Twins

Mrs. Carmichael blanched at every detail her daughter shared, and Karen seemed to revel in saying it all, once she had realized her own parent's behavior since meeting us at the airport.

"If you're that bothered with me being with Andy, why did you allow me the apartment, knowing full well he was going to be sharing it with me?"

I don't think it was Karen's intention to even allow her to answer the question. I'm not even sure she was capable of doing so, to be honest.

"This is the second time you have disrespected this man. I understood why the first time, truly I did. But what you have both done today is inexcusable."

We all heard a car horn out by the curb, and I grabbed her bag, slung it over my shoulder, and held my case as I walked past them both so she could wish her folks good day. Even I wasn't ready for what passed her lips, and I was sure glad I had my back to them all.

"Now, if you will excuse us, we're off to find a hotel, where I will get on all fours and take all twelve inches of his cock up my ass and love every inch of it."

There was no way I could turn around after she left that bomb in the house.

*******

It still took us an hour from the time we left her folks to book into the Marriot Hotel. Karen refused every call on her cell for the rest of that evening. She turned it off when we went to bed, and cried late into the evening. Between the hugs to comfort her, and her own exhaustion, she finally slept. Her cell remained in her bag the next morning. I got the call I was dreading, but answered it anyway.

"Good morning, Professor."

The female voice proved me wrong.

"Andy it's Trisha Marshall. Please put Karen on; this is getting out of hand."

Even as I moved my cell across to Karen, it was clear to see she wasn't about to take it. When I told her it was Trisha she resigned herself to talking to her cousin. She took the phone with her outside, and for the next few minutes she paced and nodded her head, ranted some, and then paced back and forth again. Eventually she sat on a seat on the patio while I watched all this through the dining room window of the Marriot.

I could still see the fight in her eyes when she returned. She pushed her breakfast around the plate for the next ten minutes and then we both gave up on it. I was the outsider looking in on this one, and found myself in unfamiliar territory, but being the outsider meant that I could see where this could go if it continued. Stubborn may well have been Karen's middle name, but add in her thinking that she had to defend me against her own parents and you had yourself a very volatile mix.

Letting her vent was one thing, but self-destructing around her own folks wasn't going to happen. She was already reading more into the funeral mess-up than there really was, so I decided to play devil's advocate.

"Bottom line is that they love you, Karen. They just don't know what to make of me, and I can understand that. I don't have all the answers; I'm not Einstein. I'm just a twenty-one year old who came into the lives of two of the greatest women on this planet."

A smile replaced her frown and for that I was oh so grateful, so I continued. "OK. I'm biased here, but I figure you don't get to hear that often enough from me, so I'd better keep saying it."

We left the hotel dining room holding hands, and that was another plus. We sat at the furthest edge of the foyer so we could talk if she wanted to. I still gently trod the middle ground throughout. It seemed that Trisha was brought into all this due to Karen shutting off her cell. She was just as shocked by the actions of the Carmichaels, and swore to Karen that she was already at the airport and would be on the next available flight.

It was obvious to me she needed a distraction, so we headed for Fairfax Corner, walking around the shops for a bit of window therapy. The coffee shop we planed to sit in was crowded, so we took a coffee each outside. Around six little ones played in the water fountain while the moms occupied the seats around the edge. Another older couple sat across the fountain from us and watched the antics of the children as well. It was also the first time I had seen Karen smile since the actions of her folks last evening.

"Andy, I didn't want yesterday to be the first impression you formed of my folks."

Her fingers entwined with mine, I watched her, but she continued to watch the children at play. It seemed that the happy moments they shared kept the dark thoughts in her own head at bay.

"They are good people, but their main misconception seems to be you. I'm not sure what they expected us to do when we grew old enough to date, or even marry, and perhaps Stacey and I should have sat mom down and had one of those talks with her."

Her anger overtook her once again, "Dammit, Andy! It's not as if we're unique here: other twins have done what we had planed to do."

