Chapter Seven
Violet had only gotten to the nine in 9-1-1. Slowly she put the phone down and stared at the three people standing in the middle of the store.
Serenity and Tom gazed at Jenna with expressions that were almost beatific. Love, hope and happiness shone in their eyes. Jenna, on the other hand, looked as if she was going to bolt the second she found the ability to move.
Jenna’s birth parents? Violet remembered Jenna telling her she’d been adopted, but she’d had no interest in getting in touch with her biological parents. It was obvious from her wide eyes and scary-white face that Serenity and Tom were completely unexpected.
Not knowing what else to do, Violet crossed to Jenna and lightly touched her back, wanting her to know she wasn’t alone.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
“No,” Jenna breathed.
Serenity’s smile never wavered. “I’m sure this is a surprise. It is for me, too. I’ve been waiting to meet you, but I knew it was important for you to come to us. That you would have questions. I was as surprised as you when the universe instead told me to come to you. I’m so delighted we can finally be together.”
Violet felt Jenna stiffen. Personally, she wanted to ask what the message from the universe was but didn’t think Jenna would appreciate that.
“I don’t understand,” Jenna whispered, her voice breathless and soft.
“Your mother is Beth Stevens, your father is Marshall Stevens. We knew that much from the adoption.” Serenity leaned into Tom. “They were so in love. We liked that about them. We could feel it and see it in their eyes.”
“You met my parents?” Jenna asked.
“It was a condition of the adoption. We had to know you were going to be well taken care of.” Her smile faded. “Giving up a child isn’t an easy thing, but we were young... Still, all these years, we’ve wondered. I’ve sent you vibrations. Have you felt them?”
“I’m going to throw up,” Jenna whispered.
“Keep breathing,” Violet told her.
“Let her get used to us,” Tom murmured to his wife. “Let her ask her questions in her own time. You don’t want to scare her off.”
“You’re right, my love.” Serenity’s smile returned. “I’m just so happy, Jenna. You’re lovely.”
“She looks like you,” Tom said quietly.
Violet looked between them and realized he told the truth. Serenity and Jenna were about the same height. Their faces were similar, and they had the same eyes.
“I don’t know what to say,” Jenna said, taking a step back. “How did you find me?”
Violet felt Jenna’s confusion and pain. She wanted to dismiss the Johnsons but couldn’t. It was all too plausible.
“We’ve always known your parents’ names,” Serenity said easily. “Once we knew we were meant to come and see you, finding you wasn’t difficult. We called your restaurant in California where a helpful man named Aaron told us you were here. We drove, of course. I’m not one who flies easily, except in my dreams. The country is so beautiful.”
Serenity tilted her head. “I have so many things I want to tell you. About your past and your family.”
Jenna seemed frozen in place. Violet glanced at the couple.
“This is a bit of a shock,” she said. “Jenna wasn’t expecting your arrival.”
“She’s right,” Tom told his wife. “Our girl needs time.”
Jenna shuddered.
“We’re staying in town for a while,” Serenity said. “Close by. We very much want to get to know you, Jenna, and have you get to know us. That’s why we’re here.”
Jenna cleared her throat. “Excuse me. I have an appointment.”
She turned and fled through the stockroom. Seconds later, Violet heard the back door slam shut.
“Oh,” Serenity breathed. “She’s gone.”
Hardly a surprise, Violet thought. Who walked into someone’s business and announced they were family with no warning? Talk about an insensitive introduction. While she could appreciate the theory of families getting back together, some kind of delicacy seemed appropriate.
“She’ll be back,” Violet said. “I’m sure she needs a little time to adjust to everything you’ve told her. Why don’t I take your number and she can call you later?”
“All right,” Tom said. “We got a cell phone for the trip. I’ll write down the address where we’re staying, as well.”
Violet pulled one of their business cards from her pocket and handed it to him. He wrote on the back.
“I’ll give this to her as soon as I see her,” Violet promised. Although she had a feeling Jenna might not take it willingly.
“I suppose that’s the best we can do,” Serenity said, sounding wistful. “I had hoped...”
“It’ll happen,” Tom said, taking her hand in his. “Trust the universe.”
“I will.”
Serenity smiled at Violet. “Do you know any good vegan restaurants in the area?”
* * *
If it was Wednesday morning, it must be yoga, Jenna thought frantically as she drove through Old Town. She headed for the studio and prayed her mother was keeping to her schedule. If not, she would have to hunt her down.
Aware that she was not at her best, she focused on her driving and kept her breathing steady. Every time Serenity and Tom Johnson popped into her brain, she pushed the image away. Not now, she told herself. She would have her breakdown as soon as she was parked.
