Adopted By Oprah

Chapter Twenty Two (Part Two)

"So you're Millie." I say, my voice quiet and wavering.

I stand up and walk over to the wall near my bed, and lean on one shoulder.

"Yes. I am Fergus and November's child. My biological parents, however, are not Martha Stewart and her late husband. My mother is Estelle Dabney, and my father is Chaz Dean (omg lol so nerdy!!). I have no idea when my birthday is. I know it's sometime in the winter, but that's all I know. I was adopted, by Martha, however, on August 27, 2009." she said, looking at the floor.

"So you are forty two, and eight, and TMP is thirty-six? How is that even possible?" I say, beginning to pace.

"The time machine ruined her aging process. She ages like a human." She said, chuckling.

I walked out of my room, and grabbed Allison to tell her the most important part. I now knew who took us from our families and put us into the arms of Brenda Gregory. I knocked on her door, barged in, and shut off her blasting music.

"Orchid! What the heck was that! I was just getting to the good part of that song! It's the new Panic! at the Disco album! Come on!"

"I don't care. This is important. Now get up." I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her up and out of the room. I ran through the hall and forced her down at my desk. I shoved the letter in my hand into her face, and she took it, glaring her eyes at me.

"Blah... Fergvember... 1986... wait.. WHAT." She said, her jaw dropping and her eyes darting straight up to Mildred, then back at me, then to Mildred again. Then, she kept reading.

"I hate you Mildred." she said, running out of my room with tears in her eyes. I knew she would have that sort of reaction, so I just sighed and left the room, and just went down to Jared's underground bar. I didn't drink anything, but just sat down behind the counter and read the letter over and over again.

I got up and left the room with the letter in my hand, and made copies of it for each of the siblings. I left everyone's copies on the dinner table, ordered a pizza, and called everyone down.

"Grab your letter, read it, and sit down. I want to talk to you, Mom, especially." I said, looking Mom dead in the eye, and just wishing for this to all be a dream. I gestured for her to follow me, and pulled her into the laundry room.

"So. You knew that Mildred took me and Allison away from our families and practically ruined their lives? How could you not tell us?" I screamed. She sat down on the floor, and I began to pace around the small room.

"Well, I thought you wouldn't need to know, and it only came to my attention that you two were some of the precious little babies she had brought home for the night all those years ago when Mildred pulled me aside and mentioned how alike you looked to them." She said, avoiding my gaze. I stood up and threw the letter down onto the dryer, and just ran out.

As I was running, Fergus popped up next to me.

"Orchid! What are you doing?! It's 4:12 AM, and you just ran out of your room in your pajamas. You're sleepwalking." He said, with a concerned look on his face.

"What? This was all a dream? Oh my god. What the... it seemed so realistic... I'm gonna go talk to Mildred..." I said, looking really confused, and my voice dropping to barely a whisper.

I walked over to her room, and knocked on her door. I heard a thud, and then some rustling around. After roughly minute of that, she opened the door.

"What do you want, Orchid? It's five in the morning." she said, half asleep.

"What year were you born in? Just wondering." I said, with suspicious undertones.

"Two thous...I mean 1973." She said, catching herself before saying 2007.

"I knew it. I told Fergus you were turning 43 this year." I said. 

And with that, I walked to my room, pulled out the letter from my bed, and smiled. 

I knew it was real, I just had to make sure the old woman down the road was telling the truth. 

I paid her $200 to erase the memories of yesterday. Even mine. In three hours, my memories of yesterday will be gone, just a strange dream.