Reunited

Chapter 11

I sat in a chair tapping my foot impatiently.
"What is up with you?" Addy asked me.
I jumped in surprise. I was so deep in thought I forgot she was there.
"It's Colin." I said.
"What about him?" She asked me in return.
I sighed. "I think I'm finally ready to move on from what your dad did to me."
"So does that mean..?"
"Yes. He's been waiting on me for so long now, I'm surprised he's still here. It really says something about him, you know?"
"I do."
"You're okay with this, right? I mean for all I know he could turn out to be 'the one.' I know he's not your dad, but-"
"Hey!" She stopped me. I shut my mouth. "I don't need nor want my dad. And if Colin pops the question one day, I can honestly say I couldn't imagine a better man to marry you."
I beamed with pride. "I have no idea where you got that little ability to be so understanding. It certainly isn't from me or your dad."
She smiled in return. Then I felt a kiss on my shoulder from behind, causing chills to go down my spine. Addy excused herself and went to go chat with Rebecca and Lana.
"Hi there." I said, kissing Colin. We'd decided not too long ago to be open about our relationship. Social media still hadn't blown up, so we'd had some peace. I'd wager that as soon as it was out beyond the set that we wouldn't have any peace.
"What a lovely night for filming." He said, sitting in the now unoccupied chair next to me. "I see you brought Addy. Have you told anyone who she really is?"
"Only a handful. Lana, Rebecca, Sean, Robert, and Emilie. They all know her story, I told them so Addy didn't have to. And they know to refer to her as a friend." I explained.
"Well done." He said, taking my hand in his.
I took a deep breath. "Colin," I began. He looked at me curiously, "I'm sorry."
"For what, darling?" He asked with a worried look on his face.
"I know I've been shutting you out this entire time. And I know you must hate it. I'm difficult, no way around it. But you've stuck through it all this time. I can't thank you enough for giving me what you have."
"What's that?" He said with a smile.
"A lot of time, patience, and love. Anyone else probably would have given up by now."
"I love a challenge." He said, kissing my hand.
I blushed. "Exactly. I've just been thinking to myself, 'why can't I open up to this man? He's shown so much persistence.'"
"I can't say I blame you."
"But you can. It's been over twenty years. I should have let it go by now."
"You're afraid. It's not that you can't let him go, you're just afraid of being vulnerable."
"I'm okay with being vulnerable with you. Addy coming back into my life and us being on this roller coaster has shown me that I'm okay with risking it all for someone I love." I said with a smile, waiting for him to take in the words.
When it hit him he looked at me in awe. His eyes traveled all over my face, searching for an indication that he'd somehow heard wrong. Then he leaned in and kissed me with all he had, and I returned it. His hand caressed my face, tangling into my hair. The gloves were off and all I wanted to do was take him into the nearest empty room, but I knew I couldn't, at least not right now. That was proven when I heard a whistle nearby. We separated and I looked to where I'd heard it from. Addy was giggling along with a few other members of the cast. I blushed again and hid my face in Colin's shoulder.
"I love you, too." He whispered in my ear, tucking my hair behind it.
Adaline POV:
I smiled watching my mom. I could tell she was in a really emotional place with Colin. When he suddenly kissed her like his life depended on it, I covered my mouth and looked the other way. Sean whistled at them and I looked back, giggling. My mom locked eyes with me and then hid herself behind Colin.
The rest of the night went smoothly, it was the next day that wasn't.
Ginny emailed my mom a link to an article that came out. It had pictures of me and my mom out and about and on set. Apparently fans paid enough attention to my mother to notice a new person she was suddenly with almost every time she was in public. The article questioned who I was since I was obviously much younger than her, and had pictures of us walking around the set together. Thankfully there wasn't even a hint that we were at all related.
"Well you can now say you've been in a magazine." Colin said with a smile. He'd stayed overnight, no surprise after what I assumed was the two of them proclaiming their love to each other.
I laughed but was still nervous.
"Don't worry." My mother assured me. "No one's going to hassle you for this."
"I hope so. I like being able to go out in public." I said.
She smiled, but looked at Colin nervously.
Jennifer POV:
Adaline's identity was being questioned, I hoped they wouldn't realize who she really was. I looked over at Colin, who was standing behind Addy.
He gestured to the other room and I nodded. He walked into it and I excused myself.
