"Doctor Lalonde?"
The soft voice drew Ruth Lalonde's attention from her work and she hummed in response. After placing her pen down and hazarding a glance at the clock (noting that it was later than she thought – she would likely be staying up through the night again), she spun her chair around to face her assistant.
The younger woman was in the doorway, looking a bit tired. There weren't bags under her eyes yet but it was clear she was heading down that awful, sleepless path.
"I know that you said you didn't want any interruptions, but it's your sister," Calliope said apologetically. Ruth noticed the cell phone in her hand. From the cute cat charm that hung from it, she could identify it as her own, given to Calliope to limit distractions.
"Rosie or Rosa?" she asked, pursing her lips. She really didn't need distractions right now. She was giving a guest lecture tomorrow morning and after 13 separate revisions, she was still not entirely satisfied with her speech.
"Rosa," Callie answered and Ruth briefly envied her for her eternally cheery disposition. "She said that something urgent has come up. Something to do with your family."
"Rose or Dave?" the doctor asked even as she reached for the phone. It was always one of the youngest twins. "Did she say?"
"Sorry, no," Callie handed over the phone and retreated to the doorway, but didn't leave yet. She smiled sweetly at Ruth, who had to respond with a smile just as wide. "If you don't mind, I'm going to step out for a quick moment to pick up some refreshments. Would you like anything?"
Ruth took a moment to ponder the question. From the state of Calliope's drooping eyelids, coffee was an unspoken necessity. They both skipped dinner, but Ruth didn't feel terribly hungry.
"A sandwich," she decided. "And see if you can find someone to send over a bottle of wine."
"I'll see what I can do," the assistant said, though they both knew she wouldn't indulge Ruth in her vices. With a final cheery smile, she left the borrowed office. Ruth took a moment to mentally prepare herself before she brought the phone to her ear. Rosa could be a bit… much.
"Hello, Rosa," she said with as much warmth as she could. Sometimes her younger sister doubted her sincerity and Ruth was trying very hard to overcome that. It never occured to her that by overemphasizing her emotions she also seemed insincere.
"Good evening," Rosa said, voice as calm and collected as ever. "I apologize for interrupting you. I'm sure you're still obsessively working on your speech for tomorrow, as you always do."
Ruth eyed the papers liberally marred by red ink on her desk and said, "No, not at all."
The silence on the other end told her that the lie was not only obvious but also pitiful. She cleared her throat.
"Well, I must admit I didn't call to discuss your work ethic," the younger sister confessed. Ruth rolled her eyes but didn't bother responding to that. She picked up her pen and went back to scanning the paragraph she'd been editing when she was interrupted.
"Ruth… I received a troubling call earlier today," she said slowly. "I doubted the veracity at first but after doing some research of my own, I was forced to conclude that I was being told the truth."
"Tell me," Ruth urged, dropping her pen. She could detect an almost imperceptible tremor in her sister's usually calm voice. It was alarming to say the least.
"I received a call from a social worker," Rosa began. "At first, I thought that perhaps it had something to do with Rose and Dave. We haven't had any custody issues lately, but these sort of things occur when you least expect it."
"Aint that the truth," she snorted.
"But the woman, Ms. Pentri, works in Pennsylvania. She claimed to have two children in her custody that were related to us," she continued, not dignifying the outburst with a reaction. "There are plenty of Lalondes, however. I was unconvinced that they were that closely related to us. Still, her story seemed to hold some element of truth."
"And the verdict?" Ruth asked, rolling her pen between her fingers while spinning slowly in her office chair.
"Ms. Pentri told me that one of them was a Lalonde and the other was a Strider," she revealed, sounding downright troubled. Ruth froze, but the chairs momentum kept her slowly revolving.
"They're his children too, then?" she questioned. Her voice was a hell of a lot calmer than she was feeling. She gave herself a mental pat on the back with the part of her brain that hadn't frozen. Her mind was buzzing over the existence of two more half-siblings because holy hell, you'd think the Lalonde women would get the fucking memo and steer clear of the man.
She took a breath and tried to maintain her outward calm.
"They are. One of mother's cousins corroborated the story," Rosa confirmed. Ruth's breath left her in a drawn out sigh.
"And she gave them up? I told everyone in that part of the family that I'd take in any of our siblings," Ruth nearly growled. They had to know she was serious. She lived up to her word when Rose and Dave were born.
"You did," Rosa agreed evenly. "Thirteen years ago."
Ruth caught on immediately, "They're older than Rosie and Dave?"
"They are," she said quietly. "Fourteen. They're twins."
"Of course they are," Ruth moaned. It seemed twins were just the Lalonde way. She rubbed her temple with her free hand as her mind raced. The children's age meant that they had to have been conceived before her mother's death. A fresh hatred flared inside her for the man who contributed 50% of her genetic material. He hadn't even waited for his wife to die before moving on to fucking her family. Ruth let out a frustrated hiss.
"They weren't kept together in the foster system, but neither were adopted," Rosa continued, powering through the uncomfortable silence that followed. It was how she dealt with stress best. "But apparently they found one another later and were completely unaware that they were siblings."
"There's that at least," Ruth muttered. It was a small high point in what was no doubt a life of lows. She didn't know much about the foster system except that it wasn't kind to the children forced into it. After her mother died, she'd fought long and hard to keep her younger siblings from that fate.
Rosa was silent and an uneasiness settled over Ruth. She had the sneaking suspicion that there was more to the story and an even sneakier suspicion she would like none of it.
"Before you tell me anything else, I need you to tell me that the kids are okay and that we're going to get custody," Ruth demanded.
