by Linda Warren
“But it has,” Serena said, and walked closer. “Meet your other granddaughter. Her name is Sarah Welch.”
“I know,” Aurora said, to Serena’s surprise. “Jasmine named both of you before she died.” Aurora raised a hand to her forehead. “I’m not feeling very well. Let’s go home, Serena. We can talk later.”
“No, Gran, we’re gonna talk right here. Right now.”
“Don’t be difficult.”
“I’m going to be a lot more than difficult,” Serena said, trying not to lose her temper. “You knew who I was talking about when I mentioned the woman who looked like me. That’s why you were so nervous and why you got angry.”
“Yes, I knew,” Aurora said in a low voice.
“Why, Gran? Why would you keep this a secret?”
“Oh, Serena, don’t—”
Almost on cue the door opened, and Ethan saw who it was before anyone else did. Celia, in white Capri pants and a flowered blouse. Ethan moved aside, letting revelations unfold naturally.
“Sarah, are you…” Celia fell silent as she saw the people in the room. “Ohmigod. Ohmigod.” She seemed to lose her balance and Ethan caught her by the arm. There weren’t any more chairs in the room so Sarah got up and gave Celia hers.
“What are you doing here, Celia?” Sarah asked.
“The hospital called and said you were… What’s going on?” Her eyes were on Serena.
“That’s what we want to know from the two of you,” Serena said.
“I always wondered what you looked like,” Celia said. “It’s amazing. You’re absolutely identical.”
“Yes, we’re twins—and no one bothered to tell us.”
The silence became almost a tangible thing. It stretched awkwardly—thirty seconds, a minute—but no one said a word. Ethan felt he should leave, yet he also felt he should be there in case Serena needed him.
“Why did no one tell us?” Serena asked sharply, breaking the tense silence.
Celia crossed her legs. “I think I’ll let you answer that, Aurora.”
“I’m not talking about it,” Aurora replied stubbornly.
“That’s Aurora’s answer to everything,” Celia added. “When something becomes unpleasant, she just ignores it.”
“You know Aurora?” Serena asked, surprised.
“Yes, we were best friends in high school.”
“Oh.” Nothing was making sense to Serena. Sarah sat on the bed, letting her do the talking; she seemed almost detached from the situation. Ethan stood a few feet away and that gave Serena strength.
She bit her lip. “Then why do you hate each other so much?”
“Honey, just let it go.” Celia waved a hand. “You won’t be happy hearing the truth.” She glanced at Sarah. “Neither of you will be.”
“I think we deserve the truth,” Serena told her. “No, we demand it.”
“Aurora, aren’t you gonna say anything?” Celia asked.
“No.” Aurora clamped her lips shut.
“God, you make me so mad. You always did.” Celia brushed a speck from her pants. “You see, Aurora and I fell in love with the same boy in high school.”
“John never loved anyone but himself, Celia. Haven’t you learned that yet?” Aurora’s voice fell. “Oh God, I can’t talk about this.”
Her grandmother’s evident anguish touched Serena, but she hardened herself. “What can’t you talk about?”
“Serena…”
“Tell me, Gran.”
“John Welch is your father.”
“Yes, I know that.”
“No, you don’t understand. John Welch, Jr., is not your father. John Welch, Sr., Celia’s husband, is.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“WHAT!”
“You wanted the truth and that’s it,” Aurora said.
The room did a crazy spin, and Serena shook her head. She couldn’t think clearly. “Gran, that doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s true, honey,” Celia said.
“He must have been much older…and married.”
“Yes.” Aurora nodded. “She was eighteen and he was forty. With a wife.”
“Me,” Celia whispered.
“But, but…”
Aurora studied the handle on her purse. “I know it’s hard to believe, darling, but there it is.”
“Then you’re not really my grandmother?” Sarah asked, staring at Celia.
“No, I’m just your father’s wife.”
“And your son wasn’t my father?”
