Intertwined(JK) Her cell phone rang, shattering her train of thought as she drove home from work. Glancing at it, sitting in a cup holder, she recognized her mother's number. Sighing, she parked at the side of the road and picked it up.
"Hi Mom," She cheerily greeted. However, all she could hear were sobs and sniffles. "Mom?! What’s the matter?” She inquired, alarmed.
“Do you think you could fly over tonight? Your dad and I have something to tell you.”
“Of course. Why?”
“It’s nothing serious but dad had a minor stroke this morning but he’s perfectly fine now. He thinks it’s time we told you something important.”
“Well, I might be able to catch a flight tonight but I’ll have to check first. I’ll let you know as soon as I book one.“
“Thanks Ceci, I knew we could depend on you”, sighed Lily, relief evident in her voice.
“No problemo mom, it’s my duty as your only daughter. I’ll call you ASAP.”
“Take care, Ceci. Don’t worry too much, the doctor said that dad just needs to rest up and take a break,” Lily said as she hung up the hospital phone. She hated having to pester her daughter but Cecilia had insisted that they tell her everything.

Finally relaxing, Cecilia ran her hands through her hair. Right after she’d returned home, she’d checked for available flights and seats to Vancouver. She’d managed to catch a flight at 11:30pm. Right after booking the flight, she’d packed her duffle bag, taken a shower and called her boss to let him know that she was taking the week off but would continue to work from her laptop. She’d eaten dinner and caught a bus to the airport.

Now, she was on the plane with time to think and rest. She wondered what the urgent news was and why it was so important that she had to fly in instead of just phoning or skyping them. She wondered how her dad was doing in the hospital. As the questions swirled in her head she finally managed to doze off.

When they landed, Lily was already waiting for her. She was proud of Cecilia. In her opinion, Cecilia was full of common sense, smart, caring, patient, and to top it off, beautiful. However, it worried her and her husband that Cecilia stubbornly insisted on living alone. She and her husband, Eduardo, felt it was not safe for a 25 year old woman. They had tried getting her to reconsider looking out for a potential husband but she had insisted that she liked living alone.

“It’s great to see you again dear, although you haven’t grown much.” Lily said, squeezing her arm and taking her duffle bag. “We can stop to pick up food before going to visit dad if you like?”
“It’s ok mom. They fed us an early breakfast before the plane landed so I’m not really hungry. Besides, I haven’t seen you guys since our New Year’s party and I really want to see how dad is doing.” Cecilia replied in one breath.
“All right just let me know if you need anything. I don’t want your trip to be stressful. You look like you need a rest.” Lily said as their car drove onto the highway and to the hospital.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the hospital. Lily led the way as they hurried to Eddie’s room. Eddie was sitting up in bed reading the day’s paper. He was a man in his early sixties and looked in good health with graying and balding hair. He had glasses perched on his nose, and was surrounded by books, pictures, and recent volumes of newspapers. He looked up, perceived their worried faces and smiled broadly. Taking off his glasses and laying his newspaper aside, he exclaimed with joy, “Ceci, you’re here! Why the long face? I didn’t want to worry you but I thought it would be better to keep you in the know.”
“Don’t worry dad,” Ceci replied, tears of relief springing into her eyes. “I did ask you and mom to tell me if anything went wrong. I’m glad I can be here to help…. And to hear what you need to tell me.”

Eddie smiled affectionately at his daughter and nodded to Lily. She went to his bedside table and took out a worn, manila coloured envelope. Curious, Cecilia peeled it open carefully and found numerous newspaper clippings, letters, legal documents, and pictures. At first, she thought the legal documents were her father’s will. The thought sent a chill down her spine until she realized they were adoption files. She looked up at her parents anticipating faces with a questioning look on her face.

“Read on,” her father urged.
There were 5 newspaper clippings. The first one was dated 25 years ago and was about a young woman who had been raped and was only 18 years old. The next wrote about how the woman, who was considered a heroine by the author, was willing to keep the twins she now bore and would give them up for adoption. The bottom of the article had a number which prospective couples could call to reserve a place. The third article reported that the young woman was now suffering from a fatal disease but was still willing to keep her twins alive. A legal battle had ensued over the issue as the child’s relatives had insisted she abort them to save her life. She refused. The 4th article, written a few months later, stated that a couple had been able to claim the male twin. However, they were not willing to also take on the responsibility of the female. This ensued in the reduction in the number of prospective couples as many had wanted to claim the male twin only. The number of couples had narrowed down from 67 to 14. A 5th article stated that the battle for the female twin had been won by a couple named Eduardo and Lily. The clipping showed a picture of Eddie and Lily beaming away while holding a tiny baby wrapped in a pink and purple blanket.

