There is no time like now!, Ann said to herself, willing herself to stand up from the tiny park bench she had taken residence on thirty minutes ago. The voice within her head, however, was no match for the anxiety that kept her glued to one spot. Her view from the seat told her plenty about the Midtown area she was in and she wished she’d told Dmitry or even Landon where she was going.
If something happened to her, it would be her own fault.
She’d tried to dress the part, having bought some worn down clothing from a thrift shop, but she still felt that when people looked at her they would see the woman who had grown up and still lived in the clouds. It wasn’t as if anyone with her certain pedigree couldn’t come down from the skyscrapers of Manhattan, but the only time Ann came down was to check on Dmitry and most recently to visit with Landon. She wasn’t nearly ready for this. Not at all.
Still, instead of getting up to walk away, as her anxiety would have her do, she sat and watched the building where the woman who had played surrogate and carried Ann to birth lived. This shouldn’t have been right, she had seen the amount of money her parents had paid the woman, but after a bit of research and a private investigator, she had found that Emily (the woman who had birthed Ann) had squandered all of the money instead of trying to make a nice life for herself.
She was plucking at a string on her sleeve when she heard a voice across the street. Her head came up and her eyes latched on to a blonde headed woman and another gentleman, if he could be called that, talked. Something was exchanged, probably drugs of some sort with money, and then the man went his own way and the blonde woman, who was Emily, went back inside.
Ann was on her feet before she realized what was happening, and moving towards the building. She crossed the street, her hand raising to knock on the door.
There was no backing out now.
The door opened and the woman who answered the door smirked at her and leaned a shoulder against the door frame. She was exactly twenty years older than Ann, but the woman looked a little more worn and ragged than her 62 years.
“About time, Ann,” Emily took a draw from the cigarette she held and blew the smoke to the side from the corner of her lips. “I’d wondered how long it would take you to get up from that bench.”
“You...you know who I am?” Ann said, eyebrows rose in shock.
“‘Course I do,” Emily laughed, another bout of smoke being forced from her lungs. “I gave birth to ya, didn’t I? I knew it was a matter of time before you came searching for your mother.”
“But...but you are not my mother,” Ann looked and felt confused. “Just a surrogate.”
“Oh darlin’,” Emily shook her head. “You must not have talked to your father. Come in, we have plenty to talk about. Whatever you think you know? It’s a fabri...a lie…”
“Fabrication?” Ann quickly corrected.
“Yeah...that…Come on in…” Emily moved to the side. Ann hesitated for a few moments and looked around before finally taking a breath and stepping in. As frightened as she might be, knowing no one knew where she was, her curiosity got the better of her.
How did that old saying go? Curiosity killed the cat….