I brought Mandy her second glass of wine. Jimmy saw us and walked over to the table.
“Hey, little lady. Welcome back.” He smiled at Rory.
I could tell she was slightly uncomfortable as she downed the rest of her cosmopolitan. “Are you going to play tonight?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think so.” She blushed.
I reached over and placed my hand on hers. “You should, sweetheart. Do it for me.”
Rory gave me a small smile, got up, walked over to the piano, and began to play. I sat there with a grin on my face, listening to every note.
“Very talented woman. Does someone in her family play?” Jimmy asked.
“Her father does,” I replied.
I noticed the way Jimmy kept staring at her. Almost as if he knew or recognized her.
“Is that so?” he asked.
Rory finished her song and came back to the table. When she sat down, I leaned over and gave her a kiss.
“That was nice, Rory.” Jimmy smiled.
“Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to use the ladies’ room.”
I could sense something was wrong. Rory seemed upset and on edge. Mandy went with her to the bathroom and Jimmy walked away.
Chapter 21
Rory
Mandy and I came out of the bathroom and started walking down the long hallway back to our table. I was startled when I heard a voice behind me.
“You look just like her.”
I stopped and told Mandy to go ahead and that I’d meet her at the table. I slowly turned around and stared down the hall at the man who was my father.
“Excuse me?” I said.
He started to walk slowly towards me. “Your mother. You look just like her.”
I looked down because I couldn’t look him in the eyes. “She’s dead, you know,” I blurted out. “She died when I was ten years old.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
And here it came, all the anger and resentment that was built up inside me unleashed itself.
“How would you know? Huh? You don’t know shit about me or Stephen.”
He looked at me as water filled his eyes. “Stephen is your twin brother?”
How did he know about that? I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Rory, not here,” Ian whispered.
I pulled away. “Was my twin brother. He just died.”
“What?” Jimmy asked in shock.
“He’s dead!” I screamed.
“I’m sor—” He began to speak and I instantly cut him off.
“Don’t. Don’t you dare,” I said through gritted teeth as I pointed my finger at him. “Don’t act like you care. You haven’t cared about us in twenty-four years. I found you for one reason and one reason only; to find the answer to the question that has haunted me my entire life.”
He stood there, nervous and without words. Ian placed both hands on my shoulders. “Sweetheart, let’s do this another time. This isn’t the place.”
“You want to know why I left. That’s your question,” Jimmy said.
Tears started to stream down my face. The conversation I had played over and over in my head for so many years finally came to life.
“I’ll tell you. But not here, and not tonight. My bar isn’t the place to discuss this. This needs to be done in private.”
“Then let’s take it to your office,” I said.
“Rory, we have Mandy out there, waiting for us. Let’s not do this now,” Ian spoke.
He was right. Mandy had her own problems tonight and I was sure she wanted to go home. “Fine, not here, not tonight,” I said as I turned around and looked at Ian. “I’ll leave it up to you to figure it out. I’m going out there to get Mandy and I’ll meet you outside. I need some fresh air.”
Ian nodded and kissed me on the head. I walked away from my father and didn’t even give him a second look. I wanted peace. I needed peace. But most of all, I wanted him to know how much I hated him for abandoning us. Peace in my life would never exist as long as I carried that around with me. I told Mandy that we were leaving and she followed me outside. As we waited for Ian, I figured I’d better tell her what happened. So I did. Ian came out a few moments later and pulled the car around for us. As soon as I climbed in, Ian grabbed my hand.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. He’s coming over the day after tomorrow to talk. I’ll be with you the whole time.”
I didn’t say anything. I just laid my head on the window and went deep into thought. We dropped Mandy off at home and Ian told her that she didn’t have to come to work tomorrow, but she insisted that she was fine and she wanted to. As we were driving home, Ian softly pressed his lips against my hand.
“Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
“Confusion, sadness, uncertainty, anger, all of the above.”
Ian chuckled. “You’re adorable when you’re confused.” He smiled.
We pulled up to the house and, as soon as I walked through the door, I went upstairs and got ready for bed. Ian did the same and climbed in next to me.
“Come here, sweetheart. I don’t want to do anything but hold you. You’re safe with me, Rory, and I’ll do anything to protect you.”
“I know, Ian,” I said as I snuggled against him.
****
I was sitting at the dining room table, drinking my coffee and waiting for Ian to come and sit down. He was on a business call with a company in Japan. I was nervous about my lunch with Richard today. Ian told me that I was being ridiculous and to enjoy myself. But somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a pleasant lunch. As I was in thought, Adalynn strolled in the room and took a seat across from me.
“Good morning, darling.” She smiled.
“Good morning. Coffee? I asked as I held up the carafe.
“Thank you. Can you believe I’m getting married exactly one month from today?”
“No.” I smiled. “It’s coming so fast.”
“Where’s Ian?” she asked.
“He’s on a business call with Japan.”
“Oh, what a big, important man he is.” She winked.
“I heard that, Adalynn,” Ian said as he walked over and lightly kissed her cheek.
“Of course you did, darling. How are you?”
“I’m good. Did Rory tell you she confronted Jimmy last night?”
Her mouth dropped as she looked at me. “WHAT!”