"What are we going to do?" I asked him.
"You need a backup plan. Like it or not, she looks like you. Someone might do some digging and figure it out." He told me, biting his nail. It was a nervous habit.
"There's not really anything I can do if they figure it out, except go on with my life."
"People are going to criticize you like mad. Are you prepared for that?" He took my hand.
"Well, I'll have to reap what I sow. It's her I'm worried about. She'll have next to no privacy until it dies down. And I don't know if she's told you, but she's worried her dad would track her down. She doesn't want that. I think she's afraid he'll abandon her like he did me."
Colin sighed. "He might not. Some men are terrible at relationships but fantastic fathers. And he was only eighteen."
"I don't want to take that chance." I said protectively. "Addy's been hurt enough. She doesn't need yet another person to let her down."
"Jen," Colin said, placing a hand on my arm, "you can't do anything about it if he wants to be in her life."
"I can damn well try." I said, walking out of the room.
Addy had had enough people walk out of her life and toss her away, myself included. Hell, I was the first one to do it. I had done it out of her best interests though, everyone else had just been selfish or plain mean. I remembered Toby just like that. Now that I was older, I wasn't sure why I had ever taken an interest in him at all. There was no way he would get into her life if I had anything to say about it, he certainly wouldn't have any influence whatsoever on Cadence. She was still small and didn't remember her dad walking out. She was free of woe, unlike her mother. And she would stay that way.
Over the next few days, realization came over me. Addy would be turning 21 soon. A very important age. She would now be completely legal, no limitations whatsoever. She had no friends, though. So I wanted to celebrate her birthday. She hadn't met anyone in my family yet, they knew I had found her. But no one got the chance to meet her yet. I'd sent pictures and we'd video chatted with my sister and brother but that was it. My parents couldn't figure out video chatting yet. One day I decided to be brave and approach her.
"Addy?" I asked one night.
"Yes?" She asked in return.
"You're turning 21, and it's a big birthday. Not just because it's your first with a family besides Cadence." I smiled.
"Mom..." She began, "I know where this is going. And I'm okay with a quiet birthday."
"Alright." I said. "But you have family that hasn't met you yet. They want to come up here. It's just my parents and siblings, and the few friends of mine who know who you are are up for it, big or small. Whatever you want."
"Mom, really, if they want to meet me that sounds fantastic. But, I've never liked a huge celebration for me. I'm okay with just a little gathering."
"That's settled then." I said, kissing the side of her head.
"Thank you, mom."
"For what?"
She wrung her hands together. "No ones celebrated my birthday before."
I felt my heart drop to my stomach. "Well, that's all changed. Now you have me, grandparents, an aunt and uncle, and let's face it, the cast members closest to me are as good as aunts and uncles."
"So Colin is an uncle now?" She asked with a wicked grin.
"Okay, you got me there. Colin is...he's...I haven't figured that part out yet okay." I laughed. "You and I can figure out a date, and then invite people from there, and figure out the party."
Over the next few days we worked out a date, two weeks from this coming Saturday, and invited people. I bought plane tickets for my family, and we invited everyone who knew that Addy was my daughter. Everyone was asking me what she would like for her birthday. I recommended either gift cards or things for a home, since she was close to buying one. They were more than happy to oblige. I had my own ideas on what I would be giving Addy.
On her actual birthday she was taking the day off. She wanted to spend it with Cadence. She expressed to me that she wished I could be at home that day too. I shrugged and lied, saying work was demanding. She didn't know I would be home.
On the day of her birthday, I got up early and picked up breakfast from her favorite place and a coffee from this cute, local cafe she was fond of. I couldn't blame her, they made amazing mocha frappes.
When I got home she was up and looking for something to eat.
"Don't bother." I said walking in the door.
She looked at me with a confused expression, obviously still half asleep.
"What are you still doing here?" She asked me with a yawn.
"Good morning to you too." I said with a grin. "Happy birthday baby girl." I said, setting down the food and handing her a small envelope with a gift card in it.
She eyed me suspiciously and read the message I'd wrote on the card. It simply said "happy birthday, I love you."
She pulled out the card. It was a prepaid Visa gift card, good anywhere you can buy something. Then she looked at the back and saw the amount. She stumbled back into a chair and I smiled a huge smile. I'd loaded it up with $1,000.
"Mom!" She choked out. "I can't."
