“Sorry, I just . . . this is . . .” Brianna stuttered. She didn’t know what to say. She was not even sure why she did that. Perhaps she thought the sound of the thud or sharpness of the pain would wake her up from whatever this was. Perhaps she was floating, and the bang would bring her down, but nothing changed. She was still staring at herself across the table. She didn’t know if she wanted to hug her or hit her.
Michelle’s smoked turkey sandwich arrived without incident, but her appetite had left her. She didn’t even greet the mild-mannered server that carefully placed the plate in front of her. Sensing the tension at the table, the server hastily exited without bothering to offer Brianna anything.
The situation was surreal. It was like looking into a mirror; a walking, talking, breathing reflection of each other. They sat in silence in the booth for a while, unable to speak. Too many emotions were swirling. Too many questions.
For the two of them, life stopped as they both tried to make sense of the moment.
“I don’t know what to say, Brianna. I never knew. I wasn’t told . . .”
“Me, either. I had no clue.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“April second.”
“Mine too. What time?” Michelle felt silly asking these questions. The answer seemed so obvious, but she still felt the urge to ask. It was almost like she needed to hear it out loud before she could accept it.
“I don’t know. Around three o’clock. I think 3:04 a.m.”
“I guess I’m the elder at 3:02 am.” Michelle looked out the window and took a deep breath. She wanted to be happy, but she couldn’t shake the ugliness of their union. Her parents had lied to her, and that fact was difficult to stomach. “Where do you live? I live near downtown, only a few minutes from here.”
Brianna cleared her throat, but like the rest of her mouth, it was as dry as the Sahara, and the action offered her no relief. Her mental highway was a traffic jam, and she was not sure if anything could provide that relief. “I live out in Austin Ranch.”
Darn it. Why was this happening? Brianna didn’t want to answer any questions or talk at all. She wanted to run from the restaurant and put this entire ordeal behind her. The only problem was that her legs felt like cement blocks. She didn’t have strength enough to move, no matter how much she wanted to. She was stuck.
“Have you always lived here?”
“Yes, aside from when I was away at college. You?”
This woman, whose personality and history were foreign to her, would not be disregarded. She could not ignore her. Brianna couldn’t be rude to her without feeling like she was giving herself the shaft!
“Same. I cannot believe I have never seen you. I mean, I know this is a big city, but still . . .”
Michelle was filling the space between them with chatter, anything to avoid returning to that uncomfortable silence. Their obvious similarities made any questions futile. Brianna was inarguably her identical twin.
As their conversation grew, the typical movements in a restaurant became a distraction. They both needed quiet. Needed time to think and process everything. They ventured into the parking lot to continue their conversation.
“I’m looking at you, but it’s still hard to digest.” The energy between them was almost painful. Michelle’s free spirit immediately embraced the peculiar closeness she felt to Brianna, who, despite their obvious kinship, was a complete stranger.
“I know. I cannot help but think . . . We might have never found each other if I hadn’t e-mailed you.” Brianna was dumbfounded, crippled by her inability to accept this new truth. She had come to get information on Javan, not her family, and certainly had not expected to discover she had a twin sister.
“I’m glad you did. I haven’t even had my business that long. This was some cosmic coincidence.”
“Well, someone actually referred me to your company, but the stars seemed to have aligned perfectly for this.”
“Who referred you?”
Brianna’s mind drifted off for a moment. She wondered if Uncle J knew about this. She hadn’t thought much of his insistence on using this company before, but there was something there. He had been fairly adamant about it, and, although it didn’t strike her as unusual at the time, in retrospect, his sudden passion and vigor were unwarranted for a little boyfriend inquiry. What if he had known all these years?
“My uncle J recommended you. He kind of insisted that I use you.”
“Do you think he may know something?”
“I don’t know, but I’m definitely going to ask.”
Brianna and Michelle stood in the parking lot beside Michelle’s 2013 black Audi, sharing their histories and discussing the future. They had the same almond-shaped brown eyes, same shoulder-length, jet-black hair, and the same honey-glazed covering. They searched for answers that inevitably led to more questions and eventually decided to call it a night. They exchanged phone numbers and went their separate ways but agreed to talk very soon.
Michelle drove home in shock. She could not believe she had a twin sister. She was not certain what that meant to her. Did that mean she was adopted? She decided to call her mother and try to get some answers.
“Mom?”
“Michelle, hey, Number One! How are you, love?”
“Fine, Mom.” Michelle smiled faintly at the familiar sound of her mother’s voice. Apprehension crept into her heart, and she momentarily lost her nerve and thought it better not to ask. Sophie was her rock, and if it turned out that she was not her mom, Michelle did not know what she would do. She could barely stand the thought.
“I’m not convinced of that. You need to come see me.” Sophie’s joy was evident in her tone. She always enjoyed hearing from Michelle.
“I’ll be over there as soon as I can, Mom.”
“Okay. It’ll be good to lay my eyes on you.”
“I love you too, Mom.” Michelle let the line grow silent.
