Flash of Light

Alice stared off into space while she waited. Her first day back to work had been harrowing to say the least. Had she actually said, just days prior, that she missed work and couldn’t wait to get back to it? What had she been thinking? And now, when she just wanted to be back home, it seemed like she was going to be stuck at the crosswalk. It couldn’t take this long for the pedestrian walk light to change to green, even though she had just missed the last one. What was taking so long? Why did the universe seemingly not want her to get home? What was the hol- It’s green!

Stepping onto the street, Alice automatically glanced both ways before rushing forward. She had almost made it across when she heard a cry of “Mommy” and was hit in the thighs. It made her stagger backwards a few steps. “I’m sorry?”

“No, Chloe, that’s not- Oh my, God.” He said, mouth agape as he grabbed the shoulders of the little girl. The woman standing before him had storm cloud eyes and hair the color of honey pulled away from her face. “You look just like her. I’m sorry, let’s get out of the street.”

Alice frowned as she moved off of the road and onto the sidewalk. The man wasn’t familiar in the least, nor the little girl. She was too young to be in Alice's grade. Possibly just under the necessary age for school. “Do I know you?”

“Oh, umm, no I don't think you do. I'm Ben. Benjamin Grey. This is Chloe, my daughter. What's your name?" He asked as he held out his hand.

"Alice Barnes." She shook his hand and pulled away, dropping her hand to play with the tassels on the end of her scarf. A nervous habit. This whole run in so far was making her nervous. She looked just like who? Mommy? That definitely was not her. She had barely had a boyfriend since college, let alone a child.

It wasn't that she didn't want children, she just felt that she spent enough time with them at work. She loved her kids. The seventeen kids in her third grade class made her happy, but at the end of the day, she could send them home and relax. Which is what she had been hoping to be doing by now.

"Why did she call me "Mommy?""

"Umm, I lost my wife, Chloe's mother, two months ago. And this is going to sound weird but, you look just like her. My wife was estranged from her family, but mentioned a sister. Are you-"

"I'm sorry. I'm an only child. No siblings." Alice frowned at the look of dismay on his face. "Surely I can't look that much like her?"

Ben held up a finger as he pulled his phone from his back, left pocket. While he swiped at his screen, she studied what she could see of his phone case through his large hand and chuckled. It was modeled after a Gameboy. Then he turned the phone towards her and she gasped.

"That's your wife?" she said slowly before looking up at him. He was tall. She was 5' 8" and he was tall. Maybe 6' 2"? "She looks just like me. It's like looking in a mirror. How is that possible?"

"My wife was adopted. Were you? Odd chance, but you look like her twin, so…" he trailed off as he saw her face. Her blue-gray eyes were brimming with tears and her lips were pressed together.

Voice almost breaking, Alice said, "I am sorry for your loss, but I'm not her. I can't be her twin either. I know both of my parents and I am an only child. Now, today was my first day back to work after being in an accident and this is too much. I just need to go home."

"Please. At least take this. If you need anything, just call," Ben said, grabbing a business card from his pocket as she turned away. He gave a small smile as she turned back and grabbed it. "Thank you."

********************

As Alice drove down the road, she pressed the button to switch the song. She wasn't in the mood for rock right now. She needed something fun. Something she could blast through the speakers and sing-along to. It had been a long rainy day. Her music taste was eclectic, to say the least, and she never knew what would play next. It could go from heavy metal to 90's boy bands, to rap. Once Alice heard the opening notes to Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" featuring Christina Aguilera, she started singing along. She slowed to a stop at a red light. Just as Christina started her part, the light flashed in the dusky sky and the reflection turned the damp road green. She pulled forward and was struck on the right side by a truck as she startled awake.

Someone was knocking at her door. She stumbled out of bed, rubbing her eyes, trying to clear the sight of the light turning green and then the sound. Crunching metal. She didn't know if the cold chill was from the chill in the air or the memory of the dream as she opened the door to her grandmother.

"Hi, Granny. I need caffeine." Alice turned from the door and headed towards the kitchen to put on some coffee. Her grandmother would follow. She always did.

"You look tired. Still not sleeping?" Her grandmother asked and she stepped into the kitchen.

"I'm sleeping. Just not well. I'm still having nightmares some nights. This week has been worse for some reason."

