Post by rsafan on Oct 11, 2006 7:16:26 GMT -5
Chapter 8
“Okay, so if all this is true,” Mimi indicated to the papers that were still on the kitchen table, “and I’m guessing they are because Rex doesn’t tend to make that many mistakes, then the question is what are you going to do about it? Are you going to pursue this or just let it drop?”
Victoria was torn. She knew she had to make a decision, quite possibly the hardest decision she ever had to make. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. There are so many complications, so many reasons why I should just let sleeping dogs lie. What if I do pursue this, and I get all the answers, what if I find out something I don’t like, something I can’t live with or even something I wish I’d never known? What if that happens?”
“What if just the opposite happens? There are plenty ‘what if’s Victoria, no matter how you look at it, there’s always going to be a reason to do this, and ten more why you shouldn’t. Ultimately, you’re going to have to make a choice.”
“You’re right, I know. I’m going to have to sleep on this; it’s not an easy decision to make. What do you think I should do?”
“I can’t tell you that, this has to be a decision you make on your own. Just know that if you decide to go through with this, I’m willing to help in any way I can, I have little enough to do anyway.”
They both jumped when someone knocked on the front door. They had been so engrossed in their conversation, that they hadn’t taken note of the time. Glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall, Victoria noted that it was just after eleven.
“That is probably Shawn; he said he’d finish up around eleven.” Mimi got up from the table and walked over to the front door, looking through the peep hole, she opened the door to Shawn.
“Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, turning to Victoria she said, “If you need someone to talk to, call me. No matter what the time.”
Victoria simply nodded and mouthed, “Thanks.”
When they’d left, she went back to the kitchen and reread the papers Rex had sent. What to do. What to do…
“Hi, come on in.”
Victoria stepped into the apartment and declined Mimi’s offer of something to drink, “Hi, I can’t stay long, lunch break,” she explained. “The thing is, I’ve decided to go through with this, to find out the facts, or as much of them as I can, since I’m busy most of the day, I don’t really have time so I was wondering if…”
“If I would do the honours, do some digging while I’m sitting at home whole day doing nothing?”
Victoria laughed, “Well, I wasn’t going to put it like that. It’s just that you offered the other day and…”
“Relax, I’ll do it. It’d keep my mind off the fact that at the moment, I have no job, no hope of getting one in the distant future and will grow to the size of a beach ball over the next couple of months.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.”
Victoria reached into her bag, “I’ve done some of my own research, mainly in the early hours of the morning before work. Anyway, this is what I’ve got so far. I’ve managed to eliminate a few places and I thought if you could just look the others up?”
“Great, I’ll get started on this today.”
Victoria had to blink rapidly to avoid the tears that had formed in her eyes from escaping and travelling down her cheeks, “Thank you Mimi, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
Mimi hugged her, “It’s the least I can do, after everything you’ve done for me, for us.”
Chapter 9
Mimi answered the ringing phone.
“Hello?”
“Mimi, hi.”
“Belle, it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken.”
“That’s why I’m calling. I thought maybe we could have lunch together sometime, you know catch up on things. I’ve just been so busy with Claire, that I just haven’t had the time to chat.”
Mimi thought for a moment about how Belle would react if she’d simply replied with: “You certainly weren’t busy with Claire when you interrupted my honeymoon, either time.” but knowing Belle, she’d probably just say something to make Mimi feel even guiltier than Belle was and there was no denying that Mimi was guilty. Keeping Claire’s paternity to herself was about as low as she could go. So instead she simply said, “I’m sure.”
“So how about it?”
“How about what?”
“Lunch.”
“Oh. Belle, I’m actually really busy at the moment.”
“You’re at home, how busy can you be? I’m sure the dishes can wait till you get back.”
