“Hey kids” Jane greeted as she entered the living room

“Hi mom” the twins greeted

“Come on over here. I want to tell you two a story” she requested as she took a seat on the couch

“But mom, we want to watch this show” they pleaded

“The show will be shown again but this story can’t wait”

“Okay,” they responded and shut off the TV and walked sluggishly to the sofa.

They sat on either side of her.

“Before I go on, I need you two to know that I love you beyond words and I don’t regret anything I did in the past because I got to spend life with you”

“What are you talking about, mom?” Avery asked

“I’ll get to it in a little bit Missy,” she said with a chuckle

“It all started when the doctor said we couldn’t have kids” Jane began to tell the story of how she and her husband signed unto a scientific program that abducted young girls and took their eggs to help couples like them have the family they desperately wanted. She tried her best to break it down to their level. When she was finished, the children who had leaned into her at the start of the tale had pulled away and sat at the far ends of the couch. They were disappointed, hurt, confused and angry.

“Where is our real mom then?” Liam asked angrily

“She moved from where she used to live. I’m still looking for her?”

“Does she know about us?” Avery whispered just enough for Jane to hear it

“No, she has no memory of  the procedure?”

“Why are you telling us this now?” Liam asked

“As you can see, I’m sick. I’ll be leaving soon. I don’t want to leave you by yourselves.”

“She doesn’t know about us! She could be living a different life and you want to ruin it? I hate you!” Liam shouted and ran out of the room

“I want to go to my real mom” Avery cried as she left as well

Jane then buried her head in her palms and wept. She was carried away by emotions that she didn’t hear someone come into her house.

“I take it that the talk didn’t go so well,” Joseph said as he laid his hands on her shoulder causing her to jump

“My goodness, you could’ve sent me to an early grave”

“I’m sorry” he apologised as he sat beside her

“Joseph, they hate me” she cried into his arms

“They don’t hate you. They are just surprised”

He sat there and comforted his friend. The next couple of days were hard for them. They twins flat out refused any interaction with their mother. That hurt her deeply and worsened her already terrible health.

A week later, Jane was rushed to the emergency room. Her time was up. Prior to that, the twins with the help of Joseph reconciled with her.

Joseph was pacing outside Jane’s room when the call came in that Kara Miller had been found. The twins were inside with Jane.

“I’ve found her!” he rushed in excitedly

“Found who?” They asked

“Kara Miller” he responded

Jane smiled. She was finally at peace. She could go be with Ernest. Even now, she could see him beckoning to her. She summoned all the energy she had left and grabbed the hands of her children to get their attention.

She looked at them lovingly and said, “I love you both so dearly. Everything would be alright. Until next time” and then she was gone.

The weeks that ensued were hectic for the twins. They buried one mother and now they were packing up to go and meet one mother.

One thing they were glad about was the fact that they had forgiven Mama Jane before she passed. She was the only parent they really knew and they missed her terribly. Liam was in big brother mode. He had no idea what the future held but he knew that he had to always look out for Avery.

“Li” Avery called out to him from the doorway to his room

“Yes” he beckoned to her to come in

“I miss mom,” she said as she sat on his bed

“I know. Ry. I miss her too” he embraced her

“Would our bio mom want us?”

“I don’t know, Ry. I sure hope so”

Joseph was leaning on the wall and overheard their conversation. Looking up he whispered, “Jane, help us out here. This was your idea. Don’t let them get hurt”

Meanwhile, over at Kara’s end, everything seemed to be going smoothly at this new job of hers. she finally felt that things were falling into place. Planning the thirty-fifth wedding anniversary was so much fun. She had even moved from the conference room to her own little office opposite Kitty’s. She had taken smaller events in comparison to the anniversary celebration. Carla loved her work. If she wasn’t planning events, she lent the accounting department a helping hand. Her mom and Mr Wilson had also finally entered into a romantic relationship. Life seemed to be treating her well.

It was a Wednesday afternoon. She had just finished a meeting in the conference room and was heading to her office when the receptionist alerted her that she had some people waiting for her.

“Clients?” she asked

“No, I don’t think so. Miss Carla hasn’t informed me of any new clients”

“Oh, God I hope it’s not my father again”

“It’s not. We’ve been instructed to not let him through”

“Okay, good. Let’s go and see who these mystery people are”

“Oh my God! You?!” Karla exclaimed and fainted when she saw Joseph.