Double Trouble.
"Sorry to bother you again Tommy, but I don't know why I am here" Danielle placed her hand on her waist and looked at Tommy like she was thinking about something.
Then she opened her eyes and her mouth "Oh. I remembered. I am going to your house because my mother decided it. This is great. Just great" she crossed her arms over her chest and stood there, totally angry.
Tommy couldn't help but laugh nervously. This was the first night he spent with his daughter and he didn't want to mess things up. They stayed silent as the elevator went up.
"I bet that you will love it, Danielle" Tommy said warmly, looking down at his daughter.
She seemed to be shocked.
"How did you know that I'm Danielle?"
Tommy rolled his eyes and smiled.
"I don't know...it's so hard to know sometimes" he said sarcastically. Danielle couldn't help but laugh. Tommy looked away from Danielle to Gabrielle, who was looking through the glass elevator, completely gobsmacked.
"I...love your elevator" she said breathless as she pressed all the buttons of the board.
Once the door opened Tommy had to drag her out of the elevator because she was determined to sleep in it.
They walked through a large corridor and stopped in front of a big wooden door.
"Well, this is my place" Tommy announced as he opened the door. Gabrielle's jaw dropped as she got inside, but Danielle just stood there, not knowing whether to walk in or run away.
"Your apartment is..." she started, looking around nastily as she passed her index finger over the table and blew the dust away.
"Nice? Comfortable? Warm?" Tommy said hopefully as he put the girls' bags on the floor.
She shook her head no.
"Actually the word that I was looking for is...dècharge"
Tommy didn't have time to respond, because Gabrielle turned her head towards her sister violently and screamed.
"What are you talking about, Dany! This place is paradise"
Danielle rolled her eyes.
"For crappy musicians like you and Tommy, it is, but for normal people like me..."she started to explain as if it was obvious, but her sister interrupted her.
"What do you mean when you call us crappy musicians? Tommy has sold zillions discs and he sings very well!"
"I'm not going to discuss Tommy's music skills with you, Gaby. If you don't remember, we have a test in two days and I have to study"
Gabrielle opened his mouth in an "o" shape".
"Do we have a test?"
"If you weren't asleep while the teacher is saying important stuff, you would know that the final exams will start next week"
"Damn!"
"Gaby, don't swear!" Danielle scolded her. "I am so nervous! I haven't studied yet!"
"What a terrible thing..." Gabrielle said sarcastically. Tommy had to cover his laughs with a cough. Danielle looked at him
"Tommy, I need a silent, clean room" and she added in a whisper "Please"
He nodded as he walked towards her.
"You will have a room just for you, but we have to eat first"
"And you have to clean this mess. I know it's a bachelor apartment, but this is too much. Not even the SME guys have this mess in the house"
Tommy thought for a moment.
"SME? I thought they were HME, for Jude..."
She looked at him as if he was crazy.
"My mom doesn't sing. She just produces"
"I've heard her singing in the shower...she's awesome" Gabrielle commented as she looked through Tommy's cd collection "But she doesn't sing since we were born for some reason we don't know...sometimes I think she's not happy"
"That's because she hasn't married Dad yet. But now she's going to do it and everything will be perfect, as always, but better" Danielle spotted bitterly.
Tommy just listened as he picked the beer cans of the floor. Danielle was right. The place was a complete mess. And his daughters deserved the best.
Thirty minutes later the apartment was unrecognizable. Tommy had managed to clean every room, do the beds and hide things he didn't want the twins to see. He got into the living room, wearing an apron, gloves in both hands and holding a feather duster.
Danielle looked away from her book to him and immediately cracked up
"ok, is this a new part of Lil' Tommy Q we didn't know?" she said between laughs. Tommy smiled. He loved to see her laughing and even more if he was the cause.
"Now you can't say that my apartment is a dècharge" he said, smiling at his daughter. Danielle nodded smiling too "and what do you say about this, Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle didn't respond. She was too concentrated looking at the ceiling. Tommy looked at her and immediately recognized that look. It was the same look that Jude had when she had an idea. A good idea.
"Tommy, you met our father, didn't you?" she asked suddenly, causing Tommy to drop the feather duster.
"Well, I..." Tommy started, but he was interrupted by Gabrielle.
"And with father I mean, biological father. Not Speed" she added. "I'm asking you because, for what I know, you lived with Jude before she got pregnant"
"Gaby! You don't have the right to ask something like that!" Danielle screamed, scandalized by the situation.
Tommy stood there, frozen. He didn't know what to respond. Part of him wanted to tell them the whole truth once and for all, but the other part wanted to keep them as close as possible to him, and for that it wasn't necessary to tell them the truth. Besides, Jude would kill him if he told them something about their past together.
