by R. L. Stine
Daniel lifted his eyes to Roz. “Do you feed him lots and lots of bananas?”
Roz squinted at him. “Excuse me?”
“You know. Chimpanzee food?”
Again, Mark saw Roz restrain herself. “I guess I’ll have to get used to your sense of humor, Daniel.”
Samuel snickered. “Daniel doesn’t have a sense of humor. He’s just strange, don’t you know.”
“Chimpanzee,” Daniel and Axl said in unison. Then they both giggled.
Daniel turned back to Roz. “He’s my new pet.”
Roz’s mouth dropped open.
Daniel twirled Axl above his head. Axl laughed. “Yes, boyo. You’re my new pet. Gonna slip you lots and lots of peanuts.”
“Panzee,” Axl repeated and tossed back his head and giggled.
“Look how sweet they are,” Lea whispered, leaning her head against Mark’s shoulder and squeezing his arm. “They’re being so nice to Axl. Isn’t that the sweetest?”
“I’m not sure Roz would agree with you,” Mark whispered back, watching Daniel twirl Axl faster and faster. “She looks upset.”
“They’re just being playful,” Lea said, tears glistening in her eyes. “They don’t know they insulted Roz. They’re not trying to be mean.”
The twins appeared to like their attic room. Mark had hired some local carpenters to add walls and finish the ceiling and carpet the floor and paint the room a comforting pastel blue-green.
The eaves were low, so they all had to duck their heads. He and Roz had gone to Hildreth’s, the old department store in Southampton, and bought soft-looking, comfortable, homey furniture for the room. And twin beds, which Mark placed side by side at the end of the attic, with the window looking down to the backyard.
Now they were bouncing on their beds, giggling and raising their hands to the low ceiling. Watching them, Lea clapped her hands and let out a gleeful cheer. “They like the room, Mark.” She kissed his cheek. Her face was wet from her tears.
Mark playfully tugged her hair. “I’m glad you’re so happy.”
“I am happy. I just know we’re doing the right thing. I have such a strong feeling. . . .”
Elena stood behind them at the top of the attic stairs. She appeared to be studying the twins as if they were zoo specimens. Ira had chosen not to join them up here.
Earlier in the week, when Mark broke the news to Elena that Lea was coming home with two orphaned boys, he was prepared for some kind of strong reaction. He didn’t expect the shrug he received and the muttered “Whatever.”
Then she quickly added, “As long as they stay out of my room and don’t annoy my friends.”
That broke the tension. “They’re going to be a little strange at first,” he warned her. “They grew up on a tiny island. And they’ve been through a lot of tragedy.”
Elena rolled her eyes. “Dad, they’re twelve, right? Of course they’re going to be strange.”
They both laughed.
He knew Elena would take it in stride, as she did everything. There would definitely be problems with her along the way. A teenager with three younger brothers in the house? No way there wouldn’t be conflicts and fights and tears. But Elena could always be counted on to ride out any emotional wave.
Ira was a different story. Take him to town for lunch and talk to him again? Tell him he had to pitch in and make this work? Tell him the family really needed his help?
Mark knew he’d just roll his eyes and say, “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Or worse: “Shut up, Dad. You’re a jerk. ”
The twins were on their backs now, sprawled on the beds, luxuriating, sinking their heads into the pale green pillows. The room was pale blue and green, water colors, soothing and perhaps, a reminder of their island home.
Roz and Mark had put a lot of thought into all this while Lea was working to bring them off the island.
“Let’s show the boys the rest of the house,” Lea said. “Come on, get up, guys. We’ll give you the grand tour.”
Elena led the way downstairs. Her room was at the near end of the hall. She pushed the door open so the boys could take a glimpse. Above her bed, she had a framed poster of a girl gymnast, arms outstretched, flying high in the air. The closet door was covered with cutout photos of actors from the teen-trauma TV shows she watched on her computer. Skirts and jeans and colorful tops were strewn all over the floor. Elena had a lot of good qualities, but she wasn’t neat.
