In the barnhouse on the Darling's five acres of land, Dot and Bette, the conjoined twins, had been baking and frosting the cake for Elina's birthday. Jimmy and Britta had planned to surprise the girl with a bash, something they had stopped doing when she was only five years old. They had taken the liberty of making the cake—angel food vanilla frosted with a thick layer of sugar pink icing with the circumference bordered with a scalloped design of snow white frosting. Bette thought of putting strawberries on the top for decoration, and as soon as she started to cut the stems off, Dot's arm stopped her. \
"Don't," she said coldly.
"But it'll be a nice decoration!" Bette exclaimed with a dreamy smile.
"We have to fit all the candles," Dot replied. "We can't if there're strawberries on the cake."
"Can't we slice 'em thin?" Bette suggested, seeing the other head on their shared body roll her eyes. "Or keep 'em whole but have the cut part facin' down on the frostin'?"
"There ain't gonna be any room, Bette," Dot said, finishing on the top border of scalloped snow white frosting on the cake.
"Maybe in a circle toward the center?" Bette thought. "So that we can put candles on the outside?" Dot groaned reluctantly, looking over at her twin's head.
"Maybe," she said. "Give me the knife."
Both twins' arms worked together to cut the leafy stems off the fresh strawberries that had been picked that morning for their own consumption. Bette's arm positioned each berry to that Dot's arm could work at cutting it, but the kinder twin winced upon feeling the blade just barely brush against her index finger.
"Dot! Watch out!" she exclaimed.
"Shh! You hear that?"
The familiar sound of a galloping horse drew closer near as both twins on their conjoined body listened for the possibility of who it could be; had it been Elina, they would have to act fast and put the cake in the refrigerator. The sound drew nearer, and Bette acted fast, her arm reaching for the box in which to put the cake. Seeing what her twin was doing, she followed suit and carefully but quickly slid the tray inside the box before they went to the window to see who it was—the galloping sound stopped, but a young girl with long, wavy platinum blonde hair cascading down the length of her back got off her beloved horse's back and made her way to the barnhouse's entrance.
"It's her! Hide the cake," Bette exclaimed.
"It's already in its box," Dot replied.
The front door opened, and the twins turned their conjoined body around to face a true vision of beauty—the youngest of the Darlings, Elina was, by all accounts, heavenly in appearance with her fair features and graceful bearing. Her long, wavy hair was practically the color of virgin white snow with hints of gold throughout, and it cascaded down the length of her back like a waterfall in a scenic, enchanted forest. Her face was delicate and youthful, timeless as a marble statue of a goddess; her face was heart-shaped with prominent cheekbones and an exquisite, moon white complexion. Her lush, pink lips were full, and since her mouth was somewhat small, they created an irresistible pucker when she made just the right facial expression. Her eyes, however, were quite unique—they were slightly almond shaped with thick, full, black eyelashes framing the intense hazel-green color that radiated the fire within. They were windows to her strong, independent, powerful soul.
Elina resembled her mother a lot, but with some minor exceptions; her height and her build. At her daughter's age, Britta had been extremely thin; however, curves had begun to show on the young girl's body within the past year, forming the beginnings of a beautifully feminine hourglass frame. Her breasts began to grow also, and the twins could tell she wasn't wearing a bra because her bust was jiggling through the loose peasant top of her light gray dress. She was taller than her mother by a few inches, but still shorter than her father and brothers. Dot grimaced, but then focused on the girl's angelic face staring up at her as she entered the barnhouse.
"Hello, Elina," Bette said with a smile, adjusting her graying dark hair in its headband.
"Hello," she answered, her sweet voice carried through the barnhouse.
"It's so beautiful out, isn't it?" the nice twin asked, trying to act casual. "Especially since Halloween is a few days away."
"Yeah, it sure is." Elina's tone of voice sounded excited, but something was definitely weird about that day—have they all forgotten, she thought. The young girl took a seat, leaning her back on the chair comfortably as she crossed one leg over the other.
"I could've sworn I heard your father callin' for you," Dot said, eye on the box holding her surprise birthday cake.
