"Doctor!"
Adam had also received the phone call, yet it was via Jimmy, who had gotten word of the separation surgery being performed on Dot and Bette. He had flown alone from New York all the way down to the city of Columbia, South Carolina after the urgent-sounding call, and as he followed the surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Wesley, his father and younger sister were behind him—both looked worried as the doctor peered down at the file folder he was holding.
"Yes?"
"Bette and Dot Tattler," he said, breathing heavily and licking his dry, cracked lips. "They're my aunts. Where are they?"
"Intensive care," the doctor replied matter-of-factly. "We operated for thirteen hours straight. Sadly, though, they're hangin' on for dear life."
"Jesus," Jimmy replied with worry. "Can we see them?"
"I'll take y'all there," the doctor said.
The hallway seemed long and repetitive with its monochrome doors, stark white walls, and the sound of heart monitors beeping all about the vicinity. Interns, nurses and doctors all stood around, walking from room to room to tend to the patients and their needs as quick as they could. As Elina passed through the corridor with her father and oldest brother, she saw intravenous lines being administered, heparin shots, morphine and other painkillers galore, bandages being changed, wounds being dressed; anything that could happen in a hospital came before her eyes with each passing glance.
When they came to Dot and Bette's hospital room, their eyes widened to see the cold-hearted twin crying—strangely enough, she looked as though she were born as an individual and not conjoined to her sister, who was lying on another bed in the room with a white sheet covering her form grimly. Elina walked closer to Dot and took a seat at her bedside, holding her hand to console the woman.
"Dot, it's me," she said softly, looking up into her eyes with a kind fire burning in them. "Elina." She paused, caressing the top of her aged hand with her thumb. "Adam and…our dad are here, too…we came to see you." Dot continued to sob.
"Oh, it hurts!" she cried heavily, tears dropping on her stark white sheet. "Oh, I can't hear her! Bette! Wake up! Please!" It was just then that she noticed the bed near the window; Bette was covered head to toe with the sheet, yet her form looked quite peculiar, so Elina walked over to the sound of an irregular heart monitor. When she pulled back the sheet, she saw a dying woman with no arms, no legs, and yellowing, livid skin.
"BETTE!" she exclaimed. A small voice escaped the body, and there was a slight turn of her head, covered with a mass of graying, brown hair that looked ashy; it were as though she'd been touched by death.
"E…E…lina…" she said weakly. Adam and Jimmy, who saw that Bette was missing her limbs and hanging on for dear life, gasped and walked closer to their platinum-haired family member, who sat by her side as tears deluged her fiery, beautiful eyes.
"Bette, I'm right here," she said frantically. "Talk to me, please. Please?"
"I…I thought…" Bette stopped breathing for a brief moment before continuing, "life…would be better…after…I was…" She paused to regain her breath, and continued, "separated. I…was engaged…to a…wonderful…man…who gave us…" She gulped, and went on, "the world. Everything. And now…I've given…my sister…everything. My…my life."
"Bette, no!" she said tearfully—Adam and Jimmy both looked at the touching scene of Bette's dying moments, and each were brought to tears. "You're going to marry that man. You're going to live! You're going to be given the world again, andthen some!" Dot continued to sob at the other bed nearest the doorway, but she seemed to be better off than Bette, health-wise, but she didn't seem all there.
"Bette," Jimmy said, standing next to his daughter, a tear coming down his face. "We love you. You've always been family…and…you've both been like their aunts. We love you both very much, Bette. You've been such a good friend and family member."
"I…I can't…hold on for…" She gulped and continued, "much longer…but…I…" she suddenly widened her dark, fading eyes slightly as she began speaking cryptically; "I ain't…seen…Britta…what an angel…I see…white…"
"Bette! Please!Please, don't leave us!Stay!" Elina begged, beginning to sob.
"I…I…"
The heart monitor's slow, irregular beeping turned to one infinite beep—she had died.
"Bette! Please! No!"
