Present - Rome, WI
"I didn't know what to say when my parents said that they were hiding from the mob, and everyone thought they were dead. I mean they are, were, my parents. It didn't seem possible. The things they did, the places they traveled too. They had a whole other life before they had me," I trailed off, "How could anyone want to kill them?"
"They sacrificed a lot," Jimmy said, "I know it wasn't easy for them to walk away from all of their family and friends. I know they probably did everything in their power to keep you safe and happy too."
"I couldn't even talk to them afterward."
5 Years Ago - Tahiti
"Julia?" Mom called as she rapped on her shot and locked door an hour later, "Honey? I know that you're upset, but."
"Go away, Mom. Whoever you are," I cried, "I just want to be alone!"
"Hey, let her process everything, Sweetheart," Dad said, "It's a lot to handle. You know that."
"She hates us."
"Maybe right now. Not forever though. Hey, you look like you're going to cry."
Mom shook her head, "No. I never wanted any of this to touch her. I knew she would have to know sometime, but she's only ten."
"She's a smart kid, Tamara. She takes after you."
"I don't know how I expected her to react. What do you do when you find out your parents have been lying to you for your whole life?"
"Hey, don't say that. It's not a lie, Sweetheart. You and Julia are the only two things in the world that matter to me," Dad said softly, so he bent his head so their foreheads touched, "So we have fake names, big deal. We love her. She's our daughter, no matter what. All that has changed is that she knows our past."
Mom wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him close to her, "I didn't think she'd be locking herself in her room until she was a teenager. I don't want anything to happen to her, Michael."
"Mom, Dad?" I called hesitantly, as I opened my bedroom door.
"Hey, kiddo," Dad said, as a pang of guilt swept through him at her tear streaked face, "How you feeling?"
I shook my head, "I . . . I don't know. I don't know who I am anymore."
"You're Julia Cooke," Dad countered, "Just like you've always been."
"You and Mom have been so many people," I trailed off, "Kenny and Max, Toby and Cahli, Nikoali and Isabella, and now Michael and Tamara. How do you know who you are?"
"Oh, honey. We're still the same people," Mom said, "The names don't matter."
"I have family out there," I said, "Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and they don't even know I exist. They think that you're dead!"
"It's safer for them," Dad said, "The people, the Millanis, want us dead, and they wouldn't hesitate to use our relatives to get to us."
"Do you miss them?"
"Of course we do," Dad said, "Your Mom and you are the most important people in the world to me, but I still miss them. My parents would love you, Julia, and would be so proud to have you as their granddaughter."
"What is going to happen now?" I asked, "Are we going to have to move? Are they ever going to find us? What happens if they do?"
"They won't find us," Mom said, "As for moving . . . why would we?"
"Isn't it safer that way?" I asked, "Like in the movies?"
"They think that we're dead," Dad said, "We have a life here, kiddo. You have school and your friends. Do you want to move?"
"No!" I cried, "I thought we would have to."
"We don't," Mom said, "You have to promise us something. You can't tell anyone about this, Julia. Not Maya, or any of your other friends. I mean it."
I nodded, "I promise."
Present - Rome, WI
"I never told anyone," I said, as I paused, "And it was cool. My parents had these secret identities, and had all of these adventures before I was even born. It's weird to think that they even had lives before me."
"You said that they told you come here if anything should happen to them," Jimmy said, "What happened to them, Julia?"
I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it yet, "Please . . . We're not there yet. I can't."
"Just tell us what happens next," Jill prodded.
3 Years Ago - Tahiti
"Mom! I'm 12!" I whined.
"Exactly," Mom argued, "And it's way too young to be dating."
"Everyone else is! It's just a movie. I'm not a kid anymore."
"You shouldn't be in such a hurry to grow up. Enjoy being a kid while you can."
"You can say that because you're an adult."
"Yeah, I'm going to be 40 soon. You have no idea how that feels, and the idea of being a kid again sounds good to me."
"Mom, you don't look like you're going to be 40. You barely look 30."
"Now you're just buttering me up."
"Is it working?"
"You're a wicked child," Mom sighed, "Tell me about your boyfriend."
"Mom! He isn't my boyfriend!"
"Okay. Tell me about the boy you want to go out with. Indulge me, kiddo, I haven't dated in years."
"That's because you're married to Dad," I said, as I watched a teasing grin cross her face, "I don't want to marry him, Mom, I just want to go and see a movie. I promise."
"Ten o'clock curfew," she said, "And you take my cell phone. If you're a minute late, I'm going to send your Dad out to find you."
Present - Rome, WI
"Well that is a cute story," Jimmy said, "But what does it have to do with what happened to your parents?"
"Nothing," I whispered, "I want to remember the good times. They could be so over protective, but I knew they were always there. I could talk to Mom about anything, and Dad was my hero. He always saw me as his little girl, and he was so mad at Mom for letting me go out on this date."
3 Years Ago - Tahiti
"Tamara! She is a kid! How could you let her go on a date?"
"She's almost 13. Come on, how old were you when you started dating?"
"That isn't the point! I didn't have people who wanted to kill my parents when I was that age, and neither did you."
"We can't keep her locked in a cage, Michael," Mom said quietly, "One day, and it'll come sooner than we think, she is going to be an adult. With her own life."
