A Queer Turn of Events   by Lisa Lees	Episode map Characters Extras Blog
2:2 – "What am I?" Part 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Part 2: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

"Mom? We need to talk. Oh, just something that's bothering me. Can I come over?" Jami tried to not to let her voice give away how important this conversation would be. Either my world is about to explode, or my mother is going to say I'm crazy, and I'll have to decide whether to believe her. "Okay, I'll be over in a bit. Thanks." Jami hung up the phone and looked at Carys and Tam. "This shouldn't take too long, guys." "You are not going alone, Jami!" said Carys. "I think the world of your mother, but if you're right..." Carys shook her head. "I don't want you to be alone." "And if I'm crazy?" "You're not crazy," said Tam. "You may not be right, but you're not crazy." Sie walked over to Jami and hugged her. "I agree with Carys. This is too important. We need to do this together." "Thanks." Jami reached out to include Carys in the hug. "Let's get it over with, then, before I chicken out."

"Mom? We need to talk."

Jami's mother, Anne, was happy to see them, as always. They fixed tea in the kitchen, exchanging small talk, then went into the living room to sit. Jami's father was at his office on campus.

"So what is it you need to talk about, Jami?"

No reason to beat around the bush, thought Jami. She set her cup on the coffee table and asked, "Mom? I don't know any easy way to say this, so here goes. Have you told me the truth about my past, about who I am, what I am?"

"Have you told me the truth?"

Anne looked at her with a puzzled expression. Jami thought her mother looked paler, and the hand holding her mug was beginning to shake.

She's going to tell me I'm crazy, that this is my weird imagination, like those Buffy-verse stories I used to write. "I think that somewhere in the world there are people who have been experimenting with human genetics, trying to produce people tailored for certain uses, such as work in the sex industry. I've found bits and pieces of evidence to support this on the web."

Her mother's expression remained blank while Jami briefly outlined what she had found. "It occurs to me that I know nothing for certain about my history. I've never seen my birth certificate or medical records. I only know what you and Dad have told me. I've never met any of your relatives, or Dad's. It's all hearsay. I've been homeschooled all my life, kept out of the official record systems." She stopped and looked at Anne. "Are you my mother?"

"Jami. I... Oh, my God."

Anne's eyes went wide. With difficulty she set her mug on the coffee table. "Jami. I... Oh, my God. This hurts more than I thought it would." Anne closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, looked at the far wall. "I gave birth to you. I raised you." She turned to look at Jami. "But no, I'm not your genetic mother. What you've been saying is basically correct. I was a surrogate mother. Do you know what that means?" Jami nodded. There was a buzzing noise in her head. I guess I really hoped I was crazy. "There was an incident at the lab complex, quite a bit of chaos. A few of us were able to escape at that time. We split up as soon as we could, and have never tried to have contact with each other. "I came to this country with you. I worked as a waitress, went to community college." She quirked an eyebrow. "It was much easier to fake an identity back then. I met Ted. We fell in love, married, moved here and raised you. "I'm sorry, Jami. I've never known how to tell you this. By the time you were old enough to understand, it all seemed like a bad dream to me. The past twenty years, our life here, your life; that's real for me."

"So who am I? What am I."

"You're Jami, my daughter, and I love you very much."

"But..."

"Everything in your life is real, Jami."

"Does Dad know?"

Her mother nodded. "We haven't spoken of it in a very long time. We both agree than any attempt to find out anything about those people would be too dangerous."

"How did you get involved with... whatever it was?"

"I was one of the many young women who disappear every year. Kidnapped. Used. I knew very little about what they were doing with me, but obviously it was illegal."

Anne sighed. "I never tried to make contact with my own family, for fear it would lead to discovery. The people who ran that lab would kill anyone to protect themselves. I didn't want to put my family in danger, or risk loosing you."

OMG!

Tam, Carys and Jami realized they were all staring at Anne, mouths open in shock. None of them had really believed that Jami was right.

"You must not say anything about this to anyone," said Anne. "It's been twenty years. There's no way anyone can find us."

"I'm sure that's true about you," said Jami. "But I'm much more visible, and a lot more unique. If anyone still cares, how hard is it in this day and age to watch for an intersexed person who was born at a particular time?"

Anne shook her head. "I do have a birth certificate for you, Jami. I obtained it when I obtained my own. Neither your birth date nor mine are correct as stated."

"When was I actually born? Where was this place?"

"No. I won't tell you that. I've kept you safe for twenty years, Jami. I'm not going to start being careless now."

* * *

As soon as Jami, Carys and Tam left, Anne called her husband. "Ted? Can you come home, now? I need you!"

"I have class in half an hour, Anne. What's going on?"

"It's Jami. She just asked me about her past. She knows, Ted. She figured it out on her own. If she can do that..."

There was a moment of silence. "I'll cancel class. I'll be there in a few minutes."

To be continued...