Cecilia looked up; astonishment was clearly visible on her face. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” She whispered. Her parents glanced at each other and after a long pause, Lily said, “We were so happy to finally have a baby that we didn’t want to burst the bubble.”

In her mind, Cecilia was very indignant. But after a moment she realized that she would have done the same thing had she been in her parents’ shoes. She lowered her eyes back to the papers she held. The last article was dated 5 years after the others. It wrote about the present lives of the 2 babies, and their birth mother’s fate. How she had died a year after giving birth, it revealed that her name was Lucille. It showed pictures of the two babies and their adopted parents; a happy ending to a touching story.

Cecilia wiped away her tears, stood up and hugged both her adopted parents. They too were shedding tears.
Just then, the doctor came in. “Mr. Brant, I came to let you know that you’re released from the hospital.” The doctor announced.
“Thanks Dr. Vance. “ Eddie said shaking his hand warmly. “I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Cecilia. She just arrived from Houston today.”
“Nice to meet you.” Dr. Brant said, holding out his hand and giving her a warm smile.
Cecilia smiled shyly, “you too, Dr.-“
“Vance, Sean Vance. Your dad’s an awesome patient. I wish we didn’t have to release him so soon.”
“Thanks for taking such good care of him. He’s recovered in such a short time.” Cecilia replied gratefully while observing him carefully. He had dirty blonde hair with greenish-blue eyes, broad shouldered, and very young in comparison to other nurses and doctors she had seen.
“His case wasn’t too serious especially since it was his first stroke; he had a high chance of perfect recovery.” Replied Sean, trying to remember when he’d seen such dark, large eyes. He too, was studying her. She had brown hair which was pinned up neatly, large dark brown eyes, half a head shorter than him, a warm smile, and looked very different from her parents as far as he could see.
“Thank you, Doctor”, smiled Lily noticing the looks of interest exchanged between them, “when do you need us to be out of here?”
“Um, maybe” Dr. Vance hesitated, glancing at Cecilia, “maybe by tomorrow morning? Seeing as Eduardo has quite a bit of stuff here?”
“We could leave by tonight. I mean isn’t it better if we leave earlier so your staff can use the room for other patients?” Cecilia inquired.
“No, no. I don’t want to rush you. Take your time but the process of releasing patients also means that they’re perfectly fine now. They just need to rest.” Dr. Vance said giving a knowing nod to Eddie.
“Yes doctor, I’ll follow your prescriptions but I can’t sit still for too long. I’m already itching away right now!” Eddie joked.
“You see? Both of you will have a full time job keeping him relaxed and resting.” Dr. Vance pointed out. “Well, I’ll see you all off tomorrow morning. It was nice meeting you, Cecilia.” And with a cheerful smile, he walked out the door.
“I’m so glad he was my doctor. He’s very thoughtful and was very efficient.” Eddie said contentedly.
“I’m going to take Ceci for a little stroll and a bite to eat, okay Ed? We should be back in an hour or so to start moving your stuff back home.” Lily suggested with a meaningful glance towards Ceci, who was distractedly staring out the window.
Eddie motioned Lily towards him and whispered, “I have a feeling she might be thinking about Sean. She’s never been so shy around her male peers.” Eddie said, grinning away. Immediately after though, in a serious tone he continued, “But again, she may be thinking about what she just found out.”
“True, anyways I got to go if we want to come back and start on the moving.” Lily replied, giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. She tapped Cecilia on the arm and motioned to the door. Cecilia followed slowly, a thoughtful look on her face, making her eyes larger than usual. She gave her dad a quick smile and shut the door.

Outside, in the large hospital garden, Lily gently asked Cecilia what was on her mind all of a sudden. Cecilia tried to answer unaffectedly but Lily knew her daughter well even though she was adopted. Gradually, Cecilia stated that she was quite taken aback by Dr. Sean Vance.

Lily smiled, so Eddie had seen the looks exchanged during the conversation. She smiled and said, “I think it would be good if you got to know him. As far as I can see, he seems a nice guy and I’ve chatted with him a few times when he checks on your dad. It seems he’s about 30 and just graduated from school. He’s from a big family too it seems, since his office has several family pictures. He did mention to Eddie once that he wasn’t married and that he didn’t know if he ever would.” By the time Lily finished talking she glanced up at her daughter, for by that time Cecilia was already much taller than her, and found that her daughter had stopped walking and was staring up the path.
“He’s coming mom. It looks like he’s coming to meet us again.” Cecilia said softly.

