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Emily stood tiredly leaning against a concrete wall in the Ronald Reagan Washington National airport. Her eyes slowly fluttering closed as she yawned into her hand. It was hardly past midnight but her day had worn her out. She had spent the afternoon cleaning every inch of her home, stocking the pantry and the refrigerator and finishing paperwork so she could take time off while the twins adjusted to their new lives in the States. She needed everything to be perfect when they arrived. This would be their home for now, whether they liked it or not.
Struggling to stay awake, she walked towards the windows to watch planes landing on the tarmac.
She watched as the lights of a large plane became visible in the night sky. As it approached the airport, a loud announcement boomed over the PA system.
"British airways flight 0293 from Heathrow airport will be landing momentarily." The voice was robotic.
For the first time everything suddenly felt real. She was finally going to have the chance to be a good mother to her children. Emily needed to prove to not only Kate and Ethan, but to Clyde that she was capable of taking care of the twins, that she could handle the job that comes with bringing a life into the world.
The gates opened and she watched as passengers came piling off the aircraft. One by one they entered the building and rushed to their families and friends.
Her stomach began to turn as she waited patiently. She bit her lip and picked at her nails. Her nerves were skyrocketing.
After what felt like years, two familiar beings entered the terminal. It took Emily a few moments to register their faces but as her eyes met theirs she smiled.
They walked over to her, their tired legs carrying them slowly.
Ethan brushed his dark hair out of his eyes and smiled as his mother. He leaned over and gently set his carry on bag on the ground. The tension began to build as they all stared at each other.
Ethan gulped, he could see the disappointment in his mother's eyes. It was something he didn't get from a phone conversation and it hurt most of all.
"Hey mum!" he greeted, throwing his arms around the middle aged women. He hoped this gesture would help smooth the water.
Emily held her son tightly. She felt like she should be angry but right now all she wanted was to hold her handsome son. "Hey bud! You have both grown so much; since when are you taller than me?" she said with excitement in her voice. She patted her hand against his back, then let go.
"Why are you surprised? We haven't seen you since last summer, " the young brunette said dryly as she scrolled through messages on her phone without looking up.
Emily was taken aback by her daughter's sharp comment, as if her words were sharp daggers aimed at her mother's heart. Though it hurt, she knew that this war was far from over. She shook it off. "I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry."
Kate turned and irritatedly looked her mother up and down before making any movement. Slowly she reached a hand out and shook Emily's. "Hello Mother," she said, showing no smile and keeping her tone bland.
Taking her daughter's cold hand in hers, Emily saw a version of herself. The lack of emotion and the distance in her voice, it was something she had done as a child. It was the way she had greeted her own mother.
"Hi sweetie, I've missed you." She leaned towards her daughter, trying to embrace the young girl.
Kate quickly pulled away. "Sure you did," she spat sarcastically, then she grabbed her carry-on bag. "Can please just go? I'm tired."
Without an answer she walked away from her family, heading to pick up her luggage.
Emily stood shocked. Seeing her daughter act this way toward her made Emily feel horrible inside. She was incredibly guilt ridden for leaving them all those years ago.
Ethan grabbed his own nap sac and turned to face his mother. "The Ice Princess will come around soon enough. Give her time." Then he follow his sister through the airport terminal.
There was an unsettling silence that enveloped them as they drove back to Emily's streets were empty and eerie at this hour. Ethan sat in the passenger's seat with his shoes resting on the dashboard. He pulled his black Nikon camera out of his bag and rolled down the window so he could take clearer pictures. He seemed contented by this change in scenery. America was his fresh start, his chance to become a better person.
"Hey, feet down please," Emily said as she reached out and tapped Ethan's feet that were resting on the dashboard. She wasn't sure what Clyde let them get away with but she knew right now wasn't the time to lay down all of her rules. She needed to get them home and then to bed before a fight broke out.
It had been a long time since she had been around her children. She saw them for a few weeks during their summer vacations each year and occasionally on a holiday here and there, but this was different. This arrangement was more permanent. Normally for them, a chance to see her was more of a time to relax and get away, but right now they weren't able to relax and they wouldn't be going home within the next 14 days.
