The Piper family met periodically for dinner at a bistro alongside a historic pub. Lilly explained the rationale as we walked to their reserved table.
‘Simon and Emmaline live just a block away from here, so they can walk down with the twins in the pram. And the food is good, and the servings are huge. They reserve this area for us now whenever we need it.’ We took our seats and I picked up the menu. It was typical pub food; steaks and hamburgers and the like, and several roast dinner options on offer.
‘You watch,’ Lilly murmured, ‘Charlotte will get the Caesar salad, Neesa the kid’s chicken meal, Simon will get a medium rare scotch fillet, Emmaline will get the soup of the day, and James will order a Chicken Parmigiana.’
‘I go to a café, with Mum and Dad sometimes, for brunch,’ I said, ‘It’s exactly like that. We all order the same thing every time. There’s something really lovely about the consistency of it, don’t you think?’
‘I do think that,’ Lilly said, and she was surprisingly excited by my random observation. ‘I really do. That’s why I make them come here. The menu never changes, and the décor never changes, but this is our place. The others don’t get the beauty of that . . . not at all.’
Ted took a seat beside me, and James sat beside Lilly. A young family with a twin pram approached us and my heart started to race. Simon was clearly my biological brother, there was no denying the genetic link. There was something breathtakingly exciting about seeing people who looked exactly like me.
‘You must be Sabina,’ Simon said. His brown eyes were twinkling, and he’d extended his arms even as he approached me. I pushed back my chair and stepped back from the table just in time for him to envelope me in a hug. ‘It is just wonderful to meet you. I can’t tell you how happy we all are that you’ve found us.’
I was surprised by the hot tears that filled my eyes.
‘I’m so happy to meet you too.’ I whispered, then I cleared my throat and smiled at his wife. ‘And you must be Emmaline?’
Emmaline was tiny and blonde, and both beautiful and exhausted. She shook my hand, then held it a moment too long with a squeeze.
‘Welcome to the family, Sabina. We’re so excited that you’re here. This is Dominic, and Valentina, your slightly evil twin niece and nephew. As soon as they get bored of the pram I’ll pull them out so you can say hello properly. If we time it just right they’ll be able to smile at you before all of the screaming and hysteria starts.’
I leant awkwardly to peer into the pram. Dominic and Valentina were rolled towards each other, reaching clumsily for each other’s chubby hands.
‘They look so innocent.’
‘Don’t believe it,’ Simon snorted. ‘Em had three hours sleep last night, in four stretches. They are hell on pram wheels.’
I chuckled, and he and Emmaline shook Ted’s hand, then Simon invited his wife to sit while he retrieved us all some drinks from the bar.
I recognised Charlotte the moment she entered the bistro, her tween daughter in tow. There was no mistaking her, she was every bit as stunning in real life as she’d been in photographs, and I felt nervous again. I felt an immediate connection with the others – I could see myself in them, and they felt strangely familiar. But Charlotte was different, and that difference made her intimidating. Her long blonde hair was in a perfectly messy plait over her shoulder, she was wearing a full face of perfect makeup and a linen shift dress and heels. I glanced down at the jeans I’d worn, and wished I’d at least put some mascara on.
‘Sabina,’ she said, making a beeline for me. ‘I’m Charlotte, this is my daughter Neesa.’
‘I’m so happy to meet you,’ I said. I waited for her to approach for a hug, but instead, she shook my hand. It was a brisk contact – long enough only for me to note the perfect crimson manicure of her fingers and how smooth her skin was.
‘Here again, Mum?’ she sighed, after kissing Emmaline on the side of the head and making appropriate noises toward Dominic and Valentina.
‘It works for everyone, Lottie.’
‘Sabina will think we’re savages after she sees the food.’
‘I’m easily pleased,’ I assured her.
‘I like the chicken,’ Neesa interjected. She had Lilly’s dark hair, just as Simon and I did, and the same big brown eyes. ‘And they always give me ice cream.’
