Have you heard the story of the Nolan Twins?
As like each other as two new pins
Of one womb born on the self-same day
How one was kept
And one given away.
And have you heard how the Nolans died?
Never knowing they shared one name until the day they died
When a mother cried
"My own dear girls lie slain!"
And have you heard of the mother so cruel
There's a stone in place of her heart?
Then bring her on and, come judge for yourselves,
How she came to play that part.
Lifting the bottle of dark amber-colored liquid, Mary-Margaret Nolan poured some more into her glass and raised the glass to her lips, and swallowed it down, her face contorting at the horrible taste.
Four years had passed since that awful day, the day that she swore would never lift from her memory.
she swore she could still smell the whiff of gunpowder, feel the sickening anticipation, hear the gasp of horror at the revelations being revealed…
Tears formed in her eyes as she began to think, think about the moment her life began its cursed journey.
Mary Margaret met her husband David when she was barely sixteen in Storybrooke when she snuck into the local pub to try and find her alcoholic father when she ran face-first into the most handsome guy she had ever seen. His eyes were bright emerald green, and his hair was blonde and long and was tied back into a ponytail. They exchanged phone numbers and found that David was only about two years older than she was and actually went to the same school.
David was full of compliments for the young brunette, her blue eyes looked like sapphires and her skin was as white as snow. He told her that she was beautiful, and he loved her more than life itself.
Mary was fool enough to believe him.
The pair had been together barely six months when Mary Margaret discovered that her period was late, and after consulting her doctor, it was confirmed that she was pregnant. At 17 and 19 respectively, the pair were married at the local courthouse, as David swore to 'do the right thing' and stand by his girlfriend. The wedding was organized quickly and efficiently, with Mary wearing a white maternity dress and David wearing his year-old prom suit. The ceremony was brief and blunt, like every other shotgun wedding of the 1960s. The newlywed's families and teenage friends came to celebrate, and they all poured one out to the groom and his beautiful new wife.
Four months later, Mary gave birth to a healthy baby boy whom they christened Neal David. Mary and her husband were besotted with their little boy and Mary settled into motherhood fairly easily and with David being out at work most of the time, Mary devoted herself to her young son. Three months later, Mary was shocked to find out that she was once again expecting. They became the joke of their town as many men laughed in the pubs that all Mary had to do was shake hands with her husband and there would be another baby. Five years passed with Mary and David having another five children when David dropped a bomb that would shatter their whole world.
"I'm leaving you Mary, you, and the kids. I've met someone else" he declared, picking up the few boxes of his belongings, loading them into the car, and off he went.
Mary sank to her knees and sobbed as though her heart would break. Things had been tight even with David working, and now with seven children under 10, it was looking almost impossible, it was inevitable that Mary would have to put some of her children into state care unless she could find a way to earn enough money to support them all, and she did.
Flicking through the newspaper one morning, Mary came across an advertisement for a cleaner and housekeeper, it read:
"Wealthy man and his wife seek a clean, proper, and skilled housekeeper and cleaner. Willing to run errands, collect shopping, and prepare light snacks. Home is smoke-free and pet-free. Please call on the number below and ask for Mrs. Regina Mills. Payment would be cash, at a rate of £5 4 shillings and sixpence."
That was perfect. The Mills family lived a simple bus ride away and provided that she could get someone to watch her younger children, she could definitely work. After agreeing with her next-door neighbor to watch Mary's three younger children, Mary called and arranged an appointment to meet Mrs. Mills.
The meeting went very well, and Mary was offered the job after a few days' trial, and gradually she began to enjoy the cleaning, she even found herself looking forward to it. Mary also began a friendship with Mrs. Mills and two months after she started, Mr. Daniel Mills announced that he was going to England for around six months.
Mrs. Mills was really very nice but couldn't help being slightly snobbish about the differences between the two women but there was a noticeable shift in Regina's mood when Mary talked about her children. Mrs. Mills hadn't been as lucky as Mary and David when it came to fertility, as she had been unable to carry a baby, no matter how hard they had tried, every pregnancy had ended tragically.
