PROLOGUE
It was Sunday, God's day, but apparently God wanted this Sunday to be cloudy, thought an indignant eleven year old by the name of Joyce Piers. Her deep brown eyes traveled down from the sky to the approaching form of Mrs. MacManus, her gaze automatically locking onto Mrs. MacManus's sons who were walking on either side of her. Connor and Murphy, the unidentical twins. They were a year older than her, and flaunted it continuously. Their was also the minor fact that they had saved her life after a car accident with her parents, had left Joyce in need of a blood transfusion. Joyce's mother liked to call them her "angelic boyfriends", Joyce preferred to call them "savior pests", especially after their stint at her birthday party just last week. Her eyes narrowed into a leer as they came to a stop a few feet in front of her. Their blue-gray eyes lightened as they silently laughed in response to Joyce's glower.
"How are ya?" Mrs. MacManus warmly greeted Ms. Piers. Despite the rivalry with Connor and Murphy, Joyce had always been fond of their mother.
"Fine-fine, still recovering from Joy's birthday...no thanks to your boys." Ms Piers responded with a friendly laugh.
"Aye, did you expect anything less from my hooligans?" Mrs. M asked, yanking lovingly on Murphy's ear.
"No of course not." Ms Piers answered with a small smile as Connor forcefully nudged his mother, allowing Murphy to squirm free.
"'Sides they only did it cause they're sweet on Joy." Mrs. MacManus finished causing immediate outbursts from her sons.
Equally aghast, Joyce cried out to the adults. "No they aren't!"
"Aye, if anythin' she's the one sweet on us!" Murphy agreed, pointing luridly at the brunette.
"Yeah," Connor agreed brazenly. "Kissed me the minute she thought I had died drownin'."
"I was giving you CPR.." Joyce stated with a glower.
"A likely story." Connor smirked.
"Yeah, not buyin' it." Murphy said, mirroring his brother's smugness.
"Well that isn't happening again." Joyce swore sourly, leering at the twins.
"Oh please, who you kiddin'? You loved it Joy!" Connor retorted.
"No I didn't!" Joyce protested, stomping her foot.
"Yah ya did, that's why the minute you found out he was alive ya kissed me too." Murphy agreed.
"YOU kissed ME!" Joyce corrected angrily.
The youngsters continued to argue, much to the amusement of their parents.
"As I said, sweet on her." Mrs. MacManus murmured to Ms. Piers.
"Still..all that silly string." Ms. Piers sighed, her smile slightly forced. "Shall we?" she asked, gesturing at the church entrance.
"We shall." said Mrs. MacManus, following Ms Piers as she herded a still bickering Joyce up the stairs.
As usual, the Piers sat in the first row while the MacManuses sat in the second. The minute the morning prayer ended, Connor and Murphy hopped the row and took their places on either side of Joyce, fussing with her shoulder-length hair as all three of them sat down. Joyce shooed their hands away, her stomach swimming with annoyance, not knowing that her mother and their mother smiled at each other knowingly before turning their attention on the priest.
"Alright. You ruffins ready to go home?" Mrs. MacManus asked her sons once the sermon was over. They exchanged looks.
"Actually Ma," Connor began. "We were hopin' to stay behind."
"What?" she asked sharply.
Murphy spoke up: "It's just that Joyce is staying to light church candles for her Da, its his birthday today...or woulda been."
"Joy needs company Ma." Connor added.
"Why didnt Romana tell me?" Mrs. MacManus muttered crossly, her eyes glued on Ms. Piers and her daughter. "Fine boys, do what ya like but no fighting over her, not today. And not outside the bedroom - the only time a gal ever wants to be caught between two men is in the bedroom!" she finished shaking a finger at them.
"Maaaa..." they both complained, breaking eye contact.
"Remember that! Now go." she urged waving her hands in a shooing matter. "Ramona! Let's go to the pub!" she declared.
Watching their mother partially drag Ms. Piers out of church, the twins lurked behind a pillar alongside Joyce. "Can a gal be between two men in a bedroom?" Connor asked aloud. "I mean can a gal sex two blokes at once? Should be possible right?"
Murphy's brow tightened in confusion. "I reckon..yeah..." he stammered. "Must be possible, why else would mother say that?"
"To fuck with us o course." Connor replied crossing his arms defiantly.
"Got a point...but if it is true...than we'd never have to fight over her..." Murphy mused, slowly glancing from Joy to his brother.
Connor's gaze remained stuck on her for a moment. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. She still has cooties remember?" Connor said with a shrug.
"Cooties?" Murphy repeated, scrunching his face.
"Remember? We kissed her then we were sick the next day?"
"Ma said we ate too much cake.."
"Then she said 'or maybe it was the COOTIEEEESSS'. Werent ya listenin'?" Connor chided.
