GHOST LOVE

CHAPTER TWO

The other girl continued to gush about what an amazing coincidence it was, completely oblivious to the fact that Joan wasn't feeling the same level of elation as she was. "It can't have been more than seven years since the last time I saw you. She went on to add, in a condescending tone, "You never even told me that you were leaving Hillingdon." "Are these your children?" was the question.

‘Yes.’

Joan was eager to flee, but it was impossible for her to do so while Lisa admired the twins and picked up her own toddler, whom she introduced to Joan as Piers and said was only three years old. Joan was desperate to get away, but it was impossible.

She continued by making a small face and saying, "After his grandfather." "Do you know, I just can't get over the fact that I met you in such an unexpected way. Naturally, the chauffeur is the one who picks Piers up from school on a daily basis. What exactly are you occupying your time with? Her eyes slid to the betrayingly ancient state of Joan ’s Mini in comparison to her own elegant Mercedes Benz. ‘You married, of course… Your husband…’

"Calvin passed away before the twins were born," Joan murmured huskily as she bent down to check the fastening on Frank's shoes, grateful for the opportunity to conceal her expression from the young woman who had been one of her closest friends in the past. Why, in the name of God, did this have to take place? Why, of all people, did it have to be Lisa that she ran into in this condition?

Lisa had an immediate capacity for empathy.

Oh, you poor thing! she exclaimed, casting a significant glance at the twins as she continued, "Oh, you poor thing!" "I hope there aren't any problems there." Even if it wasn't the same thing, I can still recall what the absence of a father did to me when I was growing up. When I was four years old, my mother divorced my biological father. I don't think I've ever mentioned that to you before since I didn't want other people to know. She has remarried, in case you didn't know,' she said, oblivious to Joan's abrupt tensing of her body as she imparted the information in a casual tone. "As she ages, her husbands are likely to marry younger women." She currently makes her home in the United States. I believe that out of all the fathers that mother gave me, Alex is the one that I most admire. In the past, I never once admitted that he was not in fact my biological father. Do you remember how much fun he was to be around...?

Did she do it? Joan managed to stammer out a 'Yes...' while forcing a grin on a face that seemed as though it would break apart and reveal her pain to the world.

Lisa excitedly said, "Look, we need to get together!" in the previous sentence. "There is a lot of ground to make up," she said. We have recently purchased a home in the countryside, primarily for Piers's use. Although his father eventually intends to move his business there, we are only able to utilize it on the weekends for the time being because of this restriction. This coming weekend, we are heading down; why don't you come with us? I have no doubt that the twins would enjoy doing that.

I....'

'Don't refuse,' Lisa urged. "Give some thought to it. Here is my contact information,' She jotted it down on a scrap of paper and handed it to Joan after she was finished. "When you left Hillingdon like that, I couldn't believe it, but I think that at the age of fourteen I was really too young for you to take me into your trust. However, I remember you being so wonderful to me while we were in school; in many ways, you reminded me of the sister I never had. Are you able to recall? You appeared to have an innate understanding of how I felt regarding the difficulties I was having with Mother. It's possible that was something we had in common, despite the fact that our motivations were different. Do you, like me, want to give your two all the love and affection that we were never able to receive as children? She halted what she was doing when she realized that her car was blocking an exit, hurried Piers towards it, and called out to Joan over her shoulder, "Now don't forget—you're spending next weekend with us!" She then hurried Piers towards the exit.

Joan experienced a feeling of complete numbness as she made her way back to the house. Out of everyone, it's Lisa! When she said that they had a lot in common, she had been telling the truth when she said that. When Joan was in her role as a prefect at the school, Lisa was one of the juniors there. She was never out of trouble; she was defiant, rebellious, and undisciplined. However, Joan had recognized that beneath her outward brashness and her apparent immaturity lay the same inner desperation and vulnerability that she herself felt. In order to learn more about the genuine Lisa, it had not been an easy task to break down the barriers that had accumulated over the years. As Joan had a sneaking suspicion, Lisa's supposed s****l exploits, which had so shocked one of her form teachers, had been nothing more than a fabrication; however, there had been a great danger that Lisa would fall into the trap of promiscuity in the intensity of her search for someone to give her the love and security that she craved. Joan had a sneaking suspicion that Lisa's supposed s****l exploits had so shocked one of her form teachers. to counteract the influence of a mother who was emotionally distant from her child and preoccupied with her own wants and needs to the point where she was unable to notice what was happening to her child.

They were now very close to one another; in fact, Lisa claimed that they were as close as sisters. After learning that Lisa was frequently left completely alone in the enormous barn of a house that was only one of Mrs. Joy's homes, Joan began to spend the occasional weekend with her friend Lisa. This began shortly after Joan made the discovery. At the time, she was completing her own studies for her A-levels, and Lisa had begun to study similarly after seeing how she did it.

ch keener interest in her own work. "A miniature do-gooder" was one of the less cruel labels that Lisa's mother had applied to her daughter. This was due to the fact that Lisa's mother, Mrs. Joy, was bitterly resentful of Lisa's friendship with her, despite the fact that she had little interest in her own child.

During that time, she had a very limited understanding of Lisa's past and family. Her mother and father were absent from the house on a regular basis; in fact, when she first saw Lisa's father, she didn't even recognize him as Lisa's biological parent. It had been on one of the weekends that she had spent at Lisa's house when the incident had occurred. She needed a drink after waking up in the middle of the night. She had been in the basement kitchen about to open the refrigerator when she had the sudden realization that she wasn't the only one there. Fear had been quickly followed by curiosity when she had realized that the tired and gaunt-looking man slumped over the kitchen table was the fabled father Lisa adored, and an oddly maternal wave had swamped her when he raised his head and looked at her with exhausted eyes. Lisa's father had been a legend, and she had always admired him.