Sophie could tell something was bothering her daughter. The ridiculously chipper tone that she was so accustomed to hearing was missing from her voice. Whatever the issue was, she couldn’t force it out. Michelle had always been stubborn, and Sophie had learned long ago to be patient with her, although she hated every minute of it.
“Michelle—”
“I have a quick question.” Michelle teetered around her query, briefly considering whether this was something she wanted to discuss over the phone. It felt a little tacky, but she was desperate for an answer. “Mom, was I adopted?” Michelle blurted it out before she lost her nerve again.
“Adopted? What are you talking about, Number One?” Sophie understood the words, but she was confused by the question.
“Are you my mother?”
“Yes. Of course, I am. Why would you ever question that? Is this why you’re upset?”
Michelle dillydallied a bit before she answered. She and Brianna had decided to keep their discovery to themselves.
“I just . . . I read an article recently, and it got me thinking, that’s all.”
“What could you have read that made you think you were adopted?” Sophie sounded calm, but inside she was screaming. Inside, her heart was beating so hard she thought it might break open her chest.
“It doesn’t matter. It was simply a question, Mom. I just got home. I’m going to lose you in the garage.”
“All right, Michelle, I love you, and we can talk later, okay?” Sophie sighed with relief. This was not the right time to have that conversation.
“Yes, ma’am. Love you too.”
Michelle pulled into the garage, parked, and trudged upstairs to her condo. She dropped her tablet on the couch and wandered into her bedroom. She had never known her mother to lie to her. She didn’t necessarily believe that she was, but she had to be. There was no other explanation. This woman was her twin sister, and she was raised to believe that she was an only child. She had no siblings. Michelle stripped down to her Vickie Secrets and crawled into bed. She was done thinking
for the night. Perhaps a good night’s rest would help her sort things out.
Chapter 4
Brianna woke up bright and early that Tuesday. She looked out her window and feasted on the beauty of the day. It looked like a normal day. Perhaps she had dreamed everything. She didn’t feel like she had learned any life-altering news in the past several hours. Brianna shook her head and smiled, feeling slightly relieved at the notion of it being an awkward nightmare. But when she picked up her phone and saw she had a missed call from Michelle, she knew she had not been dreaming. Brianna had a twin sister.
Her family was not perfect, and she suspected her parents had kept things from her, but never in a million years would she have guessed that they would hide something like this. She had tried calling Uncle J last night, but she couldn’t reach him. She hoped that he would call her back and shed some light on everything. Thinking about it made her anxious. She crawled out of her bed and went into the kitchen to fix breakfast. Brianna did not have an appetite, but cooking was therapeutic for her. Something about the methodology of it helped her to settle down.
After she ate and showered, she felt a bit better. She plopped down on her couch and prepared to give Michelle a call. She stared at her Android phone for several minutes and contemplated the implication of making the call. Absurd as it may have been, she felt that calling Michelle made things a little too real, and she simply was not sure if she was ready to do that.
She tossed the phone in anger, rejecting the idea that the family she had known all of her life had been a complete fabrication, watching the phone land at the end of the sofa. She was averse to believe her dad would lie to her about something so important. He would not do it; he loved her too much to lie to her. She picked up the remote and started flipping through channels. Love Jones was showing on TV One. Perfect. She always loved that movie, and she had turned to it in time to revisit her favorite line:
“When people who have been together a long time say that the romance is gone, what they’re really saying is they’ve exhausted the possibility.”
It never got old. Brianna stretched out and got comfortable. Two minutes passed, and she felt her foot vibrating. It was her cell phone. She let it go to voice mail, and five minutes later, it vibrated again.
“Ah!” Brianna was irritated and not in the mood to talk to anyone. She sat up and grabbed her phone. It was Michelle calling. Michelle may have been the last person Brianna wanted to speak with. While it was unfair to blame Michelle, she needed to hold someone responsible, and her newly found “sister” was an easy target. She held the phone in her hand until it stopped vibrating, but it wasn’t long before Michelle called a third time. There would be no avoiding her.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’ve been trying to call you.” Michelle did not like stating the obvious, but Brianna made her feel weird or at least talking to her did.
“I saw I missed you. Did you need something?” Brianna was angry, and it was evident in her tone. She could hear her heart beating energetically in her ears. What was wrong with her? Michelle didn’t do anything wrong. She had been blindsided too.
“I need the truth.” Michelle had not slept all night. She tossed and turned. She couldn’t settle her mind. Why had this happened? She needed to figure this out. As much as she may have been opposed to the idea, especially after hearing the poorly disguised vexation laced in Brianna’s voice, she needed Brianna’s help.
Brianna considered Michelle’s words: the truth. Brianna wanted to pretend that she didn’t care about the truth. Pretend that she could go on with her life as if none of this had happened, but she couldn’t hide her head in the sand. She needed answers as badly as Michelle. “Do you want to come over and talk?”
Michelle was glad that Brianna wasn’t fighting her. She was grateful the energy between them seemed to be changing. “Sure, can you text me your address?”
