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I freeze and my stomach plummets. Beth straightens and scoots away from me, her eyes widening in pained surprise before she closes them. When she opens them half a second later, the disappointment in them cuts me in half.
Porsha, steps into the living room wrapped in a towel and when she sees Beth she squeals and scurries back into my bedroom
“I forgot she was here-”
“Call Dean. He ca
n tell you where to go for the test.” “She presses the letter into my still outstretched palm, and then stuffs her hands in her pockets as if to make sure I’m not even tempted to try again.
She casts a glance over my shoulder at my open apartment door.
“Have fun.” She says with a cold grimace and then she’s gone.
61
Carter
At Last
“What are you doing here?” my mother asks from behind the chained door of Joe’s studio. I lean back, check the number on the door before I peer at her again.
“What are you doing here?” I raise my eyebrows.
“I’m helping Joe with a project,” she says cagily.
“Is Beth with you?” I ask. I didn’t know she and Joe were friends.
“She’s at the community center. She’s teaching today. You haven’t said why you’re here. Shouldn’t you be at practice? Your show is in less than six hours,” she says and I forget her weirdness and light up when I remember what brought me down here.
I hold the paper up so she can see through the small crack in the door. “Because, The DNA results came.”
She screams and then the door slams shut, I hear the chain disengage and the door opens wide.
“Oh my God. What does it say?”
She freezes in the middle of trying to loop her belt and gapes at me. I hold up my phone, waving it in her direction.
“Beth and I have absolutely no DNA in common.”
My mother’s eyes bug out of her head, and she covers her mouth, muffling her screamed “What?”
I nod, my heart feels like it’s dancing the reel in my chest. I laugh at her dazed expression as she crosses the room and takes the phone out of my hand. Her eyes race across the screen, growing more frantic in their paces as she reads the results.
Her head snaps up, her eyes full of joy that’s tentative, as if she’s scared to believe it.
“So…what does that mean?”
“She’s not my sister, mom. She’s not even my third cousin removed.”
She blinks rapidly, her face tightening in confusion, her brow furrows with worry. “If she’s not related to either of you… But she’s his daughter. She was born to her mother while they were married, right? And her mother kept it from her. She and your dad would have made a fine pair. If could get my hands on that woman I would rip her—Why in the world are you smiling?” She demands indignantly and crosses her arms over her chest.
I laugh. I didn’t even realize I was smiling. But I’m not surprised. I’m going to get my heart back. And nothing can dampen that joy.
“Because I’m happy. None of those things matter. Who cares? We are her family. We’ve always been. And now, at least I don’t have to live with the horror of knowing that she can’t be anything else.”
Her expression softens, smoothing all of the worry, confusion and surprise from her face.
“Oh baby, I’m so happy for you. I know—”
