Suddenly, I turned around and saw a smiling woman who looked about sixty wheeling an equally beaming man approaching me slowly. The looks of amazement on their faces confirmed that I had found them.
“Allison!” Elaine said as she hugged me tightly, then pulled back to examine my features. After a stare that seemed to last forever, she said, “You are stunning, honey. Oh my God.”
I must have been blushing. “Hi Elaine. It’s great to finally meet you,” I said nervously.
I bent down to hug Ed who was in a wheelchair. I knew he was being treated for cancer, but was surprised to see how weak he actually was. When I pushed back, Ed’s tears were flowing, as we made eye contact.
“I can’t believe this. It’s surreal. I am sorry for being so emotional. I know this must be strange for you,” he said.
“Don’t worry about that. I understand,” I said as I took his hand, still bending down.
I stood up and the three of us walked silently together to the baggage claim and I separated from them to get my luggage. The few minutes alone were enough to grab my bearings again.
We resumed walking to the parking garage, as I wheeled my suitcase and Elaine wheeled Ed.
“We thought we could stop for lunch on the way home,” Elaine said.
“That would be great,” I said even though I was hardly hungry, as nerves had taken away my appetite.
Ed turned around to face me in the elevator. “Do you like pancakes, Allison?”
I smiled down at Ed. “Yes, I do.”
“There is this great Pancake House right off the highway on our way home. You can get breakfast or lunch and the best pancakes you’ve tasted anytime of day, lots of different kinds too.”
“That sounds great, Ed.” I could tell he probably wasn’t feeling well and hoped he wasn’t pushing himself being out like this.
As Elaine helped Ed into the car, I loaded my suitcase into the trunk. The ride to the restaurant was quiet, with Ed occasionally looking back at me and smiling as we made small talk.
“Was the flight okay?” he asked.
“As good as could be. I don’t really like to fly.”
“I don’t blame you.” He laughed.
When we got to the restaurant, the smell of the food helped bring some of my appetite back. I ordered blueberry pancakes per Ed’s suggestion.
I sat across from Ed and Elaine as we waited for our food, looking around the room to avoid the awkwardness of staring right at them as they examined the similarities between their dead daughter and me.
“So, Allison, is there anything you want to ask us?” Elaine asked.
After a long pause, I started to recall the questions I had gone over in my head prior to the trip.
“I guess I want to know how long you knew about me and why you never tried to find me sooner.”
Elaine looked down to gather her thoughts and then raised her head. “We knew for several years…probably from the time Amanda was five that there had been a twin, because a friend of mine who worked at the adoption agency confided in me after she left her job. We had no idea prior to that. She made it clear that there was no other information about your whereabouts. In retrospect, I wished that we had looked for you sooner, so that you could have met your sister. We made a decision when Amanda was young, though, that we would tell her when she was eighteen and let her decide whether she wanted to find you. I am so sorry, Allison,” Elaine said.
I looked over at Ed and he was starting to cry again.
“Ed, please. It’s okay. You need to save your energy. I am not upset with you, I promise.” I reached over across the table and grabbed his hand and we stayed like that until the food arrived. I had just met these people, but my heart broke for Ed and I wanted to comfort him.
The three of us ate quietly until Ed said, “Mandy used to love this restaurant.”
I let that sink in for a minute, and then dropped my fork. “Did you just call her Mandy…was that her nickname?”
“Only Ed called her Mandy…that was his nickname for her,” Elaine said, as Ed smiled at her.
Chills ran through me as I recalled the song that played at the diner the very first time I saw Cedric: it was Mandy by Barry Manilow.