She vividly recalled the time when she had prepared a meal for him in the kitchen. He had eaten without appetite, and it wasn't until years later, when she herself was suffering from jet lag, that she realized just how unwelcome her ministrations and cooking had probably been, but he had been too kind to let her see it. She had been surprised to find out just how unwelcome her cooking and ministrations had been. Alex had a soft spot for children and crippled dogs, but the problem was that she wasn't either of those things. Neither of them had realized that she wasn't a child until it was too late for them to do anything about it.

"Mummy, I need some food!"

Her concentration was rudely interrupted by Vanessa's urgent scream. She finally pulled over, turned off the car, and got out to assist them. As they entered the kitchen, the aroma of the casserole that she had prepared earlier that morning before going to work greeted them with a welcoming greeting. Joan started preparing their meal after she sent both of the twins upstairs to the bathroom to change their clothes and wash their faces. She had vivid memories of eating meals by herself at the kitchen table while her mother watched, which served as a strong deterrent against subjecting her own children to the same thing. Despite the fact that five o'clock was rather early for her to eat, she preferred to share her meals with the twins rather than eat alone.

Her meals were consistently the most anticipated parts of her day. During the course of their meals, the twins would typically recount the events of their day to her, and she always made it a point to listen to them attentively. Frank's usual tone of voice is one of grave seriousness, but Vanessa, who is almost too perceptive for her own good, was able to recognize very immediately when an adult was merely catering to her desires.

They descended the stairs at the same time, each wearing a pair of dungarees.

Vanessa explained to her that Frank was unable to tie the laces on his sneakers, so she had to do it for him.

Tara looked at their freshly washed hands while fighting back a sigh of frustration. She was aware that it was perfectly normal for Vanessa to be more developed than her brother at this stage; however, she was concerned that vanessa possessively maternal attitude toward her brother, despite the fact that it was delightful, might prevent Frank from learning how to stand on his own two feet.

Both of the children ate with a lot of appetite. Both of the twins did not have a food fetish thanks in large part to the fact that Tara was an exceptional cook, and she instilled this quality in them from an early age. In spite of the fact that Joan's budget did not allow for the purchase of luxurious items, she was able to provide a nutritious and well-balanced diet for both of her children. In her opinion, it was in their best interest to limit their consumption of sugary and chocolaty treats.

Vanessa vowed that she would have a slimmer build herself, but Frank was becoming more overweight, and she had a sneaking suspicion that he might grow up to resemble his father.

She made it a habit to give herself an hour after supper to engage in fun activities with the twins and read to them. Reading became tedious for Vanessa, who had lightning-fast impatience, but Frank was never satisfied with the amount of material presented. Joan mused on how, despite their nearly identical appearances, they were very different people on the inside.

Joan's mother had begun a campaign that was evidently designed to guide her towards marriage; the benefits of marriage to the twins were always emphasized whenever she visited home; nonetheless, Joan had resisted her mother's pressure up to this point. Because, for one thing, marriage would mean telling someone about the twins' paternity, which she had no desire to do; and for another thing, it would mean exposing herself once more to their rejection. She did not want to do either of these things.

She was aware that other girls had been through what she had been through without having the same outcomes; however, she had always been extremely sensitive; too sensitive, she admitted, realizing that a portion of her concern for Simon stemmed from the fact that she feared he had inherited this fragility from her.

It was hard to believe that her body had ever known the excruciating pleasure that was now only a distant memory, but which had once caused her to forget all of her principles and scruples to the extent that nothing mattered except for Alex's possession of her, even though she was fully aware that at the time, his actions were blurred and his mind was dazed by a lethal combination of exhaustion and jet lag. Now, it seemed almost unbelievable that her body had ever experienced the excruciating pleasure

It was not a pleasant recollection, but it was one that had helped to assist her in maintaining a level head and better control over her feelings ever since it occurred. Alex had stated that he loved her, but his actions afterward did not support what he said about his feelings. What he had felt for her was merely a fleeting desire, and she, who was hopelessly in love with him, had encouraged and incited him to make love to her. What he had felt for her had been nothing more than a passing fancy. The twins were the result of careless lovemaking, and Joan had poured out all of the love she had been forced to bottle up inside of her onto them. The twins were the result of careless lovemaking.

Joan had never been interested in having flings of any kind, despite the fact that there had been a multitude of men who had made it abundantly clear that they desired her. She preferred to keep men at a safe distance. To this point, Smith had been the most determined, but Joan had stood her ground, and it did not bring her any pleasure to know that Smith's sudden outbursts of temper against the models were fueled by s****l frustration caused by her refusal to sleep with him. Joan's refusal to sleep with Smith had been the cause of these outbursts, and it did not give her any pleasure to know that.

To this point, she had been successful in avoiding crossing the precariously thin line that separated their personal connection from their professional one at work. Smith was a professional photographer down to his fingertips, but Joan was concerned that one day he might break what was obviously a self-imposed rule and remind her that he had the ability to make her jobless. She admired him for his restraint in not use that weapon up until that point. On the other hand, there was this weekend job coming up that involved taking some photos of fashion models at Leeds Castle. She had tortured her brains in an attempt to come up with a plausible justification for staying home, but so far she had come up empty. When she mentioned that she could not simply abandon them for a whole weekend, Smith had casually said that the twins could go with them in response to her comment.

It dawned on her that Lisa's invitation would provide a foolproof justification for declining to go; it would also prevent Smith from figuring out her concern that if she simply declined the assignment, he would press his suit even further, forcing the confrontation that she had so far been able to avoid. The thought occurred to her that Lisa's invitation would provide a foolproof justification for declining to go.