"I knew you'd say that, that's why it's on a card. It's already there and you can't turn down a birthday gift." I said in a smart-ass tone.
I'd taken notice of her clothes. Not that they were worn out or ridden with damage, just that she didn't have a whole lot.
"Adaline," I began. She looked up at me, I never used her full name these days. "Stop me if I sound rude, by all means. But I've noticed you wear a lot of the same clothes over and over. As a woman myself, I love shoes and clothes. I love shopping for them even more. I say we have a girls day today."
She rushed forward and hugged me. I knew she'd never had a whole lot, until I came along. I'd seen her open up her heart more and more to me. The fact that she had given and taken more love than I was sure she'd ever have in her lifetime meant more to me though. I was happy that she was taken care of and not wanting for much, but I was over joyed at the huge steps she'd taken to let someone else care about her.
The rest of the day we went from store to store. I was right, she was very excited to be shopping for clothes and shoes. We also went into a few kids stores for Cadence, she insisted. It was her birthday money so I couldn't tell her what to do with it. But when we went to pay for Cadence's new clothes, I told her if she handed me her card I could pay for the stuff she picked out while she took everything to the car. I secretly paid for it all myself. She was having such a great day that she didn't notice.
The end of the day was spent putting clothes away. We were in Cadence's room hanging up clothes while the happy toddler played with the hangers we'd thrown aside. That was when my phone rang.
"Colin?" I answered, seeing the caller ID.
"Jen, we've got a problem. Remember when I said someone might do some digging?" He cautiously said.
I got up and left the room. "Yes? What happened?"
Silence for a moment, and then, "Someone figured it out. Apparently it was brought up how Addy looks kind of like you and someone did the math. They don't know who she is, but someone found out you withdrew from school for a year and then came back. The article talks about how old Addy looks, and questions whether or not you left school to have a baby and then came back."
"Well I did. Great." I looked into the room, where Addy sat, blissfully unaware of what her life was about to become.
"Look, here's the deal. Let's go on like nothing happened. If it gets out of hand, I'll make a personal statement. I'll discuss it with Addy first though, this involves her too."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye."
"Jen?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too." I said before hanging up. I braced myself.
"Adaline?" I asked, sitting down on the floor again.
"Uh, oh. You seem to only call me that when its time to be dead serious." She replied.
"It is. Just brace yourself." I warned. "There's a slight chance that your identity may have gone public."
Her eyes widened, but she said nothing, so I went on. "The fact that we look alike has sparked some curiosity. Someone nosed around and found out I left school to have you and came back after you were born. In an article, all of that is pointed out along with the fact that you look old enough to have been born during that time."
At this point she dropped what she was holding and dropped her head into her hands.
"I'm sorry." I said.
"It's not your fault." She told me without picking her head up.
"What do you want to do about all this? It involves you more than me. I'm already in the spotlight. I told Colin I would talk to you, and honestly I think it's a good idea that we go about our lives as normal. If this all blows up then I'll make a statement. Needless to say, it's likely the world is about to find out who you are."
Sure enough, the day before Addy's birthday party, another problem ensued. Apparently the media got an anonymous informant who told them exactly who she was and that she was a foster kid. I could tell this shook her up a little, so one night I made my way to her room. It was eating at me that her face was plastered all over gossip columns. She was sitting up in her bed, with her legs folded against her chest and her chin resting on her knees. There were bags under her eyes just like the ones I was wearing. Neither of us had rested well lately. Colin had to be here for me to do that, and his son was currently visiting him so he had been at home every night.
I sat on the end of Addy's bed and thought about what to say.
"It's going to be okay." was all that came out.
"How do you know that?" She asked without looking at me.
"Because if it's not, I'll make it okay." I said. I moved over to sit next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.
"There's not much you can do." She said.
"I can distract them." I suggested. "Colin and I will kiss in public more than what we normally do, that'll stir up a frenzy."
"I don't think that'll work mom. Your age is public, and I'm obviously in my twenties. That, coupled with the fact that I've only been around you in public for a few months now, is some math an idiot can do. I just have to put on my big girl panties and deal with it." She said.
I sighed. "I'm not ashamed to be your mother, I don't care how old I was when you were born. I just want you to be okay."
"I'll be okay. I'll figure out a way to make this work. If anything, I can finally call you 'mom' in public." She joked.