Karen Young - Private Lives

After taking their orders, the waiter collected the menus and hurried away. “What was that about media?” Elizabeth asked, frowning. “Was the reporter who did that feature on me lurking around?”

“He wasn’t in the courtroom,” Gina said. “I looked.”

Maude broke open a roll and buttered it lavishly. “There are always reporters assigned to the courthouse beat, but they seldom have an interest in custody hearings unless the people involved are in the public eye. As much as Austin might fancy being in the public eye, he isn’t. No, I think Ryan was just trying to rattle your cage, Elizabeth. Trust me, you did very well up there. Your sincerity shone through.” She smiled at them both. “I, for one, find the friendship between you heartwarming.”

“Excuse me…” A woman, smiling slightly, stopped at the booth.

“Yes?” Maude said, her thinly penciled brows going up. But it wasn’t Maude the woman’s gazed fixed on. It was Elizabeth.

“I know this is so…well, pushy, but I told myself if I don’t grab the opportunity, I might not get another.” Her pretty face lit up in a wide, warm smile. “Hi, Elizabeth. I’m Lindsay.”

Elizabeth could think of absolutely nothing to say. After the fiasco of both her and Gina’s testimony, she’d thought the day couldn’t get any worse. She’d been mistaken.

“Lindsay,” she repeated.

Gina gave a little gasp, then covered her lips with her fingers. She glanced quickly at Elizabeth. “Is this—”

“Lindsay Blackstone.” Lindsay’s smile went even brighter, if possible. “And I’ve just sat in on your hearing so I know who you are.” She gave Elizabeth an imploring look. “Please don’t be offended, but I just wanted to introduce myself.” She stuck out her hand and her smile flashed again. “I don’t think you’d welcome a hug, would you?”

“Hello.” Elizabeth took her hand, gave it a brief squeeze. What else could she do? “This is my friend, Gina D’Angelo, and her lawyer, Maude Kennedy. Gina, Maude, this is Lindsay…” She paused, unable to bring herself to say the S word.

“I’m Elizabeth’s sister,” Lindsay said with a wide smile.

There was a moment of stunned silence at the table. “We’ve had some e-mail correspondence lately,” Elizabeth explained in the lull.

“I was aware that you had a sister,” Maude said, studying them both with frank interest. “And now that I’ve seen you together, the physical resemblance is definitely there.”

“I never made a connection with the Lindsay Blackstone on TV,” Gina said on a note of wonder. She gave Elizabeth a wide-eyed look. “This is the Lindsay you mentioned who sent you the e-mail? Your sister?”

“It seems so,” Elizabeth said dryly.

“You mean you didn’t go around bragging about me?” Lindsay teased with an amusing laugh. “I’m hurt.”

“Sorry.” Elizabeth was vaguely familiar with the canceled show—”Lindsay’s Hour”—but she hadn’t made a habit of watching it. Mornings were her peak writing time, so she didn’t watch much television at all during the day. She recalled seeing it, though, but had never guessed at any connection between herself and the woman who was the show’s star. The woman whose life seemed charmed.

Lindsay’s charm was now fully unleashed. “Well, as they say, pride goes before a fall. I guess that’ll show me.”

“I was a big fan,” Gina said.

“Thank you.”

“The similarities between you two are quite amazing,” Maude said, gazing from one to the other. “But you’re certainly different types as far as hair and eyes go.” Elizabeth’s dark auburn hair and clear green eyes were startlingly different from perky, blue-eyed and blond Lindsay.

“I’ve only figured it out recently,” Lindsay said, still smiling. “According to my adoptive parents, we were separated by some stupid mix-up in the courts. This happened when Megan, our other sister, and I were still infants. We never knew that Elizabeth existed, can you believe that? It all came out when she won the Newbery. I guess you could call our reaction a mix of delight and amazement and…well, we were furious and sad, too. You should have been there when we confronted our parents. They had a lot of explaining to do, I can tell you.”

Elizabeth drew a long breath. “Lindsay, I don’t think this is the time to discuss our personal circumstances.” But inside she was trying to take in the fact that her sisters hadn’t known about her until the newspaper article. Had Lindsay mentioned that in her e-mail? She’d zapped it after that first, fast read-through. Had she missed it?

Eyes wide, Lindsay put a hand against her cheek and looked somewhat apologetic. “You’re so right. Like I said, I’m pushy sometimes. Megan’s always telling me I talk first and think later. But how could I pass up this opportunity when it’s been so difficult trying to reach you?” She gave Elizabeth a cajoling smile. “Can we get together…please? It would mean so much to Megan and me.”

Their orders arrived just then and Elizabeth escaped having to reply. Not to be deterred, Lindsay shifted to one side, waiting while their plates were placed in front of them. Then she laid her card at Elizabeth’s place. “I’ll go now and let you enjoy your lunch, but please use my private number to call me…anytime. Or Megan. I’ve jotted hers down, too. She’s doing her residency. Presently it’s an ER rotation. I think that lasts six weeks, then it’s—” She stopped, smiled again in charming apology. “Okay, okay, I’m done. Call one of us, Elizabeth. Please? Now that we know you exist, we’ll have all the time in the world to get to know each other. After all, we’re family. What could be more natural?” Still smiling, she backed away.

“So that’s what a TV personality looks like in person,” Gina breathed as they watched Lindsay make her way through the lunch crowd, waving to first one then another of the seated diners. One man rose hastily, beckoning her over to an already full table. With a bright smile of recognition, she went over and stood talking.

“I wonder how it feels to have a face that everybody recognizes?” Gina mused.

“Not everybody,” Maude said, giving Elizabeth a smiling look. “I never saw her before. I take it she’s a local celebrity?”

Gina, not Elizabeth, answered. “Yeah, at least she is in Houston, I guess. She had her own talk show produced at WBYH, but it was canceled after—” She looked at Elizabeth. “It ran about a year, didn’t it, Liz?”

“I really don’t know.”

“Are you like me, Elizabeth, not much time for television?” Maude might not be a fan; nevertheless, she was intrigued. Her gaze was on Lindsay, still chatting across the room. “Why was the show canceled?”

Gina shrugged. “Ratings, I suppose. Isn’t that always the reason a show is axed?”

Maude smiled faintly. “Again, I plead ignorance.”

“But now that I’ve actually seen her,” Gina said, noting the buzz among the lunch crowd as they began to recognize the celebrity among them, “I’m surprised she didn’t make a go of it. She’s very charismatic, isn’t she? And talk about cogones, she’s got ’em! It took balls to approach Liz after she ignored the e-mail. I’ve seen Liz squash lesser individuals who tried to intrude on her privacy.” She gave Elizabeth a thoughtful look. “Are you telling me you never knew the Lindsay who sent that e-mail was one and the same as Lindsay Blackstone of television fame?” There was obvious admiration on Gina’s face.

“I guess I’m just not the starstruck type,” Elizabeth said with a shrug, knowing it was difficult to resist someone with Lindsay’s infectious personality. But she was honest enough to admit her reaction seemed less noble now that she’d learned her sisters never knew she existed. They hadn’t chosen to shut her out of their lives. They hadn’t known about her. She studied her soup without enthusiasm. Maybe sometime in the future she’d make an effort to get to know Lindsay and Megan, but for now, the time just wasn’t right.