He called her by the nickname he’d given her in high school because she’d so adored jelly beans. It’d been a long time since he’d called her that and the word swept her up in memories back to Moonglow Cove High School when he’d given her a giant bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans, the size you can only get at big-box warehouse stores, and then he’d asked her to go steady.
She’d been sixteen and he’d been seventeen. He’d been her one and only ever since. Sometimes, she secretly wondered if she’d missed out by not dating a lot of guys, but from the very beginning, Kevin had been The One.
At the time, it was the happiest day of her life until it was eclipsed by their wedding and then later, the birth of their children.
“I’m sorry,” Kevin said, coming over to rub her shoulders and give her that steady look that said you-and-me-team-always. “I apologize. I know you’re still grieving your dad.”
“Apology accepted.” Anna tried her best not to hold grudges. Pouting served no one, and life was too short.
Kevin plowed a hand through his hair. “I’m still trying to absorb all this.”
“Me too.”
“It’s mind-warping.”
“Do you remember when I told you that I’ve always felt like I had this empty hole inside me that I couldn’t fill no matter what?”
“Hmm.”
“And that I had no idea why I felt that way because I have a terrific life?”
He nodded, but the guilty expression on his face told her he didn’t really remember at all. Sometimes she got the feeling he didn’t listen to her anymore. As if he thought he had her all figured out and was certain he knew what she would say or do before she said or did it. Frankly, his lack of attention was a little insulting.
“Why would you feel empty? You’ve got me and the kids. You’ve got your mom and Mike and his family. You’ve got my nutty but lovable family too. You have a bazillion friends. You’re golden.”
“I know.” She glanced down at her hands. “I can’t explain it or at least I couldn’t until today. I have a twin sister, Kevin, and I lost her; and somewhere, in the depths of my soul, I knew it.”
“Anna . . .” He shook his head, rubbed his temple with his thumb as if he were getting a migraine. “I worry.”
“About what?”
“That woman. You.”
She scowled. “What about me?”
“You’re building a fairy tale around this. Twin sisters, separated at birth, and now reunited. Happy, happy, joy, joy. It’s not that simple.”
She notched up her chin. “What if I am building a fairy tale? Why is that wrong?”
“Because,” he said, “fairy tales aren’t real.”
“Our romance was a fairy tale. We’re living proof that happily-ever-after does happen.”
His eyes met hers and she saw in them a harsh expression she’d never seen before. “Tell that to the folks who lost their homes in Oklahoma. Life’s complicated, Anna. Mature people recognize that. Grow up.”
Stunned, she opened her mouth to offer a counterpoint, but her phone vibrated in her back pocket, pulling her attention away from her husband. She yanked out the phone and checked the screen. “Mom.”
Blatantly, he grunted.
Fearful that her legs wouldn’t hold her, Anna moved to the kitchen table and plunked down in her usual spot to answer it.
Kevin didn’t seem to notice because he was too busy pacing. She got it. He was freaked. So was she.
Keeping her voice as even as she could, Anna answered, “Hey, Mom.”
“Where are you, sweetie?” Her mother’s kind voice filled her ear. “It’s ten to ten and you know it takes as least fifteen minutes to get to the salon from my town house. Are the kiddos out of sorts? What’s up?”
“I . . . Mom.” Anna’s throat closed.
“Yes?”
There were so many things she wanted to say, so many damn questions she wanted to ask, but this confrontation had to happen in person.
Her mind swirled as she considered how to break the news about Amelia. How did she form the words? Should she call a family meeting? Should Amelia be there when it happened?
“Could you please call the salon and tell them we have to cancel?” she asked.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Anxiety leapt into her mother’s tone. Usually Robin Straus was even-keeled, but ever since Anna’s dad had died last year, Mom’s fears got triggered much more easily than they once did.
“I’ll explain later.”
“Are the kids okay? Tell me the kids are okay, and I won’t worry.”
“The kids are fine, Mom.”
Shaking his head, Kevin left the kitchen. She heard his shoes slapping against the travertine tiles as he headed for the bedroom.
“Something’s wrong. You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Just call the salon, Mom, and cancel. I’d appreciate it.”
“Why?”
Anna couldn’t find the words to tell her mother what had just happened when she hadn’t absorbed it herself. She grabbed for an excuse. “Winnie’s gone AWOL again.”
“Oh. Is that all?” Robin sounded relieved. “Did they check the hospital? She’s always drawn back to the L&D ward. I guess after spending four decades there as a midwife, it’s like going home.”
“I’m sure Myra’s checked the hospital.”
“I feel for Winnie, I really do, and I so hate that she’s got Alzheimer’s and doesn’t have a family of her own to care for her.”
“We’re her family, Mom. I’m her legal guardian and I have her power of attorney.”
“I know, sweetheart. It’s just I hate to see you saddled with this.” Robin sighed. “Never mind.”
Anna knew what that sigh meant. Her mother was a tenderhearted person, but she’d never fully understood why Dad felt obligated to care for Winnie and why that burden had been passed on to Anna.
Kevin returned carrying his laptop. He plopped down next to her, opened the computer, and tapped on the keyboard.
What was he up to?
Looking at her handsome husband, Anna felt a mix of emotions. Wistful that he was headed out on the road again, and that she’d be left alone with the kids for weeks. Irritable that he was leaving her to deal with these new revelations by herself. And secretly a little relieved that she didn’t have to juggle him, too, along with her mother, the kids, and her twin sister.
“I’ll cancel our appointments,” Mom was saying. “When should we reschedule?”
“I can’t even . . . I’m too distracted to think about that right now.”
“I’ll handle it. Next Tuesday sound good?”
“Don’t reschedule. We’ll discuss this once I get Kevin on the road.”
“Okay, but, sweetheart,” her mother said. “I did want to talk to you about something. I’ve finally been strong enough to go through your father’s things. New Hope called me looking for donations and I said yes.”
Right now, Anna couldn’t deal with giving away her dad’s things. “Kevin’s headed out the door. I need to see him off.”