‘The same age?’ Alice frowned.
‘But you are only about eighteen, aren’t you? I’m twenty-one.’
Jane’s expression changed then.
She was looking at Alice differently now; a concerned frown on her face.
‘Alice, you don’t know the whole story, do you? They said you didn’t. We’re
twins.’
Alice’s face turned pale.
‘Alice, are you all right?’
Alice felt strange. She could
see Jane, but she seemed to be moving in slow motion. Feeling as though she
would faint, she tried to focus on the television.
‘Alice? Alice?’
She could feel Jane’s hand on
her arm, but she could no longer see her.
‘Alice, I’ll get you some water,
lie down.’
Alice saw Jane, through a haze,
as she returned with a glass of water. Slowly, she began to feel normal again.
Alice finished drinking the water. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
‘We’re twins? I had no idea.’
Alice spoke slowly as if she were trying to make sense of what Jane had just
said.
‘I’ll have to explain it to you,
how Mum and Dad explained it to me,’ said Jane.
‘They separated us. I don’t see
how there can be any justifiable reason for that.’ Alice’s mind was spinning.
‘Mum and Dad told me that when
they made the surrogacy agreement, they fell in love.’
‘Oh, how romantic,’ said Alice,
her words edged with sarcasm. ‘He was married to Stephanie. He cheated on her.’
She rolled her eyes.
‘I know,’ said Jane, frowning.
‘But there’s more to the story. They really tried to avoid seeing each other.
Dad did feel guilty for cheating on Stephanie. To cut a long story short, they
stopped seeing each other because it was too stressful keeping their affair
secret.’
‘I don’t really have any
sympathy for them,’ said Alice remembering the two stiff faces that had greeted
her when she visited them. She was finding it difficult to believe that they
could actually feel anything like
love
for anyone.
Jane pursed her lips and looked
at her hands. ‘If I tell you the whole story, maybe you’ll feel differently.’
‘I still don’t understand how
they could have been so in love with each other and yet find it so easy to give
away their child.’
‘Well, Mum said that when she
found out she was carrying twins she threatened to keep both of us and she told
Dad that if he tried to stop her she would tell Stephanie about their affair.’
‘So, in other words, she wanted
to blackmail him and try to get him to leave Stephanie for her,’ said Alice
shaking her head.
‘She was in love with him,
Alice; she was taking their break-up really badly.’
‘Whatever way you look at it, it
was an affair; adultery.’ Alice folded her arms and looked straight ahead at
the TV screen.
‘Yes, but Dad really tried to
make it work with Stephanie, despite his feelings for Mum.’
Alice shrugged.
‘Anyway, listen to the whole
story and then you can judge them,’ continued Jane. ‘Apparently, one night, Dad
and Mum, got together to talk about the problem. Dad came to an agreement with
Mum that she could keep one of us, and give the other to him and Stephanie. Mum
needed the money, so she agreed. Mum said she was still hoping to get back
together with Dad. She didn’t want to give either of us away.
‘Mum and Dad really thought they
were doing the right thing by splitting us up, to prevent further problems
because the agreement had backfired when they had an affair. They agreed not to
tell Stephanie about their affair, or about the fact that Mum was having
twins.’
‘They did everything behind
Stephanie’s back,’ said Alice.
‘Yes, but, Dad stayed with
Stephanie and you for a while after we were born. He wasn’t seeing Mum at that
time. The problem was that he loved Mum too much, and so in the end he had to
get back with her and leave Stephanie. Dad decided to leave you with Stephanie
because he thought it would cause less problems,’ said Jane.
‘How could they have done that?
Separating twins?’ said Alice, her face red.
‘I know. I couldn’t believe it.
I was really angry with them when they first told me. I was angry because they
had kept it a secret from me, and because I couldn’t understand why they did
it. I didn’t speak to them for two days. I went and stayed at a friend’s house.
I couldn’t bear to look at them. I really considered just leaving home, and
never seeing them again. It just kept going round and round in my head. But
now, I sort of understand why they did it. It was stupid, but they were only
doing what they thought was right. They didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Think about
it, you’ve had a good life with Stephanie, haven’t you?’