Resenting the fact that that was what Belle thought she did all day, Mimi had the urge to simply slam the phone back in its cradle. “Actually,” she tried really hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice, she failed miserably. “I’m doing something for a friend. I don’t know how things work over at your place, but here Shawn tends to do the dishes.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply…”
“I’m sure you didn’t Belle, You never mean to imply anything, yet that’s exactly what you do.”
“So I guess that’s a ‘no’ for lunch.”
Did she really have to spell it out for her? “Yes Belle, that’s a ‘no’. But I’ll talk to Shawn, maybe the four of us could go out for dinner sometime?” She knew that would irk Belle, she didn’t like seeing the two of them together, Mimi couldn’t really blame her. That’s what happened when you were in love with someone who wasn’t with you.
“Maybe.” Was all Belle said before she hung up. The conversation had been a bust, just as many others between them had been, since she’d heard Belle’s declaration of love the night before she and Shawn had gotten married. Directing her attention back to the computer, she was struck by an idea. She picked up the phone and dialled information. If she was right, she’d have answers for Victoria sooner than either of them had expected.
Having seen Victoria pulling up to the building, Mimi didn’t even wait for her to knock, but met her at the lift. Grabbing her, she pulled her into the loft and started talking a mile a minute.
Victoria waited till Mimi paused for breath, “Okay, now tell me so that I can understand. And slowly please.”
Mimi smiled, “Sorry, I’m just so excited. I can’t believe this; it’s like a miracle that I even thought about this.”
“About what?”
“Records, there were no records of this place anywhere, but it had to be legit right.”
Victoria nodded, “Rex determined that at one time it did exist, not for long, but it was definitely legal otherwise my parents wouldn’t have gotten involved.”
“Right. So I started thinking, there has to be a record. And no matter how much you pay to have things erased, they’re never truly gone. There has to be a record somewhere.”
“We already followed that lead, all records have been erased.”
“Electronically maybe, but hard copies are still kept here in Salem. I made a few calls and determined where such records would be kept and what do you know, I struck gold.”
“You found papers?”
“I don’t know, I only know that this guy claimed they have all the original documents dating back to the 1800s. What we’re looking for might just be I there.”
“When can I check this out?”
“We, we can check it out now.”
“I’m not sure if Shawn would appreciate…”
“Shawn can go shout his thoughts off of Everest for all I care. I’m part of this and I’m coming with you. Besides, I was the one who convinced the guy to stay there after hours and allow us to search through the place.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Please, I’ve dated geeks; please don’t tell Rex I said that about him, I know what they want.”
“A really sexy cartoon character making all their sexual fantasies come to life?”
Mimi pulled her face at the thought, “I’m married and pregnant and I also have morals. I’m not going to sell my body for a maybe, not even for you.”
“I was thinking maybe you sold my body.”
“No, I simply got what every man wants.” She walked over to the fridge and took out a pie. “Food.”
“Smart girl.”
“This place is so dusty; we’re never going to be able to find anything in here.” Mimi complained, she was starting to regret having insisted on coming.
“I still can’t believe that pie actually worked, men are so easy.”
“I don’t think we’re going to find anything here.” Mimi repeated, but Victoria didn’t seem to hear her. “Well, at least it’s organised so we know we’re looking in the right place.” Mimi’s phone started ringing, “Oh crap, I forgot to call Shawn and tell him I wouldn’t be home. I have to take this.”
“Go ahead; I’ll just look through these two, than call it a day. We can come back tomorrow and…” Victoria stopped as she saw a folder with her name on. She hadn’t actually expected to find anything. Private documents weren’t generally stored with business documents, usually those were removed before offices got cleared out. Obviously these weren’t, or someone hadn’t done there job properly. “This has my birth date on it, as well as the place of birth. This is way too weird.” Knowing it was wrong on so many levels, and not to mention illegal, Victoria slipped the folder into her bag.
“That was my husband ordering me to come home. The nerve, as if I’m going to listen to him. You find anything?”
“No, I think maybe we should come back tomorrow.”
