by Terri Garey
“Smothering’s not my thing.”
Something in his voice made me glance up. His wide smile had faded to a more introspective one.
The waiter chose that moment to return with our beers, and I took the liberty of ordering appetizers and entrées for us both while he was there. After he’d bowed politely and taken the menus away, I took the direct approach.
“Tell me about your wife.”
Joe looked at me. “I guess the small talk’s over, huh?”
I didn’t answer. The beer tasted good, slightly sweet and slightly sour.
He took a healthy swig of his own, then set it back on the table, rotating the glass slightly as he spoke.
“We met while I was in med school. She was with the Peace Corps, and I was eager to save the world one person at a time. Seemed like a match made in heaven.” It would be hard to miss the irony in his voice. “We dated for a year, married when I started my residency.” He fell silent.
“And?” No way was he gonna leave me hanging like that.
“Uh-uh.” He took another sip of beer. “Your turn. You already know a lot more about me than I do about you. I talk, you talk. It’s only fair.”
I sighed, exasperated. “Not much to tell, Joe. My parents are dead, and I’ve never been married. Evan’s pretty much all I’ve got.”
“Tell me about your parents, then.”
That was easy. The pain of their deaths had faded in the six years since the accident, leaving me with nothing but happy memories.
“Dan and Emily Styx. Best parents ever. Dad was a tie-dyed-in-the-wool ex-hippie who would’ve moved to Canada to avoid the draft if he hadn’t already been too old to fight. I think he was always disappointed he couldn’t do it.” I smiled, remembering Dad ranting about the evils of war. “Mom adored him. They tried to have kids for years, never could, and adopted me when they were in their early forties.”
Joe’s gaze sharpened. “You’re adopted?”
I nodded. “Spoiled only child of middle-aged parents. House in Ansley Park, private schools, all that stuff. Thank God they were open-minded enough to let me be myself in spite of it.” I proved what a bad girl I was by putting both elbows on the table. “Your turn.”
He didn’t insult me by hesitating. He shrugged and picked up where he left off. “Kelly couldn’t handle being a doctor’s wife. When you’re in residency, your life is at the hospital. You eat, sleep, and breathe it. You’re on call for days at a time, exhausted when you’re not, consumed with academic peer pressure and dealing with life and death situations on a daily basis. There’s not much time for a personal life, much less a new marriage. She wanted to start a family, and I wasn’t ready for kids. Our priorities were different.”
Our friendly waiter made his way over with a plate of steaming spring rolls and put them on the table, refilling our ice water and taking Joe’s order for two more beers. When he left, Joe said, “Your turn.”
I helped myself to a roll first, taking my time.
“Mom and Dad were in a car accident when I was twenty-three. I took the insurance money they left me and went into partnership with Evan.” I took another bite, swallowing before I added, “We were next-door neighbors when we were kids. He’s always been my best friend.” A sip of beer to wash it down. “Your turn.”
Joe was enjoying the spring rolls, polishing off three in quick succession.
“She got more involved in the Peace Corps. Her assignments took her farther and farther away. Said she had to do something to fill her time. Then one day I got a letter saying that she’d met someone else and wasn’t coming back. I haven’t heard from her in almost four years.”
Interesting—and somewhat fishy. “What about a divorce?”
He shrugged again. “Kinda hard to divorce someone when you can’t serve the papers. Third world countries are hardly known for the reliability of their legal systems.”
“You seem awfully okay with it.” I eyed him over the table while he looked at me blandly.
“After a while it didn’t seem to matter one way or another. It’s not like I was in any hurry to repeat the same mistake, and I’ve had my career to keep me busy. My attorney says that if I don’t hear from her within a certain time frame, I can have the marriage annulled based on abandonment. Until then, I’m still married.”
“And when will that time frame be up?”
“Next year.”
The delicious odor of curry met my nose as the waiter placed our dinners in front of us, but I seemed to have lost my appetite. Seems like Joe was free to sleep with anyone he chose?so why hadn’t he chosen me when I’d all but unzipped his pants?
“Her name’s Kelly?” There was something more here.
Joe took a forkful of his chicken curry, chewing it gingerly before he answered.
“Kelly Charon. Sound familiar?”
“Not at all. Should it?”
He smiled ruefully, as though at a private joke. “Charon was the name of the ferryman who carried lost souls over the river Styx.”
“Oh…yeah…right.” Not that it mattered. Feminine curiosity now had me firmly in its grip. “What did she look like?”
Joe put down his fork and dabbed at his forehead with his napkin. I wasn’t sure if he was sweating from the curry or because the conversation was beginning to make him nervous. He put the napkin back in his lap and laid both hands on the table.
“She looked a lot like you, actually.”
“Like me?”
I wasn’t sure I cared for that little fact at all. I wasn’t eager to be anybody’s “replacement.”
He nodded, eyeing me appraisingly. “No pink in the hair, of course.”
“Of course,” I said acidly. He ignored the comment.
“Kelly wore her hair long. And she was very serious, very politically minded. Didn’t have your?” He waved a hand. “?joy of living, shall we say?”
