“I don’t understand. What does she have to worry about? I just want to find my dad.”
“This is just speculation,” began Sean.
“And we could be wrong,” added Michelle.
“What!” Tyler snapped.
“Your dad married her really fast. They didn’t seem to have a lot in common. You weren’t even invited to the ceremony at the courthouse. That doesn’t sound like your dad, does it?”
“No. That’s what I’ve been saying.” He stopped abruptly and his eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying it was all made up?”
“It could be,” corrected Sean. “But right now it’s just a theory. We have no proof. Not yet anyway.”
“Why would my dad do that?”
“We learned some things about your dad today, Tyler.”
“Tell me,” he said quickly.
“He wasn’t really in the reserves. He was still in the regular Army.”
“What?” Tyler exclaimed, looking stunned. “My dad never told me that.”
“He probably was barred from doing so,” said Sean. “We believe he was on a special mission for the military in Afghanistan.”
“But I don’t understand. Why would he need to pretend to marry someone for that?”
Sean said, “There could be any number of reasons. He was going to be gone, Tyler. He had to have someone here to look after you. You couldn’t really live on your own, not at your age. It might have been his only option. And they might not have even been married. You didn’t attend the civil ceremony, right? You said they just showed up and said they were married.”
Tyler looked away, his lips trembling. “So it was all a lie. He just lied to me.”
Sean, seeing the hurt look on Tyler’s face, added, “Which shows how much your dad cared about you. He didn’t want you to be alone.”
“That’s bullshit,” yelled Tyler. “If he really cared about me he wouldn’t have pulled crap like this. He would have told me the truth. He told me he got married. He made me live with Jean for a freaking year. And it was all a bunch of lies?”
Michelle said, “We don’t know that for sure, Tyler. Like Sean said, it’s just one theory.”
“I bet it’s true,” exclaimed Tyler. “I could tell my dad didn’t really love her. They never held hands. I never saw them kissing. I never even saw them hug the whole time. It was all crap.”
Sean looked at Michelle and drew a long breath. “The mission must have been really important, Tyler, and a long time in the making if he purportedly left the military a year ago and then ‘married’ Jean in preparation for it. You know when soldiers go into combat they can’t tell anyone where they are, not even their families.”
“I know that, okay? But this is different.”
“It’s a little different but not entirely. Apparently your father’s mission was really dangerous and really covert. They chose him for it, which shows how much the Army thought of him. He sacrificed a lot. But most of all, leaving you.”
“And not being able to tell you anything, Tyler,” added Michelle. “I bet that was just eating away at him.”
He glared at her. “You’re just saying that stuff to make me feel better. Well, I don’t feel better, okay? My dad lied to me. It’s that simple.” He was silent for a bit and then blurted out, “What sort of mission? And is it finished?”
Michelle said, “We’re not exactly sure what the mission was. Apparently, to deliver something in Afghanistan.”
“Will he be coming back home then? Is he really alive?”
Sean replied, “Unfortunately, I can’t answer any of those questions, Tyler, because I don’t have the answers. I can tell you that apparently something went wrong with the mission. I can tell you that the Army believes your father is alive. They just don’t know where he is.”
“Was he captured?”
“Don’t think so. If he’d been captured, I doubt he would have been able to email you.”