One Wild Night

463 Numb

Janet and Evelyn sat in the kitchen, drinking tea while Evelyn laughed uncontrollably as Janet told her how she had taken her advice and ruined Rachel's clothes. That was of course after Evelyn had told Janet all about her and Desmond's date the previous day.

"I can't believe you really did that," Evelyn said in amusement since she hadn't exactly expected Janet to go along with it.

"You have no idea how upset I was until you gave me that suggestion. And even though I realize how petty and childish it was, that was the only thing I could do to express my anger at that moment. I'm surprised the brat hasn't said a word or done anything. I was counting on her coming over here to create a scene or something so I can do some hair pulling," Janet said, and Evelyn giggled as she took a sip from the ginger and honey tea.

"You wouldn't do that."

"Oh, trust me, I would have. To think she has been tracking Lucas this whole time. Can you believe that?" Janet said angrily, and Evelyn shook her head.

"She needs to get a mental evaluation. How is Lucas by the way?" Evelyn asked curiously, and Janet told her about Lucas' trip to visit Tyler.

"Oh, that's such a relief! There is nothing like a nice vacation to clear the head," Evelyn said with a relieved smile, and Janet sighed as she nodded in agreement.

"Are you okay?" Evelyn asked after some time, and Janet looked at her.

"Yeah. Why?"

"When you opened the door your face was dull and your eyes were puffy like you had been crying for some time. I assumed it was because you were worried about Lucas, but now I'm not so sure anymore. Did something else happen?" Evelyn asked, and Janet sighed.

"What do you know about Harry?" She asked, wanting to talk about it.

"By Harry do you mean Tom's best friend?" Evelyn asked, since that was the only Harry it made sense that Janet would be asking her about it.

"Yes. What is he like?" Janet asked curiously.

The family Sara abandoned had been all she could think of since Lucy told her about Aaron and Harry the previous evening. She was both worried and curious about Harry and his father.

Evelyn looked at Janet in confusion, wondering why she was asking her about Harry at that moment "He is a nice boy. Can hardly tell a lie without getting caught. He's loyal too and very good-looking. Why do you ask?" Evelyn asked, and Janet sighed, not sure if it was okay to tell Evelyn about it yet.

"Have you ever met his parents?" Janet asked, but Evelyn shook her head.

"No. His mother is late, but I've spoken with his father over the phone a couple of times. He's a pleasant man. Funny and sweet," Evelyn said with a fond smile as she thought of Aaron.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on or do you plan on asking me more questions?" Evelyn asked when she noticed the tears that were gathered in Janet's eyes.

"Oh, Evelyn! What am I supposed to do now?" Janet asked with a sniffle, and Evelyn's brows pulled together.

"What are you supposed to do about what? Did Lucy say she is in love with Harry? I suggest you ask her to get her sights off him! She belongs to my Tom, and Harry belongs to my Jade," Evelyn said, and despite her tears, Janet smiled.

"Jade?"

"Yeah. Although those two are slow, but there's something between them. At least Desmond and I are hoping so," Evelyn confided, and Janet sighed.

"Did Tom tell you anything about Harry?" She asked, and Evelyn shook her head.

"Anything like what? Did something happen to Harry?" Evelyn asked with a concerned frown, and Janet quickly shook her head as she looked at the woman who she now considered her friend, and not just Tom's mother.

She had been surprised to see Tom's parents standing outside her door with Sonia when she opened the door.

Despite the close relationship they had shared at Tom's home, she never would have expected them to come down to visit them immediately after they got back from their trip. That was touching.

"Did I tell you I was born a triplet? Two girls and a boy?" Janet asked, and Evelyn's eyes lit up with interest.

"We both know you didn't! You wouldn't be asking me that question if you did," Evelyn said as she leaned forward in her seat.

"So where are the others? I heard multiple pregnancies is some times hereditary. I guess it's true seeing how you have twins yourself," Evelyn said, deliberately choosing not to ask her why she was talking about her siblings when she had asked a question about Harry.

She believed that whatever it was, Janet was eventually going to get to it, so there was no need to push or rush it.

"The boy died. And my sister... Well, we are estranged. I haven't seen her in thirty years until last night," Janet said, and Evelyn's eyes widened.

"Thirty years? What could have happened to make you stay away from each other for that long? What about your parents?" Evelyn asked, and she listened patiently as Janet told her about Sara and their parents.

"Oh, dear! I can't imagine how upset you must have been when she showed up. To think she wasn't even remorseful," Evelyn murmured when Janet finished her story.

"I am even more upset now after I heard from Lucy. If Lucy had told me the details of their meeting before I saw her, I don't know what I would have done to her," Janet said, and Evelyn looked at her curiously.

"Lucy met with her? Why?" Evelyn asked, and Janet sighed as she told her what Lucy had said about Sara being Harry's biological mother.

"Harry? Do you mean his mother is not dead? She not only abandoned her son but also sold her own daughter?" Evelyn asked as she shook her head in disbelief.

Was it possible that any sane mother would do something like this?

"I have been unable to think about anything else since I heard from Lucy. My heart keeps aching and I find myself crying each time I think about them," Janet said and Evelyn shook her head.

"Both Harry and his father are going to be devastated when they find out the truth about the missing twin they assumed was dead. Perhaps I should give Tom a call to find out what's going on," Evelyn said as she took out her phone, but Janet shook her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea. He probably hasn't told you about it because he doesn't want to do so yet. I should give Lucy a call instead and find out how they're doing," Janet said as she stood from there and went to get her phone from the living room, leaving Evelyn who was still stunned by the fact that Harry was Janet's nephew.

Janet dialed Lucy's line as she returned to join Evelyn, and almost immediately Lucy received the phone call.

