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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO* * *TEAGANIt was nine in the morning when the phone rang. Caleb and I had the day off from classes and work, so we’d slept in. Startled by the ring, I picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hello...Teagan? It’s Stuart.”
Emma’s father hadn’t contacted me since our visit over a week ago. My family had been flabbergasted when I told them about Emma. My father was particularly emotional about history repeating itself, with Ariadne abandoning another child. But overall, they seemed happy that I’d found my long-lost sister. I hadn’t been sure yet whether to celebrate the discovery, though, since Stuart hadn’t made it clear when he planned to tell Emma the truth. For all I knew, that could be years away.
I sat up against the headboard. “Oh, hello. How are things?”
“Good, good. I, uh, wanted to let you know I spoke to Emma.”
“Spoke to her? You mean, about Ariadne?”
“Yes. I was careful not to tell her that her mother abandoned her per se, but I explained that I’d recently learned her mother had a daughter twenty years ago. So she knows she has a sister.”
I gripped the sheets. “What was her reaction?”
“She cried, actually. She said she never dreamed she’d have a sister.”
I closed my eyes. Then opened them. “Wait—did you tell her it was me? The girl she met last week?”
“Oh, yes! I told her it was you. She knows, Teagan. That realization made her even happier.”
Warmth washed over me. “I’m so happy she felt that way.”
“When can you come out again?”
“Anytime you want me,” I answered.
“This weekend?”
Caleb began to stir next to me.
“Hang on one second.” I whispered, “Caleb…any reason we can’t drive out to Brighton this weekend?”
He blinked his eyes open. “No reason I can think of.”
I turned back to the phone. “We can come!”
“Brilliant, then. See you soon.”***Emma was sitting on her bed reading a book when Caleb and I approached her room the following weekend.
I knocked on the door. “Hey, Emma.”
She set the book down and looked up. “Are you really my sister?”
Nodding, I sat at the edge of her bed. “I am.”
Caleb smiled and took a seat on the ground in the corner of the room to give us some space.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Emma asked.
“Because we thought it would be best for you to meet me first, then talk to your dad. I hope that’s okay.”
She shrugged. “It is.” Then a smile lit up her face, and all felt right in the world. This girl was essentially me, a decade ago. But she didn’t have a mother figure like I did. That made me thankful for Maura all over again.
Picking at some lint on her bedspread, I asked, “Do you have any questions for me?”
“Is Caleb your boyfriend?”
I looked over at him and laughed.
“Yes, he is. That’s why I’m here in England. I’m visiting him.”
Her expression dampened. “Are you leaving?”
“I may have to for a while, but I’ll be back.”
Something about the look on her face told me she had little confidence in that. After all, like me, this was a girl who’d been trained by Ariadne to expect abandonment.
“How do I know you’ll be back?” she asked. “My mother left and never came back.”
I squeezed her hand, unsure what to say.
When Caleb noticed my struggle to answer, he chimed in. “Teagan is a woman of her word, Emma. She told me she would come visit me, and she has. She would never say anything she didn’t mean. She’s not your mother. She’s your sister. And she understands more than anyone in this world what it feels like not to have your mother around. You can trust her, okay?”
She smiled at him and then at me. “Okay.”
I brought her into a hug. “Come here.”
Over the years, I’d never been a hugger. I could count on my fingers the number of times I’d initiated such contact with my family. But when it came to this little girl, it felt right.
“I can’t believe I have a big sister.” When I released her, she asked, “Do you have any other sisters and brothers?”
“I have one sister. She’s my dad’s child with my stepmom. She’s really cool, and she’ll want to claim you as her own. I think you’re gonna become her new favorite.”
“What’s her name?”
“Shelley.”
Her next question took me by surprise. “Do you know why our mum left?”
I shook my head sadly. “No, honey, I don’t.”
“Dad says she’s sick, but I don’t know if he’s just saying that.”
“There are all kinds of sicknesses, Emma. I feel like our mother is sick in the head. And that’s why she left. I’ve learned over the years not to take it personally. But it’s hard. I know. I know exactly what you’re going through.”
Caleb stood and walked over to the bed. He sat next to me. “You know, Emma, when I first met your sister, she was struggling with many of the same thoughts and feelings you are. You’re both very lucky to have each other now. Because a shared experience is always easier than going through it alone. No matter where Teagan is, you’ll never have to feel alone again.”