Mary meanwhile was shocked when four weeks after her husband had left to discover that she was, once again, pregnant. She was really quite upset to think that she might lose her new job after only having it for a few weeks and now the added expense of feeding yet another mouth.
"morning Mrs. Nolan, how are you?" Mrs. Mills asked, jolting Mary out of her daydream
"Oh morning Mrs. Mills, I'm getting by, how are you doing? Mary asked, her eyes going to the bulging shopping bags that the other woman was carrying.
"oh I suppose I'm okay, is the job working out for you well then, dear? Regina asked as she began unpacking her various bags.
"Oh yes of course Mrs. Mills, you have such a lovely house with such a lovely garden. It is a pleasure to clean it. Is there anything else you would like me to do after I've cleaned the bathrooms?"
"oh is that all you've left to do? I think I would like you to change our bed if that's possible, and perhaps stay for a cup of tea after you've finished? It's such a large house, and it feels even larger now that Daniel isn't here." Regina mused
"oh, I envy you having an empty house! My kids could disappear for days in here, and I doubt I would get a second of peace and quiet. Of course, I can stay for a cup of tea, I don't need to be back for a few hours yet." Mary said, as she finished wiping the coffee table and smoothed her apron over her growing stomach.
"well actually Mrs. Nolan, we bought such a large for the children, we had hoped that children would come along. We haven't been quite so fortunate" Regina said sadly
"well you never know, you might still be able to…" Mary started but Regina cut her off
"no, I don't think so dear, it just doesn't seem to be on our cards. I mean I always wanted to adopt but my husband always says that he wants his own child and not someone else's. he can be quite close-minded about those kinds of things, I believe that an adopted child can become your own, don't you agree, Mrs. Nolan? Regina asked inquiringly as she unwrapped a new shoebox
"yes, I suppose so. It's quite funny though, isn't it? Here's you that can't have kids, and here's me that can't stop having them. People around here used to say that all my hubby and I had to do was shake hands and I would be pushing the pram. And he must've shaken my hand before he left because I'm having another one" Mary sighed as she bent to lift up her cleaning supplies
"oh, so you're… you're pregnant again?" Regina asked, disappointment creeping into her voice
"oh Mrs. Mills, don't you worry about a thing. Having babies is like clockwork to me, I'm back up and on my feet the same day, and if I have this one at the weekend then I won't even have to take a day off. I really love this job, Mrs. Mills, and I'll do anything to keep it" Mary said, hurriedly reassuring her employer who smiled at her kindly.
"if you need to take a few days off Mrs. Nolan, that's perfectly fine, on full pay, of course, I couldn't imagine having seven children and struggling the way you are. How far along are you if you don't mind me asking?" Mrs. Mills asked as she pulled her new shoes out of the box and placed them on the newly cleaned table.
"nearly four months, I have my check-up at the doctor on Saturday…" Mary said but then seeing that Regina had put shoes on the table she dropped to her knees and began praying.
"Mrs. Nolan? Are you quite all right?" Regina asked, suddenly quite worried for the younger woman
"you never put new shoes on the table, Mrs. Mills, you never know what might happen," Mary said as she cautiously climbed to her feet and blessed herself one last time.
"Oh, so you're superstitious! Okay then, I'll put them away" Regina laughed as she scooped her shoes into her arms and walked up the stairs, her heels clicking on the polished floor.
The week flew by even faster than what Mary had hoped and soon Saturday morning dawned, dull and dreary. The weather was typical for late January and as Mary bustled along towards her doctor, she felt ashamed. Technically she wasn't married anymore, though she still wore her wedding ring to stop the older women in the town from calling her names in the queue for the supermarket and the post office. The doctor was a kind old man, beginning to grey and his face was lined though he was always pleased to see Mary, and as she pulled her blouse up over her growing bump, he enquired after her other children.
