily married for fifteen years. They have a nice home, good jobs and three sons. But one day, more than seventeen years after his first marriage ended, Paul discovers that his first wife and him have a daughter. She is a girl on the verge of high school graduation and womanhood. Paul and Nora must come to terms with this new addition to the family.

Paul read and re-read the email several times.  He pulled up the picture that was attached to the email.  He stared at the picture for several moments.  His mind was in a whirl.  He couldn't believe what he was reading.

Finally he printed the email and the picture, logged out of his account and shut down his computer.  Paul grabbed his coat and left work early.  He made up a poor excuse to his boss about his wife, Nora, being sick and needing him at home.

*******************

Nora was home, but she was not sick.  In fact, she was quite happy.  Her morning part-time job at the library had gone well.  A book she had put on hold had finally arrived.  The pork chops for that night's dinner was thawing, the last load of laundry was in the dryer and the dishes were loaded into the dish-washer.  She was ready to dive into her book.

Nora had two hours before the kids started getting home from school.  She fixed herself a cup of herbal tea, flipped on some quiet music and settled herself into her favorite chair.  The chair was old, over sized and extremely comfortable to sit in, although, it was hard to get out of.  The cushions were sinking in from years of use.  It was Nora's special place.  Paul had bought her the soft chair back when their first baby had been born.  She had spent many hours, sitting in that chair, nursing and snuggling all three of her children.

Nora took a sip of her tea, settled into the chair and opened her library book - a murder mystery.  It was her favorite author's latest novel.  She slowly sipped the tea as she read.  The characters were introduced, each of them seemed to have dark secrets.  The stage was set for the murder.

There was a click at the front door.  Nora's head popped up.  She heard the door open and then close.  Nobody was suppose to be coming home right now. She held completely still, listening.  Her heart was pounding

"Nora, I'm home!" Paul's voice called out to her from the front room.

Nora let out the breath she was holding.  She chuckled to herself.  The book had just gotten intense.  The murder was about to happen.  She was a little jumpy.

"Nora?" Paul called out.

"In here!" Nora struggled to get out of the soft chair.  She got up and went to the front room.  Paul was taking off his coat.  He hung it over a kitchen chair.  Nora walked up to Paul and kissed him, "Hello dear.  What brings your home so early?"  When he didn't answer right away, Nora looked into his face.  She could tell something was wrong.  "Are you sick?"

"No, I'm not."  Paul pulled her into a hug.

"What's wrong then? You seem upset."

Paul looked around the room.  "Are the kids home?" he asked.

"No.  Not for another hour and a half," Nora answered.  She was getting a little concerned.

Paul sat down on the couch with a sigh.  Nora sat down next to him, but turned herself to face him.  She put her hands on his knee.  "What's wrong?" she asked.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering her.  "Nora," he said, "you were so young when we married."

Nora chuckled nervously.  "Young?  Not that young.  I was twenty five."

"Much younger that me," Paul said.

"You know your age has never made a bit of difference to me," said Nora.  She gave his knee a light squeeze.  It was true.  Paul was nine years her senior.  He had been thirty four when they had married.  Her parents had worried that he was so much older and several friends had voiced their concerns, but it had never mattered to Nora.

Most of the time Nora felt much older than Paul.  He ran five miles every morning and was in perfect health and when he had turned 50 on his most recent birthday, Nora though he looked better than he did when they were married.  She, on the other hand, had not managed to stay in such great shape.  She had been pregnant and given birth three times.  During her last pregnancy, she had put on more weight than she had with the first two.  Now eight years later she had shed all but 20 pounds.  They were stubborn and they were not coming off.  Nora decided to accept the extra weight as a pregnancy battle wound, like her stretchmarks.  Really, Nora knew how blessed she was to have those extra pounds and stretchmarks due to pregnancy.  She had several friends who couldn't have children and wanted them.

Paul's sigh drew Nora back from her thoughts.  "I know you've never cared about our age difference and for that I'm thankful."  He paused.

Nora was watching his face with intensity.  He had something big on his mind.  She knew she just needed to be patient.  He would tell her whatever was on his mind in his own time.

PART 2