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“Jenna,” I said slowly. “Tell me about your family.”
“There isn’t much to know,” she shrugged. “There’s four of us girls, me, Tina, Karina and Callie. Mom and Dad got divorced when I was a kid and Dad was a deadbeat, never coming around. So Mom raised us herself and it was a struggle financially.”
“But what about your birth?” I asked. “Is your dad listed on the certificate?”
“I guess,” she said, looking confused. “I mean, why wouldn’t he be? I’ve never seen my birth certificate,” she confessed.
Okay, this was the first clue that something might be awry.
“Why did your parents divorce?” I asked, my eyes penetrating. “Was there something that happened, cheating, infidelity, that kind of thing?”
“No, not that I know of,” said Jenna slowly. “Why, what does this have to do with anything?”
I ignored her question. “Where is your dad now?”
But the girl didn’t answer, holding up a hand in a stop motion.
“Rafe, I have to know where these questions are going. Why all these questions about my dad? I already told you, he’s a deadbeat, I haven’t seen him for years.”
“Because Jenna,” I said slowly. “It’s possible that your life history isn’t what you think it is. Your twin may not actually be Tina. You may have an identical twin out there, another girl who made that porn film.”
She gasped. “This makes no sense,” she said finally, her eyes wide. “I know my family, I’ve known them since birth. They are my family,” she said forcefully.
“But they’ve never been kind to you right? And your dad took off pretty early? With no explanation?”
“Yeah, but that means nothing, lots of parents get fed up and leave their kids behind. Why would my dad be different?”
“Because we have a mystery girl who looks exactly like you. Something doesn’t smell right,” I stated firmly.
Just then the door cracked open again and a disgusting looking old guy strolled in, his face pimpled and bumpy.
“Ah Mr. Connor, Ms. Walsh, I see you’re acquainted,” he drawled oily. “My name’s Oscar, I’m the head of the Green Guy Productions, we’re responsible for the sex tape that’s out there right now,” he said, leering at Jenna. “It’s a best-seller.”
I immediately hated the guy on sight, there was a nasty smell coming from him, like putrid garbage.
“I can see you’ve been discussing something serious and I think I have the answer to your questions,” he continued. “Violet!” he called. “Come in please!”
And in sashayed a blonde, stunning in her striking resemblance to Jenna. She was the same height, the same weight, the same stunning features except that she’d aged poorly. There were small wrinkles around her nose and mouth, crow’s feet bracketing her eyes, her skin orange and tired, the result of too many tanning sessions.
“Hiya all,” giggled the other woman. “I understand you’re my twin, Jenna. Nice to meet you!” she chirped as her breasts bobbled.
And both Jenna and I could only stare. Who was this woman and how did she get here?
16
Jenna
It’s amazing how my family fractured after the revelation that I had a secret twin. I confronted my mom.
“Mary,” I said carefully. “Do you have my birth certificate? Can I see it?”
My mom hemmed and hawed.
“Jenna, why now?” she asked. “You have your passport, your social security card, is there some reason you need your birth certificate?”
“Ma,” I said slowly. “I need to see it. I need to verify something.”
“Well, I don’t have it,” she said hurriedly. “It’s in a safe somewhere, it’s been ages since I saw it myself.”
“Ma,” I said slowly. “I’m only going to ask you once. Am I your daughter? Am I Jenna Walsh or am I a member of another family?”
My mom sighed. She could see that I was onto the truth and determined to sniff it out no matter what.
“Jenna, it’s a long story,” she said tiredly. “I don’t have time to share it with you now, in fact, I was hoping never to tell you.”
I lost it. “Tell me!” I screamed. “My career has been ruined and everything I believe is a lie, my history, my sisters, even you,” I spat. “None of you ever liked me, I became a shrew because I never felt loved. Tell me there was a reason why. I need to make sense of this.”
And my mom began. Evidently she and my dad were struggling financially around the time she was pregnant with Tina. They were friends with another young couple down the street, the Goldens, who were also financially strapped and the foursome naturally bonded, sharing the best places to shop cheaply, how to save on a limited income, that kind of thing.
But the Goldens were evidently quite a bit worse off than my parents. Elaine Golden was expecting twins and she and her husband were panicked at the thought of two baby girls, destitute as they were, living in a shanty with peeling wallpaper, dirty dishes in the sink, no way to provide for one, much less two new children.