Elina, plopping her forehead against the putrid-smelling hospital mattress and sobbing uncontrollably, wailed in grief. Jimmy, also crying, patted Elina's back and opened his arms to hold her close as she got up from her crouched position. He could feel his shirt becoming soaked with her tears as she sobbed, and he empathized and cried with her—again, they both experienced a loss. Adam, on the other hand, sniffled and tried to fight back the tears, but after a few moments, he couldn't contain it. A floodgate burst open, and he cried heavily, tears soaking his hands and the sleeves of his indigo-colored shirt.
"Bette, oh my god," Adam wailed.
"Bette?!" Dot called out, wailing. Jimmy glanced over at her sadly, but the sound of the continuous heart monitor beep gave her the message. "NO! Bette! Please! No!"
"Bette, we loved you," Jimmy wailed, holding a sobbing Elina in his arms—she was still soaking his shirt with warm, salty tears, and it got harder to breathe. She hasn't cried like this, ever, he thought, not even when her mother died. My poor girl.
Bette was cremated, and her ashes were sent to Jupiter, where everyone gathered in June for a memorial; Eve, Paul, and Suzy were in attendance. Everyone wore black, and the day was sunny—Jimmy had spread the ashes, and with each sentence of his eulogy, he extended a gloved hand outward to let the cool breeze carry the gray, sooty ashes
"You were truly one of a kind," he had said, trying to fight back tears. "You brightened up everyone's day with your smile and…just…you were very kind. When Britta and I married, you and Dot were among many to come with us to South Carolina. You were our family, and we loved you. Our children were raised well in part because of you. Now, we're back in Jupiter…" He paused and let out a sob. "Your home."
Dot, who was still recovering but in a wheelchair, sobbed with Elina standing next to her, patting her back as tears of grief ran down their faces and reddened them. Toby and Christopher, who had also come to pay their respects, were moved by the words of their father, and were even shocked at the physical changes he had overcome while putting an end to his alcoholism. Mr. Loring, who came down with his son David for that week, cried his eyes out and left a rose for his deceased fiancée, the weaker of the twins. He glanced over at a sobbing, despondent Dot and noticed nothing but Bette's engagement ring on her new left hand, its pink solitaire sparkling in the sun of approaching summer. After the memorial, Mr. Loring approached his would-be sister in-law and smiled down at her sadly, the brim of his Stetson gleaming in the sun with its bright beige color.
"Dot, I'm very sorry for your loss, pumpkin," he said. She glared up at him, remembering the words he had made a promise with—would I fund an operation that would hurt my favorite ladies? Well, apparently he did, and she resented him even more for that. She remained silent, and he kept talking.
"I see you're wearin' her ring," he added.
"They had to take her arm and put it on my body," Dot explained despondently. "And her leg was also taken to put on my body as well."
"I…I never thought this would happen, Dot," he said.
"You must feel stupid, Mr. Loring," she replied harshly. "Throwin' away five-hundred grand only for my sister to be dead."
"You wanted the surgery, and as God will it, you're payin' the price," he said. "She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives." He paused, taking a small Bible from his breast pocket. "Timothy 5:6."
"You disgustin', vile, greedy pig! How dare you?" Dot snapped. "I'm fed up!"
"I gave you the world, but you're selfish as anythin', talkin' us into a surgery that'd kill the love o'my life," he said. "You're the devil in the form of a woman, just like Snow Bunny over there! She tempted my son, and you and your sister tempted me!" He hissed his next word; "Sinners!"
"You can leave!" Jimmy cut in, walking up to the scene and pointing outwards with his fused digits. Mr. Loring's blue eyes, calculating and piercing, darted through him.
"I will, I will. Y'all heathens don't deserve my presence anyway!" he announced. He then took out his Bible and opened it, looking down at it and reading a verse while approaching Elina, who backed away as he came toward her with his vile biblical quoting; he looked to Jimmy and pointed to the young girl, whose hazel-green eyes widened as he viciously called her out.