“I totally agree, I need a bath, get all this dust off me. But we have to stop off at the ark first.”
Victoria frowned, “The Park? Why?”
Putting the box she’d been searching back, “Well, I don’t want Shawn thinking he can order me around. A good ten minutes and I’ll go home.”
Victoria simply shook her head, why did married life have to be so complicated?
Chapter 10
The very next day, in the Brady loft…
Mimi set two mugs down on the counter, one contained coffee for Victoria. The other contained herbal tea, Mimi would rather have had the coffee, but apparently coffee isn’t that good for a growing baby. What about the stressed out mother?, she wanted to argue but knew those arguments would fall on deaf ears. “Wasn’t that weird, the pipe bursting like that?”
Victoria picked up her mug and carried it to the sofa, she’d shown Mimi the file she’d removed the day before, “I know. I’m just glad I’d managed to save this file before the water damaged it.”
“So, you’ve had all night to go over them, what d they say?”
“Not much, just facts about my birth, but there was something. I think these people may know something about this whole mess. Theirs are the only photos in this folder.”
Mimi reached for the photos Victoria was looking at, “Let me see them, maybe I know… Oh my God!” she dropped the photos.
“What? Do you know them?”
“Know them? Yes, I know them, they’re my in-laws. They’re Shawn’s parents.”
“Do you think they know something, about who my parents might be?”
Shawn entered the apartment with the groceries Mimi had sent him out for, “Hey, what are you guys up to?”
“Shawn, get over here. Take a look at these.” Mimi handed him Victoria’s birth certificate, along with the adoption papers. She held the photos back, wanting him to come to his own conclusions before she showed them to him.
Shawn read the birth certificate, “Baby Blanche? Who’s baby Blanche?”
Victoria spoke up, “I am. It’s my second name really; my parents weren’t too fond of the name.”
“So, what does this have to do with me?” He looked from Mimi to Victoria.
Victoria shrugged her shoulders, “I haven’t a clue.”
They both looked at Mimi; she filled Shawn in on the pipe burst at City Hall.
Shawn looked back at the birth certificate “Blanche? Why does that name sound so familiar?”
Mimi knew the instant Shawn had made a connection, his whole expression changed, “Shawn, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking maybe that pipe burst wasn’t a co-incidence, I’m thinking the impossible.” He looked at Victoria, “How old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty soon. Why?”
“It fits. Three years, Blanche…these papers say the adoption went through in Louisiana.”
Victoria nodded, “That’s right, apparently it’s were I was born, were my parents collected me.”
“Louisiana…Blanche. Could it be?”
“What? Would you just tell me please?”
“Maison Blanche.”
“What? No way, impossible.” Mimi shook her head.
“There’s an age gap of over three years, adoption in Louisiana, baby Blanche. There’s nothing impossible about that. Why else would a search in Louisiana lead to Salem?”
“To your parents…”
“What?” Mimi handed him the photos. “This was in the file too?” They both nodded. “Now there’s no doubt in my mind.”
“This is way too weird.”
Mimi studied Victoria, “Brunette, green eyes, blood tells. Blood always tells.”
Now he knew who she reminded him of, his mother. “In more ways than one, I’m thinking DNA testing.”
Victoria shook her head, she’d already tried that path, “Lexie vetoed that idea, something about patient confidentiality.”
Shawn pointed out the obvious, “That’s because you didn’t have a comparison. Now you do.”
“What you? A blood test between the two of us, for what?”
“No, I’m thinking my parents. That’s a lot more conclusive, I can get samples, but I think it’s a moot point. There is no doubt in my mind.” They all looked at each other, no one saying what they were all thinking. Finally Shawn spoke up, “I think, you may just be my sister.”
“Okay, so if all this is true,” Mimi indicated to the papers that were still on the kitchen table, “and I’m guessing they are because Rex doesn’t tend to make that many mistakes, then the question is what are you going to do about it? Are you going to pursue this or just let it drop?”
