Throughout history, the impossible has been proved possible. From a man walking on the moon to harnessing nuclear energy, the unimaginable has occurred, but that wasn’t the case when it came to Joanna and Addison.

The mood inside The Oaks was palpable. The staff had left on Friday, smiling and euphoric about Joanna’s condition, but when they returned on Monday, their mood turned somber and quiet.

For reasons unknown to them, Addison had returned to barking out orders and slamming doors, stomping around the house and staring daggers at anyone who came too close, while Joanna had become introverted and reserved. Offering only the smallest expression of acknowledgment as she passed the staff in the corridors or kitchen, they had no idea her familiar smile and friendly banter had been smothered by her annoyance.

True to her word, Joanna moved back into her room in the east wing, but the transition hadn’t been as easy as she thought. Mourning the loss of the woman she undeniably loved, she cried herself to sleep night after night until one morning bent over the toilet as another wave of nausea washed over her, the blurred lines of her emotions became crisp. In her belly was a child she already loved more than life itself, and that was all that mattered. She knew in her heart she would always love Addison, but they had reached a stalemate Joanna felt insurmountable.

While Joanna cried alone in the darkness, Addison spent her time pacing her bedroom, chain-smoking and sipping scotch until the wee hours of the morning for two weeks straight. Not entirely without heart, she understood the seriousness of what she was asking, and it gnawed at her like a rabid dog, but she was convinced history would repeat itself, and she’d lose the love of her life just like her father had lost his. Unfortunately, the chasm she had caused by demanding Joanna abort their child had created a rift a canyon wide. Joanna had become a ghost in the house, no longer appearing in the dining room for meals or in the hallways, and when Addison had heard doors open and close late in the night, and she rushed to catch a glimpse of Joanna, she had already vanished into the shadows.

***

Addison ran her fingers through her hair, staring mindlessly at the Bibles and journals on her desk as she had done so many times before. She had looked for the gray, the sliver of hope or doubt in the words written by her ancestors, but the pages only contained black-and-white. So, when she heard a door open, she jumped from her chair and bolted from the study. Her vision was still as tunneled, and in the light at the very end, she only saw Joanna, so when Addison reached the foyer and spotted Joanna on the stairs her mind was on only one thing.

“Joanna, please, we need to talk,” she called out.