"Well, there's no doubt in my mind that we can take them in," Rosa said. "I doubt they would have contacted me if they didn't want to find them a home."
"Good," Ruth said viciously, shoving her red pen back into the cup of writing utensils with unusual force. "That's a load off of my worried mind."
"They're in Pennsylvania," Rosa informed her. "I plan on driving down tomorrow after Rose goes to school. I'll discuss adoption with the social worker then."
"Because no one can say no to your face," Ruth mumbled, but she was genuinely comforted by her sister's assurance. "Okay, lay it on me. All the terrible twists and turns."
"The girl is named Roxy," Rosa dutifully reported. "The social worker said that a concerned party at her school reported that she'd been coming to school with bruises and Ms. Pentri conducted a home check."
"Oh no," Ruth whispered, picturing a slightly older Rose in such a situation. Her heart felt heavy at the thought.
"The situation was as described. Her foster family was physically abusive and Ms. Pentri was going to remove Roxy from the home, but when she arrived to take her away, no one could find her," Rose continued, pausing for the inevitable outburst from her sister.
"How the hell do you lose a teenager?" the elder sister wanted to know. She was completely ignored and Rosa's narrative moved on.
"They found her later at a convenience store down the road. When Ms. Pentri asked why she didn't report the abuse during any of the previous home checks, Roxy explained that she didn't want to leave behind a friend she'd made. He was a foster child like herself and she refused to leave him on his own."
"That is… unbearably sweet," Ruth commented. "And really damn tragic."
"His name is Dirk, by the way," Rosa added, further tugging at her heartstrings. Abruptly, there was murmuring in the background and some shuffling on the other end. Ruth waited patiently. "Apologies. Rose was requesting pasta for dinner tonight."
"As she does," Ruth tried to smile, well aware of Rose's picky appetite. The mood of the conversation made it difficult.
"I'll start dinner after we're done here," Rosa said. "I'm afraid the story only gets stranger and more worrisome from here."
"Seriously?" she asked, almost queasy at the thought. "Well, let me hear it."
"Well, with Roxy refusing to leave without Dirk, Ms. Pentri had someone pull his file and they found it to be woefully incomplete. The previous social worker died two years prior and it seems that no one took over his case," Rosa explained. "As there was no information on anything but his placement there, she felt worried enough to pay a visit herself. Roxy claimed that Dirk had no foster parents but the social worker didn't believe her until they actually arrived at the house."
"What the hell," Ruth said, voice full of quiet fury. "No seriously, what the hell?"
"Dirk told her that he hadn't seen the couple that took him in since the day they brought him to their home," Rosa clarified. She went quiet for a moment before clearing her throat. "He was eight when he was left in that house."
"And he just… lived alone?" Ruth demanded, voice rising. "Are you telling me that these incompetent assholes let him be dumped in a strange house and he lived there, alone, for six years and no one knew?"
"Yes."
"That's… That is…" For once, words completely failed her. Ruth didn't think there were words in the English language that could even begin to convey how pissed off and worried she was in that moment.
"Needless to say, Ms. Pentri removed him from the home. They're trying to track down the foster parents but I don't think they have had much luck thus far. The bills were all paid on time and without a case worker to check in, no one noticed there was anything wrong," Rosa recounted. Quieter, in a voice that nearly wavered she added, "He reportedly got very good at scavenging for what he needed."
"Oh my god," Ruth moaned, sick to her stomach. Unbidden, her mind summoned up an image of a younger Dave picking through trash cans. "Rosa, I can't. My heart is breaking, holy shit."
"They've both been placed in a temporary home but Ms. Pentri couldn't get them placed together. It isn't for long. Tomorrow I'll see if they'll release them into my care and I'll bring them home," she assured Ruth, who clung to the promise like a lifeline.
"Good," she bit out, but her stomach was still in knots. She looked down at her desk without actually seeing anything. She could hear Calliope speaking to someone in the hallway, back from her refreshment run. "After my lecture tomorrow morning, I'm going to catch the first plane home."
"You don't have to do that," Rosa protested but Ruth couldn't stomach not being present for the adoption of their siblings. Her trip was scheduled to last two weeks, but she figured after giving the lecture she prepared, her financers would be happy enough to let her return home.
"Believe me, I have to," she assured her. "For my own peace of mind. Now go make Rosie something to eat. And call Derek to let him know what's going on. I'll be home in time to pick Rose up from school tomorrow."
"Well at least you can sleep on the plane," the younger sister responded dryly. Her gratitude went without saying.
"You know me so well," Ruth teased. "Thank you, Rosa. Have a good night."
"And you as well," Rosa reciprocated as warmly as she ever did. Ruth was smiling slightly as she hung up and placed the phone down but the smile fell quick enough.
She wasn't quite sure how to switch from family woes to research, so she pushed away from the desk. Calliope poked her head in, smiling cheerfully.
"All done, Doctor?"
"Yeah," she affirmed, slouching in the chair as all of her energy seemed to leave at once. She tried to smile at her assistant because the poor girl didn't need to deal with Ruth in her current mood. Something betrayed her melancholy, however, and Calliope entered the room fully. Her face fell into an expression of concern.
"Is everything all right?" she asked as she set down a paper bag on the other desk. Ruth stared at it, focusing on the logo printed in dark red ink. The urge to spill her guts was strong but she had to focus and power through if she wanted to have everything in order before she left. She ached for a glass of wine but it seemed she would go without.
"It will be," Ruth said with as much conviction as she could muster. She pulled herself up from her slump and nodded decisively. "I'm afraid I'll be working through the night tonight. Something has come up and I'm needed home as soon as I can get away."