by Aimee Laine
To add to her humiliation, her breasts would shrink to nearly flat, another sign of her malnutrition from those days. “Not doing that one just yet.”
Her clothes hung from her lanky body.
“When I blend for the last time, I’m going to look like—like …” A smile creased her parched lips. “… like Charley.” Lily took a sip of water and forced a bit of color back into them. “Don’t scare the kid dead, Lil.” She added back a bit of rouge to her cheeks and a little weight, too. “At least you’ll be ready for Thursday.”
Her birthday had never been a joyful celebration with her own body reinforcing the torment she’d endured. If only her physical shape from that moment hadn’t had to return every year, she might have been able to forget the past.
If onlys get you nowhere, Lily.
She walked to her dresser, lowered to the bottom drawer where she hid her once-a-year clothes and tugged them on. “Being the real you is for the kid. It’s for the kid.” And no one else.
Size one jeans still fit. Having been worn very few times, they retained their starched crispness. She pulled on a red T-shirt hoping it would add some color to her otherwise ghost-like figure. Grabbing the collar of her T-shirt, she tugged it tight up against her neck as memories swam again.
The men in the center had either been repulsed or eerily attracted to her. The looks she’d earned from some of them had made her cringe, while others had made her choke on her own spit. Somehow, in five years, she’d managed to keep them off her. Mostly.
At the knock on the door, she jumped. Her foot caught on the drawer. Leaning forward to correct her balance, she hit her head on the edge of the dresser. “Shit!”
The door flew open, Cael in its wake. “Lily!”
She waved him off, even while knowing he wouldn’t leave. “Stupid, stupid.”
He pushed the drawer in. “You’re changing already?”
“Might as well. Then Max won’t have any reason to think I’m his Mom.” She rubbed at the spot she’d hit along her hairline. No bump would form; she wouldn’t let it, or if she forgot, it would be gone by morning. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
Cael brushed Lily’s hand aside and massaged in her place. “There are still similarities.”
“Yeah, I know.” She let his fingers take the sting away.
Cael moved closer.
Lily scooted back, out of his hold, staring up at him—the extra four inches brought her closer to his face.
“I don’t know why you always drop your height,” he said. “Being five foot ten isn’t bad.”
“It is when I can’t find shoes, and if I wanted to stay that way, I would need massive feet to hold me up.”
He chuckled, the fire in his eyes recognizable. “You’re still beautiful, Lily.”
“No.”
His finger darted toward her, pressed against her lips. “I see you on your birthday every year. You’ve always been beautiful to me.”
“You’re just saying that.” She waved her hands down her body. “I’m hideous, Cael. I look like—like—I can’t even describe it.”
His hands slid to the nape of her neck. “You don’t believe me?”
She shook her head, her body betraying her with Cael’s touch.
“You really should believe me, Lil.”
“Why?”
“Because I would take you like this any day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
Lily giggled, a nervous, less than adult-like reaction she stifled as soon as the sound left her lips.
“Twice on Sunday, Lily.”
A tremble ran the length of her as Cael rested his forehead to hers.
“We—we better get back down so I can prove what’s what to Max.”
“Charley has him eating in the kitchen.” Desire coursed through his tone. No way would Lily not recognize it. “We don’t have to rush,” he said
Another giggle came with a light slap to Cael’s chest. In all their years, he’d never been forward, never taken those reins of the horse or horns of the bulls—however the expression went.
Except for once—when they’d first met.
As soon as she made sure Max and Angela, Tony and Evelyn at least found their way again, she’d take advantage of what Cael showed her he wanted.
• • •
Cael walked behind Lily again, to keep her moving and to provide support when she’d need it most. At the first floor landing, she turned to him—as he expected. He motioned her forward.
She’d wanted to separate herself from Angela’s likeness, and she had; there would be no mixing them up.
Charley had not only managed to convince Max to eat, but everyone sat at the island as Lily and Cael joined them.
“Hi.” Lily waved when the group all turned to her.
Max and Wyatt cocked their heads.
Evelyn and James narrowed their eyes.
Charley widened hers.
Tony’s expression remained blank and stoic.
Tears formed in Angela’s eyes.
Cael nudged Lily forward, his hands at her waist.
She reached out toward Max, his peanut butter and jelly sandwich dotting his cheeks in purple. “Hi, Max.”
He tilted again as Wyatt leaned to Charley’s ear.
“This is the real me, when I put on my real clothes,” Lily said.
“Where’s your Spiderman suit?”
Charley hid a laugh behind her hand.
“That was just an expression,” Angela said.
Lily rubbed at her nose as if buying time or procrastinating. “My name is really Lily Crane. Lily Elizabeth Crane,” she repeated, altering her focus from Evelyn to Max. “Do you know what an aunt is?”
Eyes wide, he blinked long lashes at Lily. “Maeve next door has an ant farm. She says—”
“No, she means a different kind of aunt,” Angela said. “You know Daddy’s brother?”
Max bit into his sandwich again.
“He’s your uncle. And if he ever gets married … his wife will be your aunt.”
Evelyn chuckled as Tony did the same.
