As soon as Francine heard Heidi was engaged, she began dropping hints to her boyfriend, Jace. She would leave bridal magazines laying around, take him to look at rings while at the mall, and talk about honeymoon destinations.

Jace was a businessman like her father.

Finally Francine got her wish. Jace got down on one knee and proposed. Francine squealed and jumped in his arms.

Francine examined her ring. It was nice, for a starter ring. She would get a more expensive one later on. She was so excited. She could not wait to tell everyone.

Francine immediately began making plans for her wedding and honeymoon. She talked endlessly about it to whoever was nearby.

Daniel had little interest in Francine’s incessant chatter about weddings, but his girlfriend, Kendra, of two years was. She and Francine would ooh and aah over dresses, flowers, and venues. Sometimes she would show a dress to Daniel that she found particularly pretty. He would nod with disinterest.

Ken was frustrated with Daniel’s apathy. Daniel was filled with excuses about coming to work late, missing meetings, and not applying himself. He lectured him frequently, but it did little good. Ken didn’t understand why he wasn’t more grateful to have a promising career.

When Ken heard Kendall ask Daniel how she would look in the picture of a wedding gown she was holding, it gave him an idea. Maybe what Daniel needed was more responsibility. Maybe if he had a wife and bills, he would take his job more seriously.

Not to mention that Kendra’s father was a prominent businessman and uniting the families would only help Ken.

“Daniel,” said Ken.

Daniel sighed at the prospect of yet another lecture.

“Kendra is a nice girl. What are your intentions with her? If you wait around too long another man will snatch her up,” Ken told him.

Daniel was tired of disappointing his father. He did like Kendra, loved her even. On a whim he proposed to her. Later, he had second thoughts. He tried to suggest extending the date of the wedding farther in the future, but Kendra had other plans.

At his wedding, Daniel took a moment to himself. He tried to act happy. Inside he wanted to go hide. He felt so much pressure. He wondered if he had made a big mistake. He reached in his pocket and took some pills to rid himself of his feelings.

Francine went to visit Heidi at her new home. She brought her a housewarming gift. She wanted to remind her of their agreement. Francine would have the first baby.

Heidi looked down and wrung her hands.

“What’s wrong?” asked Francine.

“Um, I, Uh, I’m having a baby. It was planned. It just happened,” Heidi stammered.

Francine clenched her fists.

“We agreed. You have stolen everything from me. You took over my family, my bedroom. I should have known you would do this too!” Francine shouted. She stormed out of the house.

Francine called her mother when she got home.

“Have you talked to Heidi?” She shouted.

“Yes,” June answered,”she wanted to tell you. It doesn’t matter who is born when. Each baby is a blessing.”

“It does matter. Heidi takes everything,” Francine sobbed.

Francine refused to talk to Heidi or come to family dinners if Heidi was included. A month passed and she went to visit her parents.

She started to complain about Heidi, when her father smashed his fist on the table.

“Enough!” He shouted. Francine jumped, surprised at his sudden anger.

“I don’t know why you’re mad at me. This is Heidi’s fault,” Francine said.

“That’s enough Francine. It is not a competition. It doesn’t matter who does what. Do you even think what Heidi is going through?” Ken looked angrily at Francine.

“What Heidi is going through? What about me? It’s always about Heidi,” Francine complained.

“Your sister lost the baby,” Ken told her. “You would know this if you weren’t so busy pouting.”

“Oh,” said Francine taken aback. “That’s terrible. She’s not my sister, though, not really.”

“She is your sister. I’m tired of this rivalry. Maybe I should have been honest in the beginning, but we thought it was best.”

Francine looked at her father, confused.

“I had an affair. Heidi is my daughter.”

Francine stared at him in disbelief. She looked over at her mother.

“Is this true? Did you know?” She asked her mother.

June nodded.

It made sense really. A distant cousin arrives out of thin air. A cousin they never heard of before. For once, Francine was completely speechless.