“Worried our mother might be following?” I asked.
“You bet,” he said. “She looked tough enough to give me a ticket if I broke the speed limit.”
Haylee laughed harder than I did. I sat back, smiling. We were, somehow, going to have a good time.
Jimmy was expecting that, too. The Jacksons had a custom-built ranch-style house on a lot half the size of ours but with more elaborate landscaping, lighting, and fountains. There was a three-car garage and a driveway lit with beautiful pewter lanterns. When we stepped out of Matt’s SUV, we heard a dog barking.
“That’s his mother’s Pekingese, named Chin,” Haylee said. “Jimmy told me that she loves her dog more than she loves him. He also warned me that Chin can nip, so don’t try to pet him if he’s running loose in the house.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Matt said. “I’ve grown fond of my fingers.”
“There’s a big media room, five bedrooms, and a home office his father uses,” she continued as we walked to the front door.
“You sound like you’ve been here before,” Matt said.
“No, she hasn’t,” I said.
“Maybe I have. Maybe you don’t know everything I do, Kaylee.”
“Well, when could you have done that?”
“Maybe when you and Mother were sleeping, I sneaked out,” she replied. Before I could say anything more, Jimmy opened the door. He was holding the dog in his arms so he would stop barking.
“Keep that monster away from me,” Matt joked.
“My mother made me promise I wouldn’t lock him in the laundry room or something. He can scratch up a door and bark until his throat gets so hoarse, you could put a saddle on him.”
Haylee laughed as if he had made the best joke she’d ever heard. His smile widened, and he stepped back for us to enter. I didn’t think Chin was as nasty as Haylee claimed Jimmy had said. If anything, the dog looked happy to have someone else in the house.
“Hi, Chin,” I said, and held my hand close enough for the dog to smell it, my fingers turned downward.
We had always wanted a pet, either a cat or a dog, but Mother opposed it, even when Daddy offered to get two of the same breed from the same litter. She was probably afraid that I would spend more time with them and they would take to me more than to Haylee, creating jealousies that would be very damaging to our personalities.
After sniffing my hand, Chin licked it, and Jimmy looked surprised and happy.
“Here,” he said, handing the dog to me. “You’re in charge of him tonight.”
I held the dog gently, and he seemed to settle comfortably in my embrace.
“You want to hold him, too?” Jimmy asked Haylee.
“No!” she said.
“He senses it,” Matt said. “He can easily tell the difference between the two of you.”
“Oh, I think Jimmy can, too,” Haylee countered, and put her arm through his. “Give us a tour of the house, and then lead us to the pizza.”
He laughed and brought us into the living room. There were always little things about other people’s homes that intrigued me, even when I was only four or five. In our house, there were only a few pictures of Mother’s parents and Daddy’s with his brothers and their families. Most of the framed photographs in our home were of Haylee and me, but there were no pictures of either of us alone. When the school photographer took individual shots of us, Mother placed ours side by side in a bigger frame. Haylee wanted to have pictures of herself, especially in her own room, but Mother didn’t permit it. Any picture we had with Daddy always included both of us, too.
So it was the family photographs that intrigued me in other people’s homes, especially those who had pictures of great-uncles and great-aunts and great-grandparents. There was more of a sense of family. The pictures proved their lineage, their history. It made our classmates seem more like somebodies. Perhaps I felt this way because there were no other twins in our family heritage, or at least any Haylee and I were told about. It all made me feel like a planet without a solar system, out there floating through the darkness.
Family photographs gave my classmates’ homes a warmth that ours didn’t have. There were always so many hand-me-downs, clocks, needlepoints, figurines, paintings, and artifacts of all kinds that had some history attached to them. “This was my great-grandmother’s.” “This was my father’s uncle’s.” Our house was pretty and well decorated, but it wasn’t until I visited homes of my classmates that I realized that ours was a showcase, a model yet to be embellished with the familial warmth and love that made a house a home.