Alice nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘And, believe it or not, I’ve
had a good life with Mum and Dad,’ said Jane. ‘Stephanie and Dad were going to
break up at some stage, anyway, I suppose. I mean, Dad said they weren’t
getting along. But Mum and Dad really love each other. They’ve been together
for all these years, and they’re really happy together, even now.’
‘But they were being selfish;
only thinking of themselves,’ blurted Alice, with tears in her eyes.
‘No, that’s just it; they
weren’t. If they were selfish, they would have taken both of us, and gone off
to live together, leaving Stephanie alone,’ said Jane.
‘At least then we would have
grown up together. And it wasn’t fair for Dad to expect Stephanie to bring up a
child on her own with no help.’
‘I know, I know. I’ve been over
it in my head again and again, and if I’m being honest I think there are things
they could have done better. But I know them, remember; and I truly believe
that they weren’t being deliberately cruel. They were young, only a few years
older than we are now. I think they thought that by giving Stephanie a child,
knowing that she couldn’t have any of her own, it was a kind of compensation
for what they’d done.’
‘I don’t know how you can be so
calm about it,’ said Alice, tears welling in her eyes.’
Jane giggled. ‘Believe me, I
wasn’t calm about it. I almost shouted the house down when they told me!’
Alice wiped her tears on her
sleeve and looked at Jane, frowning: ‘Miranda didn’t even want children. She
was only having a child for money. She was being selfish by keeping you, not
thinking of the effect it would have on us to be split up. Why didn’t they give
both of us to Stephanie?’ said Alice resentfully.
‘Yes, I thought about that, but
she explained it to me. She says that at first she saw the opportunity of the
money, because she wanted to travel the world and she saw it as doing a favour
to a couple who couldn’t have children; but, then, she fell in love with Dad,
and she just felt she wanted to be with him. They didn’t plan any of this, it
just happened. She ended up feeling that she would not be able to give up her
child.’
‘But she did give me up!’
‘Yes,’ said Jane, nodding, ‘but
can’t you see how painful that must have been for her? What a sacrifice? She
had promised Stephanie a child, so she gave you to her.’
‘But you just said that she
needed the money; that’s the reason she gave me to Stephanie.’
‘I didn’t mean it that way. What
I meant was—well she wouldn’t have been able to bring both of us up, without
financial support. She was only a student at the time. It was as if—I don’t
know—if she kept to the agreement, she would get the money, so at least she
could keep one of us.’
Alice was silent, tears now
falling from her eyes. She sat staring at the floor.
‘I know you’re angry with them.
I was angry when I found out,’ said Jane. ‘But what’s the use being angry? We
can’t change what’s happened. At least we’ve found each other now, and we know
the truth.’
‘Yeah, but if it was up to them,
we would never have known the truth.’
Jane nodded. ‘That’s true; but,
I think they’re glad it’s all out in the open now. It must have been so
difficult, keeping something like that secret, for so many years,’ she said.
‘Alice, I really think that Mum and Dad would like to get to know you better
now that we both know everything that happened.’
‘I don’t know how you can be so
forgiving. Maybe it’s because you’re not the one they gave away,’ said Alice,
bitterly.
‘I’ve had more time to get used
to it than you. I’ve had time to think about it. And, as for forgiving, I don’t
know if I have, but I think I might be able to, in time,’ said Jane. ‘Anyway,
you shouldn’t feel so bad about it. It wasn’t as if they chose me over you.
Look at us, we’re almost identical. It could have been me that they gave to
Stephanie. Anyway, I think you’re the lucky one. After all this has blown over,
you’ll have two families. You’ve got Mum and Dad,
and
Stephanie.’
Alice wiped her eyes. She looked
at Jane. Everything Jane had said made sense. Slowly, she began to feel a bit
better.
‘I’m sure Stephanie would love
to meet you,’ said Alice. ‘She’s coming here for dinner tomorrow evening, would
you like to come too?’
