Part Three
Nine Years Later
    “Good morning sunshine.”  A Thirty Two year old woman walks into her oldest daughters bedroom and straight to the window on the opposite wall to open the curtains and let sun light fill the room where her daughter was sleeping in hopes that it would waken the sleeping beauty laying in the bed just beside her.
    “Oh mom, today is my birthday doesn’t that give me some kind of extra privileges.  Like maybe the ability to sleep in?”  Quickly pulling the covers over her head to block out the morning sun light.
    “Michelle you need to get up it is already a quarter after nine.  You don’t want to sleep your entire birthday away now do you?”  Sitting down on the bed next to her daughter she grabbed the cover and pulled it off of her head.
    “You and daddy aren’t going to make me play the guessing game for my presents again this year are you?”  Looking at her mother with a serious look on her face.
    “I don’t know this year might be a little easier for you to guess what it is.  It is quite big.” She answered quite slyly as she stood up and began walking around the bed to leave the room.  As Michelle grabbed the blanket again to cover her head. “Now get up, you have visitors waiting downstairs for you.” Grabbing Michelle’s feet at the end of the bed as she passed.
    “Who is it?”  Instantly sitting up in her bed.
    “I don’t know you are just going to have to come down stairs and see for your self.” Holding on the doorway as if it were to fall if she hadn’t
    “Honestly mother I do not like the guessing game.”
    “I know you don’t that is why we do it.  Because we love to torture you so much.”  Leaving the room with a rather large smile on her face   Michelle frantically trying to get dressed so that she could see who was there to see her. She finished putting on her shirt, grabbed a pony tail off of her dresser and began putting her hair up in a pony tail as she walked out the door and down the stairs to meet her guest. Only to find out that the guest was her boyfriend.  Which she has seen on a regular basis.  Not that she wasn’t happy to see him.  It was just that her mother had made it seem as if it was someone she doesn’t see on a regular basis.
    “Hi honey.” Wrapping her arms around her boyfriend giving him a hug, while giving him a kiss at the same time.
    “Good morning beautiful, and happy birthday, I told your mother not to wake you.” Placing his hands at her waist.
    “Oh that is okay I wanted to get up anyway.”
    “Don’t lie to that man, it isn’t polite. You were up there begging me to let you go back to sleep.”
    “Yeah until you told me I had a visitor.” The door bell had rung in the process of her responding to her mother so she walked to the door to answer it.
    “Hey, Hey! Happy Birthday girl! How old are you now? Uh… Legal?”
    “Eighteen and loving it.” Opening up the door fully to let in her two best friends, Amanda, and Natasha.
    “Well everyone I have made a rather large breakfast for anyone that hasn’t eaten yet, you are welcome to join us in the dining room. I made your favorite Michelle, biscuits and gravy with a side of eggs and sausage.”
    “Ooh I am starving, if you don’t mind Mrs. Dubois, I will have a plate.” Natasha wrapped her arm around Mrs. Dubois.
    “Please it is Carol. I don’t like Mrs. Dubois. It makes me sound 90.” Everyone began walking through the living room and into the dining room where they were  met by Alexis, and Robert, Michelle’s sister and father.
    “Well hello everyone, sit enjoy we have made a wonderful breakfast, or at least Carol and Alexis has, I mainly was the supervisor and grand tester so everything is edible. Eat up.” Waiving his arms around as if he was displaying the table as a piece of art.
    “I know what your getting for your birthday, and you don’t.” Alexis enjoyed teasing her older sister, especially when it came to gifts, since Michelle really despised the guessing game.
    “Oh stop it Alexis, I really don’t care.” Sitting down beside her annoying little sister at the table.
    “So I guess that means I can keep it for myself then?”
    “No, I want it I just don’t care if you know what it is or not.” Grabbing the napkin off of her plate and placing it in her lap.
    “I can guarantee you are going to like it a lot. Well sort of your not going to like the restrictions but you are going to like it.”
    “What? Restrictions? What is she talking about?” Looking at her mother with a very questioned look on her face.
    “Well… what she means is you are going to like the idea of the gift but you may not like the location. I do want to add that everyone here had some part in your gift this year, and you will definitely enjoy having it. You just have to find it.” She finished placing a biscuit on her plate as she began reaching for the gravy.
    “You have three gifts… One is just from me, one is from all of us in the room, in some way or another, and the last gift is just from your parent’s.” Christopher has been her boyfriend since the fourth grade. They have spent almost every day together. Since they lived next door to each other they have spent a lot of time together. They had both even decided to go to community college together that way they could stay together.