The Jacksons’ living room was almost as large as ours but without a fireplace—not that we used ours very much, especially lately. Daddy had always been in charge of it. Mother was thinking of cleaning it out and putting flowerpots in it.
This living room had large wall mirrors beautifully framed in the same cherry wood that the curved settee, the coffee table, and the armchairs were made of. The family photographs and knickknacks were on shelves. A glass-doored armoire contained beautiful figurines that drew my attention.
“My mother’s Lladró collection,” Jimmy said.
“Beautiful.”
“Yeah, if you like that sorta crap,” Jimmy said.
“Let’s look at the media room,” Haylee said.
When we stepped in, I saw why she was interested in it. There were two very comfortable-looking sofas, a large-screen television, and elaborate audio equipment. The room had a malt-colored shag rug.
“We can watch something good and have our pizza in here,” Jimmy said. “As long as we don’t leave a mess.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Kaylee is a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning up,” Haylee announced.
“And you’re not?” Matt asked.
“We are different, Matt. I make the mess; Kaylee cleans it up. Right, Kaylee?”
“You do make the mess,” I confirmed, and Matt laughed.
Even Jimmy widened his smile. “Make a mess of me,” he told her, and they kissed, right there in front of us.
I hadn’t known Haylee could kiss like that. It looked like a movie kiss.
“Let’s move on to the kitchen,” Jimmy said. “I think we’d better get the food ready. I’m going to need my strength tonight.”
He took Haylee’s hand and started out.
I looked at Matt, who shrugged. “I didn’t think it took all that much strength,” he said, and we both laughed.
We followed them, me still holding Chin, who seemed just as curious about what this night would bring but also a little fearful.
Maybe he sensed it in me.
8
When Jimmy had said we could “watch something good,” neither Matt nor I suspected that he meant something pornographic. I assumed Haylee knew, because she wasn’t that surprised. She had that impish little smile bubbling on her face as Jimmy set it up. The moment the movie began, I could see immediately that the story was going to be stupid. It didn’t take more than three minutes for the first woman in the film to take off all her clothes. Jimmy and Haylee were laughing when the man did the same, but neither Matt nor I could utter a sound.
“It’s not what I’d call a movie to watch while eating,” Matt said.
“Where did you get this?” I asked. “Is it something your parents watch?”
“Hell, no,” Jimmy said. “Bobby Lester sold it to me for twenty bucks. My mother would have heart failure if she knew we were watching it, so don’t tell anyone.”
“Why don’t we just listen to some music?” Matt suggested.
“Really?” Jimmy asked. “You don’t want to watch this?”
“It feels more like someone’s bachelor party. Kaylee’s uncomfortable, and to be honest, so am I.”
“Oh, you poor dears,” Haylee said. “So sensitive.”
“Maybe you should be, too,” I said. You could have sliced the anger in the air between us. It was that thick.
“It’s all right. Haylee and I can watch it
ourselves. I have a TV in my bedroom,” he said, and turned it off. He flipped another switch, and we heard jazz. “My dad’s collection,” he said. “More comfortable?”
“Fine with me,” Matt said. “That’s Dave Brubeck.”
“Brew, like in beer?” Jimmy said.
Haylee and he laughed and kissed. Chin was lying at my feet now. The way he watched my sister and Jimmy suspiciously brought a smile to my face.
“You’re embarrassing your dog,” Matt said.
Jimmy paused and looked. “Yeah, well, did you ever see two dogs at it? That’s embarrassing.”
Haylee laughed. It seemed to me that she would laugh at anything he said. They began whispering to each other. They ate some pizza, whispered and kissed, and then drank what I suspected might be something besides Coke. When they offered it to us, Matt and I shook our heads.
“Help! My grandparents must have snuck in,” Jimmy joked, and Haylee laughed with more abandon. They devoured more pizza. After another few minutes, Jimmy stood. “I’m going to show Haylee more of the house, more of my part of it,” he said, “before we watch the unappetizing movie.” He took the disc out of the DVD player. “Can you amuse Chin for a while?”
