Page 50 of Facet

“I’ll take a water, please,” the woman said, staring at me like she thought I would disappear before her eyes.

“Me, too, please,” the man seconded.

Again, I breathed deeply and nodded. After giving everyone their drinks, I sat down across from them. Damien sat by me and gave me a water. I startled, realizing I hadn’t gotten us anything. “I’m sorry, thank you.”

He kissed the side of my head. “It’s okay, I got it.”

“This is Shannon and Gary, my parents. I mean… our parents. Sorry,” Cale introduced, his cheeks going pink.

“It’s okay,” I quietly assured him. This had to be awkward for everyone. I reached up and tucked my hair behind my left ear at the same time that Shannon did. We both stopped and stared. Then we both laughed.

“You look just like Shannon did when I first met her,” Gary finally said. “It’s uncanny.”

“Um, thanks?”

Shannon smiled and another tear fell. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve imagined this day for twenty-four years. I’ve run through almost every scenario I could imagine and what I would say, but now I’m just… I have no words.”

“Me too,” I admitted.

Awkward silence surrounded us.

“Hi, I’m Fa— I mean, I’m Damien, Willow’s boyfriend,” Damien finally announced to start the conversation again. Then I felt bad for not introducing him.

“I feel so weird,” I mumbled as I briefly covered my face with my hands. Then I dropped them. “You know what? None of this was our fault. Why are we acting like we have anything to be afraid of or like we did something wrong?”

Gary smiled. “You’re right.”

“I’m Willow. I have no idea when my birthday is, how old I am, or when your birthdays are. I don’t know what you do for a living, I don’t know anything. I’ve been working as a waitress, but I’d like to go to school, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.” I wasn’t about to tell them where I waitressed or that until not that long ago, I danced as a stripper. And I hadn’t gone to school because I didn’t have the money, and I refused to have contact with the man I grew up believing was my father.

“Oh my God. I never thought about the fact that you wouldn’t know the simplest thing of when your birthday was.” Shannon looked aghast. “I mean, it totally makes sense, but… honey, I’m so sorry. It’s July twenty-seventh. You’ll be twenty-six this year.”

A shaky smile lifted the corners of my lips. “I’ll be twenty-six? I thought I was going to be twenty-four. Damn, I’m older than I thought. That sucks. Now I feel I was in a coma for two years.” I chuckled lightly.

“When did… they… tell you your birthday was?” she asked.

I laughed. “November first. I always thought I was a Scorpio and couldn’t figure out why I never fit that zodiac sign. What do you do, Cale?”

“I’m on emergency leave from the Marine Corps.” He seemed proud of his career path, and I was too. It was a noble choice, in my opinion.

We ended up talking for hours. I left out the bad things from my childhood because I didn’t feel like they needed that added shit to everything else. We all cried over the loss of my older brother that I didn’t remember. It hurt that I never got to know him. I loved that he was a genius with computers like Damien.

By the time they were ready to go back to their hotel, I’d made us dinner and I honestly felt like I’d known them forever. It was crazy to me how much Cale and I had in common.

Shannon tightly embraced me before she got in their rental car. “I cannot tell you what a miracle this is. I’m so very happy.”

I held her equally as tight. A sense of peace settled within me. “Me too.”

“I just wish I’d thought to do one of those DNA things,” Cale said as he scratched the back of his neck. “I just never thought you might still be al—um, looking for us.”

We all knew what he was going to say. And that was fair, considering a lot of missing children cases don’t have a happy outcome.

“Should we meet for breakfast?” Gary asked.

“If you guys want to come back over here, I’ll cook. I love to cook,” I offered as Damien rested a hand on my hip. He stood by my side the entire time, and I appreciated that more than he could possibly know.

We agreed on a time, and they drove off. I watched their taillights go down the driveway as the sun was setting and the sky was darkening.

Damien gently pulled me into his arms. He kissed my cheek. “You doing okay?”

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