by Mary Jaine
"Mum, your mother, my stepmother, has been hoping for news of you for 28 years, and it's only now, because of the sharing of information between several national and regional law enforcement agencies, that we've been able together all the clues that led us here."
I stopped, because something was wrong here. Bethany looked disinterested, almost hostile, and the way she was looking at Nia wasn't sisterly at all; quite the opposite.
"Can I ask you something?" she requested, sounding laconic and bored, and I nodded.
"What exactly does this have to do with me?" she asked, looking at Nia, at me, at the FBI agent. Nia looked like she'd been slapped, and I could see from Davison's expression that this was not how he'd expected this to go.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Warren, I don't understand...!" he said, looking mystified, and Bethany stood up, looking at Nia and I.
"All this is very interesting, but it's ancient history and I'm sorry, but really don't see that it has anything to do with me. Corey, can we go now?" she asked, her husband also looking equally surprised at her tone.
Nia half-rose from her seat, looking at Bethany in something closely akin to shock, while I moved to hold her as she wavered.
"No, please, don't go, please...!" she murmured, reaching out to Bethany, who looked at her outstretched hand, and looked away, disinterest radiating off her.
"Corey, this is nothing to do with us, the sitter goes home at six, so we have to go!"
"But you're my sister, don't you want to...?" began Nia, but Bethany cut her off.
"No I don't, and I'm sorry, but you're not my sister. I have no family except my children, I had a mother, and I loved her and she's gone. Your mother is your mother, not mine; none of this has any bearing on me or my life, so I think you should just please leave me alone. I want no part of you or your family; they're not my family, and my life works just fine right now without any of you in it. It may have meant something 28 years ago, but you're 28 years too late, and I have nothing for you, and you have nothing I want. Corey!"
Now I felt like I'd been slapped, but the look on Nia's sweet face was boring an acid hole in the pit of my stomach.
"Please, you're my sister! My mother...!" and again Bethany cut across her.
"Your mother missed me so much she wasted no time in replacing me with you, is that what you were going to say? I've heard enough of this; this is your issue, not mine, it has nothing to do with me, and I have to go, my kids need me! Corey, we're leaving!"
Nia was whispering "That's not true, it's not true, how can you say that? Please, don't leave; I looked for you for so long, we all did, please...!
She turned to me, shocked and stunned.
"Jamie, please...don't...Jamie...please...no ..." she whispered, tears filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. My girl needed me to make this nightmare not be happening to her, and I knotted-up inside, because I didn't know how. Bethany resolutely looked away as Nia clung to me, my heart breaking for her as the hurt from Bethany's rejection etched itself on her face.
I gathered her into me as she started to sob, Bethany's face still impassive, unconcerned. Her husband looked shocked, an expression almost of distaste on his face as he stared at his wife. Bethany waited for Agent Davison to show her out, and she and Corey left, his look and shrug apologetic as the door closed behind him.
Detective Regan was shocked, confused, and sympathetic.
"I'm really sorry it turned out this way," he stated, "I've never seen a reaction like that before, it caught me completely off-guard. I really thought Mrs. Warren was eager to meet her sister, obviously I was mistaken. I'm so sorry."
Special Agent Davison came back and said pretty much the same thing. He had no idea what had sparked-off Bethany's hostile, almost aggressive response to us, to Nia in particular, and to be honest, I didn't really care. This was the fall I had been trying so desperately to avert for Nia, the thing I had feared most of all, and now I had to try and salvage her from this bloody mess.
She'd spent three years of her life, all her spare time and effort, boundless emotional investment, and she'd been rejected out of hand by the one person in the whole world she wanted so much to find. Bethany had refused to even touch her, and I think that had hurt as much as the outright rejection. Out of nowhere the old aphorism popped into my head; 'Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it'. Here was the living truth of that.
I was outraged at the callous rudeness and lack of common politeness that woman had shown; what had my Nia ever done to her except search the world over for her? My girl was one step away from hysterics here, and that woman had looked at her like she was a nasty stain on the sidewalk. If anybody richly deserved a slap right now, it was Bethany Warren, I was certain of it.