"I've been so frightened about having another one Dr. Marco, I was worried about how we would manage but I've got myself a little job now, and we should just be able to manage, even with another mouth to feed," Mary said as she sat up and wiped the cold jelly from her stomach.
"Mouths, Mary." Dr. Marco said as he was looking at the images frozen on his ultrasound screen.
"I'm sorry?" Mary asked, her heart in her mouth
"Mouths, Mrs. Nolan. Plural, you're expecting twins" Dr. Marco said, as he pointed to two heartbeats on the screen.
"Twins?" Mary echoed, her voice overcome with utter disbelief.
"Twins, definitely twins" Dr. Marco confirmed.
Arranging an appointment for three weeks' time with Mary, he kindly but firmly sent her on her way. Mary spent the next day or so in a daze, hearing the word "twins" reverberate through her head, there was no way that she could manage with nine children and herself, she was already struggling now! The local welfare officers had already warned her that she was in a precarious enough position with seven children under 10 and if anything else went wrong, then she would face some of her precious children ending up in foster care, or even just removed from her custody and placed with her own parents. She was still in shock when come Monday morning she found herself in a state of near hysteria in the Mills house.
She had been picking up the last few items ready to be put away when suddenly she felt hot tears begin to course down her face in a steady stream and she began to sob as though her heart would break. It was in this state that Regina found her fifteen minutes later, sobbing and crying and making absolutely no sense at all. Mary calmed down only after Regina had made her a cup of strong sweet tea and bade her talk about her problems.
"I had it all worked out you know Mrs. Mills, with one more baby I could have just scraped by, but not with two. The welfare has already been to see me, and they say that I am incapable of taking care of the kids that I already have. The officers say that I should put some of them into care, but I won't! I can't! I love them, I love the very bones of each and every single one of them! And I'll love these two when they come along, but the welfare is right when they say that my kids can't live on love alone." Mary said in a rush, her voice crackly and exhausted from crying.
"Twins? You're expecting twins?" Mrs. Mills echoed, a twisted plan forming in her mind
It was almost like the Devil himself was crouching on Regina's shoulder, whispering his horrific scheme into her mind, and the more he whispered, the more sense it began to make as the plan formulated and wove itself together inside Regina's brain.
"Give one to me" Regina seemed to speak before her logical brain kicked in
"What?" Mary gaped at the older brunette, appalled at the proposition of handing over one of her children.
"When are you due? Quickly Mrs. Nolan, when are you due?" Regina asked, gripping the younger woman's hand tightly.
"They said, July… they said the middle of July," Mary said, chewing her lip.
"And my husband isn't due home until the end of July, so he need never guess." Regina paced, pulling at her sensible pantsuit.
"But that's mad! Completely mental!" Mary gasped.
"Yes of course it's mad, but it's perfect! So right now you're four months pregnant and only just beginning to show…so, I'm four months pregnant and only just beginning to show. I could say that I got pregnant just before Daniel went away but I didn't want to tell him in case I miscarried, I didn't want to worry him, but now when he comes home, I can tell him that they were wrong, the doctors were wrong because we'll have a baby, our baby!" Regina clasped her hand together desperately and Mary felt a stab of sadness in her gut.
"But I don't know if I can just give one away…" Mary said softly as she twisted and played with her fingers
"You said yourself that you have too many children already. If you have two more, then you won't be able to avoid some of them being put into care. Wouldn't it be much better Mrs. Nolan if you gave one of your twins to me? Look at the house they would live in, the garden they would play in, the standard of life we could give them." Regina said, gesturing wildly around her as she sat next to Mary.
"I would still be able to see the baby, wouldn't I?" Mary asked, becoming convinced that Regina really could give one of her twins a far better life than she could ever provide.
"Every day, Mrs. Nolan, every day. But before we proceed any further, we must make this a binding agreement. Put your right hand here" Regina said, suddenly serious and put Mary's hand underneath her own atop a Bible.
And there it was, in the name of Jesus it was promised that Mary would give one of her twins to Regina, and now Mary began to dread as her due date approached faster and faster.
