Post by rsafan on Oct 12, 2006 4:54:53 GMT -5
Chapter 11
Victoria thought about Shawn’s theory for all of thirty seconds before dismissing it, “Are you daft? Have you lost your mind? There’s no way I’m your sister, no way I can be your sister. For one, I’m quite certain your mother would remember if she’d had another child.”
Shawn shook his head, “Not necessarily, she was at Maison Blanche for four years. The only memories she has of that place are connected to Princess Gina. If she’d had you, she wouldn’t remember.”
“Giving birth, whether you were yourself or this ‘Princess Gina’ character, isn’t something you conveniently forget. You seem to be a really great guy Shawn, and I’m sure you’re an excellent big brother, but I think that maybe you should see a doctor.”
“I’m not mental.”
“Well, you’re certainly spewing ideas that only a mentally ill person would. How you jump to such a conclusion given these facts, I’ll never know.”
“You’re supposed to be a genius, why haven’t you jumped to the same conclusions.”
“I’m not a genius and I haven’t, because I think logically. At least I try to most of the time. There’s nothing logical about this theory of yours, you’ve taken random events and linked them to come up with a theory that has too many holes in it.”
“You’re in Salem sweetheart, you may not have been here that long, but you’ll soon realise nothing in this town is ever logical.”
“But still Shawn, this is a bit far fetched. No, forget a bit, this is way out there. Along with the idea that Santa Claus really exists. I am not your sister.”
“It’s more than just these papers. It’s about you, for a long time now I’ve been wondering what it is about you that was so familiar to me. You reminded me of someone I knew, until I saw these, I didn’t know who. But now I do, you remind me of my mother, you’re like her in so many ways. And you have her hair, her eyes.”
“Oh well, that must mean I’m related to every dark haired green eyed person in Salem.” Shaw noted that the angrier she got, the more her English accent became noticeable.
“I’m not talking about the colour, your eyes, they’re exactly like hers.”
Mimi watched the two of them arguing, they certainly acted like brother and sister. She had to admit that Shawn’s theory was really far fetched, but stranger things have happened. Deciding it was time to break their little spat up, Mimi voiced her own opinion on the matter, “Why don’t you just conduct the test? At best you’ll find that Shawn is right and you’ll find your family. At worst, you’ll be right but at least you’ve eliminated a very large group of people.”
“Even if Shawn is right, if I’m his sister, how is he going to get DNA samples from his parents? I doubt they’re simply going to give them up because you asked.”
“I can get samples. From both my parents, if you’re willing to do this.”
“I’ll do it, but only to prove just how wrong you are about this. When do you want to do it?”
“Well, that’s entirely up to you isn’t it.”
“Set up the appointment, and I’ll be there.”
“You want to do this here?”
She swallowed, did she want to? She nodded, “Yes, I’ve waited long enough.”
“Okay,” He opened the envelope and removed the pages. Scanning it, he looked at Victoria.
“Shawn, what does it say?”
“It says, that there’s a ninety-nine point nine-eight percent probability that you and I share the same parents. It says that I just got a new sister. Welcome to the family kid.”
“Kid?” Shocked at what she’d just heard, she hung onto the last would she’d heard him say.
“Yeah, kid. Victoria Campbell, my kid sister.” He enveloped her in a hug, and she held on to him. Tears flowing from her eyes, she couldn’t seem to stop them, they just came.
Finally, he let go. She stepped back only to find herself in another hug, “It’s a great family to be a part of.” Mimi whispered in her ear. Then, wiping the tears from her face, she asked Shawn, “Okay, when are you going to tell your parents?”
They both turned to Shawn; he had been the instigator in all this. He should be the one to tell them, “How about right now?”
“Now?” Shawn smiled at her and nodded. She smiled back reaching for the hand he’d extended to her, he squeezed it.
She took a deep breath, maybe they weren’t home, maybe she’d have to wait longer to finally see them, “Are you sure they’re at home?”
“Yeah, I called this morning to ensure they’d be home whole day.”
He opened the door without knocking, “Mom?! Dad?!”
“We’re in the kitchen honey.” Hope called out.
Victoria froze in the doorway; that was the first time she’d heard her mother’s voice. Her mother, the realisation that she was about to meet her parents finally sunk in and she started to shake. She wasn’t ready for this, what had she been thinking? She couldn’t do this, she wasn’t ready. “I can’t… I have to…” she turned on her heels and walked out of the door.
“Victoria…” Shawn made to go after her, but Mimi stopped him, “I don’t think you can help her much. I’ll go.” And she walked out after her new sister-in-law as Shawn entered the kitchen to greet his parents.
She found Victoria standing in the driveway. “They’re not all that bad really.”
“I know, it’s just… No, I don’t know, I don’t know if they’re good or bad, I don’t know anything about them, I can’t do this.”
“That’s okay. It’s a lot to swallow in a couple of days, if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”
“I want to do this, I want to do this more than anything in the world, but I feel like I’m betraying my parents, the ones who raised me.”
“Do they know you’ve been searching for your biological parents?”
“Yes, and they’re completely supportive of the idea. Only I feel that if I accept them, Shawn’s parents, I’ll be rejecting my own. I love them more than anything, why does life have to be so complicated?”
“It just is. You don’t have to do this today you know, you can wait until you’re ready.”
“I have to go, would you tell Shawn I’m sorry? I thought I could do this, but I can’t.”
“Of course.” She stood there watching Victoria walk away, her life had been turned upside down in a matter of days and she still managed to keep her head up, she really was Hope’s daughter.
Victoria thought about Shawn’s theory for all of thirty seconds before dismissing it, “Are you daft? Have you lost your mind? There’s no way I’m your sister, no way I can be your sister. For one, I’m quite certain your mother would remember if she’d had another child.”