"Yeah...I lived with her 10 years ago" he admitted, reminiscing the old good days "She was amazing, everyday by her side was a new experience" Tommy cleared his throat and looked into the girls' eyes. They looked so innocent but fierce at the same time. Just like Jude, he thought "I didn't know your father. I left before your mother got pregnant" he lied, looking away from them.
Danielle sighed in relief and Gabrielle made a sound with her tongue. The same sound Tommy did when something didn't turn out according to his plans.
"But she dated someone while you were with her?"
"Of course she dated people. But they never touched her" he said, half proud, half jealous.
"Friends of mine. People that wasn't important for her"
"but there were men..." Gabrielle insisted. Tommy looked up from the floor and decided that it was time to cut the topic off.
"Who wants pizza!!!??" he asked. The serious expressions in the girls' faces changed immediately. Even if they were very mature, they still were kids.
"Mee!!" both girls said at the same time. Tommy took a deep breath. For a moment he had thought that it would be difficult to deal with two girls that were the exact opposite to the other. Maybe Jude was just exaggerating when he said they were exhausting.
"Ok. We will call for a pizza" he announced as he grabbed the phone and dialed the number "hello. Yes. I want a pizza. Topics?" he looked at the girls waiting for a response.
"I want pineapple" Danielle started. Gabrielle nodded in agreement.
"Ok. Pineapple" Tommy said through the phone.
"And pepperoni"
Danielle shook her head immediately
"No, pepperoni no. we want pineapple and..."
"Pepperoni Danielle. I want pepperoni"
"I don't like pepperoni!"
"But I do!"
Tommy stood there, in state of shock. Two seconds before they were talking normally and now Gabrielle looked like she wanted to take her sister's head off.
"I say no pepperoni, no cheese and tomatoes, but I want them chopped not sliced because I don't like them sliced" Danielle said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And I say pepperoni, double cheese and no tomatoes at all!"
"I don't want cheese!!!" Danielle screamed
"Triple cheese!!" Gabrielle screamed back.
Tommy finally reacted
"Girls, chill. I will order two pizzas" he tried to calm them down. But it was unsuccessful.
Danielle looked at him hatefully and ran towards his room. Before he could react she had locked herself up. Tommy looked at Gabrielle in state of shock. She just shrugged her shoulders and took the phone away from him.
"Ok, like my friend was saying. We want pineapple, pepperoni and triple cheese..." she looked at Tommy room's door and sighed "and add chopped tomatoes too"
Tommy waited for Gabrielle to hang up to ask her what was going on with her sister.
"I don't know. She always does that when she gets mad. I think she prefers to lock herself up than hit me"
Tommy stayed silent for a moment. How could they be twins? They are so different, he thought.
"Ok, where did you put my guitar?" Gabrielle asked suddenly. Tommy looked at her surprised. Her sister was locked up in a room and all she could think about was music. After a while he laughed inside...Gabrielle was so like him.
"It's over there, behind the couch" He simply said. Gabrielle ran towards her guitar and took it out of the guitar case. She was starting to play a familiar song when Tommy heard a beautiful voice that wasn't Gabrielle's. He turned around to see Danielle, walking out of his room reading a book as she singed distractedly. Her voice filled the room and Tommy listened to her in amazement. He hadn't heard something like that before, not even Jude had that voice.
Danielle looked up from her book to Tommy and stopped singing.
"What are you looking at?" she asked roughly, as she was defending herself.
"I...nothing, nothing Danielle" Tommy managed to respond, still gobsmacked.
She shrugged her shoulders and walked towards her sister as if they hadn't fought in their whole lives. Gabrielle looked at her sister as she took a seat next to her and smiled.
"So you will stay here, playing the guitar the whole night?" Danielle asked suddenly, her eyes never leaving the book she was holding "I can help you with science, if you want to"
Gabrielle strummed the guitar.
"Thanks, but I think I prefer to put my knowledge in a paper"
"You mean gyp sheet" Danielle corrected her, rolling her eyes.
Gabrielle laughed and nodded at her sister. Suddenly Gabrielle looked away from her sister to Tommy's bookcase.
"Tommy, what is that?" she asked curiously as she pointed at the big red book that didn't match at all with the rest of the books. Tommy's face went pale immediately when he realized that the book was no other than Jude's old journal. Gabrielle stood up and walked towards the bookcase to grab the book and Tommy was about to follow her when he saw a pillow flying across the room and then hitting Gabrielle's head. She turned around immediately and looked at her sister completely angry
"Why did you do that?"
"Because you needed it. Please, Gabrielle Spiederman interested in books?" Danielle laughed and threw another pillow to her sister. Gabrielle responded immediately and took out a book from the bookcase and threw it in Danielle's direction.
"Well, if you like books, there you got!" Gabrielle laughed as she took another book and threw it to her sister. Danielle dodged the two books and prepared herself to counterattack and grabbed another pillow before she hid behind the couch.