    “Wow! I do not think I am going to guess this one… Okay here it goes, it is large, by location that means that it can’t be moved? Okay if there are three gifts which one is large and can’t be moved or are they two different gifts?” Turning to her father which usually gives her the best clues and most often ends up giving the answer away.
    “Well, you have been asking for one of the gifts which is large for quite some time now, it can be moved, One is small and goes where ever you go, and the other is large as well and can not be moved.”
    “Ok that don’t really help much. Amanda what are they? Leaning over to her best friend sitting on the opposite side of the table from her, who she knew could not keep a secret and is very surprised that she has this long.”
    “Uh uh. My lips are sealed I was swore to secrecy.” Motioning her hands in front of her lips as if she were locking them shut with a key.
    “Wow, what a tough crowd… um… well if I have been asking for the one that is large and can be moved that has got to be a car.” Looking at her father, for approval of the answer, only to receive a response from her mother.
    “That was fast, Thanks Robert, but now we have made it even harder. You not only have to find the car but you also have to find the keys. This is the one that is from me and your father.” Taking a bite of her biscuit as if it was no problem what she just said to her daughter.
    “WHAT?!?… How am I supposed to do that?”
    “Well we didn’t make it that hard. The keys are in the house, and the car is on our street, somewhere.”
    “On our street or our block?”
    “Our street. The car is some where on Buxton Ave.”
    “Oh my god Dad! Do you realize our street is over five miles long!”
    “Yes and that is why we only put it on our street, the easy part is finding the car because once you find the keys it has one of those button things so find the keys and hit the button until you find the car.” Slumping down in her chair, while playing with her food, resembling that of a disappointed teenager who was just told they couldn’t go on a date. Instead  of a teenager who had just been given a car.
    “Michelle, what is wrong with you. Your parents just bought you a car, and you are acting like that is the last thing you wanted.”
    “Yeah well that is great Natasha, but my parents are strange you don’t know them, it could take me a month before I end up getting my car, they know how to hide stuff. I really think that they keep moving it to throw me off.”
    “Oh come on it can’t be that bad.”
    “I ain’t joking, it took me a week before I found my sixteenth birthday present. They hid it in the garage, I had already looked there three times.” Finally sitting back up in her chair, and taking a bite of her food.
    “Sorry that was me.” Turning away from her sister in hopes that she didn’t hear what she had just said.
    “Alexis, that isn’t fair.”
    “I knew you had already looked there so that is why I moved it there, I figured you wouldn’t look in the same place twice. Much less three.” Laughing at the fact that sometimes her older sister act as if she is the blonde daughter instead of the red head.
    “Yeah well that is why she doesn’t even know where it is this year.”
    “Thanks, well does anyone else know or can they help me look too?”
    “No your father and I are the only ones who know where it is. I can help you out though when you find one you will find all three.”
    “Well then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Everyone stood up and began to start looking for the keys.
    “Before you start Michelle will you do me a favor and put the milk in the fridge please?” Holding up the plastic container waiting for her daughter to grab it out of her hand. Looking straight at her husband who had not moved from his seat.
    “Sure.” Grabbing the milk carton, she began walking toward the fridge. Everyone else followed. Michelle noticed that they were following her, she stopped and turned to look at them all. Her mother even had the camera out. “They are in the fridge aren’t they?”
    “Spoil sport, just open the fridge.” Christopher walked up next to Michelle as she opened the fridge. On the top shelf there were two sets of keys and an open ring box, with a rather large diamond ring in it. Pausing before she even picked them up she turned to look at her boyfriend as he knelt down on the floor next to her.
    “Michelle Elizabeth Dubois I have loved you since we were ten years old and you stole my basketball. I knew when we were in seventh grade and you were my pretend wife that I would not survive unless one day you were my real wife. Would you please make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife, my partner, my best friend?” Michelle stood there and didn’t say anything.
    “Uh Michelle I believe this is the part where you answer the man…” Amanda nudged her best friend, who was still standing there not saying anything.
    “On one condition.”
    “What is that?” Christopher was a little frightened by the answer she was going to give him.”
    “As long as I don’t have to play the guessing game on my birthday anymore.”
    “No, maybe Christmas, but not your birthday.” Giving him a small slap in the arm, she then knelt down to hug him. “Yes, Of course I will marry you.”
    “Is someone going to close the refrigerator?”