Shawn shook his head, “Not necessarily, she was at Maison Blanche for four years. The only memories she has of that place are connected to Princess Gina. If she’d had you, she wouldn’t remember.”
“Giving birth, whether you were yourself or this ‘Princess Gina’ character, isn’t something you conveniently forget. You seem to be a really great guy Shawn, and I’m sure you’re an excellent big brother, but I think that maybe you should see a doctor.”
“I’m not mental.”
“Well, you’re certainly spewing ideas that only a mentally ill person would. How you jump to such a conclusion given these facts, I’ll never know.”
“You’re supposed to be a genius, why haven’t you jumped to the same conclusions.”
“I’m not a genius and I haven’t, because I think logically. At least I try to most of the time. There’s nothing logical about this theory of yours, you’ve taken random events and linked them to come up with a theory that has too many holes in it.”
“You’re in Salem sweetheart, you may not have been here that long, but you’ll soon realise nothing in this town is ever logical.”
“But still Shawn, this is a bit far fetched. No, forget a bit, this is way out there. Along with the idea that Santa Claus really exists. I am not your sister.”
“It’s more than just these papers. It’s about you, for a long time now I’ve been wondering what it is about you that was so familiar to me. You reminded me of someone I knew, until I saw these, I didn’t know who. But now I do, you remind me of my mother, you’re like her in so many ways. And you have her hair, her eyes.”
“Oh well, that must mean I’m related to every dark haired green eyed person in Salem.” Shaw noted that the angrier she got, the more her English accent became noticeable.
“I’m not talking about the colour, your eyes, they’re exactly like hers.”
Mimi watched the two of them arguing, they certainly acted like brother and sister. She had to admit that Shawn’s theory was really far fetched, but stranger things have happened. Deciding it was time to break their little spat up, Mimi voiced her own opinion on the matter, “Why don’t you just conduct the test? At best you’ll find that Shawn is right and you’ll find your family. At worst, you’ll be right but at least you’ve eliminated a very large group of people.”
“Even if Shawn is right, if I’m his sister, how is he going to get DNA samples from his parents? I doubt they’re simply going to give them up because you asked.”
“I can get samples. From both my parents, if you’re willing to do this.”
“I’ll do it, but only to prove just how wrong you are about this. When do you want to do it?”
“Well, that’s entirely up to you isn’t it.”
“Set up the appointment, and I’ll be there.”
*****
Three days later they were haunting the hospital corridors. The lab had called to announce the results were in. Shawn had to sign for the results while Mimi and Victoria waited, neither saying anything, both waiting for Shawn to leave that room with the results in hand. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he emerged, holding a white envelope. Now that the moment had arrived, Victoria wasn’t sure she wanted to know what it said. Shawn had gotten her so worked up that she didn’t know what she was going to do if the results showed no relation.“You want to do this here?”
She swallowed, did she want to? She nodded, “Yes, I’ve waited long enough.”
“Okay,” He opened the envelope and removed the pages. Scanning it, he looked at Victoria.
“Shawn, what does it say?”
“It says, that there’s a ninety-nine point nine-eight percent probability that you and I share the same parents. It says that I just got a new sister. Welcome to the family kid.”
“Kid?” Shocked at what she’d just heard, she hung onto the last would she’d heard him say.
“Yeah, kid. Victoria Campbell, my kid sister.” He enveloped her in a hug, and she held on to him. Tears flowing from her eyes, she couldn’t seem to stop them, they just came.
Finally, he let go. She stepped back only to find herself in another hug, “It’s a great family to be a part of.” Mimi whispered in her ear. Then, wiping the tears from her face, she asked Shawn, “Okay, when are you going to tell your parents?”
They both turned to Shawn; he had been the instigator in all this. He should be the one to tell them, “How about right now?”
“Now?” Shawn smiled at her and nodded. She smiled back reaching for the hand he’d extended to her, he squeezed it.
*****
As they pulled up to the house, Shawn turned to his newfound sister, “Are you ready for this?”She took a deep breath, maybe they weren’t home, maybe she’d have to wait longer to finally see them, “Are you sure they’re at home?”
“Yeah, I called this morning to ensure they’d be home whole day.”
He opened the door without knocking, “Mom?! Dad?!”
“We’re in the kitchen honey.” Hope called out.
Victoria froze in the doorway; that was the first time she’d heard her mother’s voice. Her mother, the realisation that she was about to meet her parents finally sunk in and she started to shake. She wasn’t ready for this, what had she been thinking? She couldn’t do this, she wasn’t ready. “I can’t… I have to…” she turned on her heels and walked out of the door.
“Victoria…” Shawn made to go after her, but Mimi stopped him, “I don’t think you can help her much. I’ll go.” And she walked out after her new sister-in-law as Shawn entered the kitchen to greet his parents.
She found Victoria standing in the driveway. “They’re not all that bad really.”
“I know, it’s just… No, I don’t know, I don’t know if they’re good or bad, I don’t know anything about them, I can’t do this.”
“That’s okay. It’s a lot to swallow in a couple of days, if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”
“I want to do this, I want to do this more than anything in the world, but I feel like I’m betraying my parents, the ones who raised me.”
“Do they know you’ve been searching for your biological parents?”
“Yes, and they’re completely supportive of the idea. Only I feel that if I accept them, Shawn’s parents, I’ll be rejecting my own. I love them more than anything, why does life have to be so complicated?”
“It just is. You don’t have to do this today you know, you can wait until you’re ready.”
“I have to go, would you tell Shawn I’m sorry? I thought I could do this, but I can’t.”
“Of course.” She stood there watching Victoria walk away, her life had been turned upside down in a matter of days and she still managed to keep her head up, she really was Hope’s daughter.
