Strange dreams
"Daddy, I've been having some strange dreams." I told Daddy, standing
over him. I handed him a wrench, as he tightened the pipes under the sink.
"Really now? What about?"
"Well, Mommy, Jesse, and I were swimming, and we had...." I blushed,
and trailed off. Daddy scooted out from under the sink, and looked at me.
"What? What were you going to say?"
"Well, Mommy, Jesse and I were swimming, but we had tails. We were in a big place, and there were a lot of tunnels and stuff, then we were in a place with a
lot of dragons and stuff. Daddy, Jesse says dragon's don't really exist, but I think
they do. Do they really, Daddy?"
"I don't know sweet-heart. Maybe they do, but I can't say for sure."
I smiled at him, and sat down in a chair Daddy smiled at me, as Mommy
entered the room. She kissed Daddy, and I giggled. Mommy and Daddy had been
married about twelve years, and they were still very much in love. All my friends
told me that their parents were old, and they never kissed anymore. I asked
Mommy how old she was, and she smiled.
"You should never ask a woman her age, dear." Then she laughed. "I'm
28. Why do you ask?"
Felicia says her Mom is 35. Why are you so young?"
"Well, your daddy and I didn't wait very long to have kids."
"How old were you when you had me?"
"Almost 17."
I counted quickly inside my head. "Mommy, I'll be 16 in 4 years. You
mean you were only 4 years older than me?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Wow. Was your Daddy mad?"
"Well, at first. But he realized how much James and I loved each other."
"Are you going to have any more babies?"
"I don't know. Do you really want another brother or sister that badly?"
"I want a brother. Felicia has a brother, and he's nice. I've always wanted a brother."
Mommy stopped smiling so much, and got a far away look in her eyes. My
smile slowly faded as well. "Mommy?"
She looked at me, though it was almost as if she was looking through me,
like she was watching a movie from long ago, then she closed her eyes. She opened them, and I could see tears unshed in her eyes.
"Mommy?"
She finally snapped out of it, and then smiled at me, as though nothing had
happened. She scared me sometimes when she did that.
"Yes Morgan?"
"What were you thinking Mommy?"
"You're old enough to know the truth."
"The truth.....? Mommy what are you talking about?"
"Can you go get Jesse?"
I ran to our room to get Jesse. When she heard me shouting excitedly, she
came running out. She had mascara and eyeliner, as well as blush and lipstick on. I
thought she looked ridiculous.
"What is on your face?"
"Makeup. I think I look pretty."
"We're twelve, not 16. Do you really think we need it?"
She went in to wipe it off, as I told her excitedly that Mom said she's going
to tell us the truth.
"What truth?"
"Probably about everything. She hasn't told us a lot of things. I know Aunt
Phoebe used to tell things, and Mom would get onto her for it. She said the past is
something best left untouched."
"What kinds of things?"
"About Grandma, and Great-grandma. And Aunt Madeline."
"We have an Aunt Madeline?"
"She's Mommy's twin."
"Mommy never told me she has a twin."
"She never told me either. Aunt Phoebe let it slip."
We rushed to the living room, where we found Mommy and Daddy sitting
on the couch, looking very somber. We quickly sat down, and Mommy asked what
we wanted to know about first.
"Do you really have a twin named Madeline?" Jesse blurted out.
"Yes, well, I did. She died when I was on the way to the hospital to deliver
you two."
"How did she die?"
"She was in a motorcycle accident."
"Is that why you hate motorcycles?"
"Yes it is."
"Who was Derek?"
"How did you know about Derek?" Mommy asked, looking surprised.
"When Aunt Phoebe spends the night, she talks in her sleep. She was
talking about a Derek once. I just wondered who it was."
"He was a friend. When he turned 18, he came to live with me. He did
something terrible one night, and then he ran away. He tried to come back, probably to apologize, but it was during the hurricane. You girls remember when you learned about that hurricane in class?"
We nodded. My teacher said it was the worst he had ever seen. When I had asked Mommy, she told me she remembered it, but she wouldn't tell me much.
