The waitress came back to our table to take our dinner orders. While we were waiting for our food, we discussed the issue that was the most pressing.
The idea that there could be four more people out there that may also share our connection was a twist none of us had ever considered.
We stopped talking when our food arrived. Mark was right, the food was excellent. I was famished, lunch had been hours ago. As we ate, our conversation became more light hearted as Shawn kept us laughing with stories about things that go on at the Boardwalk. He was a great story teller and we soon had a good grasp on the kind of people he worked with.
“They are definitely different than us,” he said with a smile.
After dinner, we headed back to Mark’s house to resume our conversation. I settled myself on one the comfy couches, tucking my legs up under me. Mark sat down next to me which of course sent my heart off its normal rhythm. Sam and Shawn took the other couch and Shawn tucked Sam up against his side.
“Well, I’m not sure what the picture means,” I said, opening up the conversation. “But, I don’t know if I buy all of your theories. They all just seem too kooky for me, this is real life not some fantasy book,” I said, looking at Shawn.
“How do you know? Maybe this connection is from some kind of radioactivity coming from another planet,” Shawn said as we all burst out laughing. “Hey, I’ve read lots of sci-fi and that’s always what it boils down to. Some alien life form or something like that,” he tried to explain as we continued to laugh.
“I’m not sure that’s the reason for the connection, but Shawn is right, even the ridiculous things need to be examined. People just don’t walk around feeling some odd connection with others, and they don’t have dreams every night about the same person. We need to explore everything, look into things that could have created this link between all of us. We also need to consider the fact that there are four others out there that could potentially be just like us,” Mark said, sobering up the lighthearted atmosphere.
He was right, as much as we would like to be normal teenagers, the plain and simple fact was, there was nothing normal about us. We had never been normal though we may have tried to pretend to be, but there was no denying our abnormalities.
“You know what I’ve been thinking?” Sam finally said.
“What?”
“Well, if there are only four couples in this picture, but eight children all together in the picture, it stands to reason that some of us must be related.”
Mark and Shawn looked up from the computer at Sam’s words. Neither seemed shocked at the suggestion, but I was reeling from the idea.
“You mean you think Mark and I are related?” I said, horror ringing through my words.
Mark took my hand trying to calm me. “Not us,” he said with a slight smile in his voice. “Shawn and I think that maybe you and he are brother and sister.”
“That would explain why you look so much like Shawn,” Mark told me.
Brother and sister? Shawn and I were siblings? All my life, I had often wondered if I had any other family members, and here I was possibly sitting with my brother. I glanced at Mark, he didn’t look surprised, and neither did Shawn.
“We suspected it as soon as I saw you standing next to Shawn when Sam introduced him to you. It’s hard to deny your resemblance to each other,” Mark said.
He paused.
“Is there more?” I asked.
“Well, we speculated that maybe Sam and I are related also, but we discarded it right off the bat. First, our builds are completely off, with her being a ‘shrimp’ and all. Plus, our skin tones don’t match. Which means that possibly, one of the other kids in the picture might be my sister,” he added. “Sam’s brother could be one of the other boys in the picture,” he continued.
I looked over at Sam’s face and could tell from her intrigued expression that she was as curious as me. “A brother,” she said in a weepy voice. The idea gave me a lump in my throat that matched the look on Sam’s face. It was obvious she was as shocked as me.
Shawn instantly got up and put his arms around her to comfort her.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I’m trying not to cry.”
Shawn picked her up and placed her on his lap, rocking back and forth rubbing her back as he showered light kisses on her face.
The emotional connection between Sam and Shawn was obvious. He was immediately able to calm her down and neutralize her emotions.
Watching Sam’s reaction to the news hit me in a profound way. I never felt the wave of confusion come. It came out of nowhere and knocked the air right out of me. I had been struggling all night to keep my emotions in check, but this newest development in our conversation had finally triggered it and the emotions finally won.
Instead of turning to Mark for his strength and healing touch, I did what I always have done. I closed myself off from everyone else and bolted toward the bathroom. The sickness hit me wave after wave and I threw up wretchedly in the toilet. Finally, the waves subsided and I rested my head weakly on my hand.
I felt a cool rag being placed on the back of my neck.
“Has it passed?” Mark asked, in a concerned voice.