parked in the driveway under a wooden car park that had the same roofing as the house did, but just because there was a car didn’t mean that they were home. For all we know they could have two cars.
“Then we’d come back later, but we won’t know the answer to that question until we knock on the door.”
“Yeah,” I responded, “but what do we even say?”
Ella shrugged. “How about, ‘We’re Christine Snotty’s children, and we want to meet the twins. When he knew Mom she was still Christine Snotty, so that would work. It’s short and to the point.”
“No. He could just say no and turn us away.”
She scrunched up her face a little, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her eyebrows. “Can’t he just say no and turn us away anyway?”
Well, she had me there. He had the right to tell us no. It wasn’t for sure that we would see the twins anyway. “If he says no then he’s a tool.”
Ella laughed. “He’s a tool anyway for seducing Mom and being a home-wrecker, but that’s beside the point. We aren’t here for him; we’re here for the twins,” she pointed out. “What if we said we were contractors with the city’s water company or something, and we were going to each house on the street to check the water meters.”
I looked down at her floral romper, and my short shorts and halter-top. “Yeah, because he would totally believe that.”
Ella chuckled lightly, saying, “It was worth a shot.” She cracked a smile and stared at me as I looked down and opened the middle compartment of the car. Grandpa always kept gum in there, and I used to have a chain-chewing problem. I hadn’t bought a pack of gum in a while though, but right now I needed some. Chewing on gum was a good distraction. It keeps my jaw busy, and makes it harder to talk. Therefore if we did go and knock on the door, brandishing the picture that was folded in half in my pocket and revealing our true identities, then Ella would have to do most of the talking. My gum would act as an excuse for me to be quieter than usual.
Finally, after digging under a stack of napkins, pens, and ketchup packets, I found a pack of Big Red gum with a few pieces left in it. Big Red was my favorite kind. I hurriedly pulled out a piece, unwrapped it, and tossed it into my mouth just as the sound of loud knocking on the passenger window began. Ella jumped and screamed, while I nearly swallowed my stick of gum whole and hit my head on the roof of the car.
One startled look at the passenger side window caused my heart to drop from my chest into my stomach. Standing outside of the car was the man from the picture. He was the father of our twin siblings, and also the man who we had come to see: John Symmes.
He was now standing outside of the car with his hands on his hips and a slight scowl lining his face. I started the car in preparation to speed off if I needed to, but before I did anything hasty I rolled the passenger window down slightly, just enough for us to talk through it.
John Symmes looked more annoyed than angry as he leaned down to look in through the window. “Can I help you ladies?” he asked, his eyes squinted at us.
Shit, we’re busted.
When we didn’t respond, John ran a hand through his thick brown hair. I instantly wondered how old he was. He looked significantly younger than Dad. He was probably in his early forties like Mom was, while Dad was a year away from being fifty. “Explain why you’ve been sitting outside of my house and watching it for the past half hour or I’m going to call the cops and you can explain it to them instead.”
I cracked a smile at that. Let him call the cops. We would be gone before he even had time to pull out his phone.
Unlike me, Ella was scared by his empty threat and said, “No, don’t call the police.” She waved a hand between her chest and mine as she added, “We’re Christine Snotty’s children.”
John widened his eyes at the mention of our mom. He glanced between the two of us,
“Then we’d come back later, but we won’t know the answer to that question until we knock on the door.”
“Yeah,” I responded, “but what do we even say?”
Ella shrugged. “How about, ‘We’re Christine Snotty’s children, and we want to meet the twins. When he knew Mom she was still Christine Snotty, so that would work. It’s short and to the point.”
“No. He could just say no and turn us away.”
She scrunched up her face a little, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her eyebrows. “Can’t he just say no and turn us away anyway?”
Well, she had me there. He had the right to tell us no. It wasn’t for sure that we would see the twins anyway. “If he says no then he’s a tool.”
Ella laughed. “He’s a tool anyway for seducing Mom and being a home-wrecker, but that’s beside the point. We aren’t here for him; we’re here for the twins,” she pointed out. “What if we said we were contractors with the city’s water company or something, and we were going to each house on the street to check the water meters.”
I looked down at her floral romper, and my short shorts and halter-top. “Yeah, because he would totally believe that.”
Ella chuckled lightly, saying, “It was worth a shot.” She cracked a smile and stared at me as I looked down and opened the middle compartment of the car. Grandpa always kept gum in there, and I used to have a chain-chewing problem. I hadn’t bought a pack of gum in a while though, but right now I needed some. Chewing on gum was a good distraction. It keeps my jaw busy, and makes it harder to talk. Therefore if we did go and knock on the door, brandishing the picture that was folded in half in my pocket and revealing our true identities, then Ella would have to do most of the talking. My gum would act as an excuse for me to be quieter than usual.
Finally, after digging under a stack of napkins, pens, and ketchup packets, I found a pack of Big Red gum with a few pieces left in it. Big Red was my favorite kind. I hurriedly pulled out a piece, unwrapped it, and tossed it into my mouth just as the sound of loud knocking on the passenger window began. Ella jumped and screamed, while I nearly swallowed my stick of gum whole and hit my head on the roof of the car.
One startled look at the passenger side window caused my heart to drop from my chest into my stomach. Standing outside of the car was the man from the picture. He was the father of our twin siblings, and also the man who we had come to see: John Symmes.
He was now standing outside of the car with his hands on his hips and a slight scowl lining his face. I started the car in preparation to speed off if I needed to, but before I did anything hasty I rolled the passenger window down slightly, just enough for us to talk through it.
John Symmes looked more annoyed than angry as he leaned down to look in through the window. “Can I help you ladies?” he asked, his eyes squinted at us.
Shit, we’re busted.
When we didn’t respond, John ran a hand through his thick brown hair. I instantly wondered how old he was. He looked significantly younger than Dad. He was probably in his early forties like Mom was, while Dad was a year away from being fifty. “Explain why you’ve been sitting outside of my house and watching it for the past half hour or I’m going to call the cops and you can explain it to them instead.”
I cracked a smile at that. Let him call the cops. We would be gone before he even had time to pull out his phone.
Unlike me, Ella was scared by his empty threat and said, “No, don’t call the police.” She waved a hand between her chest and mine as she added, “We’re Christine Snotty’s children.”
John widened his eyes at the mention of our mom. He glanced between the two of us,
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