"Well, he came back during that. He probably didn't know about the eye of the storm, and when we found him... he was dead."
I looked down at my hands in my lap. Mommy had dealt with so much
death, and at such a young age. I could completely understand why she hadn't wanted to talk about it. This must be painful for her.
"Before you ask anymore questions, I want to take you girls somewhere.
Please change into some swimming things."
Mommy and Daddy stood up. Daddy seemed to know exactly what she
was talking about, though I had no clue where we could be going. I followed them, and we went to our separate rooms, changed, and joined again. I locked the door behind me, and Mommy and Daddy went walking down the street. Jesse and I followed along, almost running to keep up. Jesse and I were whispering to each other.
When Mommy and Daddy suddenly stopped, we almost bumped into them.
They turned to look at us, and smiled.
"We're here."
I looked at where they had taken us. We were in the middle of a grove of
Weeping Willows. I giggled. We were in the middle of nowhere. Was there really a
point to this?
"Where are we?" Jesse asked, voicing my own query.
"This is a place that means a great deal to us. It's a huge part of your heritage. When I first came here, I felt a deep bond with this place. I came here all the time, and I came here with your father. In fact," she smiled. "we had our first
real kiss here."
"Why is this place so important?"
"I think it would be easier to show you."
We followed her, and she led us to a huge pool of water. I gasped. There
was a waterfall emptying into the pool, and it looked impressive. I just gaped at it,
and Mommy put her hand on my shoulder.
"Doesn't it just take your breath away?"
I nodded silently. She squeezed my shoulder gently, and we moved
forward. She silently stripped to her swimsuit, and I quickly did the same. We lay
our clothes on the bank of the pool, and dove in the water.
Immediately, I felt invigorated. Every time water touched my body, I felt
alive. I swam to the bottom of the pool, and when my protesting lungs could bear
no more, I swam for the surface. Mommy watched me with obvious amusement. I
knew she loved water as much as I did, but for some reason, she didn't go with me
very often when we went to the beach. I hope I'll finally be able to understand her
better... after today.
"Daddy, I've been having some strange dreams." I told Daddy, standing
over him. I handed him a wrench, as he tightened the pipes under the sink.
"Really now? What about?"
"Well, Mommy, Jesse, and I were swimming, and we had...." I blushed,
and trailed off. Daddy scooted out from under the sink, and looked at me.
"What? What were you going to say?"
"Well, Mommy, Jesse and I were swimming, but we had tails. We were in a big place, and there were a lot of tunnels and stuff, then we were in a place with a
lot of dragons and stuff. Daddy, Jesse says dragon's don't really exist, but I think
they do. Do they really, Daddy?"
"I don't know sweet-heart. Maybe they do, but I can't say for sure."
I smiled at him, and sat down in a chair Daddy smiled at me, as Mommy
entered the room. She kissed Daddy, and I giggled. Mommy and Daddy had been
married about twelve years, and they were still very much in love. All my friends
told me that their parents were old, and they never kissed anymore. I asked
Mommy how old she was, and she smiled.
"You should never ask a woman her age, dear." Then she laughed. "I'm
28. Why do you ask?"
Felicia says her Mom is 35. Why are you so young?"
"Well, your daddy and I didn't wait very long to have kids."
"How old were you when you had me?"
"Almost 17."
I counted quickly inside my head. "Mommy, I'll be 16 in 4 years. You
mean you were only 4 years older than me?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Wow. Was your Daddy mad?"
"Well, at first. But he realized how much James and I loved each other."
"Are you going to have any more babies?"
"I don't know. Do you really want another brother or sister that badly?"
"I want a brother. Felicia has a brother, and he's nice. I've always wanted a brother."
Mommy stopped smiling so much, and got a far away look in her eyes. My
smile slowly faded as well. "Mommy?"
She looked at me, though it was almost as if she was looking through me,
like she was watching a movie from long ago, then she closed her eyes. She opened them, and I could see tears unshed in her eyes.
"Mommy?"
She finally snapped out of it, and then smiled at me, as though nothing had
happened. She scared me sometimes when she did that.