‘I hear you like to sing, Neesa?’
‘I love to sing,’ Neesa’s enthusiasm was adorable. ‘Nan said you’re a proper singer; that you went to uni and everything.’
‘And you’re a teacher,’ Charlotte said. She was staring at me, her cool blue gaze uncomfortably intense. ‘Just like Mum.’
‘Well, yes . . . but I only teach music – I do classes with primary school children. I’m not a proper teacher.’ Charlotte was still staring at me, as if she hadn’t heard a word I’d said, so I tried again to clarify, ‘My degree was in music, I did a post grad certificate in education.’
‘Interesting,’ Charlotte said, although her tone suggested that it was anything but. ‘Have you all had a nice day, getting to know one another?’
‘It’s been marvellous,’ Lilly said, and she gave me yet another one-armed hug.
‘Lilly said you own a salon?’ I tried to shift focus back to Charlotte.
‘I do,’ Charlotte said. I waited, expecting her to elaborate. She flashed me a smile and rose. ‘Is Simon getting drinks? I think I need a wine.’
‘He’s at the bar,’ Emmaline confirmed.
‘Can I have a lemonade, Mum?’ Neesa asked hopefully.
‘Stay here with Nan and Papa, and be good,’ Charlotte instructed, then left the table. I glanced at Ted, and he raised his eyebrows at me. So I wasn’t imaging it – Charlotte was decidedly chillier than the rest of the Wyzlecki family.
‘This must be so weird for you,’ Emmaline said quietly.
‘It’s different,’ I admitted, ‘but I’m so glad to be here.’
There was a grunt from within the pram, and I saw Emmaline immediately wince and shoot to her feet. She hushed the baby, rocking the pram gently, and after a moment I saw the relief in her face.
‘I love them, but by God, I miss my sleep. Lilly told us you’re expecting your first, Sabina?’
‘I am.’
‘I hate to say this, Sabina . . . but evil newborns are genetic in this family. Most of our babies have reflux from birth.’ Lilly sighed. ‘Simon always slept like an angel, but Charlotte and Neesa were nightmares and so were my sisters. I always thought it was just the girls until Dominic was born.’
Ted silently entwined our fingers and rested our hands on my thigh.
‘Good times ahead, then?’ he laughed softly.
‘Lilly will help you,’ Emmaline assured us. ‘She has such a knack for babies.’
I glanced at Lilly, and she beamed at me. I knew that we were both thinking the same thing – that I would indeed ask for and accept her help, and what a wonderful gift that would be to both of us. She would be a part of my newborn baby’s life; even if, as predicted, that baby was a terrible sleeper and would turn my world upside down. For everything we’d missed, here was something magical about to happen, and we’d found each other just in time.
Charlotte and Simon returned to the table. She was carrying the tray of drinks, Simon a tray of empty champagne flutes, with a bottle of champagne tucked awkwardly under his arm. After they’d passed the drinks around, and Charlotte had taken her seat again, Simon remained standing. He quietly poured seven glasses of champagne, and then decanted some lemonade from Neesa’s cup into the last flute. Once everyone had a glass in hand, he raised his towards me.
‘It just seems right to stop for a minute before we do anything else, and to toast you, Sabina. There has been a hole in this family that is the exact shape of you and it’s been there forever, but now you’re back to us,’ Simon stopped, and pressed his fist against his mouth for a moment as he battled against the tears I could see in his eyes. After a moment, he then cleared his throat and laughed self-consciously. ‘Here’s to the Piper family finally – finally – being complete. We can’t wait to get to know you.’ He reached across the table and gently tipped his glass against mine, then added softly, ‘Welcome home, big sister.’
The rest of the family – my new family – quietly echoed his words, but I held my glass and felt the gentle bumps of their glasses against mine. There was not a chance in hell that I could hold back my tears after that, and I looked around each of them, completely overwhelmed.
