The Family (18 page)

Twig had forgotten about the pills. They were tucked into the pocket of her dress. Under Tina’s sharp gaze, she was suddenly acutely aware of Leo’s iPod Nano stuffed in her bra, poking at her side.

“Tina, aren’t you afraid I am going to report you to Adam? Tell him that you want to leave?”

“You’ll soon find out, Twig, that once you’re married to Adam, there is nothing about you he won’t know.”

28

“Wait, why did they want to make you walk around the hospital?”

“Well, they didn’t want to
make
me.” Twig sighed. She was getting frustrated. She was trying to talk to Ryan, and she just wasn’t getting through. “The doctor said it was healthy for me to get out of bed after my injury. It was time to move a little bit.”

“But without your mom and Adam? Why did they make you do it without them?”

She tried again. “I think the doctor knew it would be my only time to…well, to see the world. He was really kind. It was like he wanted to give me a chance.” Ryan raised his eyebrows with skepticism in response.

“A chance to what? That sounds pretty typical. Tempt you when no one was around to protect you.”

She could see she wasn’t getting anywhere. “Anyway, that part doesn’t really matter. He told me things.”

“What kind of things?” She hadn’t expected Ryan to be so defensive. Twig bit her lower lip and took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to phrase what she was going to say.

“The outside world virus, for instance. It…well, it’s different than we’ve been taught.”

“Says who? This doctor who wanted to separate you from your mom, get you alone to influence you?”

Twig ignored this and tried to continue. “You can’t— I mean, he said you can’t get infected the way we’ve been taught. A virus is a physical sickness, and there are only certain ways you can get it. Like if you touch someone who has a cold and then wipe your nose.”

“That doesn’t sound so different from what we’ve been taught.”

“But that’s the thing. Not everyone in the outside world is sick and contagious. Many, many people are healthy.”

“And who told you that?”

“Well, the doctor, but I also saw it with my own eyes. I met this sister and brother, and they were so amazing, Ry. They were so friendly and full of life.” Ryan was quiet, thinking over what she’d said.

“Twig, I’m sure they seemed nice, but why in the world would you trust those people? How could you possibly know if they were healthy? And trust them over Adam? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, maybe Adam doesn’t know. Maybe he has bad information or old information,” Twig tried.

“He knows everything, Twig.”

For a moment, Twig heard Tina’s voice inside her head.
Once you’re married to Adam, there is nothing about you he won’t know
. She shivered slightly and shook her head.

“Okay, let’s put all of that aside for now. I can’t explain why I believed it. I just felt it. But I’m obviously doing a terrible job of explaining it. Anyway, there’s something else that is much more personal to me.”

“Go on.”

“The day of the accident, I had this vision. And when I got home from the hospital, I started having more of them.” She didn’t mention Gran or her painting. She’d made a promise to Avery. “Detailed visions of having another life before our life. I saw all of these things that I don’t think I could have dreamed up. My real father, my mother before she came here. This house, this huge brick house—”

“But were you asleep? Were you dreaming these things?”

“Sometimes.”

“So you were probably just dreaming it all. The mind is really complicated. And you did hit your head pretty hard.”

“That’s what Doc said. That they were just dreams. And I believed him, but then Tina—”

“Tina? What does Tina have to do with this?” He was agitated, unwilling to even hear her out.

“Why are you being like this, Ry? I need to talk to you.”

“Well, think of what you’re telling me, Twig. This all sounds like madness.” Twig looked down, hurt. “No, I don’t think you’re mad. I didn’t mean that at all. I just meant you’re asking me to swallow a lot.”

“I know, I know. But I need to talk to someone I can trust, Ry. I can’t trust anyone else right now!”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry. I’m still the same person, even if… if this is going to take time for me. Go on. Tina. You were talking about Tina.”

Twig looked at him. He nodded again for her to continue. “Well, I had just had this conversation with Doc today when we got back from the supply run. I went to see him because these visions have become so intense. I thought I was going crazy. He basically said what you said. That they are dreams. Only he told me I’m bordering on psychosis because I can’t tell if they are dreams or reality.” Ryan frowned with sympathy. Twig wasn’t so sure he wasn’t thinking she had gone crazy.

