The blue couch sagged in the middle where Fifi had claimed her territory, and Mere was perched at the far end, legs tucked up, arms wrapped around a thick pillow she'd pilfered from my bed.
I didn't know where to stand, so I paced between the window and the wall. The glass was streaked with water, nothing but blurry trees and the trembling porch light outside. If I stared out there long enough, maybe my stomach would settle, but I doubted it. Atmy back, the TV showed the start up menu of an Xbox game Fifi had been playing.
I snapped it off with the remote.
"I need to talk to you guys." Already, my voice sounded weird.
Fifi flopped over, rolling her eyes, but she didn't argue. Mere hesitated a beat, then nodded, braid unraveling in her hand. It was the fifth time today she started and abandoned it. Huey hopped on the couch. He had to be part of things, too.
The chair creaked ominously as I lowered myself, knees smacking the edge of a box labeled WINTER SWEATERS.
Huey beat me to the punch. He did his whale-on-the-beach routine, rolling onto his back and planting himself across Fi's lap. Fifi made a sound like she was suffocating, but then she giggled.
For a minute, I stalled.
Fifi watched me. She'd gone rigid, chin buried in her knees. Mere, still in her paint-stained hoodie, stared at me with her brows lowered. They could tell something was up.
I sucked in two breaths. "I've always told you everything I know. About your father, about the money, about how we got here. Every time you asked, I tried to answer as honestly and openly as I could, dependingon your age and what you could handle. At this point, you knew everything I did."
"Are we in trouble?" Mere blurted, jumping straight to DEFCON three.
"No, you’re not in trouble," I said quickly. "This is just new information. Something I should've known, but nobody told me."
That didn't exactly calm anybody. Fifi studied me, suspicious as a cat near an open carrier.
Outside, thunder banged hard enough to rattle the windows. Huey snuffled and flopped his paws out, reaching for Mere's legs.
I went for it. "I thought your dad didn't want to be in your life. That's what I'd always believed. His family told me it was impossible for him to have kids, and that anyone who said otherwise was lying. They were convinced there was no way he was your biological father."
Mere drew her knees up, her expression guarded. Fifi gripped the lumpy throw pillow so tight the seams stretched.
"Is he, what do you mean?" Fifi blurted.
"He lives here now," I said, fighting to keep my own voice steady. "In Laurel Gap. That's what I need to tell you. I met him by accident this week. It turns out everything I knew was wrong. His mother, yourgrandmother, never told him about you. He didn't know I looked for him, or that you existed."
Both my daughters stared at me blankly, like the words hadn't landed.
"I don't think she was trying to be cruel," I went on, the words scraping raw at the back of my throat as I chose my words carefully. "I think she honestly believed what she said, that he couldn't have children. He told me that it was a one in a million chance, but he really believes you're his daughters. She must have thought I was just a scared girl. I think she meant to protect him, or maybe herself. But it doesn't matter, not really. What matters is she kept you from your dad, and he's devastated."
Tears shoved their way out of my eyes, streaking my face before I could stop them. I scrubbed at my cheeks.
Fifi's face twisted. "So, wait, he didn't ditch us? He didn't know about us at all? It was our grandmother who didn't want us?"
"He didn't know." I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes before the crying got ugly. "He just found out, and he's heartbroken about missing so much. He wants to meet you."
Mere straightened, eyes steady on my face. "He does?"
I nodded. "He really wants to. But only if you're comfortable with it. I'm not going to force you into something that doesn't feel right, okay? It's your call, always."
Fifi didn't buy a word of it, at least not at first. She hunched forward, hands twisting at the pillow. Huey burrowed further into her lap. "Why should we believe him? He could just be saying that to make himself look good. What if this is some weird scam?"
Mere flicked a warning glance at her sister in classic peacemaker mode. She reached for Fifi's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Do we know anything else about him?" Mere asked, picking up where Fifi left off. "Like, what he does, where he's been? Did he ever try to find us?"
The storm rolled over, peeling lightning across the sky. The lights flickered briefly. Huey groaned and wormed out of Fifi's lap to lie between her and Mere.
I tried to find some solid ground. "No, he didn’t know about you. His name is Chance Meyer. He's been living in Laurel Gap for about a year, running the bakery. His family used to move around a lot, which made it impossible for me to find them after you were born. I tried, I promise. But every time I came to Laurel Gap to see if they’d come back, the house would be deserted. No forwarding address, nothing. He saidhe tried to find me, but only ever knew my first name. And he didn't know about you to look for you."