She found a spot just around the corner from the yoga studio and quickly walked inside. In a small foyer, the girl behind the low desk looked up.
“Class has already started,” she said. “I’m sorry but we don’t allow late arrivals.”
“I’m here to get my mother,” Jenna told her. “There’s a family emergency.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Let me get her for you. What’s her name?”
“Beth Stevens.”
The woman walked to the closed door and quietly pushed it open. Jenna paced the small space until the woman returned with her mother in tow.
“Jenna! What are you doing here? Not that I mind the interruption. I swear, I was seconds from snapping a bone. There are some things my body simply won’t do.”
Without thinking, Jenna moved toward her. “Mo-om,” she said, her voice cracking.
Her mother took her in her arms and held her tight.
Everything was familiar, she thought gratefully. The feel, the scent, the secure embrace that never let go too soon.
Beth guided them to the wooden bench across from the desk. The young woman who had gone to find Beth excused herself and disappeared into the main room of the studio. Beth touched Jenna’s face.
“Tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine.” She couldn’t figure out where to start. “We’re talking no warning. One second they were just there, saying...” She touched her chest. “I can’t breathe.”
“You can.” Her mother kept an arm around her and studied her. “Tell me what happened, Jenna. This is starting to scare me.”
“My birth parents are here.”
Beth’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Tom and Serenity Johnson. They waltzed into my store this morning. Right when it opened. They acted as if they knew me. I thought they were going to rob us or something. Then they announced they were my birth parents.”
Jenna didn’t want to think about any of it. Her stomach flipped over, making her swallow against rising nausea.
“They’re hippies and weird and vegetarians. Serenity said she’d been waiting for a sign from the universe to come find me and it arrived.”
“Via FedEx?” Beth asked.
Jenna glared at her. “This isn’t funny.”
“Oh, honey, it kind of is.”
“These are my birth parents! What are they doing here? I don’t want to know them. I don’t want this.”
Beth smoothed Jenna’s hair. “They’re family.”
“They’re biology. You’re my family.”
“You came from them. That’s something.”
“Why are you taking their side? You haven’t met them. Oh, wait. You have, back when you adopted me. You never told me about them. Why?”
Beth touched her cheek. “Calm down. You’re making too much of this.”
“Because it’s a big deal. Why aren’t you upset? Why aren’t you threatened? Tell me I can’t ever see them again, please.”
Her mother smiled at her. “They gave me the greatest gift of my life. I am grateful every day for you, Jenna.”
Oh, sure. Rational thought. Like that was going to help.
“I think it’s nice that they’re here,” Beth told her. “They can answer questions I never could. About where you come from and your DNA.”
“I don’t care about my DNA,” Jenna muttered, annoyed that Beth wasn’t shrieking and insisting she keep her distance from the Johnsons.
“You will when you have children of your own.”
“Like that’s ever going to happen.”
Her mother kissed her cheek. “I know this must be a shock. How did you leave things with them?”
“I told them I had an appointment and I ran.”
Beth raised her eyebrows.
Jenna stood. “Don’t you dare get on me, Mom. This was horrible. I had to get out of there. I’ll be polite later.”
Nothing made sense. Not the unexpected arrival of her biological parents or her mother’s calm acceptance. She knew for sure her mother had watched soap operas in the past. Beth understood how these things were supposed to go. Where was the insecurity, the melodrama, the terror of losing her only child?
“You’re too calm,” she told her mother. “It’s not natural.”
“I’m curious about these people. I want to meet them again.”
“You didn’t think to warn me what they were like?”
“Back then they were teenagers, Jenna. We were delighted to be given a chance at adopting. They weren’t very different from any other young couple. You need to talk to them.” Beth stood. “Give me a few minutes to get changed, then we’ll go see them.”
Jenna tucked her hands behind her back. “No. I don’t want to.” She didn’t need another set of parents. The ones she had were perfectly fine. “Besides, I have a risotto class in fifteen minutes.”
“Then I’ll pick you up after that.”
“That doesn’t work for me.”
“Jenna, they’ve come a long way to see you.”
“They could have called first, or sent a letter. You don’t just drop in on a kid you gave up at birth.”
“Maybe not, but this is the situation we have. It will be fine. You’ll see.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then you can say you told me so.”
“I’m not sure that’s enough of a reward.”
* * *
Beth drove her Mercedes through the midday traffic. Jenna sat next to her, arms crossed, her expression stubborn.
She had to admit, she was surprised by her daughter’s reaction. For herself, she was very curious about seeing Jenna’s birth parents after all this time.