“I don’t know. You had him so fascinated,” Matt said.
“So put on the same kind of show for him,” Jimmy said, and he reached for Haylee, who stood. She looked at me with eyes so full of excitement I thought they might start to crackle and pop like firecrackers. Laughing again, she walked out with Jimmy.
“Your sister was right,” Matt said.
“About what?”
“It’s easy to tell the difference between you.”
“She likes to say that these days, and I don’t stop her.”
“I can see why.” He rose and looked at the movie collection neatly stacked in alphabetical order on the shelf beside the TV. “Want to watch something really good?” he asked.
“Sure.”
He held up To Kill a Mockingbird. “Makes my mother cry,” he warned.
“There are good cries and bad,” I said.
“Exactly.”
He inserted the DVD and then sat beside me, put his arm around my shoulders, and kissed me softly on the forehead. I turned my face up to him, and we kissed on the lips, again softly, almost tentatively, both of us a little unsure. It was nothing like Haylee and Jimmy’s kiss. They had both looked like they would ravish each other’s faces. Matt smiled and brought his lips back, and we kissed more like we meant it. Then I turned and cuddled up in his arm as the movie began. Chin sprawled out below us and almost immediately fell asleep.
Haylee and Jimmy did not return until the movie was almost over. Chin rose quickly and actually barked at them. I picked him up again.
“You don’t spend much time with your dog,” I said.
“That’s not a dog. It’s a stuffed animal with batteries.” Jimmy looked at the TV screen. “Bor-ring,” he declared from the doorway. Haylee was beside him, looking like she had been tossing and turning in her sleep for hours. She looked flushed, too, her eyes wide, as if she had a great secret and was bursting inside with her eagerness to tell me.
“How about we wake this party up?” Jimmy asked. “I have a couple of joints we can share.”
“No, thanks,” Matt said rather quickly.
I glared at Haylee. My message was coming through loud and clear.
“Not tonight, I’m afraid,” Haylee told him. “But don’t smoke them without me.”
“I’ll smoke one at least, and I can get more,” he said. “You guys just sat here and watched this movie?”
“We also finished off the pizza,” Matt replied.
“Could you stand the excitement, Grandpa?” Jimmy kidded, followed by Haylee’s now very annoying giggle. “You should have watched my film. You’d learn something new to do.”
Our movie ended, and we had missed the wonderful conclusion.
“Oh, Matt,” I moaned.
“We’ll watch it some other time,” he promised me. “It’s a movie you can see many times.”
“Sure, come over anytime,” Jimmy said.
“I’ve got it, too.”
“Great. You’ll have the next party at your house,” Jimmy said.
Matt didn’t respond. I rose, put Chin down, and began to clean up the dishes, the silverware, and the pizza boxes. Matt started to help. When I looked back at the doorway, I saw that Haylee and Jimmy had disappeared again. Chin had remained with us.
“I think they went outside,” Matt said.
“If they went out there to smoke that joint, we’ll both be in trouble. You can be sure my mother will be waiting for us at the door with all sorts of detection devices.”
Matt checked the time. “You’re okay time-wise. We can check outside to see if that’s what they’re doing. If they’re not around, let’s take a walk anyway. I could use the fresh air. I don’t think they’ll miss us, do you?”
“After we finish this,” I said, indicating the cleanup. We took everything to the kitchen, where I rinsed off the dishes and silverware and put them all in the dishwasher. He found the garbage disposal and took care of what was left. “It’s a very nice kitchen,” I said, admiring how well kept it was and the beautiful paneling and marble counters.
“Is your sister like this at home? Letting you do all the work?”
“No, but only because my mother wants us to do everything together.”
“Somehow I think you still do more.”
“No comment,” I replied.