‘T-thank you.’ I choked. Lilly pulled me close for a too-tight hug, and I flashed a very teary smile to James, who raised his glass silently towards me a second time with a grin.
‘We need a photo!’ Lilly cried, and she waved frantically to a waitress across the restaurant.
‘Something wrong, Lilly?’
‘No, sweetheart, everything is absolutely right,’ she laughed. Simon withdrew a camera from the bottom of the pram and gave the waitress a quick lesson on how to use it, and then he and Charlotte crept around to stand behind James and Lilly. There was some awkward shuffling of the twins, with Dominic soon seated with Emmaline and Neesa holding up Valentina as if she were a doll.
‘A photo is a great idea,’ I said softly to Lilly.
‘I’ve waited thirty-eight years for a real family photo,’ Lilly said. ‘This one’s going to be enlarged so big I might have to get it made into wallpaper.’
‘Okay, three . . . two . . . one . . . cheese!’ the waitress called.
A wave of chatter broke almost instantly, the babies were quickly returned to their pram and the adults picked up menus. Charlotte and Simon started debating whether or not Lilly’s habitual preference for this particular bistro was ever going to pass.
But I lingered in the perfect moment, unwilling to let it pass. It had been captured in time by the camera but that just didn’t seem enough. I stopped and let myself savour the welcome that Simon had given me, even though that meant that soon I was the only person at the table sitting in silence, fresh tears running unhindered down my face.
I consciously stopped and tried to remember everything about it – the scents and the sights and the sounds of my first moments there with my family. I felt loved and wanted and accepted – truly and completely embraced.
It felt a lot like coming home.
Over dinner, I saw the dynamic of the Piper family at work. Simon was loud and jovial, cracking jokes with Ted and teasing me about my supposedly terrible taste in ‘fancy’ beer. Charlotte was, for the most part, quieter, but when she spoke, a sharpness came and went in her tone, as if she was trying to hold back bitterness, and not always succeeding. Emmaline was sweet-natured and warm, and Neesa was just awestruck. Whenever I spoke to her, she’d giggle and blush.
‘How do I become a real musician?’ she asked me.
‘I think the best thing you can do, other than loads of practice, is to listen to different styles of music. A lot of kids just listen to pop. Try to listen to some classical and to world music and older styles of rock and my favourite, which is jazz.’
‘I can do that,’ Neesa was staring at me, wide-eyed. She glanced to Charlotte. ‘Can you buy me some new music?’
Charlotte raised her eyebrow at me and offered a slightly sarcastic,
‘Thanks for that.’
Every time I looked to Lilly or James, they were silently watching us interact. I wondered how many times Lilly had pictured this moment in her mind, and whether it was playing out as she thought it would. There was no awkwardness at all here – it wasn’t nearly as intimate as the chats between Lilly and I had been. There were more people to bounce questions off, and an easier small talk flowed. By the time we were finishing our meals, I found myself so engaged in the conversation that it felt completely natural.
Lilly started packing up the plates as we finished with them.
‘Come on, Neesa,’ she said, gently scolding as she reached for her grand-daughter’s plate. ‘What’s that doing there?’
Neesa had ordered her regular chicken meal, but she had left a small portion untouched.
‘I’m not hungry, Nan,’ she said.
‘Just have a few more bites,’ Lilly was insistent. ‘It’s terrible manners to leave food on your plate, darling.’
I glanced down at my plate. I’d eaten most of my risotto – it was delicious, a creamy mix of wild mushrooms and white wine. I’d enjoyed every bite, but I’d left sizeable corner of the serving anyway. I could hear Mum’s voice echoing in my head, restaurants always serve far too much food, you should never eat the whole serving.
‘But Nan . . .’ Neesa was complaining for the first time all night.
‘Hurry up, Neesa. Finish it up and you can order your ice cream.’ Neesa sighed and took another slow, reluctant mouthful. ‘Good girl.’
I picked up my spoon and took another bite of my risotto, letting the creamy rice roll around my tongue. Those final bites were somehow the most delicious.