She felt estranged from them. Though she had not cut contact through the years, she found herself losing an understanding of the people her children had grown to be. She couldn't connect with them like she did when they were young.
Ethan lowered his legs but his knees were pressed up against the dash of the car. He looked uncomfortable as he sifted around.
"You can push the seat back," Emily suggested.
"Nah, it's fine. We're almost there." Then he turned back towards the window and snapped some more pictures. DC was a nice city at night if you ignored the occasional homeless person and their shopping cart.
They lapsed into silence once again. Ethan carefully placed his camera into his bag. He knew it might become a possibly difficult conversation but he had to talk to his mother about what he had done. He was the reason they had come to America, he had done something he knew was not allowed. He also knew that though Emily had been quite calm about his wrong doing when he had called, it wasn't over. This was his chance. His sister couldn't hear him and there was nowhere to hide. It was what had to be done and getting it out of the way fast would avoid the awkwardness.
"Mum?" he mumbled. He turned to face her slightly.
She cleared her throat but didn't look at him. "Yes bud?" She knew what he was going to say. Until now, Emily found herself separating what her son had done from who he is. It had been working.
"I erm, I'm sorry," he stuttered. He lowered his head and bit at his fingernails. It was a small tick that the three Prentiss's shared.
Emily sighed and kept her eyes on the road as they turned onto New Hampshire Avenue. "I know you are, I just don't understand why you do this."
He didn't speak, his body was tense and he was avoiding eye contact.
She looked to the back seat. "Can she hear us?" Emily asked as she nodded her head towards the angry spit fire in the back seat.
"I doubt it, Katie is practically deaf thanks to her headphones," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Emily let out an airy chuckle. "Of course she is."
But, once again they drew into silence.
Ethan watched his mother glancing several times into the rear view mirror. Each time she would tilt her head so she could see better then sighed and direct her attention to the road again.
"She needs space right now. It's a lot for her and she puts on a good act, but she's scared," he said softly. He knew how frustratingly stubborn his sister could be, especially when she was angry. But he's been living with her since infancy, dealing with her was something that just came naturally. He's at fault for their move and Ethan wanted things to be better for both of them, not just himself.
Emily shook her head, tears threatening to form. "She hates me."
"She just kind of gets like this, and if you leave her alone eventually she just moves on. She doesn't hate you. She's frustrated, and she takes her anger out on you because she knows that you feel guilty. Let's be honest, you're an easy target. She missed you but... she could never hate you. You're our mum."
Emily bit her lip and glanced up at the rear view mirror. She watched her daughter adjust the headphones on her head; she was sporting her usual disapproving scowl. Their eyes met but Kate was quick to look away, turning her face towards the window. Emily sighed and directed her focus to the road.
Kate, on the other hand, did not see her new life in the States as a blessing or a chance for self growth. Like any teenage girl, she was not easy to reason with. When her father had presented her with this proposition she became extremely irritable. She refused to speak to him for weeks. This country took her mother from her, it made her father miss her birthdays and its jobs took several of her friends away from her. In her eyes, this country was the enemy. Of course, there were things about the United States that she enjoyed. The fact that it wasn't always cloudy or raining was one of those things.
When they finally pulled up to Emily's place, the kids both hopped out of the car and started unloading their luggage. They followed their mother up the front steps to the door and then into the house.
The twins dropped their things at the door and walked around the living room, inspecting the place. Even though they didn't visit that often, it still felt homely to them. It reminded them of what home was like when they were young. As kids their father was often away which left everything else to their mother. It smelled like laundry detergent with a soft cinnamon undertone. Some things never really do change.
Emily took her coat off and headed into the kitchen. She was impressed with how well things were going, though they were awkward and uncomfortable, no huge fights had broken out between the teenagers and that was a win in itself.
She let a yawn escape from her mouth as she opened the refrigerator. She grabbed the pitcher of water and set it on the counter, then grabbed a glass from the cabinet. It was late and Emily's body yearned for sleep but she wanted to make sure they were settled in before she headed to bed.