"Isn't Lily coming by to get you so you can go to town?" Bette asked. They both had the same thing in mind—make her leave so they could finish up the cake and make other preparations.
"Well, which is it? My father, or Lily?" she asked, looking at them as though she were testing them. At that moment, she noticed the box on the table behind the twins and looked at it for a moment. "What's in the box?"
"Oh, nothing!" Bette exclaimed, feigning an excited mood. Elina shook her head and stood up, making her way to the entrance of the barnhouse. Dot peered at her sister's head next to hers and squirmed before glancing at the girl.
"Alright," the young girl said, sighing breathily before opening the door and leaving. She stepped up on the stirrups of Dagmar, her beloved tan mare, and her long wavy white-blonde hair blew in the cool October breeze as she rode away back to her family house, not far from the comfortable barnhouse renovated just for the former carnies that had lived with them.
She felt the breeze on her angelic, ethereal face as it ran its fingers through her hair, but also maintained focus on what was ahead of her. Dagmar was always an intelligent horse, and she galloped forward with Elina on her back until the young girl used her feet to signal her to slow down to the sight of her father sitting on the front steps. Upon seeing his beloved daughter, Jimmy stood up and brought one of his deformed hands to his hair, swiping it back as he watched her platinum, wavy hair be caressed by the breeze.
"Elina! There you are," he said with a giggle, approaching the girl on her horse. Her burning hazel-green eyes looked down into his, which had squinted because of the sunlight, which reflected off her hair like the blinding snow on a sunny winter's day.
"Good morning, dad," she said with a smile. He held his arms up as if to take her down off the horse; he had done that when she was younger. He had gotten Dagmar for her when she was just a foal, and Elina loved her so much.
"Come down from there, sweetie," he said, still holding his large deformed hands up to her. Elina shrugged and let her father take her down off the horse for old time's sake, setting her on the ground and looking down at her as he moved a piece of her white-blonde hair away from her face.
"Happy birthday," he said with a smile.
Her pearly whites smiled back at him, giggling softly as he took his daughter in his strong arms and held her, sighing as he kissed the top of her fair head. Elina heard him speak through the comfort of his chest, his tone nostalgic as he remembered all the memories he had with his precious little girl. She had been born a month premature, and if it weren't for proper medical attention, she and her mother would have died. Miraculously, the baby recovered, and Jimmy remembered holding her for the first time, her eyes starry and angelic as they stared up at him. He remembered shedding a tear of joy, despite being worried about his wife. She had spent more time in the hospital than the baby.
"You grew up so fast," he said with a sigh, remembering every image exactly how he perceived it. "I can't believe you're thirteen today."
"Dad, stop it," she said with a shy giggle.
"Alright, alright," he said, changing his tone to a more excited one. "Your brothers have a surprise for you. Let's go in."
Jimmy led Elina into the house, and upon entering, she took off her shoes and placed them by the wooden coat hanger that had her father's leather coat and Christopher's dirtied plaid overshirt. She followed her father into the dining room to see her three brothers—Christopher, Toby, and Jules—standing there with grins on their faces. Toby had grease from the bacon on his shirt, and Jules' hands were covered in flour and leftover pancake mix.
"Surprise!"
Elina gasped and smiled brightly at her three brothers and their tandem shout, all of whom laughed before they were joined by Britta, who looked over at her daughter with admiration before approaching her; she kissed her cheek gently and their eyes met. Elina could feel her mother's serenity mingle with the fire in her own soul as their gaze went on.
"Grattis på födelsedagen," she told Elina, cotinuing in Swedish. "You're becoming a woman. I'm so proud of you, my dear." Britta hugged her, smiling slightly before letting her go.
"We made you breakfast, Elina," Christopher interrupted.
"You did?" Elina asked.
"Yeah, right here," he said, pulling out the head chair for her to sit in. She walked over and sat, crossing her legs at the ankles. She looked down at the plate to see sloppy sunny-side up eggs with slightly broken yolks, three greasy, fatty strips of bacon, two slightly burnt buttermilk pancakes and charred toast on the side. This looks disgusting, she thought, masking her true feelings with a slight smile up at her brothers.