“Oh, let’s.” This comparison was beginning to tick me off.
“But other than that, she looked enough like you to be your twin.”
He paused and took a healthy swig, finishing off the first beer. The empty glass made a solid chunk as it connected with the table.
“In fact, I think she is.”
CHAPTER 7
“What the hell are you talking about?”
A twin? That had to be the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. I was an original, and proud of it.
“I’m dead serious, Nicki.” I winced at Joe’s choice of words. “I thought it was coincidence at first—you looked like her, you’re the same age. But it’s more. You share some of the same physical traits—” He hesitated while my face flamed. He’d seen me naked in the hospital. “—and even some of the same mannerisms. You’re adopted. So was she.”
“You actually think I have a twin sister out there, and you’re married to her?”
The very idea had something weirdly incestuous about it.
“Oh, and by the way, she disappeared, and you have no idea where she is?”
Who would have ever thought the wholesome Boy Scout routine actually hid a nutbag? The evening was not going well.
Joe looked at me helplessly. “I know it sounds crazy. The resemblance is so amazing I couldn’t help but be intrigued. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
“How about, ‘Gee, Miss Styx, you remind me so much of someone I used to know. My wife, in fact. Do you have a sister?’”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Wait a minute.” My heart tripped, reminding me not to lose my temper over this. “You tracked me down after I left the hospital. You lied to me about wanting to do a paper on near death experiences.”
“That part’s true. I do want to do a paper on NDEs. But it wasn’t the only reason I followed you.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be furious or disappointed. Maybe a little of both. I thought the spark between us had been something more than somebody else’s old flame. My ego might never survive.
“Yes, it crossed m
y mind that if you were somehow Kelly’s sister, I might be able to find her and put this whole marriage thing behind me.” He leaned in, the candle between us flickering. “But to be completely honest, the more I looked at you, the less I thought of Kelly.”
His eyes met mine, and I heard something in his voice. Something unspoken that made me believe he was telling the truth. “That dimple in your cheek when you smile?that’s all yours. The way you always tuck that pink streak of hair behind your ear—” He smiled suddenly, breaking off. “But I think you might be her sister. And I had to tell you before we went any further with our friendship.”
Friendship.
Yeah, friendship. That’s what we’d agreed to, wasn’t it?
Besides, even unrequited lust couldn’t completely erase those middle-class morals Dan and Emily Styx tried so hard to instill. I was pretty sure that sex with a possible brother-in-law was out of the question.
“You do realize how crazy this sounds, don’t you?”
To Joe’s credit, he didn’t argue.
Stubbornly, I insisted, “I’d know if I had a twin sister.”
“Not if your parents didn’t know. What if they weren’t told? And even if they knew, why would they tell you? Adoption records are sealed?they’d have no way of finding her. Kelly grew up in foster care…she moved around a lot. She never mentioned the possibility of a twin sister, either, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Foster care? What an awful thought. “One final question, and then I’d like to drop this.”
Joe waited, saying nothing. The smell of chicken curry would now forever remind me that variety could be overrated?the spice of life sometimes stunk. “Where was she born?”
“Right here in Atlanta.”
“I think you need to take me home.”
Joe slid his car next to the curb in front of my house and turned the engine off. All the way home we’d both been subdued, absorbed in our thoughts.
“Listen, I’m sorry for all this.” He shifted to face me. “I never lied to you, not really. I still want to help you, and I still want to document all the aftereffects of your near death experience. I don’t want it to end like this.”
We stared at each other in the darkened car, blanketed by privacy and silence. There were all kinds of ethical questions at work here, and not all of them were about getting involved with patients.
Joe took the plunge. “I’m attracted to you, and unless I’m way wrong, you’re attracted to me.”
Attracted wasn’t the word. Why the hell was forbidden fruit always the sweetest?
“I’m not interested in being anybody’s replacement.”
His face was pale in the darkness, eyes inscrutable. “I’m not looking for a replacement, Nicki. You’re you, and I’m me?and we just happened to meet. My marriage is over, has been for years. I had to tell you the truth before things went any further, in case…” Joe’s voice trailed off.
I felt myself weakening, so I unfastened my seat belt and reached for the door.
Joe gave it one more shot.
“Can I come up?”
There it was, then. All laid out on the table.
And here I was, suddenly very sick of looking at the menu without being able to eat.
On impulse, I leaned toward him, trying hard not to think. His hand rested on the console between us, and I trapped it there with my body, feeling his arm tense. The dark cherry chocolate smell of his aftershave sent heat to pool between my legs.
I put my hand on his chest and he didn’t move except to breathe. I let him feel my weight and wonder at my intentions. My eyes slid to his mouth as I answered his question with a question.
“If I kissed you right now”—my breath was a mere inch from his lips?“would you think of her?”
Joe took his time answering, holding himself in check as I brushed my nose ever so gently with his.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“An honest answer.” I was glad he hadn’t said no. If he had, I would’ve never believed him, and I’d never get my kiss.
His honesty was rewarded with a brush of my lips against his cheek, followed by a whispered question in his ear.
“Would you like to find out?”