"Hey, Mom!" Lucy greeted as she rose from her seat.

"I will be outside the door, Jam," Lucy told Jamal, who was still holding on to Aaron's hand, before walking out of the room.

"Is Jamal there with you? Aren't you at the office?" Janet asked curiously immediately she heard his name, and Evelyn's ears perked up at the mention of Jamal's name.

"Yes. We took him to the office with us, but we are at the hospital right now. Harry's dad suffered a heart attack earlier..."

"Oh, no! How is he doing?" Janet asked in alarm, and Lucy sighed.

"He's not awake yet. He finally told Harry the truth, and I told him about Sara being your sister, and about the missing twin. I guess his heart couldn't take it," Lucy said, and tears gathered in both their eyes.

"Oh, poor man! What about Harry? How is he taking everything?" Janet asked with concern.

"He's trying to act like everything is alright, but I know he is hurting, mom. Especially now that he knows Candace is his twin sister..."

"His twin sister? You've found her already?" Janet asked in confusion as she looked at Evelyn who was motioning to her to place the call on speaker so she could hear what Lucy was saying.

"Yes. It's Candace. Jamal's mom," Lucy said just as Janet placed the call on speaker, and immediately Janet exchanged a look with Evelyn.

"Candace?" Evelyn asked without thinking, and Lucy frowned when she heard another voice.

"You are not alone?" She asked her mother.

"I'm here with Evelyn. She and Desmond are visiting," Janet said after glaring at Evelyn.

"Oh!" Lucy said with a slight frown, not impressed that her mother hadn't told her that someone else was listening in on the call. What if she had said something she wasn't supposed to say?

"Hello, Lucy! I hope you don't mind that your mom told me everything?" Evelyn asked politely.

"Of course, I don't..."

"What do you mean that Jamal's mom is Harry's twin sister?" Janet cut in with a frown as she thought about Candace and the few times they had shared the same space.

"We already took the DNA samples to the lab for testing, the result should be out by tomorrow. But Jade and Candace already confirmed it," Lucy said, and Janet's brows pulled together.

Candace was Sara's daughter? How possible was that?

"How? How did they confirm it?" Evelyn asked curiously, and Lucy explained that Jade had been the first to notice a resemblance between Candace and Sara.

"How can Jade notice a resemblance when even your mother didn't notice any similarities?" Evelyn asked, and Janet frowned.

In the short time they had stayed at Tom's place, she had noticed that Candace preferred to be alone. It was as though she was uncomfortable being in their company, and preferred to spend time with the helps in the kitchen instead.

She only joined them when she was bringing Jamal to them, or coming to take him, so she couldn't say she had spent enough time in Candace's company to notice any similarities between her and Sara.

She paused when she recalled that the first time they saw Candace and Jamal, Andrew had jokingly said Candace reminded him of her when she was that age, and they had laughed over it.

But did she really not notice any resemblance between Candace and Sara? Janet mused. Perhaps she had just not taken note of it and even if she had thought anything, she wouldn't have made a big deal out of it since she couldn't even remember the last time she thought of Sara.

"Does that mean Jamal is Sara's grandson?" Janet asked no one in particular since she had zoned out of the conversation between Evelyn and Lucy.

"Candace is on her way there?" Evelyn was asking Lucy.

"Yes, I need to go back in now. I can't leave Jamal alone with Aaron for too long."

"Of course. Give my love to Jamal and let him know I'll call back to speak with him soon. Let us know whatever happens, Lucy," Evelyn said and touched Janet's arm to get her attention.

"Let me know when he wakes up," Janet said with a sigh before hanging up the call.

"None of this makes sense. I should ask Andrew about it," Janet said with a frown as she stood up to go meet Andrew, and Evelyn followed her wondering what she wanted to ask Andrew about.

"Did you mean it when you said Candace reminded you of me when I was young?" Janet asked as she walked into the living room, and Andrew's gaze shifted from the television screen to his wife.

"Did he tell you that?" Evelyn asked Janet curiously, and she gave her a nod.

Desmond's gaze shifted to his wife when he heard her voice, making him wonder what the women were about.

"Candace? Who is Candace?" Andrew asked in confusion.

"Jamal's mom," Evelyn supplied, and Desmond raised a brow.

"C'mon, I said that a long time ago, how can you be bringing that up now when you laughed over it when I said it? Are you itching for a fight?" Andrew asked, and Janet hissed impatiently.

"Did you mean it or not?"

Andrew glanced at Evelyn for help, "What were you ladies discussing?"

"Lucy just told us that Candace is her twin sister's daughter," Evelyn explained, and Andrew glanced at his wife immediately.

"Jamal's mom is Sara's daughter? How? Does that mean she is Tom's best friend's missing twin sister?" Andrew asked, and Desmond looked at all of them in confusion.

"Are you talking about my son's best friend, Harry?"

"Yes, Des. Apparently, Harry and Candace are twins, and their mother is Janet's twin sister," Evelyn explained, making Desmond look at her in disbelief.

"You mean Harry's late mom is your twin sister? Are you close to Harry?" Desmond asked, thinking that if she was Harry's aunt she would have a close relationship with Harry.

"She is not late. I will explain it to you later," Evelyn said, but Desmond was still confused.

"Did Tom know about it before letting Candace live with him?" Desmond asked, but Janet shook her head.

"No. They just found out about everything," Janet said as she sat down on the couch and Andrew went to sit beside her and placed his arm around her.

"This has to be the coincidence of the century," Desmond murmured as he looked at his wife.

"How are you?" Andrew asked, and Janet shook her head.

"I don't know. I just feel numb with shock. I just can't believe all this," Janet said in a daze.