"See your little girl here?" he sneered. "She's got Satan's power! The power of fire! My son came home burnt one night! We went to the doctor, second-degree burns! The shapes of handprints! Fornication! Yes, they took part in carnal sin! Sin of the flesh! Corinthians 11:14…" He turned his pages, and everyone looked at him as if he had just escaped a mental asylum. "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
Elina felt extremely scared, and Jimmy felt his rage burn within him as Mr. Loring continued to call his daughter out and read Bible verses. He wanted to keep the peace, yet he was so inclined to just punch him in the face and wreck his jaw.
"My son! David, my poor David! I find books on sorcery in his room! I had to throw 'em in the fire! He wantedyou to teach him black arts! God don't want witches to live, girlie! Chronicles 33:6. Says it here!" He licked his finger and turned a couple pages. "And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger."
"STOP!" the girl screamed.
Elina held out her hand, throwing it out as she focused on Mr. Loring—within mere seconds, her telekinetic force threw him back like a ragdoll, his limbs limp while sailing a couple of yards until he landed in the pond nearby the site of the memorial. Every watched the astonishing spectacle, and Jimmy, who was ready to charge the man to punch him in the face, looked over at his daughter with the same odd look he had given her for a while, his dark eyes amazed at what she had done to defend herself. Elina looked around, turning pale with embarrassment, and she ran off from the scene. Her father chased after her.
"I didn't kill him," Elina said at dinner that night—she hadn't taken a single bite of her food. Jimmy, who had only been three bites into his meal, looked at his daughter and thought of the outrageous allegations Mr. Loring had made while in preacher mode—fornication, sorcery, Elina being a 'witch'—it all sounded ridiculous. He had been the one to take her, and he had known of her power since she was three years old. He remembered looking around their former Barnwell farmhouse for his precious daughter to put her to bed when he had seen her.
"Elden! Elden!" she cooed, using words her mother had taught her—Swedish and English were both used by the children in the household. She raised her arms out as if to hug someone, and the fire flared dangerously, the flames nearly licking the curtains near the windows. "Bränna!"
"Britta! Come in here!" Jimmy called out, looking at the sight in horror.
Her footsteps came down the stairs as she rushed to join her husband. She was worried as her hair, in a crown braid like usual, became fully undone for sleep. She peered into the living room doorway and gasped, smiling slightly at the scene of her daughter manipulating the fire she had created in the fireplace. Jimmy did not stop her as she walked gently over the white carpet and sat next to the toddler, who stared up at her mother's hidden delight in her face. She began speaking Swedish, and he was utterly confused albeit used to it by now.
"Mamma, did you see it?" she cooed, holding her hands up toward her.
"I did see it, my dear," Britta said happily, holding the baby girl in her lap as she sat Indian style on the white carpet, looking into the fire. "Watch! I can do it, too!"
Jimmy gasped, watching at the fire started changing colors like a sacred flame in a mystical world—its normal color to bright red, bright red to yellow, yellow to lime green, lime green to teal, teal to blue, blue to indigo, indigo to violet, violet to fuschia, fushia to pink, and pink back to red….the cycle continued, and the baby laughed and cooed in amazement.
"You're not a witch," he said, taking a sip of the juice that had been put out for him by his daughter. "Your mother…gave you…her…abilities, so to speak."
"I know."
"If anything, he only got a broken arm or leg," Jimmy said, shaking his head.
"Serves him right, then," Elina said remorselessly.
"And he mentioned his son," he began, taking another direction in the conversation. "Did you really burn him?"
"Yes," she said without reluctance.
"How? When?"
"Valentine's Day. A couple years ago, he tossed pebbles at my window, and I went down to see him. He hands me a rose, I cut myself on the thorn, he forces his lips on me to kiss, and…yeah. I burned his shoulders," Elina explained, looking at her father. She had no remorse for any feelings her father may have felt about the situation—it was done. Over. Finished. Forgotten.