Tommy watched as the pillows and books flew across his living room in state of shock. He finally reacted when he saw Jude's journal in Gabrielle's hand. She was about to throw it when Tommy stopped her by taking the journal away from her.
"Please girls, chill!!" he half screamed as he dodged a pillow coming from Danielle. He looked at Gabrielle "This book is not part of your artillery"
There was an uncomfortable silence until something brown fell over Tommy's and Gabrielle's heads.
"What is..?" Tommy started as he removed of his head something that seemed to be soil. He had time enough to step back before a second handful of soil was thrown and collided with the wall. Gabrielle ran as fast as she could towards the kitchen and Danielle followed her holding a flowerpot. Tommy took a deep breath and thought for a moment as he heard the girls' screams. He walked towards the kitchen but suddenly his phone ringed and he answered automatically. He almost lost the balance when he heard Jude's voice.
"Hi Tommy"
"..."
"I will take that as a 'Hi Jude I'm glad you called'" she said laughing "So...Having fun with the girls?"
"Fun...that's the word that I was looking for" Tommy lied as he walked away from the kitchen so Jude couldn't hear the girls' screams.
"So...how are they?" Jude asked suddenly, noticing Tommy's worried tone.
"They are great...couldn't be better" Tommy lied again, trying to sound convincing.
Jude thought for a moment. Maybe her plan didn't work and Tommy was watching the kids without problems.
"Great" she said ironically "I will be home if you need something. Just call, ok?"
"It won't be necessary..." Tommy's lie was interrupted by Gabrielle's and Danielle's screams. Before Jude could ask something Tommy hung up and ran towards the kitchen.
The kitchen was a complete mess. Pieces of bread, fruit and vegetables were on the floor and the walls were covered with soil and fluids of all kinds. He looked for the girls and found them sitting on the table, laughing hysterically. Their faces were full of flour and soil, but they were so happy that Tommy didn't care the mess at all.
"Are you going to throw something at me or did you let off steam already?"
They both laughed as Tommy started to clean up the mess.
"So...which is the third element in the periodic table?" Danielle asked to her sister as she walked in circles around her. They had taken a shower to watch away the flour and put on their pajamas. After they had dinner Danielle had decided that it was time for her sister to study"
"Mm...Oh...I knew that one" Gabrielle thought for a moment and then smiled "wind??"
Danielle rolled her eyes and hit her sister's head with the book. Tommy got in the living room with a tub of ice cream and spoons.
"I thought you wanted some ice-cream" he said innocently as he handed the tub to Gabrielle.
Danielle looked at her sister with resignation and took the spoon that Tommy was handing her. Tommy couldn't believe it. His daughters were in his house, having fun and sharing a dad-daughter night with him, even if they didn't know he was their father. He looked at them thoroughly. They were so different but so alike at the same time. Their faces were just like Jude's, Tommy thought. He could recognize that smile anywhere, and that little mouth too. Their eyes were the only evidence of his fatherhood.
"Why are you looking at us like that?" Gabrielle asked suddenly, looking at Tommy at the eyes with special attention. It caused a strange effect on her. Tommy's eyes were familiar for her, she thought.
"I was just...thinking..."
"Oh...because you had the same look that Jude. Sometimes she stares at us for hours...it's strange, but it makes me feel safe" Gabrielle admitted, smiling at Tommy "like now"
Tommy smiled back and sat down next to Danielle.
"I thought you hadn't noticed it, Gaby. When she looks at us like that, I feel the same way you do" Daniele confessed as she grabbed her sister's hand.
"I don't know...sometimes I think she remembers something when she looks at us. Maybe she remembers someone"
Danielle stood up immediately and looked at her sister sternly
"What do you mean?"
Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders.
"I just...sometimes I think that mom still loves our father. By the way she looks at us or when she's with Speed but she's not there at all"
Danielle opened her eyes wide and looked at her sister as if she was crazy. Tommy didn't know how to react to her daughter's comment.
"You know what, Gaby? You will drink some water and stop playing the guitar because you must have fever or something"
"Please Danielle! Have you ever looked into mom's eyes? There's something missing in her life!"
"Yes, it's missing a sane daughter, because you are completely insane!" Danielle raised her voice even more. She walked towards the door and then back to her sister. Obviously she was trying to control herself.
"Just admit it Dany!, Jude doesn't love Speed! And I doubt she has ever had"
Danielle couldn't control herself anymore and slapped her sister across her face. Then walked towards the other side of the room and took her sister's guitar.
"Danielle, take your hands off of my guitar!" Gabrielle threatened her. Tommy was trying to calm them down, but it was almost impossible.
"Girls, please, calm down"
"Stay away of this!" they both screamed at the same time.
Tommy stepped back, scared of her daughter's aggressiveness
"Don't you ever repeat what you have just said again, ok?" Danielle said to her sister, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Give me my guitar back!!"
