Chapter 67

Sol and Willow take Mickey’s car that evening to go to Aunt Jackie’s house. Mickey is still at the hospital. Sol hopes she can navigate these “rotaries” that seem to be on every road in Massachusetts. Willow holds two chunks of specialty cheese as their gifts for Aunt Jackie. It turns out there was a Whole Foods right next to the transplant center, so they were able to find some good ones pretty easily. Not that Sol knew much about the cheese world beyond the basics, but the cheese expert at the store helped them with recommendations.

Sol has spent the afternoon thinking about the family dynamics of the two families and herself as a bridge in the middle. Well, maybe she’s not the only bridge anymore now that Janice has one of Patty’s kidneys. It was really Aunt Jackie who made all of that happen, though she probably didn’t predict it would work out quite that way. Sol finds herself wondering more and more what Aunt Jackie, Janice, and her mom are all thinking. She wonders whether she will ever know the answers or whether they even know the answers.

She has heard back from three of the counselors she contacted and is glad she has some appointments coming up. This is the twistiest life story. Either way, she’s thankful she had a loving family to grow up in. It was the secrets that have recently been revealed that have shaken her. Maybe she should thank Aunt Jackie tonight for being the one who started the reveals in motion.

After a few wrong turns, they pull up to the house almost on time and find Great-Aunt Tabitha in the front yard playing with an adorable little chihuahua. “Oh, Ferdinand and I thought we’d wait out front for you so we could be the welcome committee!” she says as they disembark.

They each hug her and pet the dog, then head to the front door. “Thanks, Great-Aunt Tabitha! It’s good to see you! Is this your dog?”

“No, he’s Jacqueline’s dog but I pretend he’s mine whenever I want, and Jackie doesn’t mind if I borrow him from time to time. It’s a win-win!”

Sol laughs. “Aw, I understand! Dogs are great, but they’re a lot of work! My dog is staying with my friend Faye while I’m gone, and I bought her three thank-you gifts already! He loves it, though. He thinks I don’t know how much they spoil him when I’m away! Just like with kids, it’s good for them to have an extended family!”

As they make their way inside, Sol sees that Jackie is in the kitchen and Shyla is out back managing the grill. She greets Aunt Jackie and gives her the fresh sheep milk pecorino Toscano cheese she brought. “What can I do to help?” she asks.

“Hello, Sol. Thanks so much for the cheese. How did you know this was one of my favorites? We’re all set in here, but you can go out back and see if Shyla needs anything,” Aunt Jackie replies with a smile.

Sol heads out back and sees that Willow is trying out a game of croquet. “I told her to try it so she would stop hovering over me and asking if I needed anything!” Shyla says and laughs.

“Well, then I guess I won’t ask you if you need anything,” Sol says.

“Actually, I didn’t want to put Willow to work, but you are a different story! Can you put these veggie shish kebabs together for me? They’re inspired by Willow, but I’m excited to try them too! I found the recipe when I was looking online, and they seemed easy enough. You know cooking is not really my thing, but I’m pretty good on the grill! Plus Aunt Jackie is a great cook, so we don’t have to worry. She will let me know if my stuff is not good! Anyway, I got the chicken cooked already. Yikes, hopefully it’s done in the middle. Ooo, and try out this sangria I made. I may not be a great cook, but I can definitely mix some stuff together and make it taste good! Did you all get a nap today? It was such an early morning again. I was so tired but also wired—”

“Stop right there, Ms. ‘I Broke Up with My Boyfriend’! What was Mark doing at the hospital, and did you think you would get away with not spilling every single detail? And what happened at lunch? You wanted a sister—this is what sisters do!”

“I know, I know, I was going to tell you!”

“Uh-huh.” Willow comes up to stand beside Sol; they both stare at Shyla with wide eyes.

“Well, I guess I’m trying to still figure it out myself. But he knows Mom, and he wanted to support her.”

“Well, he wasn’t at the first surgery,” Sol says.

“I didn’t tell him when the first surgery was. I didn’t know he would show up today either, but we were talking about it the other day. And he knew how worried I was when Mom’s body rejected Gordon’s kidney. Who could have known that Patty would come through?!”

“Well, that was nice of him. So what’s the latest on what you’re thinking about him? And wasn’t he dating someone new?”

“He is a nice guy. But it didn’t work out for us. I thought he was dating someone new too, but I guess not anymore.”

“And is it worth trying again?” Willow asks.

“Maybe.” Shyla starts humming and returns to tending the food on the grill.

“The humming says it all, Shyla!” Sol laughs. “So did you figure out what’s going on with Aunt Jackie?”

“I think she’s going to bring something up at dinner. But that’s just a guess. She hasn’t said anything to me. I’ve been here since 5:00 p.m. and keep dropping hints, and I’ve been snooping around too. I asked Great-Aunt Tabitha, and she just smiled and said life is a highway. Who knew she listened to pop music?! I think she definitely knows what’s up but is not going to say. Oh, she brought some homemade coconut cake too! Save room for that!”

Just then, Aunt Jackie pops her head out the door and says, “We’ll be ready in ten minutes! How’s my grill master?”