"Oh yeah. Well smart thinkin'! Gotta wait for those to go away." Murphy agreed, returning his attention to Joy.
Connor nodded, hands on his hips as he stared at her too. "..Just hope we dont have to wait long.." he added.
"...Yeah...feels like they shoulda faded a while ago..." Murphy murmured.
"Mmm..tricky things those cooties." Connor sighed.
Their eyes both focused on a man in a blue ballcap walking up the aisle. Pants were black, t-shirt an off-white.
"Who's that fella?" Murphy wondered.
"Dunno." Connor mumbled. The brothers instinctively concealed themselves behind the pillar as the stranger walked right up to Joy, who was now kneeling to light every candle spread out before her. The man spoke to Joy with a large smile on his face, his words hushed but not quiet enough. "Wants her to go home with 'im to help with somethin'? Man's a perv!" Connor hissed.
Shaking her head as Joy got to her feet, the man suddenly grabbed her arm.
"LET GO OF 'ER." the brothers snarled, Murphy walked into view with balled fists while Connor grabbed a nearby candle stand and waved it at the stranger like a sword.
The stranged released Joy, using that hand to lower the cap over his face more, his other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. In a blink of an eye he had stabbed Joy in the abdomen, Connor lurched at him with the iron-made candle holder, the curved footing of the stand connecting with the pervert's shoulders. The perv fell face-first with a loud thump that echoed through the church. Murphy held Joy in his lap, his hands pressed firmly against her stab wound.
"She alright?" Connor asked urgently.
"I dunno...she's passed out!" Murphy replied, his voice rigid with worry.
Fury itched within Connor, propelling him to kick the pervert in the face. "I'll get help - keep her alive Murph!" Connor instructed, running off.
"Yea-yea, hurry!" Murphy called. His sparkling blue-green eyes gazed down at Joyce apprehensively. "Gonna save you again Joy, you'll see..." he muttered, attempting to reassure himself. Murphy's attention snapped onto the pervert, whose limp form had began to stir. Murphy spotted the switchblade, a few inches away and swiftly reached for it. Shifting Joyce onto the floor, Murphy pressed one palm against her bleeding abdomen, and used his other hand to slice the blade against one of the stranger's exposed ankles. "The fuck you think you're goin'?" Murphy snarled, over the agonizing scream of the pervert.
A persistant beeping sound phased Joyce into conciousness. The first thing her bleary eyes saw was the MacManus twins standing at the foot of her hostipal bed. Words sloppily bubbled from Joyce's lips. "What happened?"
Hands in his pockets, Murphy spoke first. "We saved you again didnt we? Just like I said we would."
"Gettin' right tiresome." Connor added, crossing his arms. "Savin' you from a car, is far easier than rescuing you from some kiddie-grabing bloke." Joyce's cheeks slowly radiated. "Aye now you remember." Connor noted.
"A thanks is in order isn't it?" Murphy pressed.
"T-Thanks? He might not have hurt me if you two hadnt shown up." Joy said defiantly. Murphy scoffed and was about to say something when Connor held a hand up.
"But we were the ones to carry ya to the hostipal. You were bleedin' bad, couldnt wait for an ambulance." Connor replied.
"A likely story...Thanks." Joy murmured. Murphy cocked his head, cupping a hand around his ear as he stepped to the side of the bed. Joy's eyes narrowed. "THANKS Savior Pests." she said loudly.
"Better." Murphy said, then scooped Joyce into a kiss.
"Think she's diggin' ya Murph. Took longer to push ya away this time." Connor noted as a chuckling Murphy retreated from a flustered Joy.
"I'm weak!" Joy whined.
"Right." Connor murmured, backing towards the door.
"Arent you gonna get in on her?" Murph asked, nodding at the bed-ridden girl.
"Later. No fun if she sees it comin'." Connor answered.
"I hate you both!" Joy called after them. Connor saluated then blew a kiss as Murph walked out ahead of him.
Their mother was waiting outside, with an unlit cigeratte between her fingers. "There ya are. Big damn heroes." she greeted. "Not even thirteen years old and already paralyzed a pervert! I'm damn proud of ya." Her sons exchanged a smug look. Mrs. MacManus sighed, reluctant to continue. "Unfortunately Ramona is already talkin' about shippin' herself and Joy someplace else." Mrs. MacManus said, raising the cig to her lips and causing a passing nurse to tap on her the shoulder as a reminder.
"What?!" the brothers cried. As if on cue, Ms. Piers was spotted at the end of the hallway, hugging herself feebly. They ran up to her. "Ms. P say it isnt true." Murphy pled. "Ms. P. ya cant move away!" Connor whimpered. "We'll take care of Joy!" they said together firmly.
Ms. Piers touched their heads lovingly. "Oh boys. I dont doubt it...but I've already started making arrangements."