How I managed to hold on long enough to tease him I wasn’t sure?if I didn’t kiss him soon, I was going to incinerate.
“Yes,” he breathed.
The single word slipped into my mouth and stole the oxygen from my brain.
I kissed him, long and deep, exploring the texture of his lips and the taste of his tongue. He let it happen, kissing me back, while I thought of nothing except how good it was. And when it was over and I pulled away, hand on his shoulder, it was all I could do not to kiss him again.
He was quiet, breathing fast.
In a voice that was only slightly unsteady, I murmured, “Who am I to you?”
“You’re an incredibly sexy woman,” his voice was husky with strain, “and one I can’t stop thinking about.”
I gave him a shaky grin. “I’m about to do something totally out of character, Joe.” I reached for the purse between my knees. “I think it’s called ‘the right thing.’”
Then I got out of the car and went inside.
Holy shit.
What had I done?
I’d just heard I might have a twin sister, and instead of being thrilled at the possibility, I already knew I hated her.
She’d thrown Joe away, and I’d kissed him.
I unlocked the door to my house and flooded it with light. I was already shaken up, but there was still Caprice to deal with. I went from room to room until every bulb in the place was on, determined to stay up all night if I had to.
Then I called the hospital to check on Evan. Butch was there, treating his new boyfriend like a queen. I was glad. Right now Evan needed more TLC than I could give him.
“How’s the big baby doing?”
“Never you mind about Butch,” Evan drawled into the phone, “and I’m feeling much better, thank you.” He sounded better. “I slept most of the afternoon, the pain in my stomach is gone?I’m ready to go home tomorrow.”
Butch murmured a comment in the background, and Evan said, “I might stay a few nights in Peachtree City, even take some time off.”
“Good idea. Whatever you need. Tomorrow’s Sunday, anyway.” I was relieved. Life in the Atlanta suburbs was probably boring as hell, but it was safer. He didn’t need to be near me or the store right now.
“Your cute doctor was in to see me today.” Evan couldn’t keep the gleeful pleasure from his voice. “He told me you were having dinner together tonight.”
“We did, and guess what?” I tried to keep my voice upbeat and cheery. “He told me that he thinks the woman he’s married to is my twin sister.” Silence. “He says she was adopted, too, and used to live in Atlanta. And oh, by the way, she disappeared four years ago and he has no way to contact her.”
A strangled noise made it through the phone.
“He says her name is Kelly.”
“Are you serious,” Evan gasped, “or are you drunk?”
I laughed, wishing I was drunk, but those days were behind me. My fluttery ticker had enough to deal with.
“He was serious.”
“Well, what did you do? What did you say?” Evan’s voice was rising. The TV went silent. “Stop making me drag it out of you, woman, and tell me everything!”
“I asked him to bring me home—” I hesitated. “And then I kissed him.”
More silence. Then Evan said with certainty, “You do like him.”
Even though Evan was in high drama queen mode, and deservedly so, he knew me best.
“Yeah.”
“But he thinks he’s married to the twin sister you didn’t know you had, and nobody knows where she is?”
“That’s it.”
“Holy shit.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
There wasn’t a lot more to say. I could pictu
re Butch hovering in the background, and I’d given Evan enough to curl his toes, so I decided to let them get back to their domestic bliss.
“I’m okay, really. Weird stuff seems to be the norm these days,” I joked. “Just had to tell you or I’d never get to sleep. Will you call me tomorrow when you’re settled in with Butch? All right, nighty-night.” I didn’t have the heart to throw in any bugs tonight, and hung up feeling better.
A sister. I might have a sister. It was almost too much to wrap my mind around. While I’d been having tea parties with Evan and painting my bedroom purple, she’d been shuffled from house to house and family to family.
I wandered into the room that used to be Mom and Dad’s. It was a guest room now, because I couldn’t bear to sleep in the bed they used to share. I’d done some redecorating over the years…new bedspread and curtains, a new rug. The notches in the door frame were still there, though, a lasting reminder of the growth spurts of my childhood. I tried to imagine two sets of notches. Would a sister have left her mark on this house the way I had?
I frowned, both liking and not liking the thought. Bad enough she’d left her mark on Joe.
My lips still tingled from that kiss.
After a long, hot shower, some flannel pajamas, and a cup of Red Zinger tea, I’d stopped thinking about Joe’s kiss and what?if anything?I was going to do about it. My love life was over anyway, as long as an evil spirit could go after those I cared about.
As for the possibility of a twin sister, the drama and the trauma of that little situation would have to wait.
I needed to learn more about duppies.
With the drone of TV to keep me company, I spent some quality time with my new best friend, the Internet. A few eyestrained hours later I’d learned more than I ever wanted to know about “shadow catchers” and “soul stealers,” and read a myriad of stories about Jamaican voodoo ceremonies and superstitions. It was a secretive and scary world. I’d hoped differently, but it seemed I had no choice but to seek the help of one of the Obeah people, the voodoo priests or priestesses.
“I hope I don’t get hexed into wearing a Rasta cap and pedal pushers,” I muttered, “or mugged in some dark alley.”