Chapter 24

Haley’s turn:

We went inside, put the stack of bills on Dad’s ‘business’ desk, and scooted together on the sofa to open the envelope we thought to hold a discovery of our genetic code.

We expected that I’m the outsider and Deena and Bill are related – father and daughter, you know...

That makes sense. It’s the universe as we understand it. Apparently our knowledge of the universe was the same as the Catholic Church’s understanding of the universe when they faced Galileo.

We’re holding the results between us, both reading. And we both read well. And fast. With comprehension.

We both gasped.

“This can’t be right, Haley,” Deena said softly. “Can’t be.”

The report showed two females, that would be me and Deena, to share a parent, and a male, unrelated.

“They messed up,” I said.

Fifteen minutes on the phone and the testing agency swears that they didn’t mess up. They serial number the samples, cross-reference them to the forms, and this is what we got.

“Ain’t buying it,” Deena said. “But now I’m curious. Wanna try again? Different company?”

“I dunno...”

“Should we show Dad?”

“Dunno that either ... Deena, what if it’s true?”

“How could it be true?”

“You know...”

Deena’s eyes cast downward. “Yeah, I know ... Mom cheated on Dad. She was doin’ that when they got divorced. Maybe it wasn’t the first time...”

“But that means that MY dad ... He ... Mom says they lived together for a year. He ran off after I was born. I’ve seen pictures of Mom from back then. She was a lot different then. Prettier ... Slimmer...”

“Haley ... If it’s true, what does it mean?”

“What are you asking?” I said.

“If I’m not really Dad’s kid...”

“Deena,” I said. “Your dad’s ... He raised you. You’ve always been his daughter. He doesn’t believe anything different. Why should you?”

“I dunno,” she returned. “I love ‘im. Always have. No other dad...”

“Then we don’t tell ‘im,” I said.

“Oh, come on, Haley ... He’s Dad. Your Bill. You KNOW he’s not gonna forget we sent those things off. He’s gonna ask about the results.”

“I know...” I said.

“What if it’s true? I’m scared, Haley. Really.”

“Why?”

“If I’m not really Dad’s kid, I don’t belong here.”

“You’re my sister, whatever. You DO belong here.”

“But I really don’t. I know he paid Mom a ton of child support. If I’m not his kid...”

“You’re talking about my Bill now, sis. He won’t send you off...”

“I was telling the truth about Mister Harv making little comments. I don’t wanna go back there.”

“You won’t go back there.”

“But if he’s not my dad...”

“Deena, seriously ... Aside from that whole ‘dad’ business, he’s not about to put a helpless waif out of his house into someplace that might be harmful to her. Just ain’t him.”

“It’d be weird, though,” she said. “Knowing...”

“We could keep our mouths shut,” I said.

“And when Dad asks ... That’s betraying his trust...”

I didn’t give voice to my ideas about trust being betrayed. Not after the last two nights. I owe my Bill everything and I don’t know what all the next few days might hold with this new development, but Bill is still IT.

She saw my expression. “You ‘n’ me ... All that. Not betraying Dad. Not the same at all. And I was so happy. Secure.”

I saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Sex aside, I love her like a sister and I can be as protective as a sixteen year old mom SHOULD be. And then some. Or a true best friend. You hug people who’re hurting, right? I hugged my hurting friend. Sister. Daughter. Human being.

“It’s gonna be okay, Deena. Really. We’ll work it all out.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, I think so. I saw your birth certificate. Who’s it list as ‘father’?”

“Dad ... Your husband...”

“So as far as the government is concerned, you belong here, okay?”

“It’s ... KARMA!!!” she sobbed, like she’d just received a revelation. “‘Cuz I had sex with Dad’s WIFE...”

Okay. One of us being upset over this was plenty. I’ve been tearing into myself. Now Deena’s thinking she caused her whole world to collapse in on us.

Hold on tight. Hug. Soothe. “That’s not how this works, Deena ... This stuff was set into motion way before us doing energetic snuggling.”

The absurdity of the ‘energetic snuggling’ comment must’ve shocked her a little, which was premeditated on my part. She pulled her face back from me. “Oh, dammit, Haley ... You’re making jokes...”

“Not a joke, sis,” I said. “But if the world tilted sideways every time somebody colored outside the lines, we wouldn’t be able to keep water in the bathtub. That stuff has nothing to do with this.” I paused. She looked at me hopefully.

“When Bill gets home, we hug ‘im, just like always, and we sit down and we talk about this. Sanely. Like adults...”

“I’m fourteen...”

“Yeah, you know what I mean. And we lay out the facts as we know them. And we see what he says. I’m telling you, nothing changes...”

“You sound confident.”

“I’ve been in his back pocket for four years, plus. I know my Bill.”

An app on my phone tells us when Bill’s flight will reach the airport, and we know it’s time to go meet him.

“I can’t remember the last time I was scared to see Dad,” Deena said.

“Don’t be scared. I KNOW your dad. I want you living with us. You’ll stay as long as YOU want to.”

