Insidious Deceptions(kjforce) The look of disappointment was more than Rachel wanted to see that night as she told her parents of her dilemma…She had graduated early at age sixteen, with honors from high school, even got a full scholarship to college… but her life would be put on hold…. It was the 60’s and the world had it’s own views regarding babies born “out of wedlock” …. she was sent to stay with a relative until the time came for her to deliver…. The doctor she had chosen appeared very sympathetic to her plight and on many occasions had spoken of the hard times she would face as a single parent, and asked if she had weighed all her options? He also asked if she wished to know the gender of the baby. She said no to the gender issue and regarding her options, she would take one day at a time. Her Mom and Dad were very supportive when she told them of her decision to keep and raise the baby, as the father had already joined the Marines and was stationed in Vietnam, perhaps one day, they would reunite ...she had no idea if she would ever see him again.

The next few months were spent getting ready for the birth and her introduction to Motherhood, but, her anxiety grew more intense every day. It was a bitter cold November day, many businesses had closed due to the severe snow storms, it was 18 degrees below zero, the snow was already 4 feet deep and snow was still falling.

Rachel remembered entering the hospital, people running and moving all around her…the rest was a blur…she awoke with a headache, the nurse said she had been out for hours and the doctor should be in shortly. "Where’s my baby?" she asked, and the nurse left the room without even responding. A few minutes later the doctor entered. He asked, how are you feeling? then proceeded to inform her that she had given birth to twins, a girl and a boy, however the boy was stillborn. Rachel did not see the doctor again, until she checked out of the hospital at which time he never said a word...The infant boy had been buried and Rachel was never even given the opportunity to see him.

Rachel did not see the doctor again until she checked out of the hospital, at which time he never said a word....

She named the baby girl Brooke and took her home to start their lives together. Rachel moved in to her Parents guest house, while she attended college and worked part-time... during these years, was when she was informed of the death of Brooke's father, who had been killed in Vietnam....

Eight years later she graduated Medical School and was doing her internship at a teaching hospital. That’s where she met the man of her dreams... Dr. Phillip Kahn... a Radiologist. Four years later they married…and lived a very happy life… but as life sometimes does...it goes awry…and you will see why later...

Brooke grew up, never wanting for anything, her stepfather adored her. She was a very outgoing young lady, who excelled in all subjects in school. She loved sports and her riding skills were well noted in the Equestrian society. She received several scholarships and had her pick of the top colleges...Her parents were very proud.

Upon graduating from college, Brooke had majored in Journalism and accepted a job in France with a major International company, for a two-year program and she would stay in with a friend she had met in college.

It was a rainy day, in South France in the small town of Villereal, when Brooke decided to stop in a café for coffee and a croissant. She had been on assignment for a month, traveling through Southern France. While sitting there, she caught the eye of a stranger, who was sitting with a group, he looked and smiled, but she felt there was something familiar about him. She finished her coffee and left.
Just as he got up the nerve to approach her.. she was gone...

The next day she returned to Paris, where she was to meet her friend for lunch, as she reached the table there was the stranger again... sitting at the table, with her friend. He stood up as her friend introduced him... “Brooke this is my cousin, Lars Olson, he lives in Denmark and is on assignment here in France.

"Deja Vue....You are the girl I saw yesterday at the cafe," Lars said, they both laughed.

The rest is history, they were inseparable from that day forward...they liked the same foods, the arts, it was as though they were natural born soul-mates. They each had a tiny birth mark on their lower back...Brooke’s was a Star, and Lars had a Crescent. They joked about them, wondering if they had known each other, perhaps in a previous life, as they were so much in tune with each other... ”kismet“ they said. The months flew by, and soon two years had passed. They decided to marry and would return to America to start their new life...being Lars was a Medical Research writer, for “International Medical Journals,” he could live anywhere.

Brooke was looking forward to Lars meeting her parents, she knew they would love him as much as she did. They made their arrangements to head to America.

"We are so glad you are coming home," said her mother, when Brooke called her parents, "and we are looking forward to meeting Lars." They made plans to have dinner that week-end, upon their arrival back in the US. Her Dad opened the door, as she reached for the front door handle. "I saw you coming up the porch" he said and gave her a big hug....and without another breath said “you must be Lars, welcome to our family....Mom's in the kitchen." Brooke headed in that direction. ”Oh my, you're here. I can't believe it, I missed you so much” cried her mom and they hugged for what seemed like hours. "can't wait to meet Lars," her mom said... As they walked towards the patio Brooke shared her news, she was pregnant! Upon reaching the patio, “You must be Lars” said Rachel....as Lars took her hand, and they hugged.....Rachel could not believe her eyes ... she was sixteen again and starring into the eyes of her first love... it was all there, the hair, the eyes, the smile, she went numb... "Rachel, you OK?" asked Philip...."Yes dear, of course. So good to have you back home Brooke" said Rachel, as they walked back into the house... "Dinner’s ready...Let’s eat."

The months went by very quickly and the snow was heavy on the night of Logan’s birth, a healthy ten pounds and 22 inches long, the doctor said there were no complications with the delivery, baby and Mom are fine...however, he did notice a small birth mark, which he said looked like a tiny triangular shape... sort of like his Mom’s.

Rachel had never stopped researching medical records on the death of her son. She had never found any records of birth on a baby boy born the date of her twins, or a death certificate. It was as though he never existed, and it appeared as thought Brooke was a single birth. It was only because of her affiliation with the Health care system that she had acquired access to the personal records of the Doctor who did the delivery, as he was deceased now. His wife contacted Rachel, giving her all the documents...She had finally uncovered the truth, but what good would it do now? There would be too many lives destroyed, which is why she opted to never discuss it. The Doctor had made the decision, being Rachel was a single mother, she would be unable to care for two babies, especially a boy, so he arranged for Sven and Sonja Olson to adopt the baby, they returned to Denmark and no one was the wiser, and what were the odds that the twins would ever cross paths?

Rachel carried the secret to her grave... never divulging to anyone what she had discovered...Why let an “insidious deception" destroy a Love so deep?

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