John and Stef led Jack to the kitchen so they could talk some more. While John and Jack were sitting down, Stef hurried back into the living room to grab Lena and tell the other kids that they were going to postpone the movie for a bit while they had a conversation. Once Stef and Lena were sitting in the dining room with John and Jack, John finally spoke for the first time.
"You're my twin brother?" he asked, sounding baffled at the thought.
Jack nodded. "I know it's hard to understand, but yes, I'm your twin brother."
"How can that be?" John asked. He turned to Stef. "Did you know about me having a twin?"
Stef shook her head, looking as equally shocked as John. "Your Mom never said anything about it, Love. I had no idea."
John turned back to Jack. "Are you sure you have the right person?" he asked. "I mean, I know we look alike, but how can you be sure that you found the right person?"
"My adoptive parents heard about your book," said Jack. "They saw that it was authored by 'John Foster,' and they knew that was the name given to my twin. So they looked you up on the Internet and found you on Facebook. They took one look at your profile picture and immediately knew it was you."
"But how can you be for certain?" John asked, still not believing Jack's claim.
"We checked my adoption records," Jack said. "They said that Henry and Monica Foster gave birth to twin boys, John and Jack. They knew my adoptive parents couldn't have children and were good friends with them. So, they agreed to give one of their twins up for adoption to let my parents have a child of their own. It was a closed adoption, and our parents never told anyone about it, John. That's why none of you knew about me."
John, Stef and Lena were all taken aback by these revelations. They remained silent for several seconds before one of them spoke again.
"How come John has never seen you?" Stef asked. "If your parents were best friends with my sister and brother-in-law, didn't that mean you lived close to them?"
"They did," Jack said. "But, a year after John and I were born, my father got a new job in Los Angeles and we moved there. This is the first time we've been back in San Diego since then."
"How did you know we were in San Diego?" Lena asked.
"We saw John's interview on News Night a few days ago. My Dad is a lawyer and he did some searching around before he found out about John's adoption and eventually figured out where you all live. He and my Mom asked if I wanted to at least meet my twin, since I always used to ask about him when I was younger, so I said yes. So, we came here and I just wanted to meet you, John."
"Well, I'm glad I've gotten to meet you, Jack," John said. "It's just a shock, all of this. I can't believe my parents kept all of this from me and they didn't tell anyone about me having a twin."
"I'm sorry to drop a bombshell on you like this," said Jack, looking worried.
"No, no," John said. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad that you came, actually. I'd like to get to know you, if you're going to be around for a little while."
Jack nodded. "We'll be staying here for a few days, a little family vacation. I'd love to have coffee with you and just get to know you."
John turned around, pulled out a pen and piece of paper from the drawer behind him and scribbled something down on it, passing it to Jack.
"That's my phone number," John said. "We'll set something up in a day or two. We've got some family plans tonight."
"Of course, I understand," Jack said. "I really should get back to my parents so we're not late for dinner with some other friends.
"It was really nice to meet you, Jack," John said, standing up and shaking Jack's hand. Jack smiled at him.
"I'm glad I finally got to meet you, John," Jack said. "I'll text you soon."
With that, Jack turned and left the kitchen, headed toward the front door. He turned around and waved at John and the others in the kitchen before he left.
John turned to Stef and Lena, at a loss for words.
"Are you OK, John" Lena asked.
"I don't know," John replied. "I just can't believe my parents would have had a twin and would never have told me about him."
Stef nodded. "I know, Love," she said. "It can be hard to understand people's motivations for things, but you have to remember, everyone has choices to make."
"You still have all of my parents' old things, don't you?"
"Yeah, they're up in the attic," Stef said. "Why?"
"I think I'm going to look through it tomorrow, to see if maybe there's something in there that says something about Jack. Maybe it will help me realize that what he's told me is true."
Stef and Lena nodded. "Whatever you need, Love," Stef said, smiling at him.
John grinned. "I think we should get back to the movie," he said, standing up and walking back to the living room. Stef and Lena remained behind for a few seconds.
"What do you think?" Lena asked.
"I think John just needs some time to process this," Stef said. "And I think he should get to know his twin. Jack is family to him, after all."
Once Stef and Lena had reentered the living room, they turned the TV and DVD player back on to start the movie. While it was loading, Jude and Connor turned to John.
"So what was that all about?" Jude asked. "Is that boy really your twin?"
"That's what he says," John said.
"Do you think he is?" asked Connor.
"He does look a lot like me," John admitted. "I am going to get to know him a little bit, to see if we're anything alike. And tomorrow, I'm going to look through some of my parents' old things to see if there's anything in there about Jack. I just hope I find something.