"Yes Morgan?"
"What were you thinking Mommy?"
"You're old enough to know the truth."
"The truth.....? Mommy what are you talking about?"
"Can you go get Jesse?"
I ran to our room to get Jesse. When she heard me shouting excitedly, she
came running out. She had mascara and eyeliner, as well as blush and lipstick on. I
thought she looked ridiculous.
"What is on your face?"
"Makeup. I think I look pretty."
"We're twelve, not 16. Do you really think we need it?"
She went in to wipe it off, as I told her excitedly that Mom said she's going
to tell us the truth.
"What truth?"
"Probably about everything. She hasn't told us a lot of things. I know Aunt
Phoebe used to tell things, and Mom would get onto her for it. She said the past is
something best left untouched."
"What kinds of things?"
"About Grandma, and Great-grandma. And Aunt Madeline."
"We have an Aunt Madeline?"
"She's Mommy's twin."
"Mommy never told me she has a twin."
"She never told me either. Aunt Phoebe let it slip."
We rushed to the living room, where we found Mommy and Daddy sitting
on the couch, looking very somber. We quickly sat down, and Mommy asked what
we wanted to know about first.
"Do you really have a twin named Madeline?" Jesse blurted out.
"Yes, well, I did. She died when I was on the way to the hospital to deliver
you two."
"How did she die?"
"She was in a motorcycle accident."
"Is that why you hate motorcycles?"
"Yes it is."
"Who was Derek?"
"How did you know about Derek?" Mommy asked, looking surprised.
"When Aunt Phoebe spends the night, she talks in her sleep. She was
talking about a Derek once. I just wondered who it was."
"He was a friend. When he turned 18, he came to live with me. He did
something terrible one night, and then he ran away. He tried to come back, probably to apologize, but it was during the hurricane. You girls remember when you learned about that hurricane in class?"
We nodded. My teacher said it was the worst he had ever seen. When I had asked Mommy, she told me she remembered it, but she wouldn't tell me much.
"Well, he came back during that. He probably didn't know about the eye of the storm, and when we found him... he was dead."
I looked down at my hands in my lap. Mommy had dealt with so much
death, and at such a young age. I could completely understand why she hadn't wanted to talk about it. This must be painful for her.
"Before you ask anymore questions, I want to take you girls somewhere.
Please change into some swimming things."
Mommy and Daddy stood up. Daddy seemed to know exactly what she
was talking about, though I had no clue where we could be going. I followed them, and we went to our separate rooms, changed, and joined again. I locked the door behind me, and Mommy and Daddy went walking down the street. Jesse and I followed along, almost running to keep up. Jesse and I were whispering to each other.
When Mommy and Daddy suddenly stopped, we almost bumped into them.
They turned to look at us, and smiled.
"We're here."
I looked at where they had taken us. We were in the middle of a grove of
Weeping Willows. I giggled. We were in the middle of nowhere. Was there really a
point to this?
"Where are we?" Jesse asked, voicing my own query.
"This is a place that means a great deal to us. It's a huge part of your heritage. When I first came here, I felt a deep bond with this place. I came here all the time, and I came here with your father. In fact," she smiled. "we had our first
real kiss here."
"Why is this place so important?"
"I think it would be easier to show you."
We followed her, and she led us to a huge pool of water. I gasped. There
was a waterfall emptying into the pool, and it looked impressive. I just gaped at it,
and Mommy put her hand on my shoulder.
"Doesn't it just take your breath away?"
I nodded silently. She squeezed my shoulder gently, and we moved
forward. She silently stripped to her swimsuit, and I quickly did the same. We lay
our clothes on the bank of the pool, and dove in the water.
Immediately, I felt invigorated. Every time water touched my body, I felt
alive. I swam to the bottom of the pool, and when my protesting lungs could bear
no more, I swam for the surface. Mommy watched me with obvious amusement. I
knew she loved water as much as I did, but for some reason, she didn't go with me
very often when we went to the beach. I hope I'll finally be able to understand her
better... after today.