Victoria was torn. She knew she had to make a decision, quite possibly the hardest decision she ever had to make. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. There are so many complications, so many reasons why I should just let sleeping dogs lie. What if I do pursue this, and I get all the answers, what if I find out something I don’t like, something I can’t live with or even something I wish I’d never known? What if that happens?”
“What if just the opposite happens? There are plenty ‘what if’s Victoria, no matter how you look at it, there’s always going to be a reason to do this, and ten more why you shouldn’t. Ultimately, you’re going to have to make a choice.”
“You’re right, I know. I’m going to have to sleep on this; it’s not an easy decision to make. What do you think I should do?”
“I can’t tell you that, this has to be a decision you make on your own. Just know that if you decide to go through with this, I’m willing to help in any way I can, I have little enough to do anyway.”
They both jumped when someone knocked on the front door. They had been so engrossed in their conversation, that they hadn’t taken note of the time. Glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall, Victoria noted that it was just after eleven.
“That is probably Shawn; he said he’d finish up around eleven.” Mimi got up from the table and walked over to the front door, looking through the peep hole, she opened the door to Shawn.
“Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, turning to Victoria she said, “If you need someone to talk to, call me. No matter what the time.”
Victoria simply nodded and mouthed, “Thanks.”
When they’d left, she went back to the kitchen and reread the papers Rex had sent. What to do. What to do…
*****
Two days later, Mimi opened the door to Victoria. “Hi, come on in.”
Victoria stepped into the apartment and declined Mimi’s offer of something to drink, “Hi, I can’t stay long, lunch break,” she explained. “The thing is, I’ve decided to go through with this, to find out the facts, or as much of them as I can, since I’m busy most of the day, I don’t really have time so I was wondering if…”
“If I would do the honours, do some digging while I’m sitting at home whole day doing nothing?”
Victoria laughed, “Well, I wasn’t going to put it like that. It’s just that you offered the other day and…”
“Relax, I’ll do it. It’d keep my mind off the fact that at the moment, I have no job, no hope of getting one in the distant future and will grow to the size of a beach ball over the next couple of months.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.”
Victoria reached into her bag, “I’ve done some of my own research, mainly in the early hours of the morning before work. Anyway, this is what I’ve got so far. I’ve managed to eliminate a few places and I thought if you could just look the others up?”
“Great, I’ll get started on this today.”
Victoria had to blink rapidly to avoid the tears that had formed in her eyes from escaping and travelling down her cheeks, “Thank you Mimi, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
Mimi hugged her, “It’s the least I can do, after everything you’ve done for me, for us.”
Chapter 9
Mimi answered the ringing phone.
“Hello?”
“Mimi, hi.”
“Belle, it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken.”
“That’s why I’m calling. I thought maybe we could have lunch together sometime, you know catch up on things. I’ve just been so busy with Claire, that I just haven’t had the time to chat.”
Mimi thought for a moment about how Belle would react if she’d simply replied with: “You certainly weren’t busy with Claire when you interrupted my honeymoon, either time.” but knowing Belle, she’d probably just say something to make Mimi feel even guiltier than Belle was and there was no denying that Mimi was guilty. Keeping Claire’s paternity to herself was about as low as she could go. So instead she simply said, “I’m sure.”
“So how about it?”
“How about what?”
“Lunch.”
“Oh. Belle, I’m actually really busy at the moment.”
“You’re at home, how busy can you be? I’m sure the dishes can wait till you get back.”
Resenting the fact that that was what Belle thought she did all day, Mimi had the urge to simply slam the phone back in its cradle. “Actually,” she tried really hard to keep the annoyance out of her voice, she failed miserably. “I’m doing something for a friend. I don’t know how things work over at your place, but here Shawn tends to do the dishes.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply…”
“I’m sure you didn’t Belle, You never mean to imply anything, yet that’s exactly what you do.”