“No, honey. John, Jr. died two years before you were born.” Celia gave a quick shrug. “It just seemed the best story at the time.”
Sarah grew quiet, and so did Serena. Ethan wanted to go to her, but this was out of his hands.
“How did it happen?” Serena demanded.
“This isn’t easy to talk about,” Aurora said in a hoarse whisper.
“Just tell me, Gran. I need to know and so does Sarah.”
Aurora linked her hands together. “When I was in high school, I fell in love with John Welch. John was very active…sexually—I guess that’s how you young people say it. I was raised to be a lady and he couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t sleep with him. I thought he loved me and would wait, but later I found out he was sleeping with other girls, including Celia, my best friend. I was devastated and broke up with him. He got angry, saying it was all my fault because I was frigid.” She paused. “Celia was pregnant, and John and Celia got married. After high school our lives went in different directions. I met Henry and we had Jasmine, and life was almost perfect. Then Jasmine reached her teens and she became very rebellious. She even seemed to hate us at times. We gave her everything and she…she didn’t appreciate anything. We bought her a Corvette, but she bought herself an old Chevy. That’s how it all started.”
Serena and Sarah glanced at each other in confusion.
Aurora closed her eyes for a second, then continued. “She took her car into his shop to get it repaired. He knew who she was when he saw her, because she looked a lot like me. He showed her lots of attention, worked on her car for nothing. When I found out, I went to see him and asked him to stay away from my daughter. He laughed at me and said Jasmine wasn’t as frigid as I was—and I knew he was only trying to get back at me for what had happened in high school. I pleaded with Jasmine, trying to make her see sense, but she wouldn’t listen. She said I was jealous. He’d poisoned her mind against us. Henry and I even talked to the police, but there was nothing we could do, since Jasmine was eighteen. They did talk to John, though, and things cooled down for a while. Then…”
Aurora took a breath. “Jasmine found out she was pregnant and moved in with him above that awful shop. Henry wanted to go after her, but I wouldn’t let him. She’d made her decision. During the next few months she called Henry a couple of times. She wouldn’t talk to me. The night she died she’d called and said the babies were due any day. Henry begged her to come home and she said she’d think about it. That was the first time she’d told him anything like that, and we waited and waited, but she never came and…”
Celia cleared her throat and took up the story. “She and John had had a big argument and she wanted to go home. He tried to stop her from leaving. John didn’t take rejection well. She broke away from him and got into the car. He got in, too, before she could drive away. They crashed a mile from their apartment.”
Serena’s mind reeled with shock. But everything was becoming clearer. The shame of it all was too much for Gran; that was why there were no pictures, no reminders of Jasmine in the house. Why Gran had never wanted Serena to find out. But still, a few questions needed answering.
Serena looked at Celia. “Why would you raise a child of your dead husband’s lover?”
Celia glanced at Aurora nervously.
“Tell her, Celia. There’re no more secrets.”
“I stuck with John through his women and his many affairs. Jasmine was younger than the rest, but I knew he’d eventually tire of
her and come back to me. He dropped by the house several times and I told him how crazy he was for getting involved with Jasmine. He said it was his business and to stay out of it. He was thrilled about the babies, though. You see, our son was killed in a motorcycle accident and John, Sr. saw the babies as a second chance at family. And Jasmine had the polished sophistication of her mother. I’m sure that made him feel young again, especially since Jasmine was Aurora’s daughter—that was too tempting for John to resist. I think he knew it wouldn’t work, because he never asked me for a divorce.”
“Our parents weren’t married?” Serena already knew that, but she had to hear it.
Celia shook her head. “No, and it didn’t seem important to Jasmine. I believe John’s main attraction was that he’d once been Aurora’s boyfriend—and that he found Jasmine more attractive.”
“I still don’t understand why you raised one of her children,” Serena said.