    “Mom,” Standing up and grabbing the keys and ring from the fridge, she then closes the door and hands the box to her new fiancé. Who puts the ring on her finger.
    “Well.”
    “Let’s go find my car.” Every one follows behind Michelle once more as she walks out the door and into the yard repeatedly hitting the button on the remote. “Wait, what is the other set of keys for?”
    “Oh come on we already gave it away where the keys were you can’t expect us to tell you everything?” As her mother walks up beside her, wrapping her arm over her shoulder.
    “Well most normal parents wrap presents with a bow and give them to their child.” Walking into the neighbors yard with the intention of going to the sidewalk,
    “When will you learn that we are far from the normal parent.”
    “Yeah that is a good point…” Continuing a little further and almost making it to the sidewalk, when she heard a sound that she was very excited to hear. “Do you hear that? Of course you do.” Running toward the garage of the home next door to her parents house, she continued to press the button on the key chain. “Oh my god why is my car parked in an empty garage of the house next to yours?”
    “Oh one thing I know you have is common sense. Try the key goof!”
    “Okay not so harsh Amanda, it was a ret-oracle question.” Michelle began going through the two sets of keys she had trying to find the right one that would open the door. “I know this is not what I think it is. Any second now someone is going to come running outside with a shotgun and shoot us all.”
    “Oh Michelle don’t be so over dramatic.”
    “Seriously, Chris, I am not joking. How did you guys get this car in here, and how did you even get a key?” Everyone started laughing as she finally got the right key and began to open the door.
    “You have got to be kidding me, you haven’t figured it out yet?”
    “What are you talking about?” Still looking at Christopher as she was opening the door wondering why everyone was laughing at her. “Don’t tell me this is my other present!”
    “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Everyone shouted out at the same time.
    “Oh my god! I love it. And it is even red! How did you find it?” Walking inside the garage and starting to feel the hood of the 1966 Cherry Red Mustang Convertible, that now belonged to her.
    “Internet how else silly.”
    “Excuse me?” A man was yelling at the group trying to get their attention as he began walking up to the house. Everyone turned to look at the man wearing a UPS uniform. He was carrying a package and looking a clip board. As the man looked up he began to speak again. “Is this 2930 Buxton Ave?” Carol began walking toward the man as she answered his question.
    “No but it is right there.” As she pointed at her home. “I live there how can I help you?”
    “Well I am looking for a Michelle Dubois, is she home?” Michelle heard the man and began walking toward him.
    “I am Michelle Dubois can I help you?”
    “I have a package here for you, it says Happy Birthday. I heard them yell it to you as well, so Happy Birthday.” He handed Michelle a small box, that had been wrapped with a brown paper bag and tied with a white string. There was a note written on it that said
To my beautiful Niece
Happy Birthday
I hope you will understand
    “Thank you”
    “Can you sign here please.” The man then handed her the clip board and a pen. She signed and he took it back. “You have a wonderful day.”
    “Mom, why does this say to my beautiful Niece, you don’t have any brother’s or sister’s neither does dad?” Carol turned and looked at her husband, with a concerned look on her face.
    “Honey I don’t think it is from anyone in our family, maybe someone from your real parent’s family sent it?” The group then walked up to the porch and sat down. Everyone’s excitement from earlier had now turned into concern. Michelle sat down and began unwrapping the package, to reveal a purple velvet book, that seemed to be very old. She noticed how the velvet wasn’t as soft as it should have been. She could tell that it had been handled quite a lot. There was a letter placed on top of the book. She opened it and began to read it out loud.
Dear Michelle, and Alexis.
        I know that you don’t really know me, which is understandable. I don’t know how much you do remember. Or if you even remember anything at all. In case you don’t I wanted you to know that your real parent’s loved you with everything they had. They loved you both very much. You had a wonderful family at one time. As I am sure that the family you have now loves you as well. But I promised I would pass this on to you no matter what happened that night, and that is what I am doing now.
    Your grandmother Michelle Pendinal had this diary and then passed it on to your mother Amy Schafer on her eighteenth birthday. and it was supposed to be passed onto you by them once you turned 18, unfortunately something happened and they were unable to do so. Which is why you were adopted. Despite that fact I was asked to make sure that you got it on your eighteenth birthday.
    I am sure that you have had questions and those questions have not been answered. I hope that with this diary you will find the answers. The diary of truth. Love Lucy ~ Your grandfather Thomas Pendinal’s sister.