“Nice room,” Daniel said. He pushed Samuel out of the doorway to get a better look. He pointed to the gymnast poster. “Is that you?”
Elena rolled her eyes. “I wish.”
Daniel started into the room, but Elena pushed a hand against his chest. “Two words to remember about my room, guys,” she said.
They trained their blue eyes on her. “Two words?” Daniel asked.
“Keep out,” she said.
They both burst out laughing. As if she had made a hilarious joke. They laughed and shook their heads. Daniel raised his hand for Elena to slap him a high five.
“You’re funny, Elena,” he said. Samuel nodded agreement.
“I’m serious,” Elena insisted.
“Let’s move on with the tour,” Mark said. He guided the boys to the next room. His office. He pointed out the desktop PC and his shelves of psychology books, and the piece of moon rock on his desk. They took a quick glance but didn’t seem at all interested.
At the end of the hall, Elena said, “This is Ira’s room.”
The boys shoved each other as they eagerly trotted down the hall. Their too-big sneakers made floppy sounds on the thick, white carpet. They all burst into Ira’s room.
He lay sprawled on the bed, white earplugs in his ears, tapping away on a handheld game player. He didn’t stop or look up as everyone invaded his room.
“Ira?” Mark called. “Earth calling Ira. You have visitors.”
Ira tapped away, eyes on the game player.
The twins walked around the room. Daniel strode to the two windows, pushed back the gray curtains, and gazed down at the front yard and the street. Afternoon sunlight poured in, making his blond hair glow.
Ira’s room was bare and undecorated. The walls were plain white. On the narrow strip of wall between the windows, he had a small, framed photograph of himself shaking hands with New York’s governor, after Ira had won a state citizenship essay contest.
No other art or decoration in the room except for a small black stenciled octopus on the wall over his headboard. Mark didn’t understand the octopus. Ira wasn’t into sea life at all. In fact, he was timid and frightened around the ocean.
A low bookshelf stood beside the long white counter that served as his desk. The closet door was closed. No dirty clothing on the floor.
Ira didn’t like clutter. He said keeping his room white and bare helped him concentrate on his homework. Nothing to distract him. And he said it helped him sleep at night because there were no scary shadows.
Samuel studied Ira’s laptop. Photos of Ira and his friends on a class trip shuffled on the screen, Ira’s screensaver. Daniel moved to the bed and sat down on the edge of the white quilt.
Lea tugged the earplugs from Ira’s ears. He sat up straight, blinking in surprise. “Hey—”
“We’re showing Daniel and Samuel the house,” Lea said. “Do you want to tell them anything about your room?”
Ira shook his head. “Not really.”
“Awesome room,” Samuel said. “Sunny. Like an island morning, you know?”
Lea leaned toward Mark. “Don’t you love their accent? Sometimes the way they talk . . . it’s like poetry.”
Daniel stepped up to Ira. His face turned serious. “Can I have your room?”
A short laugh burst from Ira’s throat. “Huh? I don’t think so.”
Lea took a step toward Daniel. “You like Ira’s room, sweetheart? It’s kind of bare, don’t you think?”
Daniel didn’t respond. He wrapped a hand around Ira’
s upper arm. His eyes locked intently on Ira’s startled face.
“No. Really,” Daniel said, lowering his voice. “Can I have your room?”
Ira raised his eyes to Mark. A pleading glance. Mark felt too stunned to react.
“I’ll have your room,” Daniel repeated, patting Ira’s shoulder. “Okay?”
22
“Mark, be reasonable. It’s a perfect solution. I can’t believe you’re the one being the hard-ass about this.” Lea’s hands were clenched into tight fists over the kitchen table.
Mark reached across the table to take her hand, but she snapped it out of his reach. “I think I’m being the reasonable one,” he said.
“I think I am,” Roz insisted. She had put Axl down for his nap and joined them in the kitchen for what had started out as a quiet discussion and, much to Mark’s dismay, quickly elevated into a shouting match.
