Page 57 of Embrace
“Everything okay?” Greg asked, splitting his attention between my face and the road.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just kept staring at him.
“She’s alive,” Christine said, her tone sharp enough to slice through an iceberg. Then she gave a long sigh. “Get ready for this, darling—and I’m sorry I have to tell you this, but for the sake of full disclosure, you have to know.”
I leaned forward, hugging the phone closer to my ear. “Know what?”
Then Aunt Christine told me everything, including where I would be able to find my mom. She said she had chosen to wash her hands of Mary, and it took every ounce of willpower to give me the option to make the same decision for myself.
“I hope you do the same, but you have to choose for yourself.”
She was right. I thanked her and told her I loved her. Christine said we were going to call each other every week, spend every holiday together, and finally act as if we were family.
I loved hearing that, but I also knew Christine’s proclamation was a big “Fuck you” to my mom for abandoning us not only once but twice.
“Um…” I said, grimacing at my phone, trying to remember the last remark Greg had made. “Yes, statins, beta blockers, and substances—we had to make some calls to figure out what they were and who manufactured them. Are all your team members taking them?” I was proud of myself for being able to get all of that out, even though I wanted to break down and cry.
“Beautiful?” His voice was calm and steady.
I stopped my shaky fingers from searching the internet for a flight to Madison, Wisconsin, and blinked at Greg. “Huh?” It was as if he were sitting a million miles away from me.
“Who just called you, and why are you searching for an airplane ticket?”
“My aunt. My mother is living in Madison, Wisconsin. I haven’t seen her since I graduated from high school.”
We whipped around another corner. If I were in my right mind, I would have asked him to take the next corner a little slower.
I found Asher’s name on my recent call screen and tapped it. The line rang four times before going to voice mail.
“Asher, I just learned about my mother. I’m going to the airport. I’m flying out to Wisconsin. I’ll see you when I get back. Love you.”
“Oh, fuck!” Greg yelled then checked all the mirrors carefully as he pulled over.
When the oversized vehicle was safely sitting along the side of the road, he turned his entire body to face me. “Do you want me to take you to the airport?”
I hated that I was so frantic. I shook my head as I tried to calm down. “No, take me to my place. I have to pack a small bag first.”
“Dr. Ross… Penina. Can I call you Penina?”
I nodded rapidly.
“You have to calm down. I got this. I promise you—I got this.”
I grimaced, wondering what he meant by that. Then Greg made a call on his console to a “charter service.”
“I’m booking a flight to”—he looked at me—“where again?”
My mouth was caught open.Should I, or shouldn’t I?Then the words started to form. “Madison, Wisconsin,” I said reluctantly. It was a bad idea to get on Greg’s airplane, knowing how much he liked me, but the sooner I reached my mother, the better.
“Return date?” the woman asked.
“Tonight,” I said.
I didn’t need to stay long. I had to see Mary and let her know that I knew she had done exactly what Asher did. She’d changed her name, but she had also gone several steps farther. Mary had become Elizabeth Thomas from Little Rock, Arkansas. She had two small children and a husband who was an airplane mechanic. I wanted to lay eyes on Elizabeth Thomas and tell her that I was aware of what she had done, and that from that moment onward, we were dead to each other.
* * *
A little over an hour later,we were in a private airplane on the tarmac, waiting for the aircraft to finish being prepared, when Asher returned my call. My hands were still shaky, and I had to constantly beat back the urge to cry as I told him how my aunt’s private investigator had miraculously found my mother, who had a brand-new identity and a new set of kids.
