Lost Sister

Part 3

 

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Justin and Caitlin sat silently in their seats.  They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since they said goodbye to Seamus and Bridgit.  Caitlin had been fiddling with an envelope in her hands.  Justin asked her about it.

“It’s a letter from my mom.”

“Why don’t you open it?”

“I’m scared.”

“Let’s read it together.”

Caitlin nodded silently.  Justin took the envelope from her and opened it.  He recognized Bridgit’s elegant script …

 

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My Darling Caitlin,

            I know that you are doing what you need to do.  The desire to find one’s roots is powerful.  I want you to know that your home is here, in Ireland, regardless of what you find in America.  I want you to find your brother, and bring him home, to us.  You are my baby girl, and you always will be, just like Brian is my baby boy.  I couldn’t select a better partner for him than Justin.  The way he loves our Brian makes my heart sing.  You help bring our boys back together, and then bring them home.  Daddy and I will be waiting.

            Love,

            Mommy

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Caitlin and Justin were both crying when they finished reading Bridgit’s letter.

“Cait, I can’t promise Bridgit anything.  I am taking you to Pittsburgh to reconcile your past, but I am not looking to reconcile with Brian.  That’s in the past.  I will help you find your way to him, and then I am going to leave again.”

“What about your senior year at PIFA?”

“I plan on staying for that.  I figure you and Brian will be distracted enough by each other, that I will be able to get through the year.  Then I will move to Paris.”

“But Justin, what about you and Brian?”

“Cait, Brian and I are over.  You said it was fate that we met … well that fate was to bring you and Brian together, not reunite us.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes I do.  I love Brian, but I’m not ‘in love’ with him anymore.”

“How can you say that?”

“Cait, I’ve had a whole year to deal with this.  I am not in love with Brian.  He will always be important in my life, but I don’t want to be with him anymore.  He will never be who I need him to be, and because of that I don’t want to be with him anymore.  I need you to understand that, and respect it.  You are my best friend, but you have to accept that it is not in the cards for Brian and I to be together.”

Caitlin saw the determination in her friend’s eyes and decided to let it go, but she didn’t believe him for one second.

 

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Justin and Caitlin arrived at Jennifer’s townhouse.  Justin rang the bell, he didn’t feel it was appropriate to walk in, it wasn’t his home.  Jennifer answered the door, and swept the son she hadn’t seen in a year to a warm embrace.  When she was finished, she turned her attention to Justin’s companion.  She was shocked to find herself looking into the female eyes of Brian Kinney.

“Mom, this is my friend, Cait.  Cait this is my mom.”

“It’s really nice to meet you Mrs. Taylor.”

Jennifer shook the woman’s hand and led them inside.

 

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Caitlin had gone upstairs to unpack, so Jennifer took the opportunity to confront Justin, “Who is she?”

Justin knew that his mom wouldn’t be fooled, “She’s Brian’s sister, his twin sister.”

Jennifer was not expecting this, she collapsed onto the couch, “What?”

“Cait is Brian’s sister, she was adopted right after they were born.”

“But how?”

“We met in Dublin, I recognized her right away.  She’s the only reason I came home.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mom, I had no intention of coming back.  I was going to finish school in Ireland and then move to Paris.  The only reason I decided to take my senior year at PIFA is Cait.  She needs to meet Brian, they need to know each other.  I promised her I would bring her here, but I told her I am leaving after I graduate.”

“She looks just like him.”

“She’s the best of Brian.  She’s open and loving and has no walls, that’s why I brought her here, to reconcile her past.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do.  Please don’t tell anyone that I am home.”

“I promise.”

 

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Justin and Caitlin spent their first day back in Pittsburgh at City Hall.  They were able to get Cait’s birth records pretty easily.  Her birth certificate had never been altered like Brian’s had.  It clearly stated that she was born to Jack and Joan Kinney, and that she had been a “double” birth.  Any doubts they had about her paternity was quickly destroyed.  Justin left the decisions up to Cait about how she wanted to proceed.  She decided that she wanted to see her mother first.

Justin and Cait drove up to Brian’s childhood home.  Justin had never been here before.  He felt Cait’s apprehension.  He squeezed her hand, “I’m here with you.”

Cait nodded and knocked on the door.  Joan Kinney opened the door and eyed the two people standing before her.  She recognized the young man as Brian’s “boy” but she didn’t know the woman, although she looked familiar.

“Can I help you?”

Until this moment, Cait didn’t know what she was going to say to the woman who gave her away.  The woman looked at her with such distate, that Caitlin’s true genetic identity came through, “I wanted to meet you, ‘Mother.’”

“Excuse me, I don’t know you.”

“Of course you don’t, you gave me away when I was three hours old, how could I expect you to recognize me.”

Joan turned to Justin, “Is this something my son set up.  Who do you people think you are?”

Justin had remained suspiciously calm, “Mrs. Kinney, I assure you, Brian knows nothing about this.  He doesn’t even know that Caitlin exists.”