“So I guess that’s a ‘no’ for lunch.”
Did she really have to spell it out for her? “Yes Belle, that’s a ‘no’. But I’ll talk to Shawn, maybe the four of us could go out for dinner sometime?” She knew that would irk Belle, she didn’t like seeing the two of them together, Mimi couldn’t really blame her. That’s what happened when you were in love with someone who wasn’t with you.
“Maybe.” Was all Belle said before she hung up. The conversation had been a bust, just as many others between them had been, since she’d heard Belle’s declaration of love the night before she and Shawn had gotten married. Directing her attention back to the computer, she was struck by an idea. She picked up the phone and dialled information. If she was right, she’d have answers for Victoria sooner than either of them had expected.
*****
Victoria had been shocked when she’d received a call from Mimi asking her to stop by at the loft before she went home. She really hadn’t been expecting much on the first day, but apparently, judging from the excitement in her friend’s voice, Mimi had found something big. So, pulling her car into an available space, she made her way up to the Brady loft.Having seen Victoria pulling up to the building, Mimi didn’t even wait for her to knock, but met her at the lift. Grabbing her, she pulled her into the loft and started talking a mile a minute.
Victoria waited till Mimi paused for breath, “Okay, now tell me so that I can understand. And slowly please.”
Mimi smiled, “Sorry, I’m just so excited. I can’t believe this; it’s like a miracle that I even thought about this.”
“About what?”
“Records, there were no records of this place anywhere, but it had to be legit right.”
Victoria nodded, “Rex determined that at one time it did exist, not for long, but it was definitely legal otherwise my parents wouldn’t have gotten involved.”
“Right. So I started thinking, there has to be a record. And no matter how much you pay to have things erased, they’re never truly gone. There has to be a record somewhere.”
“We already followed that lead, all records have been erased.”
“Electronically maybe, but hard copies are still kept here in Salem. I made a few calls and determined where such records would be kept and what do you know, I struck gold.”
“You found papers?”
“I don’t know, I only know that this guy claimed they have all the original documents dating back to the 1800s. What we’re looking for might just be I there.”
“When can I check this out?”
“We, we can check it out now.”
“I’m not sure if Shawn would appreciate…”
“Shawn can go shout his thoughts off of Everest for all I care. I’m part of this and I’m coming with you. Besides, I was the one who convinced the guy to stay there after hours and allow us to search through the place.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Please, I’ve dated geeks; please don’t tell Rex I said that about him, I know what they want.”
“A really sexy cartoon character making all their sexual fantasies come to life?”
Mimi pulled her face at the thought, “I’m married and pregnant and I also have morals. I’m not going to sell my body for a maybe, not even for you.”
“I was thinking maybe you sold my body.”
“No, I simply got what every man wants.” She walked over to the fridge and took out a pie. “Food.”
“Smart girl.”
*****
They were searching through boxes in records department at City Hall. The very old documents. They’d been there for almost two hours searching boxes and finding nothing.“This place is so dusty; we’re never going to be able to find anything in here.” Mimi complained, she was starting to regret having insisted on coming.
“I still can’t believe that pie actually worked, men are so easy.”
“I don’t think we’re going to find anything here.” Mimi repeated, but Victoria didn’t seem to hear her. “Well, at least it’s organised so we know we’re looking in the right place.” Mimi’s phone started ringing, “Oh crap, I forgot to call Shawn and tell him I wouldn’t be home. I have to take this.”
“Go ahead; I’ll just look through these two, than call it a day. We can come back tomorrow and…” Victoria stopped as she saw a folder with her name on. She hadn’t actually expected to find anything. Private documents weren’t generally stored with business documents, usually those were removed before offices got cleared out. Obviously these weren’t, or someone hadn’t done there job properly. “This has my birth date on it, as well as the place of birth. This is way too weird.” Knowing it was wrong on so many levels, and not to mention illegal, Victoria slipped the folder into her bag.
