Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
L eaning into the romance of it all, Gale and Lucas opted for a single hotel suite in Santa Monica. Out the window stretched a far different ocean than the Nantucket Sound—blue and ancient and terrifying—but inside and out of the Pacific winds, their room was cozy and quaint, with a single queen-sized bed, a round antique gold mirror, and photographs of old Hollywood celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Stewart and Marlon Brando. Frank Sinatra played on the Bluetooth speaker system. Gale thought it was easy to trick herself into thinking it was actually 1955. The ocean always looked just like this.
Gale wore Lucas’s big sleep shirt. It was morning, and she poured herself a cup of coffee from their suite’s coffee maker and stood at the window. Lucas was still in bed, on the phone with Tina to hear about everything she’d done thus far for the upcoming Whaling Museum Festival. Impossibly, it was just a few days away.
“She’s doing just fine,” Lucas told Tina now. Apparently, Tina had asked about Gale.
Gale turned to meet his gaze. The Salt Sisters had learned where she was but not what she was up to. Perhaps they thought she was on a madcap adventure with a handsome historian. Or maybe they’d figured out it had something to do with her twin. It was all guesswork.
There would be time to share stories when they returned to Nantucket.
But this story is stranger than fiction. It had taken them from the shores of Nantucket, all the way to the southern flung reaches of Florida, across the continent, and from one end of California to the other. It had even taken them to the door of Monica and Nora—who lived a life away from Lucas. Gale wondered if Nora even knew Lucas’s name. She guessed that Monica didn’t care to share it. Lucas wasn’t Nora’s real father. But he’d been there for her birth. He’d held her, changed her diaper, given her bottles, and woken up at night when she cried.
But he was just a stranger to her now.
Will Lily feel like a stranger to me, too?
Catherine had called Lily to arrange a meeting between the twins. Gale hadn’t been present for the phone call, but Catherine had described it as “terrifying and eye-opening.”
“Lily wants to meet you. She wants you to come to her house the day after tomorrow,” Catherine said before giving them the address. “Remember. You’ve had time to get used to the idea of having a twin. This is still brand new for her. Give her time. Be patient.”
Gale promised she would.
Lucas got off the phone and threw it to the foot of the bed, where it bounced and settled. Gale walked on her knees over the mattress and cuddled against him with her ear against his chest. She listened to it thud.
“How’s Tina doing?”
“She’s not angry with me anymore,” Lucas said. “She’s just really curious about our little rendezvous. ”
“Is that what she called it?”
Lucas chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s just say we’re the talk of the island.”
Gale groaned playfully and kissed his chest. “I’m the daughter of Evelyn Dobbs. I suppose I was always going to be the subject of gossip.”
Lucas shook his head. “I can’t believe I’d never heard those stories about Evelyn, Johnny, and Bethany. Sometimes I think the older generations swallow their stories. But that eats me up inside. I’m a historian. I want to peel back every layer of history and see the world for what it really was.” He paused. “Only through learning about the past can we avoid terrible mistakes in the future.”
Gale raised her head to look at him. She was filled with longing. She needed him to know that she had no plans to hurt him. Whatever he’d “learned” from his relationship with Monica didn’t apply to her.
“We’ll take it slow,” she told him. Her words were soft. Just a murmur.
Lucas swept his fingers through her hair. His eyes were huge. It was clear he wanted to believe her. It was clear he was going to do everything he could to try.
Gale showered and dressed in the outfit she’d decided on—a camel-colored dress that swept past her knees and buttoned up the front. It looked classic. Simple. She added a touch of red lipstick and had her curls cascade past her shoulders. When she left the bathroom, Lucas’s eyes told her everything she needed to know about her appearance. He kissed her so hard that she had to redo her lipstick. It was a good problem to have.
Lucas drove Gale down the shoreline to Lily’s house. It was a quaint brick house beneath four towering palm trees. The palm trees terrified Gale. They seemed like towering aliens. Lucas kept the engine running, took Gale’s hands, and kissed them. “It’s okay. Remember, we can always just drive home.”
Gale thanked him and kissed him again. She shoved her weight into the passenger door, got out, and walked up the driveway to the big blue front door. It was 11:59, which meant she was one minute early. She wondered how Lily was preparing for something like this. Had their roles been reversed, Gale might have been throwing herself around the house, tidying up.
Gale reached the door and pressed the buzzer. A split second later, Gale’s twin appeared.
Nothing could have prepared Gale for that.
There she was: Gale’s face, Gale’s complexion, Gale’s arms, Gale’s freckles. She had Gale’s legs, Gale’s hips, Gale’s long fingers. But she wasn’t Gale. She was Lily.
Gale’s knees knocked together with terror. Lily wasn’t smiling, but neither was Gale.
Lily tucked her hair behind her ear. She stuttered. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was softer and sweeter than Gale’s. “I wish I knew how to start.”
Gale had imagined there would be a sort of electricity between them. She imagined they would immediately remember their connection and “twin language.” But it had been forty-three years since they’d seen one another. It was almost half a century ago.
A tear dropped down Lily’s cheek. She touched it and smiled. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “Won’t you please come in?”