My arm came out, and she leaned in to rest her head on my shoulder. We continued to watch the antics of the children as they rushed the fountains, only for the water to stop and then eject out of one of the outlets next to them, causing them all to scream and run away. It did seem to soothe Karen enough to calm her and, after a while, the Karen that I fell in love with came back to me.

It was the ache in our backsides that told us we had been sitting too long, so we walked back into the Centre and found a place to eat. Trisha Marshall was sitting in the foyer when we got back to the hotel; she had already booked a room but didn't want to miss our return. My main point of contact had always been my professor, but seeing how Karen's cousin interacted with her gave me more of an insight into that family dynamic.

*******

Trisha listened to Karen and got her view on what happened. It was clear to see from her face that Karen's folks had sugar-coated their version. She left us while she got on the phone, then came back ten minutes later and sat down again, this time facing Karen.

"OK, talk to me. What do YOU want?"

Karen spoke before I even had a chance to draw breath and look at her.

"I was here to finally introduce Andy properly to my folks, and spend the day crying at my sister's graveside. Well, they've met him, and that turned into a train wreck, so I'm here for my birthday with Stacey and then back to college, and if daddy has any sense he will leave us in peace."

"They won't touch you; you have my word on that. The apartment is still yours until you're done with exams, but then what? You have to get this sorted out, Karen: having it sitting in your head while you're trying to get good exam results won't help."

Finally Karen asked the one question she refused to allow her folks to answer.

"Why are they acting like this? They knew Andy was in our lives. Hell, I've lived with him for long enough; you think they would have noticed him."

Trisha looked like she was real uncomfortable about all this, her glance at me only adding to her seeming reluctance to answer. Karen sure picked up on that real quick.

"You know, don't you? They told you why, and you're not telling me."

The pause felt like an eternity.

"Great-aunt Amie..."

The look of shock on Karen's face at the mention of this name was total, the fingers of her right hand digging deep into my arm. Her eyes blazed pure anger as she drew breath.

"Oh, no! No, no, NOOO!" she almost shrieked. "Don't you dare!" As for me, I was still struggling along behind although, judging by the looks they were giving each other, I felt things were about to get really interesting.

"That's not even until I'm twenty-five and, besides," Karen pointing to me for this part, "I know him inside and out, and he's not interested. I've seen how he lived before we started living together. I've been to his house, for Christ's sake."

Trisha wasn't backing down on whatever this was. I was still trying desperately to get a line on it myself.

"It's different now, Karen. It was divided between you both, and now Stacey is dead it all falls on you."

"Then I don't want it. Tell them I don't want it."

For the first time I saw sadness in Trisha's eyes, her voice simply mirroring her emotions.

"You know that can't happen, Karen. Great-aunt Amie worded it in such a way that you both had little choice in the matter. Even less with Stacey being dead. It all falls on your shoulders now."

Man, but this was getting interesting! I was almost afraid to breathe in case they remembered I was still here.

Karen seemed to brighten up, but what came next sounded more like desperation on her part. I was convinced I was right when I looked at Trisha.

"I still have a few years to get him used to this. He needs to know from the beginning and not have it all dumped on him like this, and mother doing what she did isn't helping." Trisha shook her head; I'm almost sure I heard a very quiet sigh pass her lips.

"That all changes if you marry him, Karen. Great-aunt Amie's will insists on a pre-nup if you marry before you're twenty-five."

Karen placed her hands on her temples; her face bore the signs of both pain and frustration. Trisha took a step towards her; all Karen did was shake her head and take a step back. I couldn't allow this, whatever it was, to continue. She was in pain, and wouldn't stop shaking her head until I blocked out the sight of Trisha by standing in front of her. Karen's hands came away from her head and clung onto me ever so tightly.

"I'm taking her home."

I felt her body stiffen against mine, even more so when Trisha said that she had her rental outside.

"No. When I said I'm taking her home that means to the one place she feels loved at the moment. Tell her folks if they call I will break every phone in the house. If they come to the door I will call the police. Leave her alone until she wants to talk to you: any of you."