He smiled and took my hand. We walked out and paused in the hallway for a few moments to listen for Haylee and Jimmy, but we didn’t hear anything. Matt shrugged, turned, and went down the hall to check the other rooms.
“They must be outside,” he said.
Now concerned that Haylee really was smoking that joint, I went quickly to the front door, and we stepped out. Again, we listened for their voices or laughter but heard nothing.
“I doubt they’d be this quiet,” Matt said. “They’re hiding somewhere. He probably has his private hideaway to do things his parents can’t see.”
We walked around outside the house. The Jacksons had a pool and a cabana. The pump was off, so it was very quiet. We made our way toward the chaises that were under an overhang. Matt pulled two out farther and placed them side by side.
“Good night for stars,” he said. We lay back on the lounges and looked up at the dazzling sky. “Virgo is usually visible by late April. There,” he said, pointing. “It’s the largest constellation of the zodiac and second largest overall.”
“What’s the largest?”
“Hydra. I have this great telescope my father bought me when I was twelve, and I got into stargazing.”
“I’m not sure I recognize Virgo,” I said, looking up.
“It’s difficult to make out the winged maiden holding an ear of wheat in her left hand.” He slipped off his chaise and onto mine. I moved over for him, and he pointed again. “That sparkling blue-white star, Spica, helps locate it. You star-hop from the handle of the Big Dipper. See?”
“Yes!” I said, now excited that I could see where the constellation was.
“It’s fun.”
“We never did much of this,” I said.
“Well, maybe we can change that,” he said. I turned to him again, and we kissed longer, more passionately. “There’s a problem, however.”
“What?”
“You’re so beautiful, Kaylee. You easily take my attention from the stars.”
I started to laugh, but he was being very serious. This time, I brought my lips to his. He slowly moved his hands over my shoulders and then over my breasts and down to my hips. The warmth that moved through my body made his fingers feel like they were under my dress. I was drawn to his touch, eager to have his lips on mine, and then moaned softly, welcoming his kiss on my neck, my cheeks, and back to my lips. I was turned in to him now, pressing my body to his.
I really didn’t thin
k we’d go much further anyway, but a loud peal of Haylee’s laughter shut our passion down. I turned to look toward the house.
“Where, oh, where are you two? Oh, where has my little sister gone?” We heard her sing, and then Jimmy laughed. “Are you swimming nude?” she shouted. “Did you get ideas from Jimmy’s movie after all?”
Before they came around the corner of the house, Matt had moved to his chaise.
“And what are you two doing?” she asked when she spotted us. They kept walking toward us.
“Looking at the constellations,” Matt said.
“Right,” Jimmy said. “The constellations.”
Haylee giggled.
“I can show you Virgo, if you like,” Matt offered.
“I’d rather look at Venus,” Jimmy said. “Think I have,” he added, and Haylee giggled.
“Did you smoke that joint?” I demanded. “Haylee!”
“Just a drag or two,” she said. “Big deal. Mother won’t smell anything.”
“I knew it. You’re going to ruin everything for us.”
“Oh, chill out. Maybe you should take a drag yourself. We always do whatever the other does,” she told Jimmy.
“Oh, really? She always does whatever you do?” he asked.
“But not the same way,” she said, giggling.
“I’ll have to discover one day if that’s true,” Jimmy quipped.
“Like hell you will,” Haylee told him, and playfully punched him in the shoulder.
“Ow! She’s so cruel,” he told us.
“What time is it?” I asked Matt.
“Quarter to eleven,” he said.
“We’d better go.”
“It doesn’t take that long to get home,” Haylee said.
“If we’re there just in time, she won’t like it, and we won’t get out again so easily,” I said.
“What are you, in prison?” Jimmy asked.
“Prison is better,” Haylee replied, now sounding sober and bitter. “You still have some rights.”
“I can take you home,” Jimmy offered. “You can let Matt bring your sister home, and we’ll be there ten minutes later. We can do a lot in ten minutes.”