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Friday May 14th
10th & Anza
Corey sat tight-lipped in front of the television, staring blankly and bouncing his keys, a pall of anger and shame surrounding him; anger at Bethany for her callous cruelty, and shame for the way his wife had behaved toward those two kids, who'd done nothing except criss-cross the planet looking for her. They'd looked like such nice kids, they'd tried to reach out to her, and she'd slapped them away, instead spitting bile and bitterness he never knew she had in her, showing a side of her he'd never seen before; he'd always believed Bethany was the sweetest, most compassionate, most loving person he'd ever met, so who was that obnoxious bitch back at the FBI Building?
Bethany was avoiding him, and even the kids had picked up that daddy was in no mood to be trifled with; one look at his face and they'd faded into their rooms; he'd been silent and uncommunicative in the cab back from Golden Gate Avenue, and Bethany knew that he was mad at her; no, correction, he was furious with her. He sat pondering, not seeing the images on the screen, instead seeing again and again the shocked anguish in that young girl's eyes, in Bethany's sister's eyes, reminding himself again that there had been no need for it, she'd lashed out at an innocent target. Right now Corey wasn't feeling particularly friendly toward his wife; she'd done a mean, cruel and spiteful thing, and he was ashamed of her, and ashamed of himself for watching her do it and not stepping-in to call a halt.
He came to a decision, stood up, and headed toward the door, bouncing his keys. Bethany stepped in front of him as he fumbled with the door latch.
"Honey, where are you going?" she asked, although she had a fairly good idea.
Corey looked at her levelly. "Please get out of my way Bethany, I have to go out, I have to fix this and I may be a while." He brushed past her, and yanked the door open, and paused, turning to look back at her.
"Why did you hurt those kids like that, baby? They did nothing to you; nothing at all. They came looking for you, all they wanted to do was see you, so they could tell their mom that her daughter's alive and well; they were reaching out to you, all you had to do was just smile, give a little back, and walk away; instead you pissed in their faces. I hope you feel proud of yourself, you made that little girl cry for nothing. Who are you, and what have you done with my Bethany? Because the Bethany I married would never have been so cruel or callous. While I'm gone, why don't you go sit down somewhere and think of a really good reason why you behaved like that, because I can't!"
Bethany watched him leave, wanting to go with him, not daring to call him back, and writhing inside with shame at the disappointment she knew he was feeling right now.
He was right; those kids had done nothing, and she'd felt a small, mean sense of triumph at lashing out at them to demonstrate just how much she didn't need them, to drive home that they weren't her family, in any sense. Bethany knew anything she told herself right now was rationalisation, pure and simple; the truth was, the thought of having another family had made her feel that she'd never really belonged to her mom and dad, but even thinking that had felt deeply disloyal to their memory; they were her parents, and though they'd now passed away, she was afraid of anyone taking her away from them.
Feeling that way, it h
ad been easy to attempt to drive these interlopers away, these people who'd come to claim her for their own family when she knew she wasn't and never had been one of them. She wanted to keep on being Bethany Keyes, married to Corey Warren, not this Hu'e whatever persona they were trying to saddle her with.
Even so, the look on that girl's face, in her eyes, the hurt she'd caused her, hadn't made Bethany feel any better. She'd set out to hurt these people for intruding in her life, and she'd succeeded, and knowing she was wrong had only compounded it for her, because having gone there, it had been easy to keep lashing out, and that poor kid hadn't done anything to deserve it. Bethany felt wretched, and found herself wishing she'd been less dismissive, less obnoxious, and a little more understanding of what those two kids had been doing and where they'd had to go to find her.
Now it was too late; she'd burned her bridges there, no doubt about that. Corey had gone to try and make it right, but she doubted he could, nor should he have had to; it should have been her, and that made her feel even more wretched, that she'd forced poor Corey to go and try and undo what should never have happened at all. Bethany looked at herself in the hall mirror. She needed to apologise, but she didn't know how she could, and Corey shouldn't be trying to do it for her. The look on his face had hurt her deeply, and she knew she'd lost a little of him because of this, and that hurt even more.