Shyla gives her a thumbs-up.

Fifteen minutes later, they’ve all piled up their plates and gathered around the table. Aunt Jackie clinks her glass and asks for their attention. “Keep eating, keep eating. I just have a few things I want to say. You’re probably wondering why I wanted you to come over. I know I gave you a hard time when I first met you, Sol. And I said some things about your father that hurt you. So I wanted to apologize. I’m sorry.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but it’s been hard for me too because I just want the best for my sister. Her kidney disease has been affecting her ever since she was in her forties. I don’t know how much you know about her story, and I don’t think she would volunteer it on her own, but there are some things I wanted to share. And I want you to hear it from me. I was there. You’re sisters, so you know what it’s like when something is going on with one of your sisters. When Janice got pregnant by your father, we were all devastated. First of all, we didn’t even know she was seeing him. Then she found out he was married. And white. And then she got so sick during the pregnancy, we didn’t know if she might die giving birth.”

Even though Aunt Jackie had told them to keep eating, they have all put their food down and are listening intently.

“But she was so committed to having you, despite the circumstances. We wanted to protect her, but there was no protecting her when her heart was already tied to you. So I went down when I could to try to help take care of her while she was pregnant. I visited her in the hospital and saw your sonograms. She would not see your father at all. She wasn’t in love with him by any means, but she was in a bad place. She was so angry that he had not told her about being married, and at that point, she felt used by him. She had all the hormone ups and downs of pregnancy and that didn’t help. Already, her law career was derailed, and she was feeling lost. I tried to be an anchor for her. She was completely torn about what to do once she had you. I told her we could raise you together, that I would help her. Our parents wanted to help her too, but none of us had much money. Even when she got preeclampsia and had to go on bed rest, she still refused to give me your dad’s number and was determined to keep you.

“It was only after she gave birth to you, and we saw the first bill from the hospital for almost $50,000 that her mind started to change. I told her I would help her, and we would figure it out. She said, ‘No, Jackie, you have your own life to live.’ I had just gotten a new job as a bailiff at the courthouse here and was seeing a guy I thought I might marry. She said, ‘There’s no way I can keep this baby. I won’t even have money to buy diapers! I don’t even know how I’ll take care of myself.’

“And that was that. She never changed her mind. She wouldn’t give in to me trying to persuade her. She knew this decision would change her life forever. When she asked me to call your father to ask if he would take you, I went off on her. I thought he was a player. I thought there was no way that he could be a responsible father. Although I still have some negative feelings toward him, he and Patty did right by you, Sol. I’m sorry you lost him.”

Willow puts her arm around Sol’s shoulders and gives her a squeeze. Sol leans her head against Willow’s.

“I kept an eye on you ever since you were born. I was always thinking I could go get you if needed. You are still my sister’s baby. I have friends in Baltimore that were my eyes. Once your father died, I didn’t know how your mom would be able to handle the three of you, and again, thought I could rescue you if needed. Janice said she always knew she made the right decision, and she was confident they would take good care of you. She is a lot more trusting than me, but I’m glad it worked out. I didn’t want to be right. She missed you so much, but she tried not to dwell on it. She thought it would make it harder. Once she married Calvin and had Shyla, she tried to stay focused on them. I would send her updates if I found anything out. Of course, the rise of the internet and social media made it easier. She was really proud of you, but she still didn’t want to rock the boat even as you got older. Of course, the older you got, the harder she thought it would be for the truth to come out.

“And now we’ve come full circle. The truth is all out. It’s time for forgiveness and new life. Look at how you’ve turned out. You’re a beautiful, wonderful, generous woman. I’m proud to be your aunt. And Willow, I’m happy to have you as my niece too! And hopefully I’ll get to meet Dove one day too. Cheers to our new extended family!” They all raise their glasses for a toast, and when Sol looks around, she sees that everyone is trying to hold back their tears or just letting them flow down their faces.

Sol takes a minute to collect herself, then says, “Thanks, Aunt Jackie! I think I understand more now what you said when we first met. I really do owe so much to you, from before I was born to now getting a chance to meet Shyla and Janice and all of you. So let me propose a toast to you, my long-lost aunt, the one who makes things happen! Cheers!”

The rest of the evening passes with funny stories from both sides of Sol’s family. Aunt Jackie pulls out some photos of Shyla when she was little, and they all ooh and aah over her and pictures of Janice when she was younger. When it’s time to say goodbye, Aunt Jackie hands Sol an envelope.

“I found this a few months ago when I was thinking about Janice’s story. It’s a picture of Janice when she was pregnant with you. I think you should have it,” she says.

Sol throws her arms around Aunt Jackie. “Thank you so much! You don’t know how much this means to me!”

“You’re welcome, Sol. And I want to let you know that I’m here for you, and I’m sorry for the way this all happened.”

Sol feels something cold on her bare toes that are sticking out of her sandals. She looks down to see Ferdinand licking her foot. She stoops down, picks him up, and gives him a hug. “Thanks, Ferdinand.” She shakes her head and laughs.