Both boys moaned in disappointment. "Noooo..."
"I'm no more happier than you about it. But it happened at church. At church!" and with that Ms. Piers broke into a wail that sent Mrs. MacManus straight to her side.
"Hey. Savior Pests!" Joyce called, maneuvering towards the McManus brothers through a junkyard.
"Shouldn't you be packin'?" retorted Connor, pointing at her with an idle monkey-wrench .
"More important question," Murphy began, rising out of his hunched state. "What the hell's in the box? A goodbye gift?"
"Well..sort of...Mother bought it for you for Christmas...but she wanted me to give it to you now because..." Joyce trailed off, a wave of sadness crushing into her. True, she had never felt she belonged in Ireland because she didn't speak like the other children, but it was still her home. Joyce hated that she was leaving it so suddenly.
Tossing the wrench aside, Connor plucked the box from her grasp. Raising it to his ear, he shook it, and a faint rattle could be heard from within. "Just open the damn thing!" an impatient Murphy blurted, reaching for it.
"Alright-alright!" Connor said, turning slightly to prevent his brother from snagging it away. He tore away the packing tape and undid the box. Inside was a smaller, slender, black-plastic box surrounded by mailing peanuts. "You dunno what it is?" he asked Joyce, as he scooped his palm into the box.
"No." Joyce admitted as Connor dropped the mailing box to the ground. After exchanging a brief look, the brothers tweaked open the lid and each pulled out a rosary-cross.
"Would ya look at that?" Connor hummed, holding the rosary with one finger so that the cross dangled.
"This is awesome." Murphy replied, who was holding his by the cross before slipping it over his head. "Tell ya Ma thanks."
"Aye." Connor agreed, putting his on too. "So is this the last time we'll be seeing ya Joy?"
Joyce looped her hair behind her ear. "Probably.." she said softly.
"Good." Connor replied, pocketing his hands.
"Good?" repeated Murphy and Joyce.
"Better this way. Now you'll always be wondering to yourself 'whatever happened to those cute McManus boys?"...a never-ending mystery. Gals love that sorta thing right? They seem to in movies.." Connor explained.
"Ugh you and your films." Murphy scoffed rolling his eyes.
"I don't like mysteries and I never said you were cute." Joyce said.
"Didn't have to, we can tell by how red you get whenever we go near ya." Murphy retorted.
"I-I dont...that's..." Joyce began.
"And then there's the stuttering, like ya doing right now...always happens before or after ya start to blush." Connor pitched in.
"I-I..." Joyce stammered.
"Blushing." both brothers noted with subtle smirks.
"ARGH!" Joyce cried, spinning on her heel and marching in the opposite direction.
"Oi!" Connor called. "You're supposed to kiss us goodbye before you leave forever!"
"That's the last thing you have to say to us Joy? "ARGH!"? You a cavewoman or somethin'?" Murphy added.
Joyce did want to turn around, she wanted to hug the brothers and never let go. They were her best friends, her only friends if she was being honest with herself. But she didn't stop walking, she didn't breathe another word. She did however, glance back to memorize their faces. The insufferable twins that had saved her life twice.
Years passed before the MacManus brothers came to the United States. They spent their first day in a stuffed cargo-trolly on a train to Boston/Brooklyn, with their crosses constantly swaying back-and-forth like a pendolum. Smoke rose up between the brothers, and Murphy stared at his brother in disapproval as Connor began choking on his cig. "What?" Connor wheezed, patting his chest to clear the coughs building up.
"Why ya smokin' again? Thought you were just tryin' to look cool in front of the blokes..." Murph began.
"I am cool." Connor interrupted. "Which of us has seen Predator 15 times eh?"
"I've seen Alien 18 times." Murphy countered.
"Alien's shit."
"Predator's rubbish!"
"So..." Connor turned his attention to his cigarette case. "Were ya feeling left out or are ya still Ma's Nancy Boy?" he asked, offering him a cig.
Murphy hesitated momentarily, then snagged the cig and rummaged in his pockets for his matchbox. "You still think about Joy?" he wondered as he struck the match against against the floor.
"Course I do...and I guarantee she still thinks about us too." Connor replied.
After coughing softly, Murphy drew in a long breath. "How many times do I have to tell ya - real life don't work like films?!"
"You dont know that Murph!" Connor argued.
"Like hell we dont! Still no sign of Godzilla is there?"
"That's it. I'm shutting you up. C'm here!"
The boys struggled for a minute or so before releasing each other with huffs and brotherly leers. Rubbing his head, Murphy asked. "Reckon we can find her?" he asked mutely, taking a drag.
Connor didn't meet his gaze. "Aye. Someday. Bit soon to let the mystery thaw now though...best focus on ourselves..." he answered.