“So Tina happened to overhear our conversation, and she told me Doc was lying. That I do have a father, and that I wasn’t born here. That I’ve been lied to my whole life. I lived somewhere else with my mom before I came here. Somewhere else with my father, Ryan! That means I have a father out there. One who may be missing me…”

“I don’t mean to sound harsh or skeptical here, Twig. But why would Tina tell you that? That makes no sense.”

“She said she wants to leave. She said she is going to leave one day and that I am going to give her the money to do it.”

“What?” Ryan was shocked.

“I know.” Twig had spent so much energy trying to explain things to Ryan over the last thirty minutes that her sense of urgency was dying off. Now she just felt tired. Utterly tired and still completely confused. “Apparently my father is very wealthy, and she said one day I have to get her money so that she can leave.”

Ryan shook his head. “You have to report her. That’s all there is to it.”

“I think it’s more complicated than that. I’ll never find out who I really am if I bring Adam into this right now.”

“But you know he’s already involved. I’m sure of it. Doc tells him everything.”

“You’re probably right, but if I can talk to my mom before they get to her, I might be able to find out the truth. If I just pretend like I believe what they’ve told me, they’ll let it be. I can’t totally explain it, but if I report Tina, I know the truth will get buried. Plus, Tina already hates me. I don’t need to make it worse.”

Ryan was silent for a moment. Then he looked at Twig. “Can I ask you something?” he said abruptly.

“Of course.”

“Did the doctor say anything about people like me? Or have you met people like me, when you’ve gone into the outside world?”

“People who are gay?” Twig asked gently, thinking she knew what he meant.

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry, Ry. I got caught up in my own stuff. I have been selfish, and to be honest, I really don’t know. But I can find out! I will. I’ll ask someone…” She paused, thinking of Leo. “I’ll ask someone next week when I go into Turrialba.”

“But they might lie,” Ryan said, sounding defeated.

“Ry, I wish I could make you see. It’s different out there than we’ve been told. From what I’ve seen,
we’ve
been lied to.”

“We’d better go.” It was after dinner. No one was really around. Most people had retired to their cottages for the evening.

“Okay, but will you think about what I’ve said?” Twig stood up and dusted off her dress. They were sitting in full sight of the compound. The light from the tower illuminated the ground in front of them. Twig hadn’t had the energy to sneak off. Sometimes the best hiding places were in full view.

“I will, but Twig, listen: this is still your life.” He remained sitting, looking up at her.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you can be mad, sad, and confused, but this is your life, and no one can take that away from you.” He blinked at her. “I’m not sure if I’m saying this well, but do you know what I mean? Maybe you’ve been lied to, but your relationships with me, with Sophie, with your mom, even with Evelyn—those are all real.”

Twig nodded. She extended her hand to help Ryan up, but he didn’t take it. He smiled, pretending he didn’t notice it, and hopped to his feet. Twig’s heart sank. He didn’t want to touch her. He didn’t believe her.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Do you?” She asked, looking at him, searching his face.

“Of course I do. I know we aren’t totally in sync here, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am your best friend. Now go get some sleep. Things will always look a little better in the morning.”

“I love you, too,” Twig said. She meant it, but inside she felt deeply disappointed. Their conversation hadn’t gone at all how she’d expected.

She had to talk to her mom.

* * *

When Twig got back to her cottage, Avery was asleep. She would have to wait until tomorrow to talk to her. Part of her felt relieved. She wanted answers, but she wasn’t looking forward to having the conversation with Avery. Twig stretched out on her bed and put Leo’s Nano discreetly beneath her quilt. She put the bud in her ears and began to press buttons. A twangy guitar started to play, and a woman with a voice as clear as a bell began to sing with a pain that coiled itself around Twig’s heart. So calm and so tightly wound with emotion at the same time.

Twig felt the music in every part of her body. She peeked under the covers, and the words “Lucinda Williams,
Side of the Road”
glowed up at her. When the song ended and the quiet stillness of Twig’s bedroom returned, still felt sad, but she felt lighter, too. Like she could breathe better. The song had cleansed her, in a way. She pressed the buttons on the Nano again until she figured out how to turn it off. Then she carefully tucked it beneath her mattress. She was asleep in minutes

29

Twig aimed the staple gun and pulled its trigger.