“I’d love to.”
Gale followed her twin into the foyer. The house smelled of pine and cinnamon and roasting apples. Lily was baking a pie.
“I bake when I get nervous,” Lily explained. “I hope you like pie?”
Gale smiled and crossed her arms. “I love it.”
Lily breathed a sigh of relief.
The foyer told a story of a woman with an artistic background. There were paintings, drawings, and antique maps of Italy, France, and Greece.
“I love your art.”
Lily’s cheeks were pink. “Thank you. I used to pursue it, but it’s just a hobby now.”
Gale’s eyes widened with surprise. “Catherine said you’re a writer.”
Lily nodded and tugged her hair into a ponytail that she let fall immediately. It was a nervous tic Gale also caught herself doing frequently. What else is the same?
Lily went to get some tea and cookies, and Gale wandered into the living room. It epitomized coziness, with thick couches, deep rugs, and textured fabrics on the walls. There was a beautiful photograph of Catherine and Lily on the far wall, where they stood with a tropical beach spread out behind them. Beside that were other photographs: one of Lily and a man; another of Lily and two boys who looked exactly the same.
Gale’s heart leaped. Does Lily have twins, too?
Out the window was the tremendous Pacific Ocean. We both see the ocean every day of our lives. But they’re different oceans. I wonder if that’s changed us in unique ways.
Lily returned and set the tea on the coffee table and arranged the cookies in a quasi-elaborate pattern on the plate. Gale wanted to laugh. Eating at a time like this seemed ridiculous.
Lily had grown very pale. Gale hated that her appearance had caused Lily such pain. But Gale’s stomach was tied in knots. There was no getting through this without torment.
“My mother was vague on the details,” Lily said, speaking of Catherine. She sat down and gestured for Gale to sit, too.
Gale wondered where Lily’s husband and sons were. It was summertime, which meant her sons weren’t in school. Lily wore what looked to be a wedding band, so she probably didn’t share custody. But there’s still so much I don’t know.
“I just found out about you,” Gale said.
Lily tugged her hair.
“It’s incredible,” Gale continued, “because I’ve always felt this dramatic emptiness. I’ve always felt like I was missing something. I just assumed I was one of those people who could never be fully happy. That’s what my husband always said to me.” Gale furrowed her brow and added, “Ex-husband. I need to get in the habit of calling him that.”
“I’m sorry to hear,” Lily said. “Did it happen recently?”
“Very.” Gale swallowed. “But at the same time, it feels like I’ve been on this quest to find you for a very long time. It’s been just a little more than a week.” Gale laughed at herself. “And here you are! You have a house in California! You have a career here! You have sons!”
Lily turned to glance at the photograph of her twin boys on the far wall. She seemed hesitant to tell Gale about them. Maybe it’s because I’m a stranger with her face, Gale reasoned.
“I have twins, too,” Gale said.
Lily turned back and gaped at her. “You’re kidding.”
Gale smiled. “Anna and Piper. Twenty-three years old.”
"Clemens and Nate,” Lily said of her boys. “They’re fifteen.”
Gale filled her lungs. “And your husband?”
“Max,” Lily said. “He’s my second husband. I know all about divorce. It feels like you’re being carved like a pumpkin. And then one day, it’s over. You look around and understand he’s totally gone, and the worst of it is over. And you realize you’re actually happier now than you were in the marriage.” She hiccuped and clapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I got carried away. You didn’t even ask for my advice.”
Gale laughed gently. “It’s good to hear. Thank you.”
Lily’s smile was subtle yet beautiful. She was quiet for a moment. “I have a confession to make.” She wet her lips. “I know you. I mean, I’ve heard of you.”
Alarm bells rang in Gale’s head. “You remembered me?” She remembered me, but I couldn’t remember her. What a horrible sister I am!
“No. Nothing like that.” Lily waved her hand. “I wish. I wish I could remember any of it. My first memories are in Florida. Cathy thought Bethany was my real mother, and she told me a little bit about her, but now that I know she wasn’t my mother, I don’t know what to do with those memories. But I digress.”
Lily took a sip of tea. “I came to LA to pursue art and writing in the film industry full-time. Mom wasn’t pleased. She wanted me to stay in Walnut Creek forever. Now that I have kids of my own, I understand that. But when I first got out here, I did everything possible to enter the film industry. I worked as an assistant for many monster Hollywood types. I worked in costumes. I ran lines with actors. I said yes to everything! But I also read voraciously. And that’s how I came to read your screenplays for the first time.”
Gale’s lips parted with surprise. How many times had she told people that nobody remembers the names of screenwriters? Everyone always knew actors, actresses, and directors. But the screenplay creators were mostly anonymous. It was a blessing and a curse.
“When I first read the screenplay for Lighthouse Keeper , I sobbed all night,” Lily said. “It totally transported me. This wasn’t long before you won your Oscar, but I was already smitten with your work. I got a hold of everything I could by you and studied how you operate and how you put your scenes together. I preached the good news of Gale Dobbs to everyone. You were writing surprising, different romantic comedies. You were changing the game the way Nora Ephron did before you.”
