Shanice wished she was mistaken but one look at the woman’s face confirmed her fear.
“Mom?” she said again. The woman holding Hera was frozen in shock. In fact, Hera was the only one moving, although slower than she usually did.
“Mama,” said Hera, twisting to look up into the woman’s face. “What’s going on?”
She got no response. Hera looked from Shanice to the woman, and back again. Her face darkened and she broke free of the embrace.
“Shanice, what the hell have you done to my mother?”
Hera’s words felt like a slap across Shanice’s face. She began to speak and so did the older woman.
“She’s my mother,” whispered Shanice.
“Darling, I can explain!”
Both girls turned to face the woman. Hera gave a short bark of laughter. She laughed again, again and again. Shanice was starting to get frightened. Her mind felt like it had been blended and then re-baked into a useless heap of questions. How was this happening? Why was her mother pretending to be Hera’s mother? Or could it be… that she had been pretending to be her mother all this time? No, that wasn’t possible. Or was it? It would explain how she had always treated her.
“What do you mean, she’s your mother?” Hera said, her voice rising with every word.
“I don’t know.” Shanice’s words came out in a tumble. “I mean, I know but I don’t know what’s… I don’t understand!”
“You called her mom and she freaked out!”
“That’s because she’s my mom!”
“But she’s my mother! What the hell!”
Hera slammed her palm onto the table, making both Shanice and the woman jump. Nearly everyone in the restaurant turned to look. The waiter Hera had been trying to signal earlier made his way to them. He did not look nearly as pleasant as before.
“Hera, darling, please sit down,” said the woman, placing a hand on Hera’s arm.
She shook it off angrily. “Sit down and I’ll explain. Let’s not cause a scene, okay?”
Hera glared at her and for a moment, it was not clear what she would do. Then she sat down with a huff, just before the waiter arrived.
“Is there a problem?” His question was directed at Hera but it was the woman he looked at.
“No, no no, no problem.” The woman responded hastily. “She just doesn’t know how to contain her emotions…you know…watoto wa siku hizi.” She smiled entreatingly at him. He looked from the mother to Hera, frowning.
“Well, I hope you’re ready to order. We don’t allow idle sitting.”
“Yes, yes of course.” She looked around at Hera and Shanice. “Bring us 3 …umm, 3 mango juices.”
He walked away.
Shanice felt as though her body had stopped working. The blood in her veins flowed achingly slow as her heartbeat grew sluggish. Nothing made sense anymore. This was not how this day should have gone. It was supposed to have been a simple day out shopping with Lucy.
If only Lucy were here. She would know what to say. Lucy was never fazed. Unless this would be the first thing to throw her off balance. She looked up and noticed that both the woman and Shanice were looking at her. The woman – she was not sure she could think of her as her mother anymore – seemed to be talking to her. Shanice tried to focus but somehow, her ears had stopped working.
She shook her head and said, “I can’t hear you.” Or at least, she tried to speak. What came out sounded more like a squeak than words.
“Snap out of it!” Hera’s words cut through Shanice’s haze. She blinked at the two of them, seated across from her.
“Hera, please,” the woman said.
Hera crossed her arms and looked away.
“Shanice, where’s Lucy?” The woman with her mother’s face was speaking to her. Her face looked the same yet there was something different about it. And her voice, her voice did not sound like anything Shanice knew. It was soft and gentle. Was that a note of care in it too?
Shanice stared. She wanted to answer but the words simply would not come out.
“Shanice?” The woman probed.
“I don’t know.” Her voice cracked at the end. Something flickered across the woman’s face.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
‘Ah, there it is,’ thought Shanice. ‘Now she sounds more like my mother.’
“I don’t know because I was supposed to meet her in town to go shopping but she didn’t show up.”
The woman sighed. She seemed relieved. What did she think had happened?
“That’s good,” said the woman. “That’s good.”
“Good?!” Hera turned to the woman.“
How can you say that’s good at a time like this? You still haven’t explained why both of us think you’re our mother.”
The woman sighed once more. She put her hands together, as though in prayer, and even closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was looking right at Shanice.
“That’s because I am. I am both your mother,” she paused then turned to look at Hera. “And yours.”
The slow-motion thing started happening to Shanice again. She saw Hera’s mouth move and her beautifully long arms wave around.
‘She really does beautiful arms.’ Shanice’s thoughts were holding a conversation in her head again. ‘How come her arms are so beautiful and mine aren’t? If our mother really is the same person, I should have beautiful arms too.’
“Did you give birth to both of us?” Shanice blurted out the question. Shocked by her own boldness, she bit her lower lip. Hera and the woman abandoned their heated conversation to stare across the table.
“How can you ask me that?”
Shanice cowered at the woman’s tone.
“No, actually that’s a good question,” interjected Hera. She crossed her arms over her chest and asked, “Did you give birth to us?”
The woman glowered at Hera. Hera glowered back.
‘What is she doing??’ Shanice thought. ‘Look away, look away!’
“Of course I gave birth to you! How dare you ask me such a question?”
“Dare? Dare? How dare we? You’re the one who has two daughters who don’t know about each other!”
“This is exactly why I didn’t want you to know! I knew this was how you would react, I knew!”
“Ohhh, you knew? Of course, you always know everything!”
‘Oh my gosh! Is she sneering at her mother?’ thought Shanice. ‘Wait, she’s your mother too, remember? Or at least that’s what she says.’
Shanice continued to watch the two of them bicker with strange fascination. Had she dared to speak to her mother like that, she would’ve been giving a beating to remember. How could one person be so different?
“That’s it! I’m not listening to you anymore,” said Hera. “Let me pass.”
The woman was seated near the aisle, blocking Hera’s exit.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Away! Anywhere that’s not here with you and your lies!” Hera was barely managing to control the volume in her voice.
“Hera, you can’t leave, I –”
“I said I don’t want to hear it!” said Hera through gritted teeth. “Move.”
“No.”
“Move.”
“Hera, I’m your mother you can’t – ”
Hera ducked under the table and in a flash, emerged from the other side. She had found a way out after all. The woman stared at her, mouth hanging open while Hera stared back defiantly. She took a step away from the table, then looked over at Shanice.
“Are you coming?”