"Why his shoulders?" Jimmy asked, looking at her strangely.
"It was an accident. You think I'd do that on purpose? Get myself caught? Ruin your reputation?" Elina asked, looking at him conspiratorially.
"Damage is done in the reputation department," Jimmy replied. "I wish you told me."
"What? Why? I wouldn't hear the end of it," she retorted, taking her first bite of food.
"You knew I didn't want you seeing boys, Elina," he replied, trying to stay calm.
"Exactly," she replied. "Exactly why I didn't tell you. You'd cry about it until the cows came home!"
"Elina, don't talk to me like that," he commanded, his brown eyes looking hard and serious. She gazed back, and he noticed the fire in her eyes had grown higher.
"Why?"
"I'm your father, and I demand respect," Jimmy snapped, tossing his fork into his plate. Elina chuckled haughtily and arrogantly before lashing back with a chilling point.
"Respect?" she asked. "Look at you, Mr. I'm-The-King-Of-This-House. You got overthrown a long time ago." She scoffed, standing up and taking her dish in her hand. "Respect. You barely respect me, so why should I give a shit?"
"Elina!" he exclaimed angrily; he never truly yelled at her like this before.
"It's true, though," she said, keeping her temperament calm and her tongue sharp. "Think about it."
Jimmy took a sigh, rolling his eyes as he continued to eat his meal. He stopped for a moment after sipping his drink and looked up at his beautiful daughter, who gazed back at him with those piercing, ardent hazel-green eyes. She was still wearing makeup, which included bright pink lipstick, heavy green and gold eyeshadow, thick mascara to lengthen her black eyelashes, and her eyebrows were filled to a perfect arch that contrasted her defined cheekbones. She also was wearing black from the memorial that day as well, and it was a low-cut scoop neck dress that accentuated her heaving, ample bosom and her thin, wasp waist. Her hair, the color of snow, was down and loose, but very voluminous from being styled all the time. He didn't want to start a fight with Elina, his precious daughter, his forbidden lover—he changed the subject.
"Dot is staying in the hospital here in town," he said, leaning back. "She needs to get her new arm and leg moving so she can walk and hold things."
"Uh-huh?"
"Yeah, just thought you should know," he said calmly.
"I already know. I've been there once a week since you had her sent down here," Elina said, taking her dish to the trash to empty out any extra food before placing it in the sink. "Healing her up and everything. It takes a lot out of me, but she's coming along."
"All thanks to you," he smiled. She washed her dish clean and turned around abruptly, giving her father persuasive bedroom eyes; Jimmy looked at his daughter, wondering why she was looking at him like that; we haven't done it in weeks, he thought to himself. Not the case, though.
"There's a party tomorrow night," she said. "Steph invited me to go. It's at her house."
"A party?" he asked. He was disillusioned; is she losing interest, he asked himself, I'd be scared if she did. She's all I have.
"Yeah. Friday night," she answered. "I'm going."
"I didn't say yes," he said, taking a breathy, aggravated sigh.
"Well, that doesn't matter. I'm still going," Elina said forcefully.
She saw her father stand up and approach her slowly, holding out his forearms for an embrace of the romantic sort. Once he wrapped his arms around her, he gazed down into her eyes and kissed her cheek gently, taking in a different kind of scent that was a mix of peony, lilac, and a hint of sweet musk. He sniffed a bit, and smiled—he remembered Britta smelling like lavender.
"New perfume?"
"Yes," Elina said.
"It's nice," Jimmy purred. "Very nice."
"I have another one for the party tomorrow night," his daughter answered. "Parisian Lights."
"Elina," he began, tilting her chin up to him and gazing down into her fiery eyes. "I want to take you to heaven tonight, sweetie. Then, maybe I'll reconsider letting you go tomorrow night."
"That doesn't have to do with anything," she replied with a playful smirk. "I still am going. I don't need your approval."
"Oh, come here, you."