“Now you’re being mysterious, Zack. You know you can’t keep anything from me. I bet I’ll get it out of you by the time we get home.”
“You know, Lee. I bet you will. You’ll know all about what Mikey has planned.”
“Uncle Zack!” I whined as he dragged his wife out of the house. First of all, I hoped he would never tell my aunt what he had told me. Second, if he did tell her, I hoped he told her I had nothing to do with it.
“I’m going to bed!” declared my father as soon as they were out the door.
“Gavin! Look at this place!” Mom said while waving her hands around as if it needed a showcase presentation.
“I’m betting nobody’s going to break in while we sleep and steal all the trash and debris before we can get to it tomorrow. G’night all!”
“Night, Dad.” I don’t think he heard me.
“That man!” Mom fumed.
“I’ll help, Mom. I’m not tired and it won’t take us long to get the big part done. Plus, I’m all wound up from the party and need a little time to keep busy before trying to get to sleep.”
Mom came over and gave me a big, tight, and long hug. Longer than usual. She felt good pressed next to me, my newly-turned-forty-year-old mother.
“That man!” she said again, softer this time. “Mike, I can always count on you to fill in for him when he can’t perform, won’t perform, or ignores his duties.”
I rubbed her back. You could feel how toned and fit she was. I was proud of her and she was proud of her own effort she put in to stay fit.
She broke the clinch and said: “Well, magical elves aren’t going to get this done before sunrise. We are. Let’s move.” Just like Mom when something needs doing—all business.
In less than an hour, the house was back in working order, enough to even please my clean-obsessive mom.
“I didn’t think I could get this done with you getting in the way so much,” she kidded while poking me. “Let have a cold drink to end this beautiful night.
We sat down at the kitchen table with two red plastic cups we had filled from the remnants of the punch bowl before pouring the rest down the sink.
I raised my cup and toasted: “To the most kindest, bestest, lovingest, beautifulest mother in the whole world!”
Mom laughed and raised her cup: “And to her twin brother—may he find some peace in getting his birthday wish—whatever it may be.”
I was hoping she didn’t know what his birthday wish was.
“Peace?”
“Zygosity—twins magic—one egg, one sperm … two babies. Or twins curse … or whatever. We know how each other feel, sometimes what each other think. I’ve tried to talk myself out of it, tried to poo-poo the idea, but I know it’s real.”
“So you can tell what Uncle is thinking?” I hope she didn’t know EXACTLY what he was thinking.
“Not specifically, but I can feel his emotion. And, right now, it’s not hard to guess what that is, because I’m feeling the same thing.”
“Weird, feeling another person’s there like that. Being an only child, I’ve always felt like there’s an empty space that needs to be filled and that other person isn’t there. I guess that’s what every non-twin feels. Right, Mom?”