The Bad Twin

by Shelia Goss

  Rose finished the last bite of her cobbler and placed the bowl on the nightstand. “You say that as if you’re thinking about dying tomorrow.”

  “I didn’t say that, because only God knows our appointed time. I just want you two to be close like me and my sisters are. Some of my sisters have passed on to the other side, but I still have the memories to reflect back on. Don’t look back on your life and wonder what if things had been different. You’ll be forty this year and it’s about time you started acting like it.”

  Rose hung her head down in shame. “Mama. I’ve tried everything to make up for my past.”

  “Have you gone to the Father and asked him to forgive you my child?”

  “No.”

  “He’s who you need to make it right with first and then maybe, just maybe everything else will work itself out.” Pearle patted her hand.

  “I know, but I’ve done so many things that I’m too ashamed to even talk about. What the world sees is an act and I could care less about them. The fact that my own sister couldn’t stand to be in a room with me for more than five minutes. That hurt me deep to the core.”

  Pearle reached over to hug her. “Dear I know you haven’t always done the right thing, but it sounds like Violet is coming around. You can’t erase hurt over night, only the Father can.”

  “You know that Pierre dude is in the kitchen with her right now. I hope he is sincere, because I would hate to kick his butt.”

  “Now, now. I think you’ve interfered enough in her relationships don’t you?”

  “Mama. I know I’ll never live down what I did with David, but Marcus was a sneaky character and I should still be whooping his butt for what he did to her, to us.”

  “I can rest a little easier now that you girls are at least civil to each other. What’s going on in your personal life? I always hear the entertainment shows talk about Lance. I thought you guys were through and who’s this new cat they’re linking you with. I know he’s an actor and is fine as I don’t know what. What’s his name?”

  “Mama. I have never heard you talk like this and his name is Trey. We’re just friends.”

  “I see. Well if I was twenty years younger, I would give you a run for your money.”

  They laughed and Rose told her about Lance and Trey, leaving out how they both were great in the bed. “So that’s all going on with me. It’s so hard to trust men; that’s why I hardly ever date.”

  Pearle commented, “As far as looks go, they’re both lookers, but you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Lance seems to have been around for the long haul; if you give him some positive encouragement instead of treating him like he’s crap, he probably would keep his pants zipped.”

  Rose placed her hand over her mouth. “Mom.”

  “I read the papers and I watch television. I keep up with what’s going on in Hollywood. I have to, because my own daughter keeps me in the dark. Anyway, Lance has potential, because he acts like he really loves you.” She paused before saying, “Now Trey seems too much into himself. He’s good to have on the arm and to show off, but I wouldn’t think about getting attached to him.”

  Rose shook her head. “You are full of surprises tonight. I’ll take all you’ve said under consideration. For the record, I don’t plan on settling down with either one of those jokers.”

  They continued to talk for a very long time and Rose noticed the time. Pearle started to doze off on her. That was her sign it was time for her to go upstairs. When she got upstairs, she looked for her cell phone and checked her voice messages. She normally had the phone glued to her ear, but since coming back home, she had kept it turned off. Before she could retrieve her messages, she heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” Rose said.

  Violet walked through the doorway. “You asked me to stop by after Pierre left.”

  Rose threw her cell phone on the bed and smiled. “I just wanted to be nosy and see what time you actually came upstairs.”

  Violet gave her an ‘Oh no you didn’t look’ and responded, “I’m going to bed.”

  “Alone?”

  Violet managed to smile. “Yes. Alone.”

  “It was your choice I’m sure. Because I’m sure he tried.”

  “I really don’t feel like talking about it, but thank you for being concerned.”

  Rose, not wanting to push the issue, said, “Get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “You too. Good night.” Violet closed her door.

  Rose believed in God and all His power, however she didn’t pray on a regular basis. That night, before laying her head down to sleep, Rose did something she hadn’t done in a very long time; she prayed.

  ***

  Father, God. I humble myself before you. I know I am one of the biggest sinners. Please forgive me for all I’ve done and said over the years. Especially the hurt and pain I’ve caused my family, namely my sister, who has always been sweet and forgiving. Help me make decisions in my life that will help others, not hinder them or cause them any harm. I also want to ask you to watch over and protect my mom and sister. They mean so much to me and I ask you to cradle me in your arms and comfort me and last, but not least, Lord if it’s your will, please continue to soften Violet’s heart, so we can become not only friends, but be as close as two sisters in Christ could ever be. Amen.

  57

  VIOLET

  Violet woke up tired, but she knew she had been sleeping for at least eight hours. She got out of the bed and stretched. Her head was hurting slightly, which was the first sign of a migraine, so she looked for her medicine in her purse. She ended up pouring out everything on the bed. She found the medicine and placed everything back in her purse, except for her cell phone. She would check messages and return calls as soon as she could get her migraine under control.