Gale felt a jolt of pride. Is my twin sister really saying this?
“I just can’t believe I never saw a photograph of you!” Lily went on. “It would have haunted me. I mean, we’re…”
“Identical.” Gale nodded.
“Yes. We’re identical. I would have immediately called you and tried to get to the bottom of it. But instead, I was happy to live in your created worlds. I was never the wiser. Until now.” Lily pressed her hands over her face and took a deep breath. “What’s happening right now feels too crazy for any script.”
Gale clasped her fingers together. “I would never write this story,” she agreed. “It’s too insane.”
“I can already see the film reviews,” Lily said. “They’d call it unbelievable. They’d say you lost your edge.”
Gale belted with laughter. Lily’s eyes shone.
“I’ve lost my edge,” Gale decided to tell her because it didn’t matter anymore. “I’ve been stuck with writer’s block. I’m to the point where I’m afraid I’ll never write again.”
Lily tilted her head. She looked mischievous and secretive—the way Anna and Piper had during their teenage years. Gale had a desperate thought. I need her to meet my girls.
“You’re a writer, Gale,” Lily said. “Even though you’re not writing right now, you’re living. And it’ll find its way onto the page. It always does.”
Gale’s heart felt bludgeoned. Her vision blurred. She reached for a tissue and mopped herself up.
“I’m sorry,” Gale breathed.
Lily sniffled. “I’m a big cryer. Don’t worry.”
“Me too.” Gale laughed through her tears.
Lily’s eyes darkened. “I imagine our mother had a hard time with us. Two babies. So much crying.” She paused. “Does our mother know you’re here?”
“She doesn’t.” Gale felt stiff. How could she explain the chaos of knowing and loving Evelyn Dobbs? “We’re not on great terms right now. I asked her about this photograph I found of us, and she refused to tell me anything.”
“Photograph?”
Gale removed the photo from her purse and handed it over. Lily’s eyes were illuminated.
“I’ve never seen myself at that age before,” she said.
“You were cute as a button.”
“So were you,” Lily said.
Gale took the photograph back and set it on the sofa cushion. She was suddenly terrified that she would run out of things to say. Maybe Lily would tell all her cool California friends that she was boring. Maybe she’d be grateful they weren’t in each other’s lives.
But finally, Lily asked, “What’s she like? Our mother.”
Gale thought it was only natural that Lily wanted to know about the woman who’d given her up. After all, she was a mother now. She knew the immensity of her love for her sons.
“Evelyn has always been a difficult person,” Gale said delicately. “When I was a kid, she always described herself as an island. She didn’t want anyone’s help. She wanted to do everything on her own.”
Lily’s eyes stirred. “How awful.”
“Her parents died when she was twenty-one,” Gale said. “I think it destroyed her. When she met our father, she was so lonely, so lost. She thought of him as her saving grace. But he betrayed her, too.”
Gale’s mouth was dry. “It sounds like my mother never really got over Johnny. I think that’s why she let him take you to Florida. She needed help; she couldn’t make ends meet. And she wanted this final link to Johnny.”
Lily bowed her head. Gale could sense what her twin was thinking. We were just three years old. We shouldn’t have been treated like pawns in Johnny and Evelyn’s game. But they had been.
“Do you ever get the sense that adults are just children playing pretend?” Lily asked.
Gale laughed gently. She understood what Lily meant. Evelyn and Johnny had been immature, making decisions that forever altered the future of Gale and Lily. They were too selfish to think about anyone but themselves.
Lily took a breath. “I haven’t been without my share of heartache. I got divorced. One of my boys got cancer when he was four, and we fought so hard during that illness; so hard that I think a part of me died inside. But at the same time, my life is beautiful. It’s open and honest and textured.” She wet her lips. “I’ve always felt like something was missing. But like you, I assumed everyone did.”
Gale rubbed her tight chest. She wished she knew what to do next. It would probably take an entire army to drag her away from Lily now that she knew her.
Gale spread her arms out beside her. “There are no rules for something like this.”
Lily laughed. “What should we do?”
Gale closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders back. In her mind’s eye, she saw her daughters and Lily on a Nantucket beach. She saw Lucas grilling burgers as they ate outside at the bungalow.
She even saw her mother sit down with them to take their hands in hers.
It was as though Lily could read her mind.
“Do you think she’d like to meet me?” Lily asked.
Gale pressed her lips together. “I can’t pretend to know anything that goes through Evelyn’s mind.”
Lily nodded. She looked hurt.
“But you deserve to see where you came from,” Gale assured her. “If you want that.”
Lily pressed her hand to her chest. She was quiet. “It’s difficult to grow up not knowing anything about your past. Cathy did her best for me. Cathy loved me so hard and so well. But I always wondered about my origin. I assumed it was Florida and have considered making a pilgrimage there for the past few years.”
Gale clasped her hands together. “Come to Nantucket.”
Lily set her jaw. She looked determined, the way Gale so often looked in the mirror when she wanted to pep herself up.
“I’m between projects,” Lily told her. “There’s no better time than now.”