Since it was his break, Sean had decided to become better acquainted with Cecilia Brant. She’d caught his attention like no other girl had before. Just after he’d taken leave of the Brants, he’d checked on a few of his other patients, eaten his lunch then decided to get to know Cecilia. He had returned to Eduardo’s room but Eduardo had been alone, organizing a number of old newspaper clippings. He had talked with the old man for a few minutes and what he’d managed to learn about Cecilia had satisfied him. He learned that she was 25 years old, was a computer engineer, had played in her city’s orchestra as a child, taught piano on the side, and lived alone in Houston. The last fact had surprised him. She had seemed much attached to her parents and he wondered aloud why she would live apart. Eduardo had just shrugged and said that Cecilia had insisted before that she liked the solitary life in the world. Sean’s heart sank. Sensing it, Eduardo grinned cheekily and confided that it was because of bad experience that she had closed herself up to men except her daddy. “If you could penetrate through her shell, you just might have a chance”, he said winking.
Startled, Sean stuttered, “H-H-How did you know? I’m not that obvious am I?”
Eduardo threw back his head and laughed, “You’re very eager to learn about my adopted daughter that’s all. And I have to say that it really looked like you were hanging on to every word I said about her.”
“She’s adopted?”
“Oops, I shouldn’t have let that drop yet. You see, we just told her today so she’s quite new to it as well. That’s what these clippings are for.” Eddie said, waving the envelope. He dropped his arm, leaned forward, and whispered, “If you want to find her, she’s in the garden with my wife, getting a little fresh air.”
Sean jumped up, gave Eduardo a hurried thank you and dashed out the hospital.
After he left, Eduardo smiled to himself as he fell asleep.
“Hi, we meet again.” Cecilia said smiling cordially.
“This time not by chance though” Sean replied, returning her smile.
Seeing this, and feeling that her husband probably had something to do with it, Lily excused herself, saying she was going to buy something for them to eat. Cecilia tried to insist that she stay but Lily walked away. Cecilia turned back around to see Sean staring at her intently.
“Are you so scared of me that we need someone else to help us ease into a light conversation?” He inquired half joking.
“Well, no”, Cecilia replied a flush spreading across her face, “But we’ve just met so I thought it would help to have my mom around.” In reply, Sean threw back his head and laughed. His laughter was what she needed; she softly laughed along with him, and instantly loosened up.
“What do you think if we go out for lunch?” He asked eagerly, “Your mom can come if she wants?”
“Well, I’d have to let her know first.” Cecilia said, shyly looking down at her feet.
“Let’s go” He said setting off at a brisk pace towards the cafeteria in search of Lily with Cecilia right behind him. Once they found Lily, who was waiting in a long line up, Sean quickly asked her permission, she gave an instant answer in the affirmative and the 2 were soon off.
In his car, which Cecilia found was clean and neat, he started asking her general questions which she answered and asked back. They kept the conversation easy and light as he drove to a local restaurant. Since it was already one in the afternoon, the restaurant was quiet and they managed to get a quiet booth in the corner.
“So your dad told me that you live in Houston. Is that right?”
“Yeah, we used to live there when I was growing up so when I got a job, they wanted to move over here since Eddie had some friends living here already and he was offered a job here which he accepted and worked at until he retired a couple years ago.”
Sean nodded and after a pause asked, “So when are you leaving? I mean you just got here today right?”
“Yeah, I’m here for about a week and then I’m flying back. But while I’m here I was assigned work to do, so I’m not really on break.”
“I see” Sean said, he had been hoping that she would be staying for longer. “Well, my break’s almost over, so we better get back.” He sighed, trying to hide his disappointment and looking at his watch. They both stood up and for the rest of the ride back to the hospital, it was silent.

