Chapter Twenty-Four
Kristen
Once I’d finished sorting through the ledgers, I closed my laptop and went to check on Noah. He was still sleeping soundly, so I shut the door quietly and went back to the living room.
Daphne’s picture was directly facing me, and again, I felt as though her eyes were following me around the room. It was sad to think we’d missed out on a potentially great relationship, but Daphne hadn’t been ready, and I had been forced to accept that.
I remembered the morning we had met for the first time. And just like that, I was back in Michigan. I was sixteen again. I was standing in front of the sister that I’d always wished for.
We had agreed to meet in the park by the water fountain. I had spent an hour trying to figure out what to wear. Ultimately, I had decided on jeans and a thin blue sweater that was simple and practical. Then I’d showed up by the water fountain, forty minutes early and so nervous I felt as though my stomach were going to drop right out of me.
She had shown up five minutes late in jeans that were similar to mine and a gray long-sleeved t-shirt underneath a cool beige jacket. Her hair was the same color as mine, and her eyes were a similar hazel. I felt my heartbeat increase instantly, and I prayed she would like me.
I should have realized that her body language suggested hostility, but at the time, I was young and naïve. When she approached, I all but ran to her, eager to prove that I wasn’t an awful person.“Hi.”
“Hello,” Daphne’s eyes were cold.
“I’m Kristen.”
“I know who you are,” she nodded. “Why did you want to meet me?”
I raised my eyebrows. “I… We… I just thought…”
“Yes?”
“I didn’t know you existed,” I stuttered. “Until about a year ago.”
“That’s why you called my mother?” she asked.
I paused. “I thought she should know.”
“That Ted was cheating on my mother with yours?”
I cringed. “Yes.”
“How did you find out?” Daphne asked.
“He came home after a few months’ absence. I found this box under my bed. There were pictures of you inside it.”
“What?”
“Um… He had pictures of you…”
“Really?” Daphne sounded shocked.
“Yes.”
“What did you do next?”
“I went to my mother and asked her about the pictures,” I said. “That’s when she told me that Ted had another family, which was why she had never been able to marry him.”
“Your mother admitted to the affair.”
I felt instantly ashamed. “Yes.”
“She sounds exactly like I’d imagined she’d be,” Daphne said bitingly.
And despite everything, I found myself defending my mother. “She’s always had issues. She’s just lonely and sad and confused a lot of the time.”
“So because she’s lonely, I should excuse the fact that she intentionally stole another woman’s husband?”
“No, of course not—”
“Why did you want to meet me, Kristen?” she demanded.
“Because…we’re sisters,” I said lamely.
I thought I saw the coldness in Daphne’s eyes fade for a moment. She turned away from me and looked towards the fountain. “I used to wish I had a sister,” she said. I allowed myself to smile, wondering if this was the turning point. But then she looked back at me, and the coldness had returned. “I was a fool to have wished for that. After I found out about you, all I wanted was to be an only child again.”
She had walked away from me, and I thought I’d never see her again. But then two weeks later she called. She apologized for being so rude and asked if we could meet again. The second meeting went much better than the first. By the end of it, we had approached the fragile boundaries of friendship, and I could see her walls begin to lower slightly.
The third time we met, I was shocked to find myself face-to-face with Daphne’s mother…again. The first time I’d met her had been at the threshold of her own front door. She had stood there in shock while I unleashed the horrible truth—then I’d walked away, leaving her to her crumbling reality.
I wasn’t quite sure why she had wanted to meet me again, but I realized quickly that Isabelle was a different kind of woman. It was an awkward lunch, but she was gracious, kind, and friendly. She didn’t ask me one question about my mother. But at the end of the lunch, she did ask about Ted.
“Have you seen him lately?”
“It’s been almost ten months since I last saw him,” I admitted. “I think sometimes he calls to speak to Mom, but she’s never confirmed it. He’s still angry with me because I told you about…everything.”
“That was the main reason I wanted to come today,” Isabelle told me. “I wanted to thank you. Your call is what gave me the courage to finally divorce Ted.”
After that, Daphne and I continued to see one another occasionally. It was a strange relationship, and I knew it only worked because we never discussed my mother.
But I could tell that Daphne was struggling a little; there were days when she was moody and sullen and days when she was happy and open. It seemed as though she wanted to be my friend, but she just couldn’t get over the fact that I was the product of her father’s infidelity. I should have known then that my dream of sisterhood was a hollow one.
“Krissy?”
I turned to find Noah standing in the hallway, rubbing his eyes.
“Hi, honey,” I said, going to him. “Your dad had to run to work, but he left me here to look after you.”