“I just sent it. I’ll see you in thirty?”
“See you in thirty.”
Brianna immediately e-mailed her assistant and advised that she would not be in for the remainder of the week. There would be no way she could put this out of her mind enough to focus at work and decided it was best that she just stay home. She tossed her phone on the sofa, fully intending to return to her movie, but she was no longer paying attention. Even sexy-ass Darius couldn’t distract her from what she had just done. Brianna felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes as the realization sank deeper and deeper into her psyche, changing her identity in a traumatic fashion. The future was on its way to her house, a future that drew her parents’ faces in pencil, making them accessible to change, and her twin’s face in ink, the new permanent fixture. She was not sure if she wanted any of this, but it was happening, regardless of whether she liked it.
* * *
Brianna and Michelle were seated on the floor in front of the couch combing through their pasts. They had been at it for hours, looking at all the documents they could find, which weren’t many, to try to put their broken history together. Neither of them had any real concrete answers, and they were beginning to feel the angst of frustration.
“Crap!” Michelle screamed. “This is so aggravating.”
Brianna slapped her forehead and fell back on the couch. She was feeling pressed too. They had not been able to find anything tying them to each other. They compared their birth certificates, and, although the parental information varied, the hospital, date, and time were essentially the same. From that, they were able to confirm they were from Dallas. The “adoption” was obviously private because there was no traceable record of it. It was as though they were born into these families. Each document they came across suggested they were suffering from some form of dementia. Brianna would have sworn she dreamed it all if Michelle had not been beside her.
Brianna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The whole thing was preposterous. Neither of them had any concrete answers, and she was running out of suggestions. “Maybe we should just confront them.”
Michelle shook her head no. “I asked my mom last night, and she told me I was not adopted. They could have told us at any time, but they didn’t. Somebody is lying.”
“Obviously. The question is why. Why would someone intentionally do this?”
Michelle shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I think we should keep them out of it until we find out more.”
“We don’t even know what we’re looking for, Michelle.”
“That may be true, but whatever it is . . . They are not telling us.”
Brianna did not like the idea. Not one bit.
“I know, but they couldn’t possibly lie in our faces,” Brianna stated, swinging her finger from her face to Michelle’s in a dramatic fashion. “I mean, come on, really?”
Brianna’s point was valid, and it was not one that had escaped Michelle’s construct. Michelle simply did not like confrontation. She, in fact, avoided it at every turn. She preferred a more subtle approach and wanted to get as many facts as she could before any accusations were thrown around.
“I think it would be better to wait until we have a little more information. It’ll give them less wiggle room.”
Brianna was not convinced that they needed anything more than their faces side by side, but she didn’t mind trying it Michelle’s way. This was her profession, after all.
“I asked my friend to keep an eye on them. Hopefully, he’ll come up with something.”
“Does he work for you often?”
“No, but I trust him, and I don’t want to risk someone spotting me. It’s better that he be the one snooping around this time.” Michelle was not comfortable with spying on their parents, but she didn’t see any other way to get some answers.
Either their parents knew and had intentionally hidden it, or they didn’t know and would have the same questions they had. They needed to solve the puzzle without interference. Michelle had come up with the bright idea of getting a DNA test to see what kind of twins they
were, fraternal versus identical. She saw Tia and Tamera do it on an episode of their reality show. Ironically, as much as she used to love their hit sitcom on the WB, Sister Sister, she hated that she was now living it.
Michelle was excited about finding out the results of the test, but Brianna remained indifferent. While Michelle had fully and completely embraced their sisterhood, Brianna was still resistant.
Brianna was trying not to stress out completely, but she was feeling overwhelmed by it all. Javan, her splack-avellie, as she liked to call him, had been blowing up her phone and that did not help matters. She knew he was probably upset with her for ignoring his calls, but she didn’t feel like talking to him. She needed some space, and he had been a little clingy lately. There was no way she was talking to him if he was upset; he would never let her off the phone. She and Michelle hung out for a few more hours, swapping stories and getting to know each other before she went home. Brianna was emotionally drained and passed out on the sofa shortly after. She didn’t know what they would find, but she was certain she would not like it.
Chapter 5
Michelle sat down behind the large oak desk and opened her MacBook to check her e-mail. The wood floor creaked, offering its familiar grooves as her ergonomically designed chair rolled into place. It had been a few days since she visited with Brianna, and they had gotten a little closer. They were creating a new normal for themselves and getting more comfortable. She could tell that Brianna still had her guard up a little, but it didn’t matter. They were both victims, and she honestly couldn’t decipher what enabled her to adapt so quickly. She glanced over the usual suspects: responses to her PI ad, alerts from the video feed, and newsletters from various subscriptions, et cetera. Nothing special.
Ding dong. The doorbell sounded, interrupting her thoughts. Puzzled, she closed the computer and considered answering the door. Perhaps whoever it was would leave. She was not expecting company and was not in a hostess-type mood.
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