CH-9—Extended Family
"Jack, we have twins. A son and daughter they are 25. And, well a third daughter she's 15"
"Twins?" She hands me the book. I feel a bit dizzy all of a sudden. "They took not only you, but our children; from me and Sydney." I slowly opened the book. I was shaking and it didn't help that my pain killers were wearing off. The first page is my Laura, 25 years ago, holding my babies. She looked both beautiful and exhausted all at the same time. The message below it read, Mommy, Jonathan and Catlin. I was staring at the picture of my lost family. The next page was Laura 10 years later with Lilly. All three children beautiful.
"They can't wait to meet you. They're all excite."
"Me too." I whisper. All I can do is put my face in my hands and cry. Far too long I've held on to too much pain. I just couldn't do it any longer. Laura wrapped her arms around me again. For the longest time we laid there in front of the fire holding each other. I wanted to open my eyes and it be 25 year earlier, so I could have been there. I should have been there.
"Jack, it's ok, I was worried how you were going to take this. The twins are wonderful young adults, Jack not to overwhelm you any more, but you also have two more beautiful grand children, Benjamin and Olivia. Ben is two and Olivia 12 weeks. Ben's a feisty little guy just like his grandpa."
I chuckle some, "Wow so what are they like, what do they do. I flip through the book I've been clutching onto for the last 30 minutes. Medical School? Normal careers. That's very refreshing."
"Yeah, Catlin, always wanted to be a doctor she married a Marine; apparently marring men who save the world is a genetic thing. They got pregnant when she was an intern. Ben is over in Iraq. He still hasn't seen Olivia. We're not sure when he's getting leave again. We haven't been able to make contact with him yet to let him know about his daughter. They grew up together, neighbors actually…John's best friend. When they started dating I think John had issues with it, but he got over it."
"Hmm, little sister, dating big brother's best friend, I can see how that would cause problems."
"They got over it. . John's a bit shy like someone else I know. He was engaged, but about a month ago they broke up. Stupid thing really, I'm hoping that they get back together. Carrie is such a sweet and smart girl. She wanted to go away to get her masters. Let's just say John over reacted. I think that he's going to swallow his pride soon are realize that."
"I guess bad luck is also genetic."
"Well, bad luck in the sense that he sometimes opens his mouth without thinking how it's going to affect others. Other than that he could be your clone Jack. I swear when you see him, you'll think you're stepping back in time. I need to warn you though, he's very tall 6'6". He's an architect, a very good one. He also does landscaping. He's into everything, very active and creative young man. He's going to love this cabin."
"An architect? Maybe he can design a house up here for Sydney, Michael and Izzy Bee. Landscaping, I used to love doing that. Stress-free and relaxing time in the gardens. Wow, didn't get the height from my side of the family."
"Izzy bee? That's cute."
"Yeah, I came up with that one all by my self." I say jokingly.
"So tell me about Lilly. Apparently an athlete from the softball photos."
"She's played ball for quite sometime now. Taken after John actually. She wants to play for UCLA. She's a sweet girl. When she was born she reminded me so much of Sydney, her mannerisms and personality."
"Hmmm. So how…was she…"
"I wanted another child Jack. But only yours. Remember when we were trying to get pregnant after Sydney?"
"How could I forget, we were both worried that Sydney was going to be an only child. I think I made enough donations those two years to repopulate the entire state of California twice over."
"I went to a fertility clinic here and they contacted the fertility clinic back in LA, told them that my late husband had been tested years back when we were trying and his sperm was in storage for future use. Honestly it was quite easy. They never questioned me once."
"The miracles of science. So what do the kids think about how Lilly was conceived?"
"They were fine, excited about having another brother or sister. How do you think Sydney is going to take the news?"
"Excited to say the least, she's always hated being an only child. I can't wait to tell her; this is news we both needed. Some good news in our lives for once. She's been through so much lately."
We talked for several hours before I realized it was almost 2:30 in the morning.
"I hope you didn't have to be some where to be early in the morning."
"That explains why I'm so tired. No classes to deal with, but I'm sure my phone will be ringing in a few hours, Catlin tends to worry a bit."
"You look a bit sleepy." I grab the blanket and wrap it around us pulling her closer to me.
"Tonight was wonderful Laura. The first time, in a very long time that I have a reason to live again"
I kiss her lips softly as we both drift asleep.
More to come soon…
It's not morning yet!
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