Lost Sister

Part 4

 

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Brian found himself staring into a pair of hazel eyes that mirrored his own. He could barely breathe. He looked up and saw Justin standing on the staircase, with a shocked look on his face.  Brian could barely tear his eyes away from the woman standing before him, he couldn't register that the man he loved was standing a few feet away.

Justin descended the staircase. He offered one glance to Brian and then his attentions were turned to Cait. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "I think the two of you need to go and talk."

Cait turned to look at her best friend, and silently nodded. She took Brian's hand and pulled him away from the door. Brian opened the car door for Cait, and then got into the driver's seat.   Justin watched as the car pulled away. He was worried about both of them. This was not the scenario that he and Cait had planned. Cait had expected to be more prepared before coming face to face with her brother. The fact that she was blindsided worried Justin greatly.

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The two siblings rode in silence. Brian wasn't sure what had happened. He raced over to Jennifer Taylor's anticipating a confrontation with his former lover. Instead he had been greeted by a pair of hazel eyes that matched his own. Joan's words were flooding his brain, "how did you find out about your sister?" Brian didn't know what was happening, but he felt the woman beside him held the answers.   He pulled into the diner's parking lot. He walked around and opened the passenger door. Where did that come from?

"Thank you," the words were spoken in such a tender Irish baroque that Brian almost melted.

They walked into the diner. Brian was thankful to find the diner almost empty. They found their way to an empty booth. Deb appeared, too quickly, and looked at the two. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sitting before her was the female incarnation of Brian Kinney. Before she could stop it, her mouth opened, "Who the fuck are you?"

Brian recovered first, "Deb, this is my sister …"

"Caitlin." His twin finished for him.

Deb pushes herself into the booth, "Kinney, you have some explaining to do."

Brian took a deep breath, "Deb, I'll explain it to you as soon as I understand it. Could you leave us alone to talk?"

The look in Brian's eyes was so confused and vulnerable that Deb could do nothing but comply with his request. She looked at the two. They were both beautiful. The had the same features, the same hazel eyes, the same hair, the only difference was the look in their eyes. Deb knew Brian's eyes, they were always clouded and guarded, except when he was with Sunshine. Deb still didn't know the details of their latest split. It had been over a year, and Justin was nowhere to be found. Brian had retreated back into himself, but his sarcastic, asshole persona had been replaced. He seemed almost lost. Deb saw the eyes of this woman Brian claimed as his sister. Her eyes were open and accepting, full of love and peace. Deb knew that something monumental had happened.

"Thanks for filling in your name, I can't believe I didn't know it."

Cait smiled, "How could you? We've never met before. And as far as I know, psychic powers are not a part of our genes."

"Who are you?"

Caitlin pulled the copy of her birth certificate from her pocket and pushed it over to Brian. He read the unaltered document. "I don't understand, my birth certificate lists me as a single birth."

"From what I understand, if an adoption was involved, birth certificates can be altered."

"What happened?"

"I don't really know Brian, but I'll tell you what I've been told. I was sent to Ireland when I was a few days old. I was adopted by Seamus and Bridgit Kinney. From what I can gather, they are distant cousins of your father's. I was told right from the start that I had been adopted, and that I'd had a twin brother who died at birth. My parents were always upfront with me. They found they couldn't have children, so when they were contacted by a lawyer in America about a child that had been born to American cousins they jumped at the chance. They were told that my birth parents couldn't care for me, and gave me up for adoption. Their first choice had been to give me to relatives in Ireland. That's really all I have ever been told."

"I guess you know that the truth is very different. Fuck! I don't even know what the truth is."

Caitlin reached across the table and held Brian's hand, "We'll find the truth together."

Brian nodded, "Can you explain how Justin is involved. I mean obviously you know him, you were at his mother's house, but what the fuck. I went over there today because I heard he was home."

"How did you hear that? Justin made his mother promise not to tell anyone."

"Joanie came to my office today … our mother. She was spouting off about me setting her up, how did I find out about my sister, did me and my `boy' set her up? All I could register was that she had seen Justin the day before, and I took off running."