When the doctor had parked his car and Cecilia was thanking him, he grabbed her hand. Cecilia turned to face him, surprised. He scribbled a number on her hand, squeezed it and asked for her phone number in return. Instead of accepting his offered pen and outstretched hand, she took a card from her purse and put it in his hand.
“That card has all my contact information on it, but if you like you can ask my parents for their house address and home phone.” She informed him.
He nodded, put it in his wallet and came around to her side of the car, helped her out and led her back to her parent’s room. Both of them were asleep; Eddie on his bed and Lily in a chair nearby. Sean smiled, patted her hand reassuringly and left. After he left, she looked on her hand; he had placed his own card in her hand and had stuck a sticky note on the back.
She read:
I’ve never been in a relationship with a girl before. I’ve kept myself for the ONE. I would like to get to know you better, I may not have much free time as a doctor but I will make time. Let me know what you think. Sincerely yours, S.V.
She sat back for awhile the note in her hands. For sure he was a nice guy, very different from the other men she had ever encountered. When he looked at her, it was with respect and he seemed to care about everything she said. From what she could see, he was diligent in his work, was organized, and her parents knew him, unlike a few of the previous men she had dated. She winced at the last thought. It was probably the biggest mistake she’d ever made. Dating someone her parents didn’t know well and therefore not hearing their wise advice. Gradually, she too fell asleep.
She awoke to find her mom shaking her shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you but we should start moving dad’s stuff back home.”
“It’s Okay mom, I just fell asleep thinking.” Cecilia glanced at her watch, it was now 4:30 and the light outside was fading. Eddie was standing up, dressed and ready to go. Together, they packed up his things into 3 small boxes, just as they were about to carry their stuff to the car and leave, Dr. Vance walked in. He had his lab coat off and was carrying a briefcase.
“I thought I’d come to help, since I’m finished for the day” and without another word he picked up one of the boxes and motioned for them to lead the way. Just then a thought popped into Mr. Brant’s head. “Dr. Vance, why don’t you and Cecilia take that box to your car and you can follow us home and have dinner with us?”
“Oh no, you really don’t have to. I mean, you would be just getting back on the hospital so I don’t think it’s the best time.” Sean protested.
“No really, what better way to get to know you?” Lily insisted.
“All right, but I reserve the chance to repay it back.”
In reply, Eduardo just shrugged, “As long as you agree to this one.”
“Of course.”

In their car, Lily and Eduardo were having a deep discussion about the young man and their daughter driving behind them.
“I feel it’s a bit rushed, especially since she’s going back in a week.”, Lily said, while staring at the road ahead intently.
“I don’t know, as long as they keep us involved I feel like it just might make Cecilia move here.” Eduardo replied, “I mean yes, he may be trying to catch her attention before she flies back to make sure he’ll stick in her mind and hopefully come back to visit. But they do seem to take to each other. The more I think about it, the more I feel that they could suit each other very well. I’ve only know Vance less than 24 hours but from what I’ve seen and heard he seems to be a perfect fit for our little Ceci. She’s calm and smart. He’s smart too but quite spirited. Although when he’s around her, I feel like he’s quieter.” Eduardo said, trying to reassure his wife. “You know, after you got back from lunch, we fell asleep right, but I woke up when they came in but pretended to be asleep. He passed her something and left and she seemed to be thinking about it. At least that’s what she was doing until I fell asleep.”
“Wow”, breathed Lily, “Why didn’t I stay awake?”
“They mightn’t have done that if you were there.”
“True.”

In Sean’s car, the music was on low and they were conversing about their similarities, differences, their families, their careers, dreams, and their pasts. When talking about their pasts, Cecilia realized she was tearing up. She started to sob and while keeping his eyes on the road and her parent’s car in front; Sean passed her a Kleenex and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Sean learned that in elementary school, she had been bullied as she was constantly doing well in work, and the teacher’s pet. However, in high school, she’d been approached by many guys and had had many bad experiences. It was during this topic that Sean shared his past. During high school and university, he had participated in the basketball, soccer, and track team. He’d been one of the “popular boys” with girls constantly trailing after him. His parents had taught him to look beyond all this, and focus on his studies and above all, keep himself clean. After this, silence fell between them. However it was a comfortable silence.

Presently, Cecilia commented, “It must have been hard for you to stay that way. I mean, didn’t you lose friends? Or get made fun of? In my experience, I was constantly being talked about and it was hard for me to resist. My parents knew but it was hard to go along with their wishes. I regret it now.” Cecilia said, staring out the window. She went on to tell him about her adoption and her birth story. At the name of Lucille, Sean started. When asked what was wrong, he answered, “My mom may have mentioned about her before. Apparently my mom grew up with a girl named Lucille and then she died halfway through university. My mom wouldn’t tell me how she died at the time. I can ask her and find out if you want?”
“Yes please. It would fill in a lot of questions I have.”
“Anything to help you Cecilia.” Sean answered gallantly as he parked behind Mr and Mrs Brant in front of their quaint, large house.

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