Just over thirty-two years ago, she and Marshall had gone to San Francisco to meet with the pregnant teenager who had picked them to adopt her baby. Serenity had been young and scared and very pregnant. Her parents hadn’t been with her—instead a young man had been at her side. Tom, Beth remembered. Funny how they’d stayed together all these years.
Serenity had asked most of the questions, had cried more than once and explained that her parents were making her give up her baby. They told her it was for the best. Serenity said she hadn’t believed them until she’d met Beth and Marshall. And then she’d known they were the ones.
The four of them had signed the necessary paperwork. Two weeks later, Beth and Marshall had flown back to pick up their baby daughter. They’d never seen either of the teens again.
To think that after all this time, they were going to meet again was amazing.
“Give me the address,” she said as she turned onto a quiet residential street.
Jenna did, sounding more like a sullen teen than a successful businesswoman.
“I’m glad Violet thought to get their address.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Yes, it was very thoughtful of her.”
“Why are you being so difficult about this?”
“I don’t need them,” Jenna told her. “I don’t like how they just showed up. If they’ve had the contact information for all this time, why now? Why is this moment better than ten years ago or ten years from now? What do they want? I’m also worried about you. I don’t want you to get hurt in all this.”
“It’s sweet of you to worry,” Beth told her, “but I’m fine. Jenna, you’re my daughter. No one can take that away.”
They pulled in front of a pretty two-story house with an apartment over the garage.
“Violet said they’re renting an apartment while they’re in town,” Jenna said grudgingly.
Beth parked the car and led the way upstairs. She had a few nerves, she admitted to herself, but more curiosity. At the top of the stairs was a small landing and a red front door. Beth knocked.
It was opened quickly by a tall, slender redhead who looked enough like Jenna to make Beth blink.
“I knew you’d come,” the woman said happily, then embraced Beth. “I knew it would be exactly like this.”
“Serenity,” Beth said and hugged her back. “It’s been a long time.”
“I know. Too long.”
The other woman stepped back to let them in. Beth glanced at the small but tastefully furnished apartment. Jenna barely slipped inside the door.
Beth returned her attention to their hostess.
Serenity was as tall as she remembered but more beautiful. She’d aged well and stayed slim. There had only been the one meeting, and they hadn’t exchanged pictures. Over time, she’d forgotten what Jenna’s birth mother had looked like.
Now she saw the similarity in the shape of their faces, the eyes. By contrast, Beth was short and round—not exactly a comfortable way to think of herself.
“Tom’s out getting us some lunch,” Serenity said. “I was resting. Travel exhausts me.” She turned to Jenna. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You, too,” Jenna said, sounding more grudging than pleased. “I have to admit, I don’t know what to say to you. I wasn’t prepared to meet you.”
Serenity sat on the square footrest, leaving the two wing chairs for Jenna and Beth.
“Perhaps we should have called,” Serenity murmured, looking concerned as she studied Jenna. “Tom mentioned it. I never wanted to hurt you or frighten you, but the idea to finally come and find you was so strong.”
“From the universe,” Jenna told her mother, then pressed her lips together.
“I’ve been waiting,” Serenity admitted to Beth. “For her to come to us. I started to think she never would, but then the universe let me know I needed to go to her.”
Beth wasn’t usually critical of people, but this time she had to agree with her daughter. Serenity definitely fell in the crazy category. Although this kind of crazy was often harmless.
“How long are you in town?” she asked.
“We’re not sure. A few weeks.” Serenity smiled at Jenna. “We wanted to give you the chance to get to know us, to ask any questions.”
“That would be nice,” Beth said, before Jenna could respond. “Jenna’s busy with her store, but I’m sure there will be time for you to discover each other. Where do you live?”
“Napa Valley. We have a family winery. It’s beautiful there.”
While Serenity answered Beth’s questions, she looked only at Jenna. The hunger in her eyes made Beth a little uncomfortable. But she was determined to do the right thing.
“Any other children?”
Serenity finally turned to her. “Two boys. Despite our parents’ refusal to believe Tom and I were in love, we stayed together all this time. We married out of high school. I got pregnant almost right away. I did love being pregnant.”
She would have loved it, too, Beth thought grimly. If she’d been able to carry a baby to term.
“What do your boys do?”
“Wolf, our youngest, runs the winery. Dragon—” The smile returned. “Dragon is a lawyer. We can barely believe it ourselves, but he swears he loves it. I’m not sure how he can exist in a city, away from the land and the sun. He’s not one with the earth, but he never has been.”
“Children will go their own way,” Beth said, refusing to look at her daughter. The last thing she needed was to see Jenna right now. Odds were they would both break out into hysterical laughter. One
with the earth?
