Lisa
I hated travelling. As a kid, I hated taking planes, boat rides, and our yearly caravan trips. It was partly cause of motion sickness, but mostly cause I hated being away from home. Our trips were always centered around meeting different pastors or visiting various churches. Wasn't the summer vacation a ten year old dreamed of. I remember always dreading the holidays, cause it always meant we'd have to go on another trip.
So being in a car for almost three hours wasn't the most delightful way to start the day. The roads were busy, and the knot in my stomach seemed to tighten as the time went by. Travelling to visit a church or meet a few pastors seemed much more appealing than what I intended to do.
Luckily enough, Clark managed to give me access to all the birth certificates in a 20 mile radius. I narrowed it down to the last two years and filtered the age group. Turns out, there were only two Torvi Dunn's registered birth dates, with only one of them listing the father as unknown.
For someone who wanted to get off the grid, she didn't really do a good job at it. Registering an address on her hospital ID wasn't the smartest idea.
I knew it was a long shot. It may have been a temporary address, or even a fake one. I didn't let myself contemplate all the possibilities before asking Raoul to take me there. He was kind enough not to ask any questions, even though it was obvious that our trip wasn't work related.
Mt thoughts took me back to the last conversation I had with Clark. I thought him being married was the only secret he failed to share. Little did I know he was about the drop another bombshell on me.
"I'm so sorry Clark. Nobody should have to go through that", I said, hoping I didn't push him too far.
"It's been a long time now. As the saying goes, time heals pain".
"I can't help but wonder if that's what inspired you to start the IVF program here?"
I saw him raise his eyebrows . "Inspired me?", he questioned.
"Well yeah, did your infertility encourage you to give women the opportunity to be able to conceive?".
His lack of emotion made it harder for me to perceive what was going through his mind.
"I don't think you understand Lisa, I'm not infertile".
I remained silent and signaled for him to continue.
"Margaret, my ex wife, knew from the day she met me that I wasn't keen on the idea of kids. However, she thought it was because I was young, and that after we were married things would change".
"Clark -
"Except nothing changed. I didn't want kids back then, I don't want kids now".
He emphasized the last part of the sentence, making sure he looked at me as the words rolled off his tongue.
"Do you understand what I'm trying to say?", he asked.
I nodded in silence and reverted to looking back at the cars in the lane parallel to us.
The ride home was silent and uncomfortable, it had me wish I never brought up the topic in the first place.
"Ms Dunn, we're here", said Raoul, bringing me back to the present.
"What? Already?", I replied.
"We've been on the road for three and a half hours Ms Dunn, I would't use the word already", he chuckled.
"You're right", I said as I scratched my forehead. "Could you just uh give me a second".
"Sure thing".
I must have spent at least fifteen minutes in the car with Raoul, contemplating if I should knock, or just make my way back home. What was I supposed to do? What if she doesn't live here anymore? What if someone else opens the door? Worse case scenario, this was were she lived and she was home at this very moment.
"Can you wait for me? I shouldn't be long", I said as I reached for the door handle.
"I'll be right here".
"One more thing, can we maybe not tell Mr Reed about our little trip", I said whilst biting my lip.
"What trip?", he gave a me a smile of reassurance through the rear view mirror.
It's now or never.
I made my way to the front porch and took a deep breath. I tried to find humor in the situation to calm myself down. I was literally in the exact situation two weeks ago, standing in front of my parents house. That situation lead me here, and I wondered where the aftermath of this situation would lead me to.
My hands took control over my body, and before I knew it, I was ringing the doorbell. I regretted it almost immediately and contemplated leaving for the 100th time. However, curiously and the fact that I had traveled for a long time to get here, kept my limbs anchored to the ground.
An enitre minute passed with no response, no sound nor movement. I mentally cursed at myself for not calling the number listed with the address. I became inpatient and rang the doorbell once again, trying to peak through the tinted glass.
The thought that all this could have been for nothing caused my hands to tremble. I needed to know the truth, that was the only way this saga could be over.
I heard the sound of shuffling feet coming from behind the door. After what seemed like forever, the door opened a jar and two little feet came into view. I tilted my head in order to get a better view. The little feet belonged a little kid with piercing blue eyes. My focus was completely transfixed on the child in front of me, that I entirely ignored the tanned skin man carrying him from behind.
"Can I help you?". I took a step back after finally acknowledging that there was a man staring at me as if I had two heads.
"Erm, I'm not sure", I admitted.
"You're not sure", he repeated, clearly annoyed.
The air in my lungs started to disappear. I physically couldn't breathe. I glanced behind me and remembered that Raoul was right there, ready to leave at any moment. Now was the moment.
"I've got the wrong house. Sorry to bother", I forced a smile, turned back and starting heading towards the car.
"You're Torvi's sister aren't you?".
I stopped dead in my tracks. I wanted so badly to ignore what he had just said, or play it off as if I hadn't heard him. But my subconscious wouldn't let me.
Almost four hours to get here Lisa grow some balls.
I turned on my heel and faced the now 'kinder' looking man in front of me. I nodded slowly, but remained put.
"Christ, you look exactly like her", he confessed. "Come on in".
And with that, he disappeared inside.
I was confused as to whether I was to follow him inside or not. It wasn't exactly the invitation I was used to. Nonetheless, my feet found their way walking to the porch again and onto the doorstep.
The house was smaller than what looked like on the outside. However, it was cosy and seemed to have all the amenities one would need. It resembled a cottage house. In reality, it probably was, considerably it was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by acres of fields. It was a great place for somebody who didn't want to be found.
I followed the footsteps and cries of whom I assumed belonged to the child I had encountered.
"Jesus Romeo, I only asked you to hold him for a second until I washed the dishes", said a voice I knew too well. "Who was at the door anyway?".
"Uh Torvs, we've got company".
There she was in all her glory, her back facing towards me with her ash blonde hair tied into a bun.
She didn't need to turn around.
The woman standing before me, was no other than my sister.
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