Page 53 of Already Home

The first page showed Jenna as a newborn, in Beth’s arms.

“Oh.” The soft sound seemed to barely escape Serenity’s lips.“They wouldn’t let me see you,” she whispered. “They said it would be easier togive you up. I wasn’t going to change my mind, but I would have liked to holdyou.”

The words hit Jenna in the gut. For the first time since herarrival, Serenity seemed like a real person and not a caricature. While still inhigh school, she’d gotten pregnant and had given up her child. That had to havebeen tough. Not anything Jenna would have wanted to go through.

Serenity turned the page. There were dozens of photos of Jennathrough the first few months of her life. The first steps, the first taste ofreal food, several bath pictures. Tom touched the school picture from when Jennawas seven. She was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

“She looks like your mother there,” he said, then cleared histhroat. “The shape of her face.”

“I know.” Serenity glanced at Beth. “I was telling Jenna thather grandmother was an excellent cook. She was French, as was mygrandfather.”

“When did you see Jenna?” Beth asked, her voice more curiousthan concerned.

“I stopped by the store yesterday.”

“She wants me to teach vegan classes,” Jenna added.

“That would be different,” her mother said. “It’s all aboutfinding the right recipe, I would imagine.”

“Are your parents still alive?” Marshall asked, pouring morechampagne into his glass.

“My folks live in Hawaii,” Tom said. “We visit them when wecan. Mostly they come to see us. Serenity’s not much of a flier.”

“It’s unnatural,” his wife said. “I’ve done it a few times, butit feels so dangerous.” She sighed and smiled at a picture of Jenna at twelve.“Your grandparents grow organic coffee. We have some at the apartment, if you’dlike to try it.”

“That would be nice. Thank you.”

“My parents were killed several years ago,” Serenity said. “Aboating accident. They were lost in a typhoon. I was devastated, but they dieddoing what they loved.”

“Sailing?” Beth asked.

“Sailing around the world. They did it every couple of years.They had a beat-up sailboat they’d owned forever. There were places they’d stopevery time. It was a good life.”

Jenna excused herself to put the quiches into the lower oven towarm. As she straightened, her head spun, but not from a blood rush. It was toomuch information, too many people and facts. Grandparents. She hadn’t thought ofthat. The grandparents she knew were Beth and Marshall’s parents. Beth’s hadmoved to an upscale retirement development in Boca, while Marshall’s folks werestill in the same house they’d lived in for forty years in Houston. The onlychange in their lifestyle was now the help lived in to give them a bit moreassistance.

The grandparents she knew flew to Europe and took cruises ongiant ships. They didn’t sail around the world over and over again or growcoffee in Hawaii.

She didn’t know these people. She had no emotional connectionto them, but she couldn’t escape a biological one. She was who she was, at leastphysically, because of Serenity and Tom. She had brothers and apparently acouple of grandparents. She might have aunts, uncles, cousins...

Over the next few minutes, she busied herself checking on thedining room table, then setting out the food that didn’t have to be warmed orcooled. She noticed her mother had put Tom and Serenity on the same side of thetable, which meant she was sitting across from them in her usual spot.

No escaping it now, she told herself and refilled her champagneglass.

Serenity followed her into the kitchen. “How are you doing?”the other woman asked.

“Fine,” Jenna said automatically.

“I’m only asking because I’m sensing you’re struggling withsomething.”

Jenna stared at her, wondering if Serenity’s direct line to theuniverse really gave her unexpected insight. “Everything is great,” she said,lying. “There’s no struggle.”

“Of course there isn’t,” Beth said as she walked into thekitchen. “Jenna is very happy with her store and what she’s accomplished in sucha short period of time. Aren’t you, honey?”

Jenna nodded but couldn’t shake the feeling Serenity wasn’tconvinced.

It didn’t take long for the quiches to finish, the cinnamonrolls to brown and the breakfast meats to heat. She and Beth carried ineverything while Marshall seated their guests.

“The quiche in the white dish is only eggs and cheese andvegetables,” Beth said as she set it down next to Tom. “The other has bacon andham in it. I’m sorry to say, we’re meat eaters in this house.”

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