A Mistaken Identity

It wasn’t too long before I was able to settle into a routine of spending time with the Jonas family. Somehow, the fact that these were my twin sister’s friends made the whole thing bearable. It seemed as if it was the only thing that could keep me close to my sister, despite the fact that I really didn’t want to be here. Plus, with Karleigh dead, this was really the only possible way for me to get to know what my sister was like, at least until I found someone outside of the Jonas family who knew what my sister was like. If I was able to find such a person, then there would have been no need for me to spend all that time with a family I despised.

Unfortunately, there was really no way for that to happen when it seemed as if the only people that Karleigh hung out with on a regular basis happened to be the Jonas family. They were the only ones she really associated with and I found that to be quite annoying. I was glad when the Jonas sisters decided that it was time for us to fly out to New York so that Amanda could go see my uncle. The trip was giving me the chance to see my uncle, get to know him. That was the only bright spot of me being forced to go to New York with Betsy and Amanda; it was giving me the opportunity to get to know my long-lost uncle.

As I stepped out into New York, I sighed heavily. Just knowing that I was about to meet up with my uncle made me nervous. Of course, it didn’t really help much when considering the fact that my uncle was going to think that I was Karleigh, much like everyone else did. That bugged me. It was the downside of having to impersonate my twin sister: no one knew that I was even there, aside from the two people I told, the two people who found out. No one else knew though. No one else seemed to care. “When’s your doctor’s appointment,” I inquired of Amanda as we grabbed our things and hailed a cab.

“Two hours,” she replied. “I had the appointment scheduled as early as I possibly could. Since Karleigh lives out in California, she rarely gets the opportunity to see her uncle who lives in New York. My two appointments per year give her the chance to spend some time with him. It just so happens that my next appointment came just weeks after you began impersonating Karleigh. So, just wait a little longer and you’ll be able to see your uncle.”

When Amanda mentioned that to me, I knew that waiting was really the only thing that I could do. Everyone in the world—Amanda and Betsy aside—thought that I was Karleigh. No one in the world expected that it would be me who accompanied the Jonas sisters to New York. In fact, no one really seemed to know anything about me being around my parents since Halloween, or the fact that Karleigh had been dead for the past month. So, it wasn’t really like there was anyone who would understand what I had been going through for the past month or why I had to be near my family members. Sure, the Jonas sisters knew that I wasn’t Karleigh, but they would never really understand what I had been going through. The Jonas sisters had their parents, despite the fact that the stories I had depicted them as not being very supportive. So, they wouldn’t understand.

The two hours passed slowly, like molasses dripping out of a jar. I was positively thrilled when we left the hotel room and hailed a cab out to my uncle’s practice. It was my uncle, my father’s brother. And, since it was my uncle, that meant that there was a possibility of him being able to help me with the situation that I had been dealing with. In fact, my uncle might even be the only person in the world that could help me. So, I had to go with the sisters to see if I could try asking my uncle to convince my parents to spend time with me. It was the only way that I’d be able to fix my family situation since Karleigh died.

We all went up to the counter and Amanda was the one to speak since this appointment was made for her. “Appointment for Amanda Weimar,” she said, using her maiden name since the appointment was obviously made prior to when the wedding was held.

The receptionist nodded and held out a clipboard to Amanda. “Fill this out,” she said before quickly turning to me. “Karleigh, your uncle would like to speak with you for a moment.”

“Okay,” I said in confusion, looking over at Betsy and Amanda as they went over and took a seat so that Amanda could fill out the paperwork. So, while Betsy was staying with her older sister, I went to go speak with my uncle. As I did, I wondered what it was that my uncle wanted. What had occurred between Karleigh and our uncle the last time she was here to make me get called into the other room to speak with him? I was a niece that he never spent any time with, a niece that grew up with an orphanage instead of with my parents the way that Karleigh did. I sighed and watched as my uncle came in. “What is it, Uncle Vance?”

My uncle laughed when he heard that. He finished up with the chart he was dealing with and, after placing the chart down on the counter, he looked up at me. “So nice to see you too, Kimberleigh. It’s been forever since I last saw you. Nearly eighteen years, in fact.”