"Well, we'll save the reasons for that reaction for another time. Justin and I met in Dublin. I know you don't know anything about what he's been up to for the last year, and I'm sure there are a lot of things he needs to tell you himself, so I will only reveal what is applicable to my story. Justin and I literally `ran' into each other on the street about a year ago. He was in Dublin taking his junior year at Trinity College. We collided, had a laugh about it, but he looked at me like he had seen a ghost. We went to the pub for a drink and he started asking me questions."

Brian had his trademark tongue-in-cheek smirk, "He's good at that."

Cait returned with the same smirk that unnerved Brian, but warmed him at the same time, "He sure is. The first thing he asked me was my last name. Then he asked if I had any relatives in America. I told him about being born in America and then being sent to Ireland. Then he asked me if I knew anything about my birth parents. I thought the conversation was getting a little too odd and I excused myself. He stopped me and wanted to ask me one more question. I indulged him that, he asked if my parents were Jack and Joan Kinney. This floored me because I knew those were my parents' names. He showed me a picture of you, and told me your name, your parents' names and your birthdate …"

"April 20, 1971."

Caitlin looked into the hazel eyes, mirror images of her own, "The same as mine."

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Brian and Caitlin finished their meal at the diner. They slipped out in order to avoid another confrontation with Deb. Brian drove them down to the river. "This was always my favorite place to go when I wanted to be alone."

"I always went to the River Liffey in Dublin. The water always seemed to calm me."

Brian looked at Cait, "The water always did the same for me too. I'm going to make some assumptions about what happened, so I may be wrong. When Jack found out Joanie was pregnant with … us, he demanded that she get an abortion. Her religious views wouldn't allow to have an abortion. I am guessing that at some point she found out she was having twins. Jack was already angry about having another kid, so two would have sent him over the edge. I'm pretty sure he didn't know about you. He wasn't there the night that I was born, so if you were adopted within a few days, I'm guessing he was none the wiser. The fact that Joanie gave you away was probably the most loving thing she's done for any of her children."

"That's what Justin and Jennifer said."

"Those Taylor's are pretty perceptive."

"They sure are. Justin is my best friend. Our friendship started because of you, but it quickly evolved into something that had nothing to do with you. I demanded that he bring me here. It took a lot of persuading, but he finally agreed." Caitlin knew there were confidences between her and Justin that she couldn't share with her brother. She only hoped they would find their way back together. It was going to be complicated playing both sides from the middle, but Cait knew that she was up to it.

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Justin waited up for Cait to return. He had geared himself up for a big confrontation with Brian, but he had simply dropped Caitlin off and drove away. Caitlin came into the darkened condo and found Justin on the couch. She figured he would be waiting. They hadn't come up with a plan to introduce her to Brian, but today's events was not what they were expecting.

"Hey Cait!"

"Hey!"

"So … ?"

"It went really well. We just fleshed out some of the past. I'm not sure of the map we're supposed to take, I guess we'll just see how it goes."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Justin, I'm not going to take sides, or be an intermediary between the two of you."

"I wouldn't ask you to. I told you why I came back, and that was to bring you here. I'm not looking to reconcile with Brian. I will finish school, and then I'm going to go to Paris, like I had originally planned."

"I know, I'm only telling you this because I think Brian might try to use me. Not in a bad way, but I think he still cares deeply for you, and may see me as a way to get back to you. I wanted you to know that I won't play that game."

"Thanks Cait. But I think you are overestimating Brian's feelings for me and our situation. He let me go the last time. I broke our deal, I wanted more than he would give me. He was probably glad for me to go. The best thing I can say about our last break-up is that I didn't lie to him or cheat on him. I was honest, and I left. And he let me go, no apologies, no regrets. I appreciate that you think there is some great romance to fix, but it's not true. I'm going to graduate and move to Paris, just like I planned."

Caitlin held her tongue. She knew Justin well enough to recognize that he was reading a script from his mind. She knew he wanted to be with Brian, she only hoped her best friend and her brother would find their way back to each other.

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After dropping Caitlin at Jennifer Taylor's, Brian headed back to the diner. He knew Deb would be chomping at the bit, and decided to deflect her blows. He walked in, and she immediately tackled him.

"Sit down," then she yelled to no one in particular, "I'm taking my break! So kiddo, what's up?"

"Well it seems Jack and Joanie have more secrets than we ever knew about. It appears I have a twin sister that was sent off to live with relatives in Ireland."