I expected a fight; thank goodness I didn't get one. We were out of the hotel and sitting at the airport watching the departure information two hours later. An hour after that I had her wrapped in a blanket sitting next to me, as we cruised at an altitude that meant we looked down on the clouds.

"Thank you."

Her arm snaked around mine, and for now I was relieved. Those were the first words she had spoken since her showdown with Trisha. I looked around and, by the time we looked at each other once again, she had already spotted the mischief bubbling up in me.

"It's too crowded in here to join the Mile High Club; perhaps next time."

Karen groaned and her head once again rested on my shoulder.

"You're a pervert, but at least you're MY pervert."

*******

Mom had dad waiting at the airport for us. Dad said some woman named Trisha Marshall had phoned and spoken to mom, and told them what our arrival time was. Mom took one look at Karen and sent her straight to bed.

As we passed her in the living room all she said was, "If it's not one, it's the other."

Sadly I had to agree with her. Getting Karen undressed was usually a thrill. With all that had happened and the confrontation with Trisha Marshall, this felt more like a chore. I kissed her forehead, and she grabbed my hand so tightly that I knew she didn't want me to leave. I managed to hook my foot under the chair behind me, pulled it within reach and sat on it, but she still refused to let go. Karen smiled and stared for awhile, but it seemed that fatigue won out, and within minutes her eyes fluttered and sleep took this poor tortured woman.

Mom had a drink waiting for me when I got downstairs. I recounted everything that happened and answered "I don't know" to every question she asked. We both knew it wasn't a fair exchange of information, but at least I was honest with her: I simply didn't know.

The knock at the door was unexpected. When I answered it, ready for a full-on fight, even I had to take a step back.

"My wife told me of your threat, Andy. She figured I'm probably the only person you're not willing to carry it out on. I had my doubts all the way here, but I'm here because my wife asked me to come."

It still took a moment to register the fact that Professor Marshall was standing on my front porch. The words "Manners, Andy," from my mom brought me up short, and I stood to one side and let him in. I introduced the one man I constantly talked about to my folks when I came home from college, and now they were able to put a face to the name. Mom, ever the pragmatist, sat him down before asking if he wanted a drink. Twenty minutes later we all sat watching the one person in our lives that truly didn't want to be there.

"I'm going to fill in some blanks, Andy. I should have you all sign a confidentiality agreement, but to do that would put you all on the defensive."

He sure noticed a few heads nod in agreement on that.

"Trisha mentioned a name. You heard it, so I'm going to repeat it. Great-aunt Amie."

Again I nodded before adding, "Karen heard that name, and it all went to hell after that."

Amie Howard married Richard Carmichael, and within two years of the marriage Richard had taken over his family's business. He was useless at it, and spent more time chasing his secretary than looking after the business, especially since his secretary didn't seem to want to run too fast. When Amie found out what he was doing, she walked into his office one afternoon and effectively took over the company.

He got to keep the secretary, since she was now pregnant, and Amie took hold of the failing business and turned it around.

"Have you heard of the Rossindon Foundation, Andy?"

Digging deep into my memories, I recited newspaper gossip and some of the projects the Foundation sponsored. I knew the Rossindon Foundation was a pretty big hitter in the Foundation league, but I couldn't recall much detail since I didn't pay that much attention to them. All I knew was that they had backed some pretty groundbreaking projects, and won some serious recognition off the back of them.

"Georgina Rossindon was the secretary Richard Carmichael had an affair, and later a child, with. In a twisted way Amie wanted Richard to always have a reminder of his affair. Initially it was pure spite on Amie's behalf, but it soon became tradition. The figurehead of the Rossindon Foundation is one of the offspring of that joining."

It was a light bulb moment for me so I said, "Let me guess: Stacey and Karen?"

Professor Marshall nodded his head in confirmation, took a breath and continued.

"They were both sponsored by the foundation to attend college on the understanding that once they reached twenty-five both would take over the running of the Foundation. With Stacey's death it all falls on Karen now."

I wasn't angry. I could see he was clearly uncomfortable with this whole mess.

"I assume that, since Stacey and Karen fall on the bastard side of the family, your wife is the legitimate side?"