“The night of the accident I went into the ER. John was still alive and able to talk. The only thing he said was that he was sorry and to look out for the babies, because he knew Aurora wouldn’t want them—and he was right.”
“What!”
“Aurora didn’t want either one of you.”
“Gran.” Serena appealed to her grandmother.
“It’s true,” Aurora admitted painfully, twisting her hands. “I didn’t want anything to do with Jasmine and John’s babies. I didn’t even go to the nursery to see you. I couldn’t. My daughter was dead, and that was all I could think about. I told Celia she could have the babies, and I left the hospital. I didn’t sleep that night, and neither did Henry. That morning Henry disappeared and I didn’t know where he was.” She paused. “He went to the hospital to talk to Celia and to see the babies. They made a deal. He would take one baby and she would take the other. When Henry brought you home and I saw your big blue eyes and red hair, my heart just melted. It was almost as if we were bringing Jasmine home again.”
“But what about Sarah? Why didn’t you go back for Sarah?”
Aurora swallowed nervously. “I had my daughter back. That was all I could think. Selfishly I believed it was my second chance—a second chance to raise my daughter. That was a little insane, but it came out of my grief, and after a while I could see that. You weren’t Jasmine. You were Serena and you were everything I wanted you to be. By the time I realized that, Celia had already bonded with Sarah. Henry and I discussed it over and over. Should we try to get her back? We finally decided it was best to leave things the way they were. And…” She looked at Sarah. “I’m so sorry.”
Sarah couldn’t speak and her face was blank.
“It wouldn’t have done you any good,” Celia said. “I wouldn’t have let you take her. She was all I had left of John, and no one was taking her away from me. It’s been you and me against the world, hasn’t it, honey?”
“Yeah, you and me,” Sarah muttered, then added, “but you lied to me. You said you were my grandmother and I had no family left and that’s why you raised me.”
Celia grimaced. “A little white lie to keep you from getting hurt. It seemed the best solution at the time. I was afraid Henry and Aurora would still try to take you, so I moved to Oklahoma, then Arizona. Everyone thought you were my grandchild and I didn’t correct them.”
“I should’ve been with my family,” Sarah said in a cold voice.
Celia’s skin paled. “Well, honey, it didn’t work out that way and I—”
Sarah climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom.
Serena wanted to go after her, but she couldn’t. Her emotions were in upheaval and she felt physically ill. She had to get some air. She moved toward the door; Ethan followed.
She ran down the hall, jarring her hair clip loose. Her copper hair tumbled down her back. It was hard for Ethan to keep up, but he wasn’t losing sight of her. A family-gathering area opened onto a patio and that was where he found her, gulping in fresh air.
He went to Serena and wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him. “I can’t believe any of this!” she cried. “I’ve been lied to all my life and so has Sarah. I’ve had this fantasy in my head of my mother and father being star-crossed lovers, defying their parents to be together. I thought it was romantic, but it wasn’t. It was sordid and dirty and…” She turned away and looked out over Dallas. “I wish I’d never asked for the truth. I’d rather live with the fantasy.”
“No, you wouldn’t. That’s why you wanted me to find Sarah.”
“I’m not sure anymore, Ethan,” she said in a forlorn voice. “Where do we go from here? How do we put our lives back together?”
“Take a deep breath,” he said, and tucked her hair behind her ears. “A whole new life is starting. You have your sister now. She needs your support and you’ll forge a new relationship. I think Aurora will also forge a bond with her. She seems inclined to do that now.”
“I don’t understand Celia’s part in all this,” she muttered. “How could she love John Welch so much that she’d agree to raise his child by his teenage girlfriend?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But love makes people do crazy things.”
“I suppose.” She leaned her head against his chest. “I’d better go back.”
“Are you all right?”
“No. I feel like I’ll never be all right again.”
He cupped her face, gently lifting her chin. “Oh, I hate to hear that. I rather like that fighting spirit and determination of yours. It’s helped me a great deal.”
“Has it?”
