Page 29

Jennifer

L ast night’s gathering had been a chaotic symphony of joy, family, and second chances. It still felt a bit surreal.

Dylan was hurt by someone tied to Simmons’s experiment? Stolen lists. Orchestrated accidents. My head spun, a kaleidoscope of love and fear. I sank into a plush velvet armchair and dialed Alyssa, my sanity call, her snark the blade I needed to slice through the chaos.

“Jen, spill,” Alyssa answered, voice warm but laced with mom-weary exhaustion. “Your texts are soap-opera level. Dylan’s brain’s fixed? Twins crawling out of the woodwork? What’s next, aliens?”

I laughed, my tension easing. “This was not the rom-com I signed up for.” Thunder cracked, closer this time, and I glanced at the darkening sky, unease prickling.

“I want to go back to the timeline where all I was afraid of was how Dylan would react to finding out I’d shown his parents the photos of him and Carla. This? This is crazy.”

“You can say that again.” Alyssa snorted. “Don’t worry about me telling anyone. No one would believe it.”

“I’m only telling you,” I said, lighter than I felt. “And I’m not saying this to Dylan because he’s still healing, but this shit is scary. Dylan’s hit-and-run wasn’t an accident, Alyssa. Mark was nearly run down in Maplebridge too. This is real.”

She whistled. “What do you need? What can I do?”

I leaned back and looked up at the ceiling as if an answer might lie there.

“Just listen, I suppose. I’m equally at a loss for how to help,” I admitted, smiling despite the storm’s growl.

“There’s some good in this, though. Mark and Dylan seem committed to getting to know each other.

Mark’s steady, like Dylan but gentler. It’s weird how trauma can bond people.

Three sets of twins, all separated at birth, shouldn’t feel like family, but that’s the vibe they give off.

Even their wives seem to have embraced this shared experience as something that ties them together. It’s chaotically beautiful.”

“That’s my house minus twins,” Alyssa quipped, her kids’ shrieks piercing the line. “Seriously, though, people who design space stations and have the kind of money these people do—they can protect themselves... and you. You’re going to be okay.”

“You’re right.”

“And don’t forget, you can always hide out here if you have to. We might not be rich, but we take care of our own just fine.”

She meant that and her calm settled the storm in me. “Same. I don’t currently have a home of my own, but I could hook you up with a room at a ski resort.”

She chuckled. “I might take you up on that.” More serious, she asked, “Are you staying at Dylan’s parents’ for now or returning to the shrine he built for you?”

That made me smile. “We haven’t discussed that yet and I’m okay with either.

His parents are amazing and the space they’ve given us here is better than a hotel suite.

They want to watch over him and make sure he’s safe and it’s kind of nice to have someone in that role.

.. especially after hearing about the whole twin experiment.

I’ve been blissfully traveling on my own with zero awareness of the heinous things humanity is capable of.

I don’t want to start living in fear, but I also can’t go back to the carefree person I was. ”

“Welcome to adulting,” Alyssa said wryly. “It sucks, but it’s also growth. I used to put a lot of trust into people who hadn’t done a thing to earn it, but now that I’m responsible for my children—I’m much more discerning when it comes to who I let into my life. That’s not a bad thing.”

“You’re right. None of this is comfortable, but growth rarely is, right?”

“Right. Comfort is for those willing to settle for easy. But easy has its own price and it’s one I’m not willing to pay. I’ll take reality over fantasy every day of the week if it keeps my kids safe.”

“How did you achieve this wisdom before me?”

“I pushed humans the size of watermelons out of me. Lack of sleep, increased caffeine, the constantly needing to be my best version of myself for my kids, while somehow always getting parts of that wrong—I could have had a mental breakdown, but instead I reached a level of Zen.”

“Interesting.”

“You’ll get there too.” After a moment she asked, “How does it feel to have Dylan back? The whole Dylan?”

I sat with that question before answering. “Good. Really, really good.”

“Then let yourself enjoy that part of your journey as well. Don’t overthink it. There are probably hundreds of people plotting to kill you. You’re an influencer and a well-known one. But those people don’t scare you because you don’t know about them.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It should. Risk is part of life. Be smart. Be careful. But live your life. Don’t let the worst people in your sphere have the most significant influence on you. There will always be a potential villain. Don’t hand them the win.”

“I like that. And I won’t.”

“Speaking of villains... the kids might have done a glitter craft in your room. They wanted to make a surprise for you for the next time you visit.”

I laughed. “Oh, boy.”

“Yeah. Surprise, it’s impossible to get out of the rug so you and your luggage will leave sparkling.”

“Proudly, as any auntie would.”

She chuckled. “See, that’s the attitude that will get you through this. And who knows, we may soon see you interviewing people in space.”

“That’ll never happen.”

“Never say never.”

After taking a deep breath, I said, “I’m happy, Alyssa. Freaked out by this whole twin thing, but having Dylan back in my life... it’s difficult to describe how good it feels.”

“Then go give him a smooch, because chances are, whether he’s saying it or not... I bet he feels the same way you do about all of it.”

“I will and I’ll call you tomorrow,” I promised. “Love you.”