‘Well...’ Jane seemed hesitant.
‘Yes, okay, why not?’
Alice and Jane sat in silence
for a few minutes looking at the television. Then Jane began to speak again.
‘So, how did you trace us after all these years?’
‘Hmm... I’m not supposed to tell
you, but I don’t think it really matters now: I got your address and telephone
number from Susie and Tony, after I saw you at Tony’s party.’
‘Oh, right,’ said Jane, nodding.
‘It was really strange how this
all started, though,’ said Alice. ‘I had a nightmare when you were in the plane
crash.’
‘Really?’ Jane seemed intrigued.
‘Yes, I had a nightmare, and I
woke up at quarter past twelve: the time of the plane crash. I was really
scared. Then I heard about the plane crash the next day. It’s a long story, but
basically I saw your picture in the paper, and saw that your surname was
“Forester”—the same as my dad’s. And, you looked so much like me. Anyway, it made
me want to start looking for my dad. It’s really weird, I still can’t believe
it myself.’
Jane stared at Alice
open-mouthed. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘That’s quite a strange story. Maybe they’re
right about twins having telepathic connections?’
‘Maybe.’ Alice remembered what
the doctor had said about the pain in her arm possibly being sympathetic pain.
‘Well, none of that really
matters now, I suppose,’ said Jane, interrupting her thoughts. ‘All that really
matters, is that we are together again.’
‘Yes.’ Alice smiled.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
‘Are you expecting someone?
asked Jane.
‘No.’ But, then, looking at her
watch, she realised she had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be
going out to dinner with Andrew. Jane’s telephone call yesterday had wiped
everything else from her mind.
‘Oh, sorry, Jane, yes... I am
expecting someone. It’s my boyfriend. We’re going out.’
‘Oh, that’s okay. I’ll leave,’
said Jane.
Alice smiled at her and went to
open the front door.
‘Hello,’ said Andrew, kissing
Alice on the cheek.
‘Hello,’ she smiled, blushing.
‘Come in.’
Andrew seemed surprised when he
saw Jane. Alice introduced them.
‘I was just leaving,’ said Jane,
reaching for her coat.
Alice noticed that Jane was
struggling and she helped her put her raincoat on over her plaster-cast. Jane
bent down and took her umbrella which was sitting by the door.
‘Thanks for coming over, Jane.
I’ll be expecting you tomorrow evening for dinner.’
‘Okay,’ said Jane, smiling.
‘Bye.’
Alice watched as Jane walked
away from the house. It had stopped raining and the late evening sun was
peeping through the thick grey clouds. As Alice watched Jane, she felt happy.
Finding out that Jane was her twin had been like finding the missing piece to
the jigsaw puzzle of her life. She felt complete.
She turned to face Andrew.
‘I didn’t know you had a
sister,’ he said.
‘Neither did I,’ said Alice,
laughing. ‘It’s a long story.’
‘Yeah? Well, perhaps you can
tell me all about it over dinner.’
‘Okay,’ smiled Alice, taking his
hand as they stepped outside together into the evening sun.
###
Author’s Note:
I very much hope you enjoyed Coincidences. If you did, it
would help me so much if you could leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
or other such sites. If you’re a member of Goodreads.com or other reader/writer
forums, perhaps you could also leave a review there. A tweet on Twitter or a
shared link about my book on your Facebook or other social networking site
would be much appreciated. Another fantastic way of helping would be to tell
your friends about the book. Independent authors rely on their readers to
spread the word about their books.
Thank you so much for reading my novel. I hope it has
entertained you. Readers are the most important people in an author’s life.
Thank you for picking my book to read.
Other Books by
Maria Savva:
Coincidences - 1st Edition (Hardback)
A Time to Tell
Pieces of a Rainbow
Love and Loyalty (and Other Tales)
Second Chances
Cutting The Fat (co-author Jason McIntyre)
Fusion
The Dream
Short stories by Maria can also be found in the
BestsellerBound Short Story Anthologies
Visit
http://www.mariasavva.com
for further information