“I want the two of you off my property before I call the police.”  With that she slammed the door in their face.  Caitlin turned to Justin with tears in her eyes, and all she could do was cry.

 

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Justin drove Cait to the park, and held her as she cried.  He knew there were no words he could say to help her, so he just held her.  When her sobs subsided, she looked into Justin’s eyes.  “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

“I didn’t expect to feel like this.  I just thought I would meet her, exchange a few pleasantries and then go on with my life.”

“Well you met her, you didn’t exchange pleasantries and you will go on with your life.  I only met her once before, and I’ll never forget the way she talked to Brian, spewing acidic venom with every word.  It has nothing to do with you, in fact, maybe it was the slight part of her that’s human that made her give you away.  Maybe, for a brief second, she was able to love you enough to do the right thing.”

“You’re a sap!”

Justin slapped her arm, “Hey, I’m trying to be reflective here!”

“Whatever, Sunshine!”

 

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Justin and Cait went back to Jennifer’s.  Both were surprised to find her home.  Justin had mentioned they were going to see her mother, and she knew it would be hard.  If Jennifer had learned anything from Justin and Debbie, it was that Joan Kinney was a cruel mean woman, and since Cait’s own, loving mother was so far away, Jennifer knew the young woman would need her.

Jennifer enveloped Cait in a tight loving embrace.  She felt the younger woman relax in her embrace.  Jennifer kissed her temple, offering silent support.  She knew that no words would comfort Brian’s sister, she only hoped her embrace helped.  Jennifer’s mind wandered.  Would Brian be like this loving woman if he had been raised in a house of love?  She began to regret all the horrible things she used to think about Brian.  Caitlin was Brian’s genetic double, and she was a beautiful, loving woman that Jennifer would have been proud to call a daughter, if things had been different, would she had loved to call Brian a son?  She regretted promising Justin that she wouldn’t tell anyone about what was going on.

 

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Brian was sitting in his office.  He heard loud voices outside his door.  Within seconds the door flew open, and his mother flew in.  She looked like a banshee on crack.  Brian sat back in his chair and gave her a look of disinterest.  He figured the ‘warden’ would reveal the reason for her presence soon enough.

“How did you find out?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How did you find out about your sister?”

“What about Clair, has she finally had that lobotomy I’ve been hoping for.”

“I’m talking about sending your ‘boy’ to my home with that woman, claiming to be my daughter.”

Now Brian was completely confused, “If you’re talking about Justin, I haven’t seen or spoken to him in almost a year, so I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Joan realized that that blonde boy had spoken the truth, Brian had no idea.  “Never mind.”  She tossed out that last sentence as she left the office.

Brian found himself as confused by this interaction with his mother as he had been countless times before.  Only one thing she said registered in brain, his ‘boy,’ did that mean Justin was back?  Brian grabbed his jacket and raced out the door.

 

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Justin and Cait were just lounging around the condo.  After the devastating scene with Joan, they needed to regroup.  Justin was grateful he had such a great mom.  Since Bridgit was so far away, he was glad his mom could ‘mother’ Cait when she needed it so badly. 

After dinner, Cait had gone upstairs to call Bridgit.

“Mommy.”

“Hi baby, how are you?”

“I met her today.”

Bridgit caught her breath, “How did it go?”

“It was awful.  She was even worse than Justin told us.  Mom, I’m so mad that Brian had to grow up with her.”

“I know baby, it’s hard to realize a mother can be so cruel to her children.”

“Justin’s mom is great, you’d really like her.”

“Well maybe I’ll get to meet her someday.  Have you met Brian yet?”

“No, Justin is adamant that I do it on my own.  He refuses to be apart of it.  Mom, he really has no plans to try and fix things with Brian.  He claims he is only here for me, and as soon as he finishes school he is going to move to Paris.”

“Well, you have the better part of a year to get them together.  That strength of will is a part of your ‘Kinney’ legacy.”

“I don’t know, Justin has his mind made up, and I haven’t even met Brian yet.  Who knows if we’ll even get along?”

“Caitlin Marie!  Your hearts beat together for nine months.  You have loved and missed your brother for 32 years.  How can you even think that he won’t love you?  How do you know that somehow he has known you and missed you for all these years?  You’re a smart girl, everything will be fine.”

“Are you ok that I won’t be home?”

“Caitie, your father and I will miss you, but you are doing what you need to do.  Daddy and I will be here and waiting for the day you bring your brothers home to us.”

“I love you mom.”

“I love you too.”

 

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Brian drove over to Jennifer Taylor’s condo like a man possessed.  He couldn’t think of anywhere else Justin would be if he had, indeed, come home.  He didn’t remember anything else about his mother’s intrusion, just that she said she had seen his ‘boy.’

He parked on the street and slowly walked up to the door.  He paused before knocking.  He had never been so nervous in his entire life.  After knocking, he heard a female voice cry, “I’ll get it.”

The front door opened, and Brian found himself staring into his own eyes.

 

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