She poured herself a glass of cold water, hoping it would help wake her up, and then headed into the living room where her son and daughter had found a place to rest their tired legs after the long day of traveling.
She took a seat in her lazy boy recliner and smiled at them softly. "Ready for bed?" she asked then she let out a yawn which she tried to cover with her hand.
Kate nodded before she too began to yawn. Ethan however, was still looking to have a little fun.
He flashed his sister a wild grin. "No wonder you're tired. See mum, Katie had a really emotional day." He reached over and patted her leg. They had always been close but like most siblings they also enjoyed getting under each other's skin. It didn't help that Kate was very irritable.
She pushed his hand away then stood up. She tugged and smoothed her sweater to flatten it out "Oh shut up," she hissed as she rolled her eyes. She turned away and headed toward the door to grab her suitcase. She wasn't going to get into this right now.
Emily watched them, confused by how her daughter was acting. She knew that the move would be hard on them but Kate was very good at adapting to change. She was such a resilient young woman and she was always able to keeping her emotions at bay.
"Don't be like that," he whined in a teasing way. "You know we all want to hear about... damn it, what was his name again?"
"Ethan, quit it!" she yelled in an annoyed tone as she was heading up the stairs, her suitcase in tow. Sometimes her brother could be such a brat.
He turned to face Emily. Though he was directing his next comment at her, he spoke loud enough for his sister to hear every last word. "She's really upset because they never got to 'seal the deal' if you know what I mean." He winked at his mother, catching her completely off guard.
Emily nearly choked on her water. "Excuse me?!" she managed to say between coughs. Emily knew she needed to stop this before it got out of hand, if it hadn't already reached that point.
Kate stopped dead in her tracks. She could not believe him! She dropped her bags at the stop of the stairs and came running back down to give Ethan a piece of her mind. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" she screeched. She was fuming! She lunged towards him; his laughter fueling her anger.
Emily quickly stepped between them and tried to hold her daughter back. Kate continued to struggle her way free from her mother's grasp.
With the young girl now being almost as tall as her mother, it made it harder for Emily to control her.
"Calm down," Emily said sternly as she began to feel herself letting go. She was far too tired to be dealing with this kind thing.
"It's too easy." Ethan laughed, but was immediately shot a deadly glare from the older woman.
"You asshole!" Kate growled before finally breaking free and lunging at him, her hands going straight to his neck.
They were both throwing punches at this point.
"ENOUGH! Both of you!" Emily boomed as she grabbed them both by their shirts. "It's time for bed."
Both teens obeyed their mother and headed to their rooms. Ethan normally stayed in the spare room in the basement because it was dark and make it easier to sleep the day away, while Kate took the room down the hall from her mother's. She liked having windows and a bathroom across the hall.
As Kate was starting up the stairs she turned to face Ethan. "You need to grow up," she said in a snobby tone to make him feel beneath her, though the way she had been acting a minute ago showed that she was no more mature.
"You're a motherless whore, don't forget that!" he yelled after her as she continued to run up to her room.
"And you're a bastard… literally," she yelled back.
"If I am, so are you!"
"Ugh!" Then she slammed her door and was not heard from for the rest of the night.
Ethan grabbed his things and disappeared into the basement, satisfied with what he had accomplished.
As soon as the twins were out of sight, Emily sank down on the couch, her head in her hands. They were so close to having a decent night, but of course that didn't happen. Ethan was a little shit disturber, knowing full well the reaction he was going to get out of Kate for his comments. At least now she knew what was going on in her daughter's life. But if she is anything like Emily was at her age-which is proving to be more true by the minute-then she would avoid a conversation about 'sealing the deal' like it was the plague. Now on top of all that, she had to pick up the pieces of her broken heart that shattered when they insulted each other on their way to their rooms. If tonight was any indication, the next few weeks were not going to be easy for any of them.
Emily sighed as she slowly rose from the couch and grabbed her glass along the way. She brought it back to the kitchen, opting to leave it in the sink, before climbing the stairs and going to bed. All she could do was hope that the next day would be better for all of them.