Then her humor faded. Serenity had been blessed with two more children. Beth would have liked that.
“Would you like some tea?” Serenity asked. “Dandelion root. I dried it myself.”
“No, thank you,” Beth murmured. “Two boys. That’s so nice.”
“But you’re my only daughter.” Serenity turned back to Jenna. “You would have loved growing up with us.”
“I’m happy with the life that I had,” Jenna said. She cleared her throat. “Although you do paint a vivid picture.”
Serenity swayed slightly on the sofa. “We would have called you Butterfly. If we’d kept you. Tom wrote a song about you. You’ll have to ask him to play it when he gets back.”
* * *
Jenna did her best not to choke or run for the door. Butterfly?
“The boys got to be animals and I’m a bug?” she asked before she could stop herself. Only to slam into the realization that the “boys” in question were not only adults, but her brothers. As in brothers. She’d been an only child her whole life and now she had brothers.
“Technically Dragon is short for Dragonfly, but he’s asked us not to call him that.”
Jenna looked at her mother, only to see Beth mouthing the words “Be nice.”
“Dragonfly?” Jenna asked, then wished she hadn’t.
Serenity laughed. “He wasn’t happy about it, but I kept seeing dragonflies when I was pregnant.”
Jenna thought about saying that it was good that Serenity hadn’t been near a farm with really big pigs, but kept her mouth shut.
Everything about this felt completely surreal. How could people she’d never known show up and expect to have a connection with her?
“Do your boys look like you or Tom?” Beth asked.
“Mostly Tom.”
“Jenna looks like you.”
Jenna had to consciously keep from scowling.
“I think she’s much prettier,” Serenity said.
“You won’t have to worry about your weight as you get older,” Beth said to Jenna. She turned back to Serenity. “That’s nice. I’m a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. Show me a food and I can tell you the points value. I just love their program.”
Jenna wanted to tell her mother to stop talking about her weight. She was beautiful, and Jenna wanted to be just like her. Shorter and curvy and lush. And while she was at it, she wanted to walk away from this apartment and never talk to Serenity again.
She was angry with her birth parents for bursting into her life and really pissed at Beth for not being upset. Which probably didn’t make sense, but at this point, she didn’t care.
“Have you tried avoiding meat?” Serenity asked. “It’s very healthy, and many people I know have lost weight with a vegetarian lifestyle.”
Jenna wanted to stand up and scream. Was Serenity implying her mother was fat?
Instead of getting upset, Beth laughed. “We’re in Texas. Eating meat is practically a religion. Speaking of eating, I think we should all get together. You and Tom, Marshall and me and, of course, Jenna.”
“Jenna who brought us together,” Serenity said. “That would be very nice.”
Beth dug a piece of paper out of her purse and wrote on it. When she handed it to Serenity, she said, “Here’s my home number and our address. How about brunch on Sunday?” She drew her eyebrows together. “Do you eat eggs?”
“We can,” Serenity said in a tone that implied she would rather not. “I’ll bring a dish, as well.”
“That would be good.” Beth smiled. “I’ll have to warn you, I’m not half the cook my daughter is.”
Without wanting to, Jenna looked at Serenity and knew in that second the other woman was thinking, “No, my daughter.” But she didn’t say the words, which meant Jenna didn’t have to scream. Probably best for all of them.
The need to attach herself to Beth, to proclaim their relationship, unnerved her. She and her mother didn’t have anything to prove. Yet somehow Serenity’s arrival had changed everything.
“How about eleven?” Beth asked.
“That would be lovely.”
Jenna stood. “I need to get back to work. It was, um, nice to see you again.”
Serenity rose, looking oddly elegant in her hippy dress. Her long hair should have made her look old, but it didn’t. Somehow it suited her face.
“I guess I’ll see you Sunday,” Jenna added, then fought unexpected guilt for not wanting to spend more time with them while they were here.
Screw that, she told herself. She hadn’t asked for this visit, and they sure hadn’t given her any warning. Sunday was plenty of time.
She’d barely spent a moment thinking about her birth parents. Now they were here. Just as strange, her mother was only about fifteen years older than she was.
“Lovely to meet you,” Beth said as they walked to the door. “Call if you need anything.”
“I’m sure the universe will provide,” Jenna muttered, when they were back outside.
She thought Beth would snap at her, but instead her mother laughed. “Serenity has a distinctive charm.”
“How can you say that?” It was practically a betrayal.
“Because she’s unique and there aren’t enough unique people in the world.”
Jenna shook her head. “There’s something seriously wrong with you, Mom. You know that, right?”
Beth linked arms with her. “I’ve known it for years.”