“That was my husband ordering me to come home. The nerve, as if I’m going to listen to him. You find anything?”
“No, I think maybe we should come back tomorrow.”
“I totally agree, I need a bath, get all this dust off me. But we have to stop off at the ark first.”
Victoria frowned, “The Park? Why?”
Putting the box she’d been searching back, “Well, I don’t want Shawn thinking he can order me around. A good ten minutes and I’ll go home.”
Victoria simply shook her head, why did married life have to be so complicated?
Chapter 10
The very next day, in the Brady loft…
Mimi set two mugs down on the counter, one contained coffee for Victoria. The other contained herbal tea, Mimi would rather have had the coffee, but apparently coffee isn’t that good for a growing baby. What about the stressed out mother?, she wanted to argue but knew those arguments would fall on deaf ears. “Wasn’t that weird, the pipe bursting like that?”
Victoria picked up her mug and carried it to the sofa, she’d shown Mimi the file she’d removed the day before, “I know. I’m just glad I’d managed to save this file before the water damaged it.”
“So, you’ve had all night to go over them, what d they say?”
“Not much, just facts about my birth, but there was something. I think these people may know something about this whole mess. Theirs are the only photos in this folder.”
Mimi reached for the photos Victoria was looking at, “Let me see them, maybe I know… Oh my God!” she dropped the photos.
“What? Do you know them?”
“Know them? Yes, I know them, they’re my in-laws. They’re Shawn’s parents.”
“Do you think they know something, about who my parents might be?”
Shawn entered the apartment with the groceries Mimi had sent him out for, “Hey, what are you guys up to?”
“Shawn, get over here. Take a look at these.” Mimi handed him Victoria’s birth certificate, along with the adoption papers. She held the photos back, wanting him to come to his own conclusions before she showed them to him.
Shawn read the birth certificate, “Baby Blanche? Who’s baby Blanche?”
Victoria spoke up, “I am. It’s my second name really; my parents weren’t too fond of the name.”
“So, what does this have to do with me?” He looked from Mimi to Victoria.
Victoria shrugged her shoulders, “I haven’t a clue.”
They both looked at Mimi; she filled Shawn in on the pipe burst at City Hall.
Shawn looked back at the birth certificate “Blanche? Why does that name sound so familiar?”
Mimi knew the instant Shawn had made a connection, his whole expression changed, “Shawn, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking maybe that pipe burst wasn’t a co-incidence, I’m thinking the impossible.” He looked at Victoria, “How old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty soon. Why?”
“It fits. Three years, Blanche…these papers say the adoption went through in Louisiana.”
Victoria nodded, “That’s right, apparently it’s were I was born, were my parents collected me.”
“Louisiana…Blanche. Could it be?”
“What? Would you just tell me please?”
“Maison Blanche.”
“What? No way, impossible.” Mimi shook her head.
“There’s an age gap of over three years, adoption in Louisiana, baby Blanche. There’s nothing impossible about that. Why else would a search in Louisiana lead to Salem?”
“To your parents…”
“What?” Mimi handed him the photos. “This was in the file too?” They both nodded. “Now there’s no doubt in my mind.”
“This is way too weird.”
Mimi studied Victoria, “Brunette, green eyes, blood tells. Blood always tells.”
Now he knew who she reminded him of, his mother. “In more ways than one, I’m thinking DNA testing.”
Victoria shook her head, she’d already tried that path, “Lexie vetoed that idea, something about patient confidentiality.”
Shawn pointed out the obvious, “That’s because you didn’t have a comparison. Now you do.”
“What you? A blood test between the two of us, for what?”
“No, I’m thinking my parents. That’s a lot more conclusive, I can get samples, but I think it’s a moot point. There is no doubt in my mind.” They all looked at each other, no one saying what they were all thinking. Finally Shawn spoke up, “I think, you may just be my sister.”