The lightening of the mood had Cael pushing Lily in a little closer again.
Lily’s inhale held a soft seriousness. “Your grandma—”
“Keep going, Lil. I gave Angela details earlier and have explained a little to Evelyn and Tony thus far,” Charley said.
“Your grandma is my mommy. Your mommy is my … sister.”
Both women drew in and held their breath as if the news came as a shock.
“They don’t know me very well because I went away a long time ago. But … do I look like them at all?”
Max scrunched up his nose.
“Do I look like your Mom?”
He shook his head.
“So, who is your Mommy?”
He pointed a peanut butter covered hand at Angela.
“See? Before I was just wearing a suit … so you could be happy.”
Tony’s jaw clenched and released.
“I’m sorry if that scared you, but it was important at the time,” Lily said.
“Do you want a peabutter samich?”
Cael’s lips curved, even more so when Lily’s body relaxed against his.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said.
Charley pushed the makings to the side of the island.
“Hey, Max,” James said. “I have a little boy who’s just a bit older than you. He has tons of Spiderman toys in his room. You want to go check it out with me?”
And give us private time. Thank you, James. Cael nodded to James as Max slipped off the stool.
“Does he have Superman, too?”
“He’s got them all.” James held out a hand.
Tony and Angela both advanced toward Max as if he might disappear with James.
“Please, sit,” Lily said. “James’s boy, Chase, is with his mom right now. They’ll just be upstairs on the second floor.”
“I’ll go with them if you want,” Charley said.
Angela gave a short nod.
“I will, too,” Wyatt said.
The two of them followed the big and little boy out of the room, leaving Cael and Lily with her family.
“You’re probably wondering how all this is possible.” Lily took a seat at the opposite end of the island.
She hadn’t started to make any food, so Cael slathered toppings onto bread, one for him and one for her; she’d have to eat, or her body would eventually revolt.
Angela dropped her head against her palm. “Charley explained a little bit to me.”
“I’m still really confused,” Tony said. “I thought you were—how could I get that wrong?”
Angela took Tony’s hand in hers. “I don’t blame you, baby.”
He leaned his body into hers, closing his eyes as they connected. “I kissed her, Anj.”
“I didn’t kiss back.” Lily threw her answer in. “And for what it’s worth, you kissed the woman you thought was your wife.”
Tony’s eyes flashed anger and disdain.
“What you all have to understand,” Cael started, “is that this is what we do. We pretend to be other people. It’s part of our life. Part of our job, even. We’re genetically programmed, if you will, to be other people. As soon as Lily realized what was going on, her body made small adjustments to ensure she looked just like your wife. It’s part of the … gift.”
“What else do you do with this … gift?” Evelyn asked.
Thinking of Maggie, Cael said, “We’re body doubles in Hollywood. We’re stunt doubles. We pretend to be Presidents and high ranking officials. We go on missions where we’re meant to fake being someone else to ensure his or her safety. Some of us, though, have other gifts and do—or did—more white-collar crime investigations.”
“You’re spies?” Tony asked.
Cael bobbled his head. “We work with the FBI, yes. We work with governments. Our group—Lily, Charley, James and I—are on the good guys’ side.”
“Which means there’s a bad guy’s side.” Angela entwined Tony’s fingers with hers.
“Yes,” Lily said. “Some fight crime. Some create it.”
“Do those … criminals … have my granddaughter?” Evelyn asked.
Cael inhaled, trying to find the best answer that didn’t sound as negative as he thought it might. “We’re not sure.”
Tony let go of Angela and stood. “You’re not looking. You’re in here eating. Why aren’t you out there? If you can do this, then you know other people who can. Go find them.” With each exclamation, his voice rose, his arm pointing to the door as if they should go right then.
Cael repositioned himself in front of Lily, standing toe-to-toe with Tony. “We are working on it. We have a few places to check … which we will … in the morning.”
Tony’s lips curled. “My daughter is out there somewhere, and you’re going to wait until tomorrow?” His fist balled up at Cael.
“Go ahead and talk to the police again. You can tell me what they say,” Cael said.
“Tony.” Angela’s soft voice cracked as tears streamed down her face. “I lost her, not them.”
He spun. “No, babe, you didn’t.” He wrapped his arms around her as sobs shook her body.
Cael had watched Angela fall apart in Evelyn’s arms outside. In Tony’s, it happened no differently.
Tony placed a gentle kiss to his wife’s temple. “We should go.”
“We’d like you all to stay here,” Cael said.
“Why?” Evelyn asked.
“It’s safer if we keep all of you together. And if we need to mimic any of you to get information, it’ll allow us to learn your habits.”
“We have a life in California—” Tony stopped as Angela tilted up to him.
“You’re going to need to tell me a little about that life.” Cael positioned his hands on his hips.
Tony’s brow creased. “I don’t need—”
“Yes, you do. We had a little difficulty at your house.” At Angela’s gasp, Cael paused.
She tilted up to Tony. “What’s—what’s going on at home?”
Tony’s quick head shake suggested he knew no more.
“Just a small earthquake,” Evelyn said before Cael could comment.
Cael nodded. “Right.”