  When she got downstairs to the kitchen, no one was there. She saw that Pearle had left her some breakfast and a note. She got a glass of water and took her medicine. The note stated that Pearle and Rose went shopping. It also mentioned she was sleeping so peacefully, that they didn’t want to wake her up. She warmed her breakfast and then got the morning paper. She always liked to keep up with what was going on locally, so she went to the local section first, before reading the other sections.

  The medicine began to take affect. After Violet read the paper, she took a long hot bath. She was deeply medicated and had actually dozed off when her phone woke her up. Violet got out of the tub and tried to catch it before it went to voice mail. “Hello.”

  “Hi. I was hoping to catch you. Did I catch you at a bad time?” David asked.

  “I am in the middle of something. Give me about fifteen minutes and I’ll call you back.”

  She hung up with David and dried herself off. She decided to put on her canary yellow Capri pants with a matching striped shirt. She laid across the bed and called him back.

  David placed her on hold for a few seconds before coming back to the line. “Sorry about that, but as soon as I hung up with you, a client called.”

  “No problem. Is everything going okay with the building?”

  “Yes. Everything is fine. We’re on schedule and it should be complete in no time.”

  She was glad to get the news. “How’s your niece?”

  “Cherokee is fine. She’s leaving soon. I’m going to miss her.”

  “She’s a sweetheart and you guys should be very proud. She has a strong mind and she’s very determined to succeed.”

  “You’re right and I shouldn’t worry about her. Allegra loves her.”

  Violet didn’t say anything; she remained silent.

  “Violet, are you still there?” David asked.

  “Yes. I was wondering, who is Allegra?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. We do need to catch up don’t we. She’s my daughter and the light of my world.”

  It all came back to her; Allegra was the little girl she saw on the picture on his desk. “I didn’t realize you had any kids.”

>   “She’s four years old, but her mother and I don’t really get along. If I had my way, I would have her all of the time.”

  Violet asked, “So you did remarry?”

  “No. I have never re-married. Allegra’s mom and I were friends. We became sexually involved out of loneliness. Neither one of us was with the people we wanted to be with, so we decided to try our hand at a relationship. It was short-lived, because the man she was head over heels for all of a sudden wanted her back. She left me and a few months later I found out she was pregnant. No one knew who the father of the child was until after Allegra was born and blood tests were done.”

  Violet sat up in bed with David’s revelation. “Wow. Now that’s some drama for you. She’s a cutie pie. I saw the picture on your desk. You always said you wanted a little girl.”

  David sounded disappointed when he said, “I wouldn’t mind having some more kids.”

  “Good luck on your quest. I don’t mean to rush off the phone, but I hear someone at the door.”

  After she hung up with David, she went downstairs and saw that Pearle and Rose had been grocery shopping. “Let me help you guys with those bags.”

  “Sleeping beauty is awake.”

  Violet rolled her eyes at her sister. “Don’t start. Sleeping beauty is now WIDE awake.”

  Pearle and Rose laughed at her. After unpacking the groceries, they all went into the living room to rest. Pearle was the first to break the silence. “Ladies, I’m going to miss y’all when you leave.”

  Rose squeezed Pearle’s hand. “I’m only a phone call away.”

  “Yes. Me too. Why don’t you come stay a few weeks with me? May do you some good to get away,” Violet suggested.

  Rose jumped in and said, “That sounds like a good idea. Then you guys can drive down to LA and maybe spend a little time there as well.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t care for flying too much these days.”

  “It’s not that bad.” Violet volunteered, “If you like I can fly out here and we can fly back together.”

  Rose chimed in, “Come on Mom. Violet and I would love to have you.”

  Violet looked over at her sister, for once they were on one accord. “Yes Mom. Listen to Rose.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Since this was their last night together, Pearle fixed a meal fit for a king and his entire palace. She baked a ham and turkey, made cornbread dressing and potato salad and baked an apple pie, peach cobbler and a pound cake. She invited over family and friends for the good-bye celebration.

  Violet was on her way to the kitchen for a second serving of food, when Pierre walked through the front door.

  “I heard there was a party going on and I wanted to give one of the guest of honors a farewell gift.”

  Violet smiled and attempted to hug him. “I would hug you, but as you can tell my hands are full.”

  He smiled back. “I wish my hands were full of something.”

  “Whatever. I’m headed to the kitchen so if you want something to eat, I suggest you follow me. It’s going fast.”

  He followed Violet to the kitchen and as she prepared their plates, he came up behind her and placed his arms around her and kissed her on the neck. “You know I’ve imagined you in my kitchen and I won’t tell you the details, but let’s just say, there was heat, but not coming from the stove.”

  “Oh really now.” She put the plate down and turned around. “In your fantasy, were the kisses like this?” She kissed with an intensity that took him off guard.

  “I’m sorry,” Rose said, interrupting them. “I only came in to get a piece of pound cake.”

  Violet smoothed out her skirt and Pierre wiped the lipstick from his mouth. “We were only getting us something to eat,” Violet lied.

  Rose looked at them both, but she didn’t say anything else. She cut her a piece of cake and left them alone.

  Violet jokingly asked, “Did we get interrupted in your fantasy?”