“Enormously.” He kissed her nose. “Your family needs you now.”
“And your family needs you,” she said tonelessly.
“Yes, I have to see about getting Molly out of this place.”
“You won’t leave without saying goodbye?” She couldn’t keep that note of despair out of her voice.
“No, I would never do that.”
“Good.” She smiled slightly. “I’ll see you later.”
As she walked through the door, he thought his heart would never leave her.
WHEN SERENA GOT BACK to the room, Aurora, Celia and Sarah were talking. Aurora immediately came over to her. “Darling, are you still upset?”
“A little.”
“I’m so sorry to disillusion you.”
“Well, I came here searching for the truth and I found it.”
“Oh, darling.” Aurora held her for a moment and Serena couldn’t help feeling puzzled. She’d never seen her grandmother this strong. As far back as Serena could remember, Aurora was always the one who needed taking care of. Maybe things were changing.
“Sarah was telling us about the ordeal she’s been through,” Aurora said. “It’s just terrible.”
Serena smiled at Sarah over Aurora’s shoulder. “I know, but because of it, we found each other.” She went to stand beside Sarah. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m feeling better,” Sarah replied. “I’ve been talking to your grandmother—” she paused “—I mean our grandmother, and she’s invited me to come and stay with you when I leave the hospital.”
Serena looked at Aurora. “Has she?”
“Yes.” Sarah frowned. “That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
“No, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she said, and meant it. She was just surprised Aurora had thought of it.
Serena and Sarah sat on the bed, and Aurora and Celia took the chairs. “I have to warn you, though,” she told her sister, “the bank is about to beat down our door.”
“Oh, my.” Aurora covered her mouth. “I was supposed to have a meeting with Mr. Wylie this morning and I forgot all about it. I need to call him.”
“That’s all right, Gran,” Serena assured her. “I’ll do it when we get home.” Old habits were hard to break.
“No, Serena, you won’t,” Gran said decisively. “I can’t keep letting you take care of everything. I have to start taking responsibility. May I borrow your cell phone?”
> This wasn’t the Gran she knew, and for a moment she was dumbfounded.
“Serena?” Gran prompted.
“Oh, yes, yes.” She grabbed her phone and handed it to Aurora.
Aurora pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and punched in a number. Within moments, she was talking to Mr. Wylie and arranging to meet him the next morning. She returned the phone to Serena.
“Now,” Aurora said, folding her hands in her lap. “That’s done.”
“Gran, tell us about the past,” Serena suggested. “We need to hear more.”
Aurora stared down at the floor. “I’m not sure what else to say, but I loved my daughter and I wanted her to have everything life had to offer. She, in turn, seemed to hate me and rebuffed all my efforts. We could never get back the relationship we had when she was a child. She was my little princess and I—”
“For heaven’s sake, Aurora,” Celia snapped. “Take off the blinders.”
“What do you mean?” Aurora raised her head, sitting straight in her chair.
“Jasmine was not a doll for you to dress up and parade in front of your friends. She hated it.”
Aurora blanched. “That’s not true.”
“It is true,” Celia argued. “She never thought she was as beautiful as her mother. She felt inferior. And she hated the way you tried to make her look like you—the clothes, the makeup…”
“How do you know that?”
“She told me.”
The words hung in the room for a moment, until finally Serena asked, “You had conversations with our mother?”
“Yes, many times. I wasn’t letting John go without a fight. I wanted to know if she loved him or if their relationship was the standard thing John had with all his girlfriends.”
“What did she say?” Serena asked with a catch in her voice.
“She said she loved him, but that no one understood it, especially her parents. I told her she was attracted to John because he was her mother’s boyfriend years ago. She admitted it had started that way, but according to her, John thought she was beautiful and special and she didn’t have to wear expensive clothes or jewels or drive fancy cars for him. He loved her just the way she was. That was her fantasy—to be loved for herself—and she found it with John.”