Ira was sulking in his room. Elena had taken the twins on a walking tour of the neighborhood to show them the bay. The boys were hopping up and down with excitement and had no idea of the conflict they had caused among the three adults.
Lea took a breath and started another attempt to persuade Mark. “You saw the look on Ira’s face when the boys wanted his room. He was sick. He was about to have a fit.”
“Of course he was,” Mark started. “He had every right—”
“So then they saw the guesthouse and totally fell in love with it,” Roz interrupted. Mark gazed at the dark stains on the front of her sweater. Axl was constantly using her sweater as a napkin.
“They don’t know what they want,” Mark said, turning to Lea. “How could they? It’s like they stepped onto another planet.”
“They know they want to live in the guesthouse,” Lea said, jaw clenched, eyes about to tear up again. “And Roz has agreed to move up to the attic.”
“It’s better for me anyway,” Roz said. “I can keep a closer watch on everyone if I’m staying inside the house. And the attic is even roomier—”
“And that way, Ira will keep his room,” Lea said. “That’s so important. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Ira’s equilibrium.”
“No! No way!” Mark jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair. “I built the attic room for the boys. They should be in the house. We don’t know anything about them. We have to take special care of them. We can’t have them living by themselves in their own house, even if it’s in the backyard. That’s crazy.”
Lea motioned with both hands for him to calm down. “We want to make them happy, Mark.”
Mark felt his throat tighten. “So you’ll do anything they want? Is that your idea?”
“Mark, stop shouting. Can’t we sit here and have a calm discussion? Roz and I agree—”
“Leave Roz out of this. We’re the ones adopting these . . . these . . .”
“Leave me out of it? I thought I was part of this family. God knows, I’m the one spending most of the time with the kids.”
Mark patted her hand. “Sorry, Roz.” He turned to Lea. “I’m not trying to be difficult. I see how happy you are. I see you already have strong feelings for these boys. You know I didn’t want them here, but I’m going to try, Lea. I’m going to do everything I can. But you can’t just give in to them. You can’t give them everything they want. They don’t know—”
“You saw them pleading and pleading to live in the guesthouse. You saw how excited they were.”
“I just think it’s too soon to have them living on their own. We don’t know how they’re going to adapt. We don’t know if we can trust them. We don’t know—”
“They won’t be living on their own. No way. They’ll be with us all the time. We’ll—” Lea gasped. Her eyes were over Mark’s shoulders. “Oh no.”
Mark spun around and saw the twins huddled in the kitchen doorway. He felt his heart skip a beat. “How long have you two been standing there?”
They both shrugged. Mark realized their eyes were on him. They were studying him. Had they overheard his true feelings?
An awkward silence in the room. Then Lea stood up and flashed them a broad smile. “Good news, boys. We had a vote here. And we voted two to one. Roz and Axl are going to move to the attic—and you two get to stay in the guesthouse.”
She turned to Mark as if challenging him. But he knew when he was defeated.
The twins cheered and did a funny, awkward tap dance of celebration. But their smiles faded quickly. “Only one thing,” Daniel said softly. “Samuel and I will take the guesthouse only if you promise us one thing.”
Mark narrowed his eyes at them. Now what? What is their next demand?
“Only if Ira will come have sleepovers with us,” Daniel said.
He saw Lea’s chin quiver. The tears were about to flow again.
“Are they angels?” she whispered. “Is that the sweetest thing?”
23
Lea grabbed the car keys and stuffed them in her jacket pocket. She herded the twins toward the back door. “Where’s Ira? Ira’s coming with us? Did you see him?”
Before they could answer, Elena burst into the kitchen. “Have you seen my necklace? Did you see it anywhere?”
Lea blinked. “Necklace?”
“The one with the amethyst. You know. Grandma’s necklace? It was on my dresser. I know I left it on top of my dresser. Now I can’t find it anywhere.”
“Maybe it fell off, sweetie,” Lea suggested. “Did you look underneath?”