  “No, and I’m glad we did get interrupted, because I would hate for your mom to walk in and I’ve straddled her daughter right here on her kitchen floor.”

  Violet laughed. “It wouldn’t have gotten that far.”

  Pierre took both of their plates. As they headed to the living room, he whispered in her ear, “That’s what you think.”

  After dinner, she said her good-byes to her relatives and walked Pierre out to his truck. “Thank you for making my stay here enjoyable.”

  “Promise me you’ll keep in contact and think about all of the things that I said. I think it can work. If push comes to shove, I can even pack up and head out west.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to do that.”

  He opened up the back door to his car and pulled out a small gift bag. “I would do anything for you. I let you go one time without a fight. I won’t let you slip through my hands twice. Here’s a little something. You can open it now or later.”

  She took the gift out of the pretty floral gift bag. It was a box, but it had another velvet box in the inside. She opened it and found a 24-carat gold charm bracelet with diamond pendants and the biggest charm was shaped like a heart. “This is beautiful. Thank you.” She reached up and gave him a kiss.

  “You’re quite welcome. Each pendant means something. I wanted to leave you something to think about.”

  “Trust me. You have left a lot on my mind. I’ll call you when I get back to San Jose. I promise.”

  They hugged once again and he kissed her.

  58

  ROSE

  I should be happy about going back to my world, but a part of me wishes I could stay here and live with Mama for the rest of my life. I have thrived on attention, but this week of down home living has spoiled me. Well, I’m all packed up and ready to go.

  ***

  Rose headed downstairs with her bags. After discussing their flight plans last night, Violet and Rose discovered they were scheduled to leave out on the same flight, with Violet continuing her flight to San Jose from Los Angeles.

  Pearle was crying. Rose knew this was going to be hard for her, because they all hadn’t been under the same roof at the same time since her dad died.

  “Mama, are you going to be okay? I’m only a plane flight away.”

  They hugged and Pearle wiped away some stray tears. “I know, but I’m going to miss my babies.”

  Violet walked in from outside. “Mama are you crying? Don’t. You’re going to make me cry.”

  Violet walked over and gave their mother a hug too. Rose felt like telling Audrey to go ahead without her.

  “Mama. I left you something on the kitchen counter,” Rose stated.

  “You ladies take care of yourselves. I will be all right,” Pearle said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

  They hugged and kissed Pearle several times before walking to the car. As the car pulled out of the driveway, Pearle stood in the doorway waving.

  Rose said, “I’m going to miss her.”

  Violet wiped a tear from her eye. “So am I.”

  They rode the rest of the way in silence. Audrey was unable to wait at the airport so they hugged and said their good-byes. While they were waiting around to board their flight, Pierre showed up at the gate. “Hi Ladies. I was hoping I caught you before you left.”

  Violet responded with a smile on her face. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Fortunately, I work out at the airport and I had a special pass.”

  Rose walked off towards the bookstore located across from the terminal and purchased a couple of magazines for the flight home. The announcer called her and Violet’s flight number for boarding. She looked around for Violet and saw her embraced in Pierre’s arms.

  ***

  For someone who doesn’t have feelings for someone, I always seem to find them in heated embraces. I better go separate them, before the child misses her flight. Then again, it would serve her right. I’m usually the one in the hot seat.

  ***

  Rose
walked over to them and cleared her throat. They looked up with a guilty look on their faces. “Seems like I’m always interrupting, but they’re waiting for us to board. See you Pierre.”

  Pierre and Violet said their good-byes. Rose and Violet walked the ramp to the plane. After they got situated in first class, they remained quiet and seemed to be in their own little worlds. The steward offered drinks, but they both declined. Rose stated, “I think this medicine has me scared to drink anything else.”

  Violet sounded understanding said, “I feel you. I probably need to cut back on my wine intake as well.”

  Rose leaned in closer to her, so no one else could hear. “So that scene I saw back there with you and Pierre, does it mean you’ve made a decision?”

  “Why Rose? I see you just won’t let up will you?”

  “I think it’s cute. You deserve to be happy and he’s put a smile on your face. Look at you. You’re glowing. I haven’t seen you like this since, well I won’t go there.”

  Violet nodded her head. “Please don’t. Let’s just say that I will see what happens.”

  They continued to fly in silence until they started feeling turbulence. Rose grabbed Violet’s hand. “I’m sorry, you would think as much as I travel I would be use to this, but I’m not.”

  Violet gave her a reassuring hand tug. “I know what you mean. It’ll be okay. No need to panic.”

  The flight attendant announced over the intercom, “The storm is wide spread, so be patient, don’t panic, but for the next ten minutes or so we will be feeling a lot of bumps. Please put on your seatbelts. We are hitting some air pockets and will have to go around it.”

  Rose held her stomach as if she was going to puke. “I don’t know if my stomach is going to be able to take this.”

  Violet coached her. “Breathe slowly and deeply.”

  “I can’t. I can’t.”

  “You can and you will. Hold my hand and watch me,” Violet said.