That changed the question.
If her parents already knew she was going through a hard time, why was Lily so afraid to put us in the same room?
Since the situation didn't get better, I scheduled a meeting with the parents.
The meeting was scheduled for Thursday at four.
Lily was sitting in front of my desk, moving a knee so hard that the chair was shaking.
At 4:07, the steps ceased outside.
Lily closed her eyes.
The door opened. I stood up.
And my heart stopped.
At 4:07, the steps ceased outside.
Paul was standing there.
Same height.
The same shoulders.
The same face.
For a moment, in a state of madness, I couldn’t understand why my husband was entering my classroom as Lily’s father.
Paul was standing there.
Then he frowned and I saw the differences.
He wore the shortest hair. She had broken her nose once and had been slightly crooked. His expression was more severe than Paul's.
This wasn't Paul.
It was Daniel, Paul's identical twin brother.
A man I hadn't seen in almost eleven years.
Then he frowned and I saw the differences.
Lily stood up.
“Dad.”
And suddenly I remembered a little girl with the eyes of Daniel, who was barely five years old the last time I saw her.
Your daughter.
I looked at Lily again.
“Oh my God.”
I looked at Lily again.
I held on to the edge of my desk.
Daniel stared at me.
“Rachel?”
I couldn't breathe.
“What are you doing here?” I asked breathlessly.
His eyes wide opened.
“Oh, God. Paul didn’t tell you.”
“What are you doing here?”
The room was silent.
I said, "Tell me what?"
Daniel slowly pulled a chair away.
“I moved back. Three months ago.”
I laughed once because the alternative was to scream.
“Three months?”
"Tell me what?"
Daniel and Paul had distanced themselves years ago because of their father's inheritance. What began as a discussion about property turned into years of silence.
After Maggie's death, Daniel sent flowers. Paul threw the card.
That was the last time I heard from him.
“Why have you returned?”
That was the last time I heard from him.
“My wife got a job here. My mother is getting older. And I got tired of pretending that I wanted to hate my brother until one of us died.”
“And Paul knows you’re here. Do you know that Lily is going to this school?”