“I don’t care about my house, about my job … anything,” Angela said. “We have nothing until we find Leigh. You own your firm, Tony. Take a vacation or better yet, retire. We need to find …”
He ran his hand over her head, pulling her tight again. “Anything you want.” His face disappeared, hidden by her hair, but a quick twist toward Cael pleaded for more help than just with Leigh. “Just don’t leave me again.”
Angela shook her head. “I won’t. Ever.”
Tony led her back into the living room, leaving Evelyn and Lily facing each other.
“How is this possible?” Evelyn waved her arm up and down her own form.
Lily moved around the island until she stood at her Mom’s side. “I’m a Mimic. What that means is that I can be any age and look like any other human female on any day of the year except my birthday. I have to return to who I was on my eighteenth birthday … once a year, on that date. I have no choice. As you know, I’m just a couple days from my birthday, and so, here I am. The sixty-one year old eighteen year old.” Lily waved her hands down her body as Evelyn had.
“What happened when they took you? How?” Evelyn pursed her lips.
“That’s a story that, as a mom, you don’t want to hear all the details.”
Evelyn grabbed and clung to Lily’s arm. “They hurt you. Will they—what about Leigh? Will they do the same?”
“We don’t know,” Cael said. “Like I said, we don’t know for sure who took her.”
“Mommy!” Max’s voice had them all turning. He ran through the living room with Chase’s Spiderman pajamas on. “Look!” He zoomed around the coffee table as if he had wings. One pass around and he raced toward Angela, jumped into her arms and clung as though the early moments of uncertainty had passed.
Tony ruffled Max’s hair. “Let’s get a hotel room.”
“We really do want you to stay here,” Lily said.
“And we have plenty of room.” Charley strolled back in with James and Wyatt in tow. “Evelyn, we have a guest room that’s perfect for you, and it’s on this floor. Max can have Chase’s room, which is right across the hall from my room, where Tony and Angela can stay …”
Angela stepped forward. “We won’t put you out.”
Charley waved a hand. “It’s my room, and it’ll always be my room, but the reality is, this is Lily’s house now.” She leaned into Wyatt’s chest. “I’m going home but will meet you three at the office at eight sharp.” With that, she grabbed Wyatt’s hand and pulled him toward the front door.
“Well, I, for one, would love to sleep on the events of the day,” Evelyn said. “Maybe they’ll make more sense in the morning.”
14
Lily showed everyone to their rooms. She pointed out bathrooms, grabbed extra towels, setting the house up to be a ‘base’ for as long as her family needed.
Evelyn had thanked her kindly.
Angela had thanked her with a distinct undertone of misgiving.
Tony had scowled but walked with Angela, shutting the door and closing Lily out from any conversation they might have had.
Lily headed straight for her balcony. Given their house, her house as Charley said, had been built near the top of Turner Point, the view came in two forms: trees or glorious mountainous landscape. Both soothed. The trees swayed as the wind blew around them. Early summer filled the mountain with green.
Charley had spent many nights in thought on her balcony, while Lily tended to just leave the doors open and let the answers come to her on the breeze. She stepped out into the humid evening air, hugging her less than ideal physical self.
I should change back to something prettier.
Even as she thought to put
color back in her hair and give herself back some of the weight, she stopped.
Stay different enough that they always know who is who.
“Lily?” Cael’s voice carried from inside her bedroom.
She didn’t need to answer; he’d find her.
The steel balcony creaked before a blanket added a heaviness to her shoulders. “Why are you out here?” he asked. “If you’re thinking, why aren’t you on your bed with your pillows?”
See? He knows everything about you.
“Trying something different,” she said.
Cael’s hands added extra warmth where they rested against her arms. “Lil?”
“Yeah?”
In the distance a coyote howled its nightly tune.
“What are you thinking about?” Cael’s body pressed up against her back, the warmth of his breath upon her neck.
“Everything.” Everything, everything.
“That’s a lot of stuff.”
She spun in his arms, leaning back against the rail. “I’m not the greatest Mimic, Cael. Do you think that’s why they kicked me out when I turned eighteen? Like, after all that … they figured out I wasn’t even good enough to be in their rat-assed program?”
His eyes closed for a second before he opened them again. “It’s not a contest about who can do what. You have other strengths. You’re kind. You’re caring. So what if your hair color starts turning back the moment you pick it, or you have to focus on some changes longer than the rest of us.”
“Why aren’t I any good at it, though? Is it genetic? They never told me why just reminded me that I wasn’t.”
“It’s not that you’re not good. You’re just different.” His eyes shimmered a soft purple.
“Your eyes are changing.”
“I know. Saw it in the mirror. It’s just stress.”
She laid her head against Cael’s chest. His heart beat at a steady pace. “Did you hear the whole conversation in the kitchen?”
“Enough of it.”
“How much enough?”
Cael’s laugh echoed in her ear. His finger nudged her chin up. “Why didn’t you tell me that you don’t know how it all works?”
A pang to her chest had her attempting to look down, but he forced her to stay in place. “I feel like an idiot. I’m old, Cael. I should know all this stuff, but I don’t.”
