Chapter 11 #4
“It would be fitting, wouldn’t you say?” Blair said. He excused himself and approached the greeter. “You don’t suppose you have a quiet corner so they can catch each other up? Although it may take a while. It’s been over twenty-five years.”
Having heard Blair’s announcement, the greeter nodded. “We have a small room in the back. Gather the family and I’ll show you the way.”
Blair handed his credit card to the man behind the bar. “For the round of drinks. We’ll be in the back.” The barman nodded and smiled. The level of gaiety seemed to have risen. What’s better than an unexpected happy reunion?
The cozy nook, alight with candles, was an intimate setting for this long overdue meeting. Blair helped sort the coats, then pulled out chairs for everyone to sit.
Emily took Ashley’s hand. “I had no idea I had a sister until a few months ago. I was sorting through some of my, our, mum’s boxes and found your birth certificate. When I asked her about it she recalled the circumstances surrounding the adoption.”
Ashley placed her hand on top of Emily’s. “Is she alright?” she asked with concern.
“Yes. She’s good. Living in Birmingham now.”
“This will certainly change our plans.” Ashley grinned.
“What were your plans?” Emily asked.
“To find my birth parents and take in the holidays with my mother before I start at Oxford.”
“Crikey! Oxford!” Emily shrieked, then broke into laughter. “What’ll you be studying?”
“I’ll be doing research in comparative literature.”
Emily laughed again. “I’ll be doing research in comparative Renaissance art.”
Jessica sat dumbfounded. Both were in pursuit of the humanities. Twins!
“Had you known you were adopted?” Emily asked.
“Not until recently.” She glanced at her mother. “When I told my folks I was going to Oxford they looked as though they had seen a ghost. That’s when they spilled it and explained their circumstances for the adoption.”
Jessica interrupted. “We were simply trying to protect you from any feelings of abandonment. That someone didn’t want you.”
“It wasn’t as if they didn’t want both of us.
They simply couldn’t afford two wee ones.
We weren’t planned. They were very young and didn’t want to raise a family with financial constraints.
The economy was in a slump and they were feeling the pinch.
Pop was holding down two jobs and Mum had to take leave because of a difficult pregnancy. ”
Ashley was taken aback, overwhelmed by everything that had just happened.
She looked over at Blair, who appeared to have a solid grasp of the magnitude of the encounter.
He excused himself and asked the bartender for four shots of English whiskey “on the rocks, please.” An astute server offered to bring the drinks back to the grotto where the family was sitting.
Minutes later, the woman in the modern pub uniform carried a tray to the table. Blair passed the glasses around.
Blair lifted his rocks glass. “Here’s to finding family!” Everyone followed suit, clinking each other’s glass.
“Tell me more about Kathleen,” Ashley asked, using her birth mother’s first name.
She was not inclined to refer to her as “mom,” especially with Jessica sitting next to her.
Jessica, the mother who raised her and accompanied Ashley on this sojourn.
Ashley looked intently at Emily and asked, “Do you think she’ll want to meet me? ”
“I should hope so!” Emily blurted. Then she paused. Would Mum want to meet the child she technically abandoned? Perhaps it should be a face-to-face surprise. “What do you say we surprise her?”
“If you think it will be alright.”
“How could it not?” Emily asked as she played a number of scenarios in her head.
Jessica and Ashley had come all this way.
It was only fair they complete their journey and their objective.
Emily considered how kind her mother was.
She volunteered at a women’s shelter and coordinated a holiday food drive with the city and the school.
Emily could not imagine her mother turning her back on her other daughter.
She decided she was simply fine with her decision.
“How did you come to live in Birmingham? And what about Henry?”
Emily took a long pull on her whiskey while Blair gave her a soft wink.
She began to describe her mother as having a quick wit, and nerves of steel.
“She teaches primary school so she needs to have both!” Emily chuckled.
Her nerves had not abandoned her. Maybe it was the whiskey.
The more she spoke the more confident she became that Ashley and Jessica wouldn’t judge Henry.
Over the years, Oliver had shared more details about what had transpired and had managed to keep Henry’s disappearance out of the papers.
Even though there was a warrant, he hadn’t been formally charged.
At the time he was a person of interest but they were never able to book him.
When enough time had passed, and Kathleen and Emily were settled in their new environment, Oliver felt it was safe to share what he knew.
Now it was Emily’s turn to share with her sister.
As Emily’s story unfolded Jessica’s eyes went wide, and Ashley’s mouth went agape.
Blair had already heard the unsettling tale and decided it was time to give the three women some private space.
He excused himself and moved back to where they were originally seated at the bar.
Emily finished her story and then they planned the surprise for Kathleen.
Emily waved at Blair, encouraging him to return to the table.
She hadn’t realized almost two hours had passed and Blair sat patiently chatting with a few of the other patrons.
Emily took the reins. “Before we do anything I must go back to Cambridge and get my things, and Mum’s gift, although it will pale in comparison to you.” She was grinning from ear to ear.
“And as much as I’ve enjoyed this most auspicious day and your company, I must get back as well and then head to Edinburgh. There’s a train in an hour which will get us back to Cambridge,” Blair added.
Jessica had remained quiet and added her thoughts. “Ashley and I will find our way back to our hotel and the two of you can catch your train. Emily, if it’s alright with you, can you meet us back here tomorrow and then the three of us can head off to Birmingham?”
“Sounds like an excellent plan.” Emily’s emotions were overflowing in many directions. First the thrill of finding her sister, then the reveal of Henry’s situation, and now the prospect of surprising her mother with her twin. She sipped the last few drops of her drink.
Blair had already paid for the drinks and chips and given the barmaid and bartender handsome tips. “Thanks for letting us use your space,” he said and smiled as he put on his coat. He assisted the women with theirs and they gleefully thanked everyone on their way out the door.