"I thought you were better than that..." she whispered to her reflection, and the eyes that looked back at her were filled with guilt and self-loathing.
++++
Nia was crying, my baby was crying in the other room, and I couldn't do anything about it. Bethany's rejection of her had cut right through her, and wounded her deeply, and I didn't know how to make it better. Now I had to call mum, tell her what had happened, and ask her how to comfort Nia, because right now, I wasn't in a comforting mood; right now I wanted to find Bethany Warren and tell her exactly what I thought of cruel bitches that hurt my baby and made her cry for nothing. I was just getting in the right frame of mind to pick up the phone and make that call when it rang. It was the Front Desk; I had a visitor, so I asked them to direct him up to the suite. A few minutes later there was a light knock at the door. I opened it expecting to see Regan or Agent Davison, but it was Corey Warren.
"Hello James, I...I wanted to see you before you left," he started, "may I come in? This will only take a few minutes, I promise, please, just hear me out!"
I invited him in, and motioned him to a seat, and I sat down opposite him.
"What can I do for you...?" I began.
"Corey, please, call me Corey; we are family, after all!" he smiled gently, and I found myself warming to him.
"OK, what can we do for you...Corey? I asked, returning his grin.
He clasped his hands together tightly in front of him, his fingers interlaced. "I came here to apologise for my wife's behaviour. What she did was uncalled for, and completely out of character, and to be honest, I really don't want to see her for a while, not until I've apologised properly to you, and to ...Nia?
That little girl didn't deserve what Bethany did, and neither did you, and I honestly don't know why she did that. But it's done, and all I can do now is try and make it right."
I could feel the sincerity radiating off him, and I grinned.
"Would you like to meet Nia, properly, this time?" I asked him and he grinned back.
"I'd like that very much indeed," he said, "she looks so much like Bethany when she was that age! Whatever's going on in Bethany's head right now, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind they really are sisters!"
"Wait there, I'll just be one moment." I said, and knocked on the bedroom door before I went in. Nia was huddled on the bed, clasping a pillow tightly and staring into space. Her face was stained where her makeup had run and smeared, and her eyes were red and swollen. She turned to look at me, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
"Mum was right; some things should just be left alone. I was better off not knowing; all of this has been a fool's errand, Jamie, and I dragged you on it, I pushed you into the most God-forsaken places because of it, and you never complained, you just did it for me, and it was all for nothing. I'm sorry Polar Bear; I should have listened to mum, I should have just let this all go years ago! I wish I'd never heard of her, or come to this bloody place!"
My heart wrenched as I listened to the last of her hope and idealism drain away, something else Bethany had taken away from her, but I still smiled and slid her close to me.
"We have a visitor, there's someone here to see you." I told her. She stared at me and I smiled encouragingly. "Come on, princess, family calls!"
Nia jumped up, knuckling her eyes. "Bethany...? and I shook my head.
"No, but her husband's here, he wants to meet his sister-in-law!"
Nia smiled sadly. "Give me five minutes and I'll be there, OK?
I rejoined Corey in the sitting room. "She's just making herself presentable; give her a few minutes...about four hours ought to do it!"
Corey grinned back. "Bethany's the same, it takes her most of the day to take a shower, and she always leaves the door tight shut, it's like a sauna in there for the rest of the day, and the smell of wet hair and conditioner is overpowering!"
We chatted about nothing much until the bedroom door opened, and Nia gingerly poked her head out. Corey saw her, and immediately stood, smiling broadly at her. Encouraged, she smiled back and crept into the room to huddle against me. Corey offered her his hand, and when she took it he pulled her close and gave her a quick hug, making her squeak with surprise.
We all sat down, and Corey spoke directly to Nia. "I came here to apologise for my wife's behaviour. I'm sorry you had to see that, I don't know where that came from. I've never seen her do that before in all the years I've known her, and I don't know why she did that to you, of all people. I'm sorry."