“He told me he would.”
I smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Sick.”
I kissed the top of his forehead. “Poor kid,” I said. “How about your tummy?”
“It’s rumbly.”
“Rumbly, huh?” I said. “Well, sounds like you need to eat something.”
“No,” Noah said immediately, just like Jake warned me. “I don’t want to eat anything.”
“Because you’re not hungry?” I asked. “Or because you don’t want to throw up?”
“The last one,” he admitted.
I hugged him close for a moment. “I promise you we’ll be careful, okay?” I said. “If we be careful and eat just a little bit, then you won’t throw up. Do you trust me?”
“Yeah,” Noah said skeptically.
I took his hand and led him to the kitchen. Then I opened up a box of crackers that I’d picked up on the way and handed him one. “Try a bite of that,” I said.
Noah took the cracker tentatively and had a bite. He chewed carefully and swallowed with a loud gulp. “Well?” I asked, after a minute. “Do you think it’ll stay down?”
“I think so,” he nodded hopefully.
I smiled. “Great,” I said. “Then drink a sip of this.”
“What is it?” he asked. He was eyeing the glass I had handed him.
“Homemade lemonade,” I said. “It’ll help settle your tummy.”
Noah took a sip, and his face lit up with a smile. “That’s yummy.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I said. “Now finish that cracker and the lemonade. If you manage to keep it down, we’ll try eating something else in another hour or so. How does that sound?”
“Good.”
“Good,” I smiled. “Now, how about I read you a story?”
We spent a nice cozy afternoon reading stories, and Noah seemed to be getting better by the minute. Every hour, I sent Jake updates to reassure him and then I would get back to entertaining Noah.
“I love you, Krissy,” Noah said unexpectedly, just after I’d finished reading him another story.
I felt a lump form in my throat. “Aw, Noah,” I said. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“It’s nice to have a mommy look after me when I’m sick.”
I froze for a moment, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “Noah, you know that I’m not your mother, right? I mean, I do love you, sweetheart, but I’m not your mommy.”
“But you can be,” Noah said, giving me a sweet innocent smile.
I felt my heart melt at the sight, but I also felt a thrill of fear that made me take pause. What was I doing? Noah wasn’t just any kid…he was my nephew, and I was pretending to have no real connection to him. How could I explain all this to Jake? He would never believe that my intentions were sincere from the start.
I knew I had to tell Jake the truth. I had let too much time pass already. My future with Jake and Noah was on shaky ground because of the way I’d started things.
I thought back to the last day I’d seen and spoken to Daphne. Her eyes had been hard and passionate and angry.
“How dare you think you have any real place in my life?” she had demanded. “How dare you feel you can advise me about anything?”
“I’m your sister.”
“You’re my father’s bastard,” she snapped at me. “That doesn’t make you my sister.”
I bit back my hurt. “Daphne—”
“I know he’s living with you and your mother, Kristen,” she had screamed at me. “He’s back with you and the home wrecker, isn’t he?”
“You know that’s not my choice,” I had pleaded with her. “I didn’t want him to come back, but—”
“Sure, blame your mother,” Daphne spat. “In the end, you’re just like her. You’re a liar and a home wrecker, too.”
She had walked away, and I had never seen her again.
I looked down at Noah and kissed him gently on the forehead. He was tired, so I was easily able to put him to bed. I watched him as he slept, and I felt defeated and miserable all of a sudden. Had Daphne been right? Was I just a different version of my mother? Was I a liar and a home wrecker, too?
I walked out of Noah’s room and headed to the living room. I was staring at Daphne’s picture when Jake called.
“How’s everything?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine,” I said distractedly. “He’s sleeping now.”
“Did he manage to eat anything?”
“A few crackers and some lemonade.”
“You actually managed to convince him?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, you really are something special.”
“No, I’m not,” I said insistently.
Jake seemed to sense that something was not quite right. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve caught whatever Noah has.”
“No,” I replied. “I’m just…tired, that’s all.”
“I’m sorry, that’s my fault,” he said apologetically. “I’m overworking you.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“You handling everything in the office and babysitting my kid to boot…”
“It’s the least I can do,” I blurted out.
Jake paused for a moment. “What do you mean, ‘it’s the least you can do?’”
“I… Nothing,” I said, chickening out yet again.
I knew he was too busy to press the issue. “I’m going to be another hour or two.”
“That’s fine,” I said.
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“You’re a Godsend, Kristen,” Jake said fervently.
I bit my lip as tears jumped to my eyes. I wondered if he would still think that once he knew the truth. I prayed that he would, but a little voice inside my head told me that, just like with Daphne, I was being naïve again.