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Afterwards, Allie curled onto her side with Jack spooned protectively about her, and slept.
* * *
The following morningJack offered to take the children to school. After everyone had left, Allie made a cup of tea and took it up to the spare room where her sister had stayed the night. She was surprised to find Penny up, with her suitcase open on the bed. Her sister stood silent and unusually still. She appeared to be holding something.
It was only when she came around beside her that Allie realised Penny was holding a photograph and she was crying.
“Hey!” Allie said, concerned. “What’s wrong, tell me?”
Penny looked at her and held out a picture. Allie took it and gazed at the photograph. Penny dressed as a bride, clasping the arm of a darkly handsome groom. Confused, Allie studied the picture. “I don’t understand.”
“That was my wedding day. Look in my travel wallet,” Penny said.
Allie glanced over the case contents and spotted a brown leather wallet open on the top of the clothing. Picking it up, she rifled through the contents. The first thing she pulled out was a photo of herself, her arms wrapped about a woman she had never seen before. How weird. Flicking through the rest of the half dozen photographs caused her acute unease. The final picture actually made her throat constrict. She gurgled, giving a peculiar grunt. The photo was of herself and the unknown woman. Penny stood next to a dark-haired man, but in the centre of the group stood their deceased father, looking older than Allie had last seen him.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump. Allie frowned.
“Penny, surely you remember that Mum and Dad are both dead... I don’t understand how you have this?” She tapped the photograph.
“Dad isdead? No-o, he was alive when I left the UK!” her sister cried in distress.
Allie could see that Penny’s shock was genuine and pulled her into a hug.
“It’s okay. Calm down. I am sure your memory loss is only temporary.”Please let it be temporary.
“I don’t understand what’s happening!” Penny replied. “When I left for America, I was a married woman with a loving husband and we had a beautiful dog. I arrived home yesterday to find my world altered beyond all recognition. My beautiful house is now lived in by a stranger...” Penny’s voice cracked. She broke away from her sister and slumped onto the bed.
Allie stared down at the picture she held.
Moments passed. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “What else does your suitcase contain?”
* * *
“This lanyard statesthat you are Mrs. P. Forrester but your passport tells us you are Penny West. One is obviously wrong, and I have to say that passports don’t lie,” Allie stated firmly.
“But what about all the evidence to the contrary, my health insurance documents for instance? Then there are these emails to and from David, which I printed off while I was in the U.S.” Penny waved the photographs under Allie’s nose. “And these... You have to believe me, Allie! You have to!” Tears welled in her eyes.
Allie gathered her close, squeezing gently. “I know you wouldn’t lie to me. I-I just find this unbelievably... odd, and it-it’s difficult to get my head around, you know?”
“I really don’t care what you believe. All I know is that I have to find David.” Penny’s harsh tone cut Allie to the quick.
“I’m your sister. I know you better than anyone. I can tell when you’re telling a fib. I know you believe what you’re saying is true, but I can show you another hundred photos that show your life here with us, with no husband and no dog; just you, me, Jack, Lucy, and Tom.”
“I tell you, I am not making this stuff up!” Penny turned her back.
“Please don’t shut me out. I’m trying my best to understand what’s happened to you!” Allie remonstrated, handing her a tissue.
“There was some violent weather on the plane,” Penny muttered.
“What kind of weather?” Allie asked.
“Some turbulence which knocked out all the lights and plunged us into freefall... It was terrifying, but then as suddenly as it started the aircraft carried on as normal, but...”
Allie waited for Penny to complete the rest of the sentence but Penny seemed to have withdrawn into herself. “But...” she prompted.
“It’s kind of a crazy idea,” Penny mused. “What if I’ve swapped worlds or something?”
Allie was about to reply with ‘don’t be so silly,’ and quickly bit back the words. It was best to keep this situation non-confrontational. The last person she wanted to fall out with was her sister, especially now that their parents were both dead. It was important to her that she was on good terms with Penny. They’d always been so close; family was important to her.