"Stress, child. Suddenly you are back to routine and your body is trying to tell you it's too much too quick. You were in a major accident two months ago."

"It's not just routine. Can I ask you a question?" When her grandmother nodded, Alice continued speaking, "I ran into a guy the other day, my first day back. Well, technically his daughter literally ran into me. She called me "Mommy" and the guy, Ben, said I look just like his wife. He showed me a picture. She could be my twin, Grandma. And she was… adopted. Is it possible? Could she be my twin? Was I adopted?

"This is not the way to find out. I'm sorry, but yes, you are adopted. Though you do not have a twin."

"How do you know that though?"

"Because I know everything, Darling. I'm your grandmother. Your mother used to help out at a homeless shelter. A woman came in, pregnant, and after staying a while, she showed up one day with a baby in tow. That night when your mom was locking up and doing one last check on the women, she found the woman had left the baby and ran off. They couldn't find her, but your mom and dad fought for it and were allowed to eventually foster and adopt you. It is possible you have half-siblings. We don't know what she did with her life after that night."

***************

Alice found it hard to focus. How had she never known she was adopted? How did her parents keep that secret all these years? What if she was that little girl's aunt?

She stared at the blank message on her phone screen. Recipient. Sighing, she went to her bag and pulled out the business card Ben had given her. Grey Financial. Wealth Management. Benjamin Grey, owner. He had written his cell number followed by "just text." So she did.

Alice: Hello, Ben? This is Alice. Is it possible we could meet for lunch sometime? I think we need to talk.

She pushed her phone into her pocket just as it alerted her to a new message.

Ben: Of course. I have meetings all day today though. Tomorrow? Where and when?

Alice: Tomorrow it is. How about that food truck? Cocina picante? 1pm?

Ben: See you there.

********************

Alice walked through the park towards the food truck. It was a nice Saturday afternoon. The air was brisk and the leaves were falling in the slight breeze. She stopped for a moment once Cocina Picante was in view and watched the kids playing on the nearby playground. Then she turned and saw the tall man with two paper baskets, heading her way.

"Hey! I hope you don't mind, I got here a bit early and went ahead and grabbed some food. Care for some tacos al carbon with steak? I got fajitas too if you want to switch."

"Oh, uh, the tacos al carbon are actually what I usually get. Thank you." She grabbed the basket from him and headed towards one of the picnic tables. "You even got them with no cilantro?"

"Didn't want to take the chance of you having that pesky gene that makes it taste like soap."

"It actually does. It's so weird. I'd much rather have a great tasting meal over one that looks pretty, but tastes like soap." Sitting at the table, she set her stuff down and grabbed a taco. The cheese dip poured over the steak is what made these great. Why was the cheese dip so good? "I found out I was in fact adopted. No twin, although it is possible I have half-siblings. Maybe that is how I look like your wife? That odd, unfamiliar, familial connection?"

"It's possible. I'm sorry you found out that way. My wife and I used to always come here believe it or not. We would grab the food truck and Chloe would play on the playground."

Alice had almost finished her first taco when it fell to the table, a piece of the steak falling to the ground, leaving a trail of cheese in its path. "Her food would always be cold once she ate it." Her eyes shot to Ben's across the table. Flashes came, the two of them sitting just like this. Chloe going down the slide on her stomach. A baby's face looking up at her in a hospital room. Kissing Ben before tumbling into bed.

She rushed around the table and threw her arms around him. "I remember. Oh, my God. Ben, I remember!" How could she have forgotten the most important aspects of her life following the crash? How was everything else there?

Ben pressed his forehead to hers. She remembered. Two and a half months, but she remembered. "This has been the worst couple of months, Ali." She clung to him and he ran his hands through her hair, relishing the feel of her. "After you came out of the coma, you didn't recognize us, but you recognized your parents, your grandmother, and remembered you were a teacher. I didn't want to stress you out. Doctor's said your memory could return at any time. So I gave you space. Chloe running into you was a complete accident. But, it seems to have worked out."

"The picture. The one you showed me. We took that picture here. Just here, when I told you I was pregnant with Chloe. You said your wife was lost. Not dead."

"You were just lost for a while, but you found your way back home. Let's go get Chloe from your grandmother's."

"Let's grab her a quesadilla first. It'll be cold by the time we get there. Just how she likes it."