"This idiot burnt the toast," Toby teased, grabbing Jules so he had him in a headlock to give him a noogie.
"Ah, hey!" Jules called out, trying to push his older brother away from him.
"Enough!" Britta exclaimed, looking down at the food they had served their sister. She grimaced slightly before leaving the room. The young girl shrugged and started with the eggs that didn't look entirely bad, taking a forkful of whites and taking it to her lips. Jimmy glared at his three sons, especially at Toby—how dare they serve her crap, especially on her birthday?
"You call this a chef's work?" he asked.
"Well, no," Jules interjected nervously, looking at his father. "We…well…it ain't perfect but—"
"We only want the very best for ourlittle sister," Toby sneered sarcastically.
"Toby?" Jimmy scolded distastefully.
He walked over to his sons, watching his pained expression as his deformed hand grabbed a firm hold on his ear. Toby yelled as his father dragged him into the small area that connected the living and dining rooms as well as the kitchen. His cornflower blue eyes looked into his father's deep brown ones, and he smirked with disbelief.
"What did I do?" he asked.
"What didn't you do? It's her birthday, for crying out loud! You couldn't make an effort to make her a good breakfast?! That looks like total shit," Jimmy lectured, his trademark angry expression having taken over his face. Toby rolled his eyes and rubbed his ear to stop the pain.
"Ah," he groaned. "It was Jules' idea. Actually, weall wanted to surprise her."
"You better not start any shit during her birthday tonight," his father warned. "Don't ever let me hear you being a smart-ass to her again. You hear?"
"Ugh," Toby groaned. "Fine."
By 4:00 that afternoon, Elina's best friend, Lily Carlisle, had come to the house wearing a hot fuchsia dress with long sleeves, a frilled collar, a gold lamé-lined sash, and a pleated skirt. After leaving her gift on a table set especially for the occasion, Britta had greeted her and led her upstairs to her daughter's bedroom, where Elina was waiting to get ready. Her mousey brown hair was tamed down with hair clips, and her glasses magnified her small gray eyes and drew less attention to her gapped smile; there was a space between her two front teeth. Once up the stairs, she entered Elina's room to see her wearing a wine-colored party dress with translucent sleeves and slight frilling in the front of the skirt. The girl stood up and approached her friend, smiling as Lily greeted her excitedly.
"Happy birthday!" the girl with mousey hair said.
"Thank you so much," Elina smiled, looking at her friend's large glasses.
"Let's start with 'er hair, Mrs. Darlin'? Can we?" Lily asked in her heavy Southern accent.
"We can," Britta said with a smile, reaching for the brush and beginning to brush sections of the soft, near-white waves cascading from her daughter's head. Lily took out a hair ribbon as Britta pulled two sections back and brushed them before tying the ribbon. To finish the look, Lily brought some of her hair forward so that it would flow gracefully and frame her heart-shaped, delicately beautiful face.
"There ya go," Lily said, taking out a small bag; Elina looked down to see it was a large makeup compact that included blush, different shades of vibrant eye shadow, and lipsticks in a compartment. She gasped; she had never worn makeup before.
"What do you have there?" Britta asked.
"Just some makeup. I'm gonna doll 'er up a bit," Lily said.
"Not too much," Britta said, leaving the room to leave the two girls alone to finish getting ready.
The family and the guests who had been invited were downstairs in the entry room, all dressed up for Elina's thirteenth birthday party. The angel food vanilla cake with light pink and snow white icing topped with strawberries had been in the kitchen; colorful balloons were held down by weights covered in shiny paper; refreshments and light appetizers were on a large platter next to where the gifts were stacked. Lily escorted Elina down the stairs to everyone shouting "SURPRISE!" and blowing into kazoos and small, cheap party horns.