He nodded his head. "Both sides of this damn family have been tearing chunks out of each other for nearly a hundred years now. I got to the bottom of this when I noticed how cold she was towards the twins when they got to college. I made them sit down and thrash this out. They've been best friends ever since."

Professor Marshall simply sat and let everything he said sink in.

"The tutoring was a legitimate request, Andy. Look at the courses the twins are doing. They came to college knowing their fate was to head the foundation, and both took courses that would mean they didn't have to hit the ground running."

His mind wandered for a second, and I did wonder if this was one of those unguarded moments on his part as he talked about the competiveness of both organizations, having often wondered if this was what Amie had wanted from the start. As the Foundation grew in stature and recognition, the company grew right alongside it, as one side of the family always seemed to try to outdo the other.

It was close to midnight when he finally stood and said his goodbyes. Both my folks urged him to stay, and this was perhaps the only time I saw him humbled as he politely declined. We shook on it at the door, and he made me promise to look after Karen, one of the easiest promises I've ever been asked to keep. Of course Karen went off on a rant the next morning when mom told her we had had a visitor that evening.

We stayed for another day and then flew back to Fairfax. I carried the flowers, and Karen knelt next to Stacey's grave and recounted everything that had happened since her death. Every now and then Karen would let her fingers skim across her sister's name carved into the gravestone, or pull up a few strands of grass that had dared to grow too close to her sister's resting place.

She eventually let out a sigh, and then leaned in to kiss the headstone before standing and telling her best friend and sister that she would see her again next birthday. It didn't take long to realize that this would indeed become a yearly event. With one final hug beside Stacey's resting place we drove back to the airport, with no mention of her parents at all. I'm sure Trisha Marshall was talking to Karen's folks but, since neither one of us flat out asked her, then nether of us knew for sure.

*******

Finals were upon us, although Karen still insisted on dinner evening with Charlie and Bethany. I compromised by sending out for Chinese, and we all continued to study until it arrived. The girls worked the kitchen while Charlie and I moved our stuff off the table and set it. It was a much-valued break for us all, and the food was worth a "study break."

"Beth's told me what you plan to do when you leave."

I didn't have to look at Charlie to know he was fishing, and yet he was my best friend here. We met when I walked into this place in what felt like an eternity ago, and I wasn't about to start lying to him now.

So I nodded, before adding, "I'm not letting Karen face this on her own, Charlie. With Stacey gone she needs a sounding board, and I plan to help in any way I can."

He watched me for a moment, and I truly believed he understood. But of course this was Charlie, and he just had to have the last word.

"Well, just remember me when the Foundation gets that corporate box at the Super Bowl, won't you?"

The girls came in from the kitchen to see us sitting at the table and me about to slap Charlie - and I was the one who got told off! Go figure.

*******

Our college has a long-standing tradition: the end of year ball had an auction, and the ladies went on stage in all their finery and were auctioned for one dance. Even the men got to take turns as well. The Dean chose the charity that the auction raised money for, and sometimes you got the girl or boy of your dreams, even if it was only for one dance.

To many, it was something they took out into the world with them, and all the folks at the dance took it all in their stride. Until that year. Karen went on stage like a trouper and asked for the mike. The whole room went quiet as she took centre-stage.

She looked towards the Dean, and both nodded their heads towards each other in some unspoken sign.

The microphone came to her lips as her eyes filled. "I would like to thank the Dean for allowing me to do this; it breaks with tradition, and I'm sorry about that." Again she looked towards the Dean, who only smiled back at her.

"As most, if not all, of you know, my sister died at the beginning of this year. We had talked about the ball and the auction and, like every one of you, we were eager to participate."

This time she choked and, as I took a step forward, she spotted me doing it and shook her head. One of her friends came from behind her and held her arm as Karen rested her head on her friend's shoulder. She knew I wasn't offended at her refusal, but blew me a kiss anyway.

"I can't be in this auction. I'm sorry, folks, and I truly don't want to set a precedent because I believe in the auction, as does every woman on this stage. But my heart and this body belong to one man from now on."