The Aberrations of S.I.D.E.

No. 29: Family Reunion

Remus was ecstatic at the news, and had demanded that they call her immediately. Roman ended up doing the talking, and after a bit of discussion, they agreed to meet just outside the library that afternoon. Now that they were there, though, Virgil noticed that Roman was looking pretty jittery.

"I really should not have let you get coffee," he sighed, taking the now-empty cup out of Roman's hands. "It's just making you even more nervous."

"I don't know what to say," Roman said, hopping from one foot to another. "What if nothing gets said? What if it's the most awkward thing in existence? I shouldn't have agreed to this, maybe we should just go home---"

Remus grabbed him by the jacket sleeve. "We are staying. Stop being such a wuss."

"I am not being a wuss!" Roman exclaimed.

"Yes, you are."

"Look, if she's lying, I'll tell you and we can leave, all right?" Janus said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And if she isn't, I'll let you know and you can have a nice bonding moment. Easy."

"It's not easy---"

"Well, let's just pretend that it is for a second, all right?"

Virgil cast a longing glance at the doors of the library, itching to rush in and browse. They were supposed to go there today, so Virgil could make a list of more books that he wanted to check out back home---or, well, back in Toronto---but they had to postpone it to make room for this.

"What time did she say, again?" he asked. "Noonish, right?"

Janus checked his phone. "Correct, and it is now..." He squinted. "Twelve-oh-five."

Roman's eyes widened. "Oh god, she's late. Of course she's late. Maybe she forgot, and we should just leave, right? We should just---"

"Shut up." Remus pressed a water bottle into Roman's hands. "Drink."

Roman sheepishly opened the water bottle and took a few sips.

Virgil nudged Remus. "You're a lot more calm about this than I expected."

"I'm channelling all of my freak-out energy into making sure that Roman doesn't freak out," he said in an undertone. "I'm just as nervous as he is."

"Gotcha."

Janus snapped his fingers. "I see her."

"What? Where?" Roman started looking around wildly.

"She's across the street... and she noticed us... and she is running into traffic," Janus noted. "Ah, good, she didn't get hit."

Virgil finally noticed the woman in a chic black winter coat running towards them. Aside from the curly hair, she didn't look that much like either of the twins, but Virgil recognized her from the picture that Roman had showed him.

"Mom," Roman whispered.

Remus waved his hand around. "MOM! WE'RE HERE!"

The minute she reached them, she wrapped the twins into a big hug. "Ti chiedo perdono," she murmured. "I'm so sorry, boys."

Roman hesitated, then returned the hug, blinking back visible tears. Remus just looked vaguely stunned.

"Nice to see you again, Fran," Janus said, giving her a smile. "You're looking very well."

"Oh, Janus!" Francesca exclaimed, breaking away. "I didn't know that you were going to come!" She gave him a quick hug. "I'm so sorry about Isabelle."