"So? Until then we can keep her safe."
"From what? A 12 year old boy? It's Terry, from down the street. He's harmless, believe me. His mother is driving them to and from the movie."
"I can't believe that you're so calm about this."
Mom smiled, "She's still your little girl. That'll never change."
"What happened to the last 12 years?" he asked, as he flopped down on the couch, "It just flew by. She's 12."
She joined him, "She'll be a teenager soon too. How did this happen?"
"I'll have to beat the boys away with a bat," Dad sighed, as he looked over at his wife, "This is just the start of it."
"Do you ever wish that we had another one?"
"One seemed to be plenty at the time."
14 Years Ago - Ireland
"I can't do this," Max groaned, as she shifted a screaming Julia to her other hip, "I don't know what you want, kiddo, but I'd give it to you if you would just stop crying."
"Maybe this is why people don't travel with two month olds," Kenny commented, as he rejoined them in the Dublin Airport terminal, "Is she going to do this the whole flight?"
Max glared at him, "Is it too late to send her with the bags?"
"Let me try," he said, "Come here, Julia. Ah, you're too pretty to cry. You look like your Mommy. There we go."
"How did you do that?"
"I don't know. Look. She's sleeping."
"Thank god," Max said, as she slumped against the chair, "I don't know how people manage with more than one of these."
"We're new at it," Kenny offered, "Come on, you're going to be a great Mom."
"She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping. She's so perfect. I can't believe that she came out of me."
"So you ready to have a second one now?"
"You're hilarious. I think one is enough for now."
Present - Rome, WI
"I guess one was good forever," Jill commented, "Unless."
I shook my head, "I'm an only child. Mom and Dad said that they couldn't top me, so they stopped. I think they didn't want to bring another kid into everything."
"Are you ready to tell us what happened?" Jimmy asked quietly, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to hear, "Julia?"
I nodded, "Okay."
5 Days Ago - Tahiti
"You look great, kiddo," Mom said, as I spun around in the dress.
"You actually like it?" I asked, "I thought . . . Dad won't freak out over it?"
"Leave your father to me," Mom said, as she studied her daughter in the lilac, knee length, halter dress, "When did you get some grown up on us?"
"Does that mean I can stay out past my curfew?"
"Nice try," Mom countered, "You're stuck with 11, but you still need some shoes for that dress, and a bag."
"Really?"
Mom grinned, "I feel like spoiling you today."
222
"Tamara? Julia? Anyone home?" Kenny called, as he pushed the front door open, "Hello?"
Picking up the note on the table, he had to chuckle.
Michael,
Took Julia shopping for her dance. She's so excited, and has been flipping through magazines all week. Home around six?
Love,
Tamara
"Women," he said aloud, as he heard the door open again behind him.
222
"What are you and Dad going to do while I'm out?" I asked, "What did you used to do before . . ."
Mom smiled, as they loaded the bags into the trunk, "Before? We were big into pizza and beer nights when we were younger, and then . . . he would just surprise me with something incredibly sweet and romantic."
"Dad is romantic?"
"Sometimes."
"When I get married," I mused, "I want to be like you and Dad. You guys don't think I see everything, but Mom . . . I don't know. Just the way you guys touch each other, the little things, am I making sense? You two are really still in love after all the years you've been together?"
"I've been in love with him since I was 23, way before we even got together. That isn't going to change anytime soon."
"I wonder if I'm ever going to fall in love."
"You're only 14."
"Almost 15."
"Either way you have time, kiddo," Mom said, as they drove home.
222
"Hello, Kenny," a voice said, "It's been a long time."
"Francisco and Alana Millani," Kenny stated, as he turned to face the mobster, "What the hell?"
"The rumors of your death seem to be greatly exaggerated," Alana replied, as she aimed her gun at him, "Have a seat. Where is your wife?"
"Leave her out of this."
"Or what?" Francisco asked, "Our only decision here is who to kill first. You really thought you could get away from us?"
"We've managed for 15 years, and we'll do it again," Kenny promised, as he prayed that Tamara and Julia would be delayed. Julia, he thought, not Julia, "How did you find us?"
Alana shrugged, "An impromptu vacation to the islands, and who did we see working on the beach? You should really be more careful."
Max shuddered, as she paused in opening the door, "Julia?"
"You okay, Mom?" I asked.
She shook her head, "I just had that feeling like someone walked over my grave. Stupid, I guess."
"Dad's home, should I model my dress for him?"
"I'm sure he'll love it."
"Tamara! Julia! Run!" Dad yelled, as the door opened, "Get out of here!"
"Too late for that," Francisco snarled, as he threw Mom to the ground, "Hello again, Maxine."
"Oh my God," she whispered, as she scrambled to her feet, and moved to block me
"Mom? Dad?" I whispered, "What?"
"Oh, you have a daughter. How sweet. Come in little girl," Alana purred, "You can watch your parents die before you do."
"Stay away from her!" Kenny yelled, as he leapt to his feet, and slugged Francisco, "Go!"
Mom stifled a scream, as a shot erupted from Alana's gun, "No! Julia, run, now! Get out of here!"
"Mom!" I screamed, as she shoved me out the still open door, as Alana fired in our direction, "Mom!"
Screaming I ran from the house, as she fell to the ground.