"Oh my god, Brian."

"Deb, I don't know what to think. I mean, she is my twin. Just look at her. Her birth certificate lists Jack and Joan Kinney as her parents, her birthday is the same as mine …"

"Brian, honey, isn't this a good thing?"

"Of course it is, I think. I don't know what to think. It's really complicated."

"How did she find you?"

"That's the most fucked up thing of all … Justin brought her here."

"Sunshine, but how?"

"Well apparently his `junior year abroad' was in Ireland, and they met. They became best friends, and Caitlin begged Justin to bring her here. She told me she was not going to get in the middle, but from what I gathered, Justin was not planning to come home until this development."

"Wow, kiddo, you are in the middle of one fucked up situation."

"Tell me about it."

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The next morning, Justin decided he had some plans to make. He would go to the diner and see if he could get his old job back. He also needed to figure out a living situation. He knew he couldn't stay at his mom's, but he also felt responsible for Cait. She found him looking at the want-ads.

"What are you reading Sunshine." Justin found it ironic that Cait used the same endearment towards him that his Liberty Avenue family had used for him.

"I'm looking at apartment listings."

"Why?"

"I can't stay with my mom for the year, that won't work, so I need to find a place. I'm also going to see if I can get my old job at the diner back."

"Well, I have an idea. Let's get a place together. I figure I'll be here at least a year. Take me with you to the diner, the only thing I've ever done is wait tables, so maybe I can get a job there too."

"Are you sure that you want to work in the middle of `queer central?'"

"If that's where my family and friends are, then yes. Besides, I'll fit right in."

"Why Cait, are you finally coming out to me?"

Caitlin laughed, "I guess I am, I just figured you would guess."

"I had my suspicions, I mean you never talked about boyfriends or anything. I'm just surprised you didn't tell me, since I'm queer and all."

"I really hadn't figured everything out myself. I'm sure you realize that Dublin isn't the most diverse place. I mean sure there's a gay district, but I just didn't know. But meeting you, and my brother, well now I know. So, should we go see about our jobs?"

The two friends laughed.

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They went into the diner around ten o'clock. They caught the lull between the breakfast and lunch crowds. They found Deb working, and as soon as she saw them, a huge smile took over her face.

"Sunshine, Irish, go get a table, I'll be right with you!"

Justin and Caitlin found a table and sat down, Cait whispered to Justin, "Sunshine?"

"Debbie's been calling me that since I was seventeen, that's why I was so taken aback when you called me that the day we met."

"What's with `Irish?'"

"Deb nicknames those she loves, I guess that means you're part of the family."

"But she doesn't even know me."

"Deb has a heart bigger than the whole world. She took me into her home when she barely knew me because my dad kicked me out. She started mothering me the first night she met me. I doubt it will be any different with you."

At that moment, the subject of their conversation came to their table. She scooted Justin over and sat down. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek, "It's good to see you Sunshine," then she smacked him on the back of the head, "but if you ever disappear like that again I will hunt you down."

"Thanks Deb, I wasn't expecting you to welcome me back."

"Why wouldn't I, you're family."

"Because I left him … again."

"Look Sunshine, I don't know why you and Brian split up again, but I'm sure you did what you needed to do. But being with Brian is not a condition for you to be a member of our family. Sure, we met you because of him, but we love you because of you."

Justin chuckled, "Even Michael?"

"When Brian told us that you were gone, Michael was the first person to tell him to go and get you back."

Justin was not expecting this, "Really?"

"Yeah baby, he loves you like a little brother. You had a rough start, and you know why, but he loves Ben, and he has finally come to terms with his childhood crush on Brian. He finally understands."

All Justin could do was nod, "I'm glad, for him. I think he and Ben will have a great future, as for Brian and I, it's over, but that's another tale for another time."

Debbie understood, so she turned her gaze to Caitlin, "Now, about you."

Caitlin giggled, Debbie noticed how her manner was like Brian's, but without the walls, "I was wondering when I would get this."

"Brian came back after he took you home, he told me everything, well everything that is known at this time."

"There's still a lot of questions to be answered, but all that matters right now is that we have found each other."

Deb smiled at the younger woman, "So what do you two want to eat?"

"Actually Deb, we came to see you about jobs."

 

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