‘Hope dialysis goes well this afternoon. I’ll see you tonight,’ Hugh said as he picked up his lunch from the kitchen bench and headed for the door.
‘Thanks.’ Rebecca smiled, trying not to dwell on the fact he didn’t kiss her goodbye. At least they were talking again.
She wondered what she could do to fill in the time until her appointment and decided to throw herself into some spring cleaning; maybe while she was scrubbing the mould from the bottom of the shower, she’d have some sort of epiphany about how to tell Josie and Paige they were sisters.
Three hours later, the house was as clean as it had been since that day she came home from hospital and Rebecca had come to a decision. She would wait until Paige and Sol’s wedding was out of the way. With any luck a paired match would be found for her and Solomon before too long. In that time, hopefully Robbie would turn up, but even if he didn’t, once she was well again, she’d be able to tell Josie and Paige the truth without her illness muddying the waters.
Feeling good about this decision, Rebecca was putting away the cleaning things when her phone rang.
‘Hello?’ she said as she flopped down into a chair at the table, hoping she hadn’t overdone the strenuous activity that morning.
‘Hi, Rebecca,’ said a slightly familiar voice. ‘It’s Clara. Rob’s ex-wife.’
‘Oh, hi,’ Rebecca managed, her chest tightening as she anticipated why the other woman could be calling. ‘How was your cruise?’
‘Do you have time to talk?’ Clara asked, ignoring Rebecca’s question. ‘I was thinking it might be good if you come to my place—there are a few things I want to discuss and it might be easier in person. Or we could meet somewhere if that’s better for you?’
Rebecca glanced at the time on the microwave clock—there was still a couple of hours until she was due at the dialysis unit and she saw no reason not to spend them with Clara. ‘No, your place is fine. I can be there in about half an hour.’
On the drive over, she wondered what Clara might have to say. Had she discovered something else about Josie? Maybe she’d already taken it upon herself to tell her. No, she wouldn’t do that. Would she? It was more likely she had news about Robbie. Oh God, perhaps he’d turned up. Or been found. Was he …? That probably wasn’t something Clara would want to tell her over the phone.
Her heart thumped as her brain ticked over all the possibilities.
Somehow she made it to her destination without crashing her car or having a nervous breakdown. Clara opened the front door before Rebecca had a chance to knock. The smile she’d always worn in hospital was noticeably absent; now she looked like a disapproving schoolmarm. Clara couldn’t be much older than she was but as Rebecca met her gaze she felt like a child who’d messed up big-time.
‘Hello, Rebecca. Thank you for coming. Do come inside.’
You’re welcome? My pleasure? Rebecca wasn’t sure how to respond to the other woman’s greeting so she left it at ‘hi’ and then followed her down the hallway into the kitchen.
‘Can I get you something to eat or drink?’ Clara asked.
‘A cup of tea would be lovely, thank you.’
‘You’re probably wondering why I’ve called you here,’ Clara said a few minutes later as she put a cup of tea in front of Rebecca and then sat down opposite with one of her own.
Rebecca nodded, although she guessed it wasn’t a social rendezvous. She’d be very surprised if Clara suddenly conjured a Tupperware catalogue and asked if she wanted to buy any containers.
‘Last week when you told me your suspicions that Josie was yours and Rob’s daughter, I was obviously in shock and I didn’t tell you the whole story.’
‘Whole story?’ Rebecca frowned. What could Clara possibly have to add?
‘Do you remember Rob’s mother, Brenda?’
‘Of course.’ She and Robbie had spent more time at Brenda’s place than they had at her parents’ because Brenda had been far more accepting of their romance. Rebecca was pretty sure Josie had been conceived under Brenda’s roof, but didn’t mention this now.
‘She recently had a fall and broke her ankle. Because Rob couldn’t be found, Brenda called me from the hospital and I’ve been looking after her—making sure she has everything she needs, checking in on her,’ Clara explained.
‘So Brenda lives back in Sydney now too?’
‘Yes, Rob moved to the city to pursue his music and she followed not long after we got married. There was nothing keeping her in Cobar. And don’t get me wrong, I like Brenda but I’m trying to get on with my life and it all became a little overwhelming to be honest. I ran into Josie in the supermarket not long ago, when I was getting some groceries for Brenda. Josie could see I was upset and asked what was wrong. I probably shouldn’t have burdened her, I was supposed to be the one helping her, but I found myself unloading. When I’d finished, she generously offered to meet Brenda and take on some of the load. I probably wouldn’t have said yes, except I was due to head off on the cruise and I didn’t know how I was going to leave when Brenda might need something.’
Rebecca startled as if she’d touched an electric fence. A chill ran down her spine. ‘So Josie and Brenda have met?’
‘Yes. They hit it off immediately. Josie sent me a photo of the two of them watching movies together on Saturday night.’ She picked her phone up from the table, tapped at the screen and then angled it for Rebecca to see.
‘Oh my God.’ So, not only was Paige besotted with her secret-sister, but now Brenda and Josie were spending time together blissfully unaware of their connection?
‘I know I said I wasn’t sure if you should tell Josie your suspicions or not, but, if she is your and Rob’s child—’
‘She is,’ Rebecca interrupted and bent to pick her handbag off the floor to retrieve The Letter. But, as she dug around in the bag to no success, she realised that in her haste to leave the house, she must have left it on the kitchen counter. Dammit. How could she be so careless?
‘Are you okay?’ Clara asked and Rebecca looked up to see the other woman frowning at her.
Trying to ignore the unease gnawing at her heart, she dumped her bag back on the floor. ‘I was going to show you the adoption information. It arrived yesterday.’
Clara’s expression grew pale. ‘And …? Is your daughter called Josie?’
‘Josephine. I looked her up online. I found photos of her working in theatre—it’s definitely the Josie my daughter, Paige, has become friends with.’
‘I see.’ Clara let out a long, resigned sigh. ‘I’ve been thinking about this all weekend. Not knowing about his daughter was something Rob never recovered from. I might not be able to find him and let him know, but I can’t sit by and watch Brenda and Josie get close, unaware that they are actually family. The guilt of knowing about this is eating me up already, so I think you should tell Josie your suspicions.’
She paused a moment. ‘And if you don’t, I will.’
Before Rebecca could digest what Clara was saying, her phone started beeping in her handbag. ‘That’s my dialysis reminder,’ she said, glancing at her watch. ‘My appointment is in an hour.’
Maybe she could skip it just this once.
‘No.’ It was as if Clara could read her mind. ‘This has been going on for thirty-five years, another couple of hours, or even days, won’t hurt. Go to your appointment. It’s not going to do Josie or anyone else any good if you end up back in hospital.’
And with those words, Clara pushed back her chair and picked up the tea cups. Rebecca hadn’t even touched hers and it didn’t look like she was going to get the chance. Decision made. Conversation clearly over. Never mind the fact Clara had in essence just threatened her. Part of Rebecca felt indignant—what right did Clara have to make such a decision?—but a bigger part of her felt relief. Until it was all out in the open, they couldn’t be sure how anyone was going to react.
And, until it was, neither could they begin to recover.
The only question was how should she do it? Who should she tell first? Paige or Josie? Perhaps three hours to herself while the machines pumped blood in and out of her body would give her the headspace required to work this out.
‘Thank you,’ she found herself saying to Clara as she too pushed back her chair and stood. ‘I will tell her. Soon. And I’ll let you know when it’s done.’