The Family Next Door(62)

Although … what if something else was going on? A terrible misunderstanding? Essie had heard stories of children who had been switched at birth … what if that had happened? What if her mum had given birth to another baby—a lovely, long-fingered baby—and somehow had ended up with Essie instead? It would explain everything. The reason why, at age thirty-two, Essie was suddenly attracted to a woman. The reason why just the thought of Isabelle brought about strong, physical urges she’d never had for any man.

Yes, it was possible. But it was a stretch. A long stretch. She thought of what Isabelle had said. Our kinship index is greater than one point zero, which means we share DNA. What did that even mean? After all, didn’t everyone share DNA? Wasn’t everyone related in the grand scheme of things?

It was a mistake. This whole thing was a mistake.

Essie lay down on the bed. She had about an hour before Ben arrived. She should get some rest. The doctors said rest was important. She could just buzz the nurse right now and ask for a sleeping tablet and they’d give it to her. Perhaps that’s what she’d do.

She sat up again. But instead of reaching for the buzzer, she reached again for the iPad. She opened up a new browser and typed in: DNA TESTING. HOW ACCURATE IS IT?





45


BARBARA


Barbara was driving home from the hospital when she felt a sudden jolt—like her heart had missed a beat. Her skin started tingling, her breath became shallow and her thoughts began to race: fast and furious. Am I having a heart attack? A stroke? A panic attack? But the loudest, most prominent thought was …

Why do I not remember the doctor handing me Essie?

She pulled to the side of the road. She still appeared to have full use of both arms, which was good. She glanced in the mirror—neither side of her face had slackened. But she’d felt strangely off-kilter since leaving the hospital. Perhaps she was coming down with something? Lois had been ill with a nasty virus these last few days, maybe she’d caught it. She did have a slight ringing in her ears.

Suddenly she realized that ringing was her phone.

She scrambled for it in her purse on the passenger seat of the car. It was Lois.

“I was just thinking about you,” Barb told her.

“I know,” Lois said. “My ears were burning.”

“That only happens when someone talks about you, Lo.”

“I doubt it happens at all,” Lois said, pausing to sneeze. She sounded dreadful—all stuffed up. If Barbara wasn’t going through her own personal catastrophe she’d have gone straight over there with chicken soup and lemons.

“I fear I haven’t been a very good friend these last few days,” Barbara told her. “I should have dropped by with soup or something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve had enough on your plate with Essie. Besides, you need to stay away. This thing’s awful. It started as the stomach flu, now it’s morphed into a dreadful cold. I’d feel terrible if you caught it.”

“It might be too late,” Barbara said. “I feel like I might be coming down with something already.”

“Are you sick to your stomach?” Lois asked. “Headache? Sniffles?”

“No, not exactly.”

“It might be this god-awful heat.”

“Maybe,” Barbara said. Her legs were stuck to the seat beneath her and the back of her hair was damp. But it felt like something more.

A comfortable silence drifted between them as Barbara tried to analyze what was going on with her. She had no symptoms. And yet, she felt terrible.

“Ah,” Lois said, finally.

“What?” Barbara said. “What does ah mean?”

“You have a dreadful case of WMS.”

“WMS?”

“Worried mother syndrome.”

Barbara let her head fall back against the headrest. Of course! She was worried about Essie. What mother didn’t become shaky and erratic when something was wrong with her child? That was all it was.

“I know you need to be there for Essie, Barb, but you need to look after yourself too. You’re not as young as you used to be.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“It’s the truth. I’m ordering you to go home and take a nap. Let Ben take care of the girls today.”

“Ben is taking care of the girls today. You’re probably right, I do need a nap. I haven’t slept properly since this whole thing went down with Essie.”

“Of course you haven’t. You’re a good mother. But it’s time to look after you.”

Barbara suddenly felt much better. She should have known a chat with her old friend would fix everything. “All right,” she said. “I will.”

“Right. I’ll call you tomorrow to check in.”

“Thanks. Oh, and Lo?”

Lois blew her nose again. “Mmm?”

“Do you remember the moment the doctor handed you Teresa after she was born?”

There was a pause. “Vaguely. She was covered in white gunky stuff. I remember asking the doctor whether that was normal. I don’t remember much else. Why?”

Once again, Lois had proven to be the best friend Barbara could’ve asked for. “No reason,” she said. “No reason at all.”