“You are really getting the hang of this!”

Twig looked up to see Gran’s friend Daniel smiling at her. They were stretching canvas. Avery was taking a nap in Gran’s house.

Twig neatly folded the canvas at the corners and stapled them into place. When she had finished, she handed it to Daniel. He added it to a stack they had created against the wall near Twig’s easel. They had been working for nearly an hour and had created a nice assortment of sizes. The activity took Twig out of her head. She was completely distracted by learning the new skill.

She hadn’t been able to talk to Avery on their ride out to Gran’s. Something was wrong. Avery was a stone of silence and sadness. Twig had wanted to question her anyway, but the heaviness of Avery’s mood had been too intimidating for Twig. She’d decided she would wait until they got to Gran’s. And maybe having Gran there when Twig confronted her mother wasn’t such a bad idea. But as soon as they’d arrived, Avery had disappeared into the back of Gran’s house, saying she was going to sleep for a while. Gran had encouraged Twig to let her go.

“Thank you so much for teaching me, Daniel,” Twig said, pleased with the work they had done.

“No problem. You are a fast study. ‘Fast,’ is that how you say it?”

“Sure,” Twig said. “‘Fast,’ ‘quick’—either one. Your English is so good. I wish I knew more Spanish.”

“We studied a little bit of English in school, and being around Gran all these years helped.”

Daniel lived in Turrialba with his mother. He did all kinds of odd jobs for Gran.

“How do you get here, Daniel?”

“To Gran’s?”

“Yeah.”

“I drive.”

“But where do you enter?”

“You haven’t been to the front of the property?” Daniel pushed his large black glasses up on his nose. His shiny black hair was pulled into a neat low ponytail.

“No. We always ride in through the trees.”

“Ah, the
entrada encantada
.”

“Sí,” Twig said, pleased that she understood.

“Come on, I’ll show you.”

Twig looked toward Gran’s house. Still no sign of Avery. “It seems extra hot today, if that’s possible. I actually wish it would rain.” Twig redid the knot that was holding her heavy hair off of her back. She wiped a bit of sweat from her neck and followed Daniel.

“We’ve been working hard, too.” Daniel laughed. There were dark rings of sweat beneath the arms of his blue T-shirt.

“What does your shirt mean?”

Daniel looked down at the front of his shirt as he led Twig toward a path that had emerged east of the main house and the studio. White letters in a simple font spelled out
Les ojos se han
. The O’s made a pair of cartoonish eyes incased in a pair of reading glasses that seemed to be peering over the words.

“Oh.” Daniel blushed slightly. “The eyes have it. It is a… I am not sure how to say it in English. A play-with-words.”

“A pun?” Twig offered.

“Yes! A pun. Thank you,” Daniel said sweetly. “I am an optometrist.”

“An eye doctor?”

“Sí. A doctor of optometry, not medicine.”

“Wow. That’s so cool. How do you find the time to help Gran out all the time and teach me how to stretch canvases? I had no idea.”

“Well, I’ve had to close my practice,” Daniel said sadly. “For now,” he suddenly added.

Twig waited for him to explain.

“My shop was in San Jose. That is where I studied. When my father became ill—he was an artist like you—I had to close the shop to come home and help my family,” Daniel said sadly. “But,” he brightened, “it is because of him that I know how to stretch canvas and use turpentine and many, many other things.

“He passed last year,” Daniel continued, his smile fading, “and now it is just my mother and me.”

“I’m sorry about your father, Daniel,” Twig said sincerely.

“It’s okay. Well, it’s not ‘okay.’ It hurts very much. But we have a lot to be thankful for. We are very blessed.”

Twig admired Daniel’s sense of gratitude. She also couldn’t help but notice that he had called her an artist. Was she an artist? According to Adam, artists were some of the most selfish people that existed. Maybe he just misunderstood them. Maybe he didn’t understand art, or never really knew any artists. Art was a solitary thing for her, but maybe it didn’t have to be. If art was a part of their lives, she was sure she would love to share it with others. Not just the work she created, but the act of creating itself. That was why she liked to teach knitting and sewing. She had never thought of it like that before. It had always served a need. They needed clothing, so they sewed. But all along it had given her a different sort of fulfillment.