“Duh. Like of course. Like I’m not stupid.” Elena turned to the twins. “Did you see a necklace anywhere?”
They both shook their heads. “Not me,” Daniel said.
“We’ll all search for it when we get back,” Lea said. “It didn’t fly away. We’ll find it. Get Ira for me, will you? I’m taking the twins shopping.”
Lea drove the twins to the mall at Bridgehampton to buy them clothes. Ira had protested vehemently, but she forced him to accompany them and help select what kids at his school were wearing. The twins had been with them for two days, and he hadn’t made a single attempt to be friendly. Now he sat glumly in the front seat beside her, his arms crossed, staring straight ahead through the windshield.
In the Camry’s backseat, the twins strained at their seat belts, leaning out the windows to see the passing scenery.
“I don’t think they’ve ever been in a car before,” she told Ira.
No response.
“Come on, Ira. Shape up.”
“Look at that truck!” Daniel exclaimed. “Couldn’t you fit a whole house in that truck!”
Lea found it so touching. These twelve-year-old boys seeing the world for the first time.
She turned into a long parking aisle and stopped while a blue pickup backed out of a spot. “Be nice to them,” she whispered to Ira. “Be a help, okay? I’ll buy you something special right now. To cheer you up. What would you like? What can I buy you?”
“A candy bar?”
Lea bought all three of them big Milky Way bars. The twins ate them slowly, taking small bites, savoring them, dopey smiles on their faces as if they were drunk from the chocolate.
“You had candy bars on the island, didn’t you?” Lea asked.
They both nodded. “I got a Snickers bar for my tenth birthday,” Samuel said.
“It was my birthday, too,” Daniel said. “We had to share it, don’t you know.”
Ira stared at them. Lea thought she caught a moment of empathy on his face. Having to share a candy bar was something Ira could feel strongly about.
Still chewing on their giant candy bars, they followed Lea into T.J.Maxx.
“We need to get you boys at least three or four pairs of jeans to wear to school,” Lea said. “Ira, what kind of jeans are the kids wearing these days?”
Ira licked caramel off his lips. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, Ira,” Lea snapped. “Help out here. What kind of jeans?”
He shrugged. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Okay. Follow m
e. Boys’ jeans are over there.”
She led them to the tables stacked high with jeans. Only a few brands but several styles and colors of denim. Did kids still wear cargo jeans? Most of the jeans in Ira’s closet had a dozen pockets up and down the legs.
She picked up a pair of straight-legged, faded denims and held it against Samuel. “This looks about your size. Ira, do kids wear these?”
Ira shrugged. “Maybe.”
Lea searched through the pile and pulled out the same size. “You boys will have to go try these on. But wait. Let’s find a few more.”
Daniel had a smear of chocolate on his chin. “Only one of us has to try them on,” he said. “We’re the same size.”
“But don’t you want to pick the ones you like?” Lea asked.
Samuel gazed up at her. “Do we really get more than one? We don’t have to share?”
“Yes. You can each pick two or three.”
The twins clapped their hands, careful not to drop their candy bars. They let out squeaks of joy.
It takes so little to make them happy, Lea thought. My kids take everything for granted.
She had a sudden memory flash: the twins stepping out of the red rain, looking so lost and forlorn. All around them, the devastation, everything down and destroyed. The mournful wails. The heavy, sour smell of death with each breath she took.
She forced the images from her mind. “Here. Go try this smaller size. Take these and try them all on.” She watched them race to the dressing room against the back wall. They were so small for their age. Ira towered over them.
Ira hunched beside her, doing his best to look bored and unhappy. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Help me pick out some shorts for Axl.”
“Big whoop.”
A short while later, success. Jeans were selected. T-shirts added to the pile. A couple of sweaters and long-sleeved shirts. It was April and the weather was still cool and damp.
“Thank you, Mum. Thank you.” From Daniel.
Then Samuel: “Thank you, Mum. I’m so happy. I never had new clothes, don’t you know.”
“Do we love our new mum? Yes!” Daniel exclaimed.