“That’s just it. Where would I go? Back to Mom’s? At least when I was living there before, I knew that I had Dad to catch me, to keep me safe.”

“And that doesn’t change. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

We were waiting when Bill’s plane rolled in and we caught him as soon as he got to the waiting area. Yes, I needed a kiss and a hug, at least as down payment.

Deena hugged him too, a bit harder and longer than I would have expected. Too many things going through my sister’s head, I imagined.

“We missed you, baby,” I said.

Bill’s smiling. I kinda feel bad because he doesn’t suspect the turmoil that has taken place in his absence.

He retrieves his checked bag and we walk out to the car. Straight home. He’s telling us about the business side of things, some meetings that will do 3Sigma well and will dump some good money into our bank account.

We talk about dinner.

“Forgive me if I just want something at home, y’all,” he said. “I’m tired of restaurants.”

“We kinda figured that, Dad,” Deena said. “We have our lasagna thawing.”

So we got into the house.

“Okay, what’s REALLY going on,” Bill said. “Neither of you has that bounce.”

My turn to step up. I love my husband and this news is not – might not be – pleasant.

“We got the results back from that DNA lab.”

“So, ooooo-kay...” he said.

“We think that they messed up bad. We wanna do another one.”

“What makes you think they messed up?”

“Dad...” Deena started. “And this might be the last time you let me call you that. It shows I’m not your daughter. NO relation. None at all.”

Bill hung his head. “I was afraid of that, baby. Doesn’t mean you’re not my daughter. I drove you home from the hospital. I knew your mom had been messing around. I hoped that when she announced she was pregnant for you, that it was me...”

“You KNEW?” she gasped.

“Suspected. Didn’t matter. I was determined to stick with your mom. Loved ‘er. And you ... I thought – especially after the difficult pregnancy, that you were going to be my only kid. You are, you know...”

“It gets stranger, baby,” I said.

“Dad,” Deena said softly, “I am related to somebody in this house. Haley’s my half-sister.”

“Now I wasn’t ... never suspected THAT.”

“No reason to,” I said. “Mom lived with a guy ... You know the story. He wasn’t ready for that ‘daddy’ thing so he hauled butt.”

“The report says Haley and I are half-sisters,” Deena blurted. “Can I still live with y’all? I mean...”

Bill opened his arms to receive the two of us.

“I love you, Deena. You’ve been my daughter since Day One. My name’s on your birth certificate. I’m not changing a thing there. And it wouldn’t matter anyway, frankly. If Haley hauled you in here off the street, I’m very happy to have you be part of this family.”

“And since she’s my half-sister...” I started.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “What am I supposed to do? Go into a rage, throw BOTH of you out? Haley. You’re forever. Better or worse, you know. And Haley, until the day I die.”

Deena broached the next question. “What do we tell Mom?”

“I vote for ‘not a damned thing’. Worst possible thing. She gets into her accusatory mode, you get hurt. I don’t want that. You’re in OUR house and we get to protect you. You understand that, don’t you?”

“That’s kinda what Haley and I hoped. How I know SHE loves me, Dad. She could’ve easily demanded I not live here, especially since...”

Bill looked at me. “Haley couldn’t do that. It’s not who she is. Not selfish ... I think you know that...”

Deena nodded her head. Me? I wiggled just little, getting a bit more into his lap. I know what I do to him when I do that. I know what I do to me, too. He needs to know that I still want him.

“Sisters,” he sighed. “Strange. You know, I do see some similarities – around your eyes. Nose. Shape of your mouth when you smile. Thought it was just me.”

“Short brown-eyed brunette. Average height blue-eyed blonde. Yeah, everybody thinks we’re sisters.” Deena snuggled into her dad’s arms. Between the two of us, we had him pretty well covered.

“That’s what this was about, Dad,” Deena said. “Talking about heredity and genes. Got curious.”

“Be careful the questions you ask sometimes. You have to be ready for ALL the answers,” he returned.

Two weeks later a second lab reported the same findings.

We opened the envelope and read the results together. Lightning struck twice in the same spot. Deena and I – half-sisters. Bill. No relation, except a ring on MY finger and name on Deena’s birth certificate.

Seems like Deena leveled out, too. She’s back to being happy, effusive. We still get a lot of time for the two of us to talk, what with our schedules in and out of volunteering at our old schools and on and off-campus college work.

Deena’s turn:

Dad acted almost like it was no big deal. “I was afraid of that, baby. Doesn’t mean you’re not my daughter.”

Just like that.

“I brought you home from the hospital. Me and your mom were having issues. I was trying, I guess after she found out she was pregnant, we BOTH were trying to make a marriage out of the mess and I never gave it a thought. My name’s on your birth certificate.”

I guess the sperm contributor has some pretty neutral genes because Mom had blonde hair and I came out blonde and Haley’s mom has dark brown hair and Haley’s is brown. Same thing with eyes. Mom has blue, I have blue. Haley’s mom has brown, Haley has brown.