Page 72 of Just the Wrong Twin

It didn’t really matter because Sonia couldn’t change it.

Still, she was curious. She wondered what the other woman’s name had been, what she had looked like, why Nate had loved her. It was profoundly unsatisfactory that she’d never know.

Sonia frowned and eased out of the bed, recalling that she had only one banana. She should run down to the bodega before Nate woke up. On her way to the washroom, she noticed his wallet on the console by the door with his keys and sunglasses. She flicked a glance at Nate, still sleeping soundly, then peeked inside.

There were two pictures in the clear sleeves along with his credit cards. One was of a family of four, obviously his own. Sonia would have recognized teenage Nate anywhere. His sister was obviously older and more serious. His parents looked happy. The picture had to be twenty years old, judging by the way the color had faded and the clothes they were wearing. There was a dog, too, a black and white mutt sitting beside Nate.

The other picture was of an older Nate, one that could have been taken in a photo booth. This could be the rock-band Nate, with his hair a little longer and trouble in his smile. A young girl was behind him, her arms flung around his neck and her face alongside his. She was pretty, with dark hair and sparkling eyes, and she looked happy. No, she looked ecstatic. There was a diamond ring on her finger.

Nate had that cocky little gleam in his eyes that all was right in his world.

There she was.

She turned it over.Trish and Nate 2004was written on the back.

Trish. Her name was Trish.

Pretty, happy, unforgettable Trish, with an engagement ring on her finger.

And still in Nate’s wallet.

Sonia swallowed the lump in her throat and put his wallet back as it had been. Trish might be out of his life, but she still reigned in his heart. That left no room for any other contenders.

Nate had been honest from the outset: this was a hook-up, no more and no less. He’d expected Sonia to want more, and he’d turned out to be right. Sonia glanced back toward him and seriously regretted that they hadn’t gotten together sooner.

Not that it would have mattered. He’d been in love with Trish long before he came to F5F.

They had a deal, and Sonia wouldn’t seduce him again. Let him dream about the one he loved. She wouldn’t be a substitute for anyone.

Nate would probably head out to Boston as soon as he woke up, but he should eat something first. She had only one banana and some instant coffee in the kitchen. He deserved more of a send-off than that. Sonia showered quickly and went down the block to the bodega on the corner, leaving Nate asleep in her bed.

* * *

Sonia learned about her parents’reconciliation exactly the same way she had about their break-up when she was sixteen years old.

She read it in the tabloids.

If the check-out line at the bodega had been shorter, she might have missed the joyous tidings.

As it was, with social distancing, Sonia had plenty of time to read the headline and eye the pictures of her mother and step-father cuddling for the camera, apparently ecstatic.

It was impossible to tell with them, though, since everything was a performance.

She couldn’t even look at the image without her bile rising.

Derek Strong and Olivia Fairfax Together Again!

Romance Blooms on the Set of Their New Movie

This hadto be what Katia had called about.

Why did the sisters need a plan? It had to have something to do with this.

What had Olivia and Derek planned?

Sonia had a bad feeling, so she grabbed an issue.

She felt that almost-banished urge to both run and to consume a gallon of chocolate ice cream in record time, which was a telling reminder of her family’s effect on her. She gripped her purchases and waited, wanting to tear open the issue and learn the worst of it, yet at the same time, not wanting to know. Her gut churned.

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