"Not if you don't promise that you will never say that again!"
"Give me my guitar!"
"No!"
Gabrielle grabbed her sister's hair and pulled it as hard as she could.
"Stay away from me!"
But Gabrielle didn't hear her sister. She was completely out of control.
"I will hit you so hard that you won't even remember your name!"
Danielle ran towards the window and held the guitar on the air, ready to let it fall.
"Do it and I will throw your loved guitar out of the window!"
Gabrielle's expression changed immediately.
"It's the tenth floor!"
"Good, then you won't even get the splinters of this din maker"
"What is wrong with you two?" Tommy asked suddenly, loud enough for them to hear "you are sisters...more than sisters, twins! ...you are not supposed to fight for almost everything! I know I don't have the right to say anything because I never had a brother or a sister and Jude...well, we didn't have a brother-sister relation ship, but I know how it feels when you love someone as much as yourself. I lost that person because I was selfish and I did everything just thinking of me. Maybe what's saying Gabrielle is right, maybe it's not, but it's not a reason to fight, ok?"
Both girls looked at each other and then at Tommy. They looked at the floor.
"Danielle, give me Gabrielle's guitar" without hesitation, Danielle passed him the musical instrument "and Gaby, please apologize to your sister for pulling her hair"
"I'm sorry Danielle" Gabrielle said honestly
"Ok, now I want a sisters' hug" Tommy ordered, now with a warm tone.
The girls looked up from the floor and their eyes met. They started to walk slowly until they were face to face. In that moment Gabrielle started to cry and Danielle embraced her sister tightly against her body. Tommy wiped a single tear off his face and cleared his throat.
"Great, now I want you to go to bed and sleep. You can sleep in my room, it has TV and a fridge full of ice cream and there are cookies too"
Danielle and Gabrielle looked at each other and smiled.
"You should have said it before!"
With the girls in asleep, Tommy's house went back to normality. He was falling asleep when he heard the door bell ringing frenetically. Half asleep, Tommy walked through the living room until he got to the door. He opened his eyes wide when he saw the person who was standing at the door. It was Vincent Spiederman, completely red and angry.
"I came for my daughters" he said firmly, getting inside Tommy's apartment before he could say anything.
"Chill man, I didn't kidnap them. Jude acceded..." Tommy tried to explain, but Speed interrupted him
"I don't care what Jude said. She's weak, not because she still feels something for you, because she thinks that this is the best for the girls. But I know it's not. So give me the girls and everything will be ok"
"They're sleeping now; you're not taking them anywhere"
"And who are you to give me orders?! They're my kids and I do what I think is the best for them!"
"You know exactly who I am; I don't think that I have to repeat it"
Speed laughed sarcastically.
"Please Quincy; don't tell me that now you want to be a daddy. That's ridiculous!"
"Why? Because I regretted for what I did?"
"No, because you shouldn't have done it on the first place. But now it's too late!"
"There's no need to scream. I don't want the girls to wake up"
"C'mon Quincy, don't tell me how to be a good father!" Speed spotted, raising his voice even more "I stayed here with them while you were shaking your butt who knows where. You missed their first day at school, when they gave their first steps, the first word they said. And who was there for them? Me! ...I was here all the time!!!"...
"It's Speed. What is he doing here?" Gabrielle asked as she sat down on the bed. Danielle walked out of the bed and put her ear against the door.
"He's fighting with Tommy" Danielle informed her sister as she tucked in Tommy's bed, next to Gaby "we are going to stay here, ok?"
Gabrielle nodded and looked at the ceiling. They could barely hear the screams coming from the living room.
"I don't understand why Speed makes a big deal about Tommy being around" Gabrielle said suddenly, looking away from the ceiling to her sister. Danielle didn't know what to say. She suspected something, but it was impossible to believe...completely ridiculous.
"Maybe he has some reasons we don't know Gaby" she simply said as she took her sister's hand under the sheets. Danielle looked into her sister's eyes and felt a strange sensation. Her eyes were so familiar for her. after a while she shook her head and laughed at herself...they were twins, it was obvious where she had seen those eyes before...in the mirror.
"Danielle, I have an idea" Gabrielle said in a whisper, her eyes shinning "it's about our father..."
"Speed will be ok..."
"Danielle, you know what I meant. Maybe Tommy knows who our biological father is"
Danielle's smile faded immediately and she turned around, avoiding her sister's look
"I don't care and you know it"
Gabrielle took a deep breath
"I don't care either. But since I was a kid I've wanted to see him, face to face, to push everything in his face"
Danielle smiled weakly, but rethought about it. Her sister was right; the man that abandoned them deserved something like that. They heard Speed screaming. He was still there, trying to take them back home.
"What do you suggest, little sister" Danielle said. A smile appeared across Gabrielle's face "you are the evil one"