Nia smiled sadly at him. "It wasn't your fault, I shouldn't have got my hopes and expectations up; she had no reason to accept me out of the blue like that."
Corey demurred. "Nevertheless, what she said and did was wrong, and she knew it. I can't explain it, I don't know what was going through her head, but all I can offer is my sincerest apologies for what happened; you're her little sister, and she had no right to behave like that!"
Just then, the telephone rang again. I answered it and was told we had a visitor. I was puzzled, but asked they they be sent up to our suite. Nia looked at me enquiringly, and I told her we had another visitor on the way up to see us. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later there was a knock at the door, and I opened it to see Bethany standing there!
I was momentarily wrong-footed, and even Corey gaped to see his wife standing there.
"I'm sorry for coming here like this," she said quietly, "I wanted to apologise to you...and to my sister."
Nia had risen from her seat, and Corey also stood, offering her his hand to help her rise. Wordlessly, I invited Bethany in, motioning her to sit, while Corey watched her in silence.
Bethany stood with her eyes fixed on Nia.
"James...Nia, I want to apologise for what I said today; my behaviour was inexcusable, and I'm truly sorry I hurt you. I was wrong, you are my sister, and you deserved better than what I offered; I'm sorry. Can we talk, please?"
Nia waited in silence, her eyes big and fearful. Bethany looked at Corey, at me, for any clue as to how to approach her. I nodded and pointed with my chin in Nia's direction, and Bethany held her hand out to her. Nia tentatively reached out and took her hand, and smiled as two big tears rolled down her cheeks. Cory took Bethany's other hand and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "So there you are, I was wondering where you'd gone!" I heard him whisper.
We all sat down, Nia not letting go of Bethany's hand, but I think the breakthrough moment actually came when Bethany leaned over and gently blotted Nia's tears with her handkerchief, a 'mum' gesture I had seen a thousand times when Nia was small.
Bethany spoke first. "Nia, I'm sorry, really, tr
uly sorry, for the way I reacted earlier. I know I hurt you, and I apologise for that; I guess I wanted to hurt you for trying to make me part of you, because I didn't want to let go of my mom and dad, my adoptive parents. Does that make sense? I guess I overreacted when you started talking about 'our' mother. I couldn't hear that, because if I accepted your mom as mine too, then I'd have to let go of my mom, and I can't do that. My parents loved me very much, and I loved them and I miss them every single day!"
Nia nodded in understanding.
"I would never ask you to give them up; they brought you up, they loved you, and it would be wrong and cruel to insist you let them go for a stranger. But my mum has a claim on you too. She didn't give you away, or abandon you, or sell you; she and her husband loved you very much, the three of you were all that was left of her family, and then you were taken, and they had to kill your father to take you away from him."
"You were stolen, Bethany, by a man who's now sweltering in a hell-hole prison, thanks to Jamie, and sold to another man who's going to hang in a Chinese jail one day soon. Jamie and I wanted to find you, but not so we could tell you to turn your back on everything you know and love and come with us because you belong to us; we came to find you so my mum, who lost you so long ago, can finally know her little girl is safe, and well, and happy; that's all. I look at your face, and I see my mum; I look at you and I see my features as well, so I know you and I are family, the children of Anh Thienh Lo and all she's concerned about is the happiness of her children; you, me, and Jamie."
Bethany looked at me. "You're my...brother?"
I grinned. "In a manner of speaking. After you were abducted, mum had to be smuggled out of Vietnam and into Laos, because the man who took you wanted her as his own personal plaything, and he'd already had no qualms about killing her husband. She was still only a young teenager with no family to protect her; her husband was dead, her mother died in the war and her father died in a border skirmish, all she had in the world was her husband, and you."
"In Laos, she met a missionary family from England. When they came back to England, mum was still only a teenager, and she came with them. The missionary couple were my grandparents, and when they died mum and Laura, their daughter stayed together. Laura was my mother, she met my father at university but she died soon after I was born. When she found out how sick she was, she gave me to mum, her adopted sister, to be her son. Eventually mum married my father, and they had Nia; she's your half-sister and my half-sister, on both sides of the family."