As she gasped, she saw a few familiar faces that had travelled just to see her—Paul the Illustrated Seal and Amazon Eve, both former carnies who had lived with the Darlings only to get married and move away to the suburbs of Georgia; they divorced three years later, but remained friends. Even Sigrid, Britta's nurse friend who had travelled to South Carolina to visit every few years or so, came and brought her husband and son with her—yes, she had gotten married, to an American; her married name was Mortenson. As the festivities began, everyone began to socialize—Jimmy caught up with Eve and Paul, while Britta caught up with Sigrid.
"You've brought your son?" Britta asked, sipping from her punch.
"Ja, he turned thirteen in July," Sigrid answered.
"Oh, isn't that something," the blonde woman said with a smile.
Nicholas Mortenson, her son, was relatively good looking with dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and he was quite tall; he stood five-foot nine. His first glance at Elina, his eyes widened, admiring her platinum blonde waves as her hairstyle allowed it to flow down the front and the back. He smirked slightly, approaching her as she stood with Lily within an hour of the party starting. He cleared his throat before he got close enough to see her ethereal, unearthly face—Lily did a good job on her makeup, even if her eyeshadow was an intense gold color; her cheekbones were highlighted perfectly with a reddish-brown blush. The moment she looked at him, he began to speak Swedish so he could impress her—he had known some from his own mother.
"Are you the birthday girl?" he asked nervously. "You look very vacker." Lily broke out in a fit of laughter, ignorant of what was happening, while Elina kept her composure, knowing what he meant as she sipped her punch. Did he just call me beautiful, she asked herself. Her fiery hazel-green eyes looked into his blue ones and she smiled slightly.
"Tack," she replied, keeping the language seamlessly in their conversation. "You speak Swedish?" He felt very nervous; I'm such an idiot, he thought, what should I say?
"Well, ja," he replied. "My mom is Swedish. I think she's friends with your mom. Her name is Sigrid. Do you remember?" How could she have forgotten her visits every few years, and all the times she would coo and say how grown up everyone looked for the time being?
"Oh, of course!" Now she was struggling to be polite.
"Ja, she's a nurse. She works with babies," he replied. She nodded, looking up at him curiously—what was he trying to prove?
"Well, I am Elina," she said, changing the subject. "This is my friend, Lily."
"It's a pleasure," he replied, shaking their hands and feeling more confident. "I'm Nick."
Jimmy glanced over briefly at his daughter, but then his expression turned to shock as he saw the young man talking with his daughter. A thousand worries ran through his mind as he watched them positively interact—yes, she was being polite; he hadn't raised her to be snobby or conceited. He worried about the dangers to a girl's heart if she were involved too soon; he would not let that be his daughter; otherwise, there'd be hell to pay. She's too young for boys, he thought
He waved his hands in the air—he was no longer afraid of people casting him out because of his deformity. He was well-liked in their sparsely-spaced neighborhood of small farms and laborers; everyone liked him because he was a hard worker and generally very nice to those who had been nice to him. Those who had cast him out and made him feel like the scum of the earth had moved away over the years of being in Barnwell.
"Alright, time for cake!" he called out.
Luckily, the young man walked away from his daughter and her friend, but they all congregated in the dining room—Elina, however, snuck into the kitchen and went to the cake, smiling at how delicious it looked even with the candles placed on its thick, iced surface. She raised her hand, took a breath, and waved her hand over the wicks of the candles; thirteen flames took form—all from the power of her mind. She smiled as the fire burned in her eyes, going to the dining room and waiting for her cake to be brought out to her.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Elina,
Happy birthday to you!"
As soon as everyone began to clap, she closed her eyes and concentrated on her wish, puckering her lips outward to blow the candles out—she couldn't use her powers; people would ostracize her. Britta took a serving knife after taking out the candles and began to cut the cake. Almost everyone who wanted cake got some, and Elina, who had the first piece, loved how the sugar pink icing tasted like strawberries.
"We made that just for you," Bette smiled, her head looking down at Elina.
"That was what was in the box," Dot giggled.
Meanwhile, there was a loud knock on the door. It caught Jimmy's attention, causing him to walk toward it and turn the doorknob.