Chapter 3
Their eyes meet. They freeze in place for just a moment. It was as if a thousand words were exchanged between them in that instant. Both boys walk, then run towards the other and meet in grand embrace. Cheek to cheek, chest to chest, eyes closed and arms wrapped around each other melding into one. The rest of the World was tuned out and love abounded. The love that can only be felt between brothers, magnified by the twin factor; "Twin Brotherly Love."
Ron was interrupted mid sentence and all turned to witness the conduct of the boys. Barbara raised her hands to her chest, one hand on top of the other, thinking that is was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Sam and Logan looked at the boys, then to each other with raised eyebrows and mouths agape. After the initial shock of what has transpired, they all got a smile on their faces, well most of them.
Aidan was elated that Connor had run to him and embraced him. He was worried that somehow Connor would hate him or at least be furious with him for a long time. He also knew that he would be greatly punished by his parents which he also knew he well deserved. The love he felt was so overwhelming that he could no longer control his emotions.
When Connor had looked into his brother's eyes, he could see and feel the pain of guilt and the anguish of sorrow. Forgiveness was instantaneous and he had to free his twin of the guilt he was feeling. That's why he ran over to him and embraced him so. When Connor realized that Aidan was weeping, he kissed his cheek and tightened his embrace. There they stood as time stood still until they felt the loving arms of their mother encircling them.
Aidan had since stopped crying and the love he felt from his twin and his mom, had put a smile on his face. He felt that maybe his family didn't hate him. Maybe, they would even forgive him. The twins loosened their embrace enough so they could look into each other's eyes. Aidan's infectious smile made Connor smile. Aidan then he placed his forehead to Connor's and again they stared into each other's eyes. No words were ever spoken yet none were necessary.
"Mom, Dad?" Aidan said as he un-linked himself from his brother and approached his parents. "My behavior today was offensive, mean and inexcusable. I am truly sorry for my actions and I am ready to accept any and all punishments you feel are appropriate. My only request is that you not separate me from my brother. I want the chance to make things right with him."
Ron better understood the situation, but was still angry with Aidan. Aidan had acted with malice and he needed to be firm. This better never happen again and he was going to make Aidan an example.
"You're damn right, young man!" Ron said to his son. He definitely wasn't going to let Aidan off easy. "For starters, you'll be doing all of Connor's chores for a month. There will be no internet, Facebook, Twitter, emails – Nothing for a month. No video games, computer games, cell phone, tablet, Ipod or TV. No electronics of any kind."
Aidan nodded his head as his dad went through the list. He did say that he would accept all punishments.
Ron continued. "Furthermore, you are grounded. You may not leave this property. You don't have any friends over and you are showered and in bed by 8pm. If we go out to eat, you will bring a peanut butter sandwich. You will not get any allowance while you are grounded either. This will all happen for one month unless I get crap from you and then it will be for two months." Ron then poked Aidan hard in the chest. "Do I make myself clear?"
That poke really hurt. Aidan had to fight back tears from the verbal assault he got from his father. He took a hard swallow and accepted the punishment. He said, "Yes sir." He then bowed his head.
Ron then pointed to the stair case and said to Aidan, "Now go to your room and don't come back down here until we tell you to."
Aidan nodded his head and turned to go up the stairs. He felt like crap. He didn't lift his head to look at anyone, not even Sam. He then went to his room and started boxing up all his electronics for he knew his dad would be collecting them soon.
Connor came into the room and saw what Aidan was doing. He was baffled that their dad came down so hard on Aidan especially after he had totally forgiven him. Aidan was remorseful, sorrowful and repentant. He accepted his punishment with dignity too. Connor came over to his brother while he was putting his game controller into the box and tried to turn him towards him. He would not move, so Connor just hugged him from behind. At first Connor wanted to be left alone, but he was glad his twin was with him. He turned around and both boys embraced.
"Are you going to be okay?" Connor asked Aidan. "I was surprised that dad came down so hard on you and I think Sam was too. Mom is hard to read. You know that she will never go against him in front of us, and the same goes for Dad. Hopefully, once behind closed doors, she will let him know how unfair he was."
"It's okay, Connor. I said that I would accept their punishment and I meant it. What really bothers me is how he said it. I'm surprised he didn't call me a worthless piece of crap, because that is how I felt. Maybe he really does hate me… and Logan does too. I saw the smirk on Logan's face while dad handed out my punishment. What have I ever done to them to make them hate me?"
"Nobody hates you Aidan, and I doubt you could ever do anything that would make them hate you. I know I could never hate you." Connor smirks. "You tried your best today and it didn't work."
"I believe you, Connor but you're my twin. Not only that, but you are the nicest guy I have ever met. I don't know what got into me to think the way I did today. I am so sorry. So very sorry. It's like I have all these different thoughts and feelings that I never had before. My emotions are all over the place too. Sometimes I see myself act a certain way and I think, 'who is this person?' Like right now, I am super depressed. I just want to crawl into a hole and hide. I want to cry, but I don't have the energy to even do that. I don't know anything about anything right now." He shrugs and shakes his head. "I just want to be alone. You should go do something fun. I'm just going to bring you down."
Aidan plops himself onto the queen sized bed he shares with his brother and turns away from him. Connor really feels bad for his brother to the point that he wanted to cry. He looks around the room and sees the box that Aidan filled with his electronics. He got an idea and thought it through. He then took all the video games and added them to the box along with his controllers. He took his ipad and his ipod and put them into the box too. Aidan heard the noise and turned to look at his twin.
"What are you doing, Connor? Are you putting your stuff in the box too?" Aidan asked perplexed.
Connor answers. "You might be grounded, but you're not grounded from me." He adds more items into the box.
"I'm keeping my phone because I may need it, but I'm putting it on silent mode. I've been wanting to cut back on my electronics anyway, but it would've meant less time with you. We can have lots of fun without them. I know that I've been wanting to play a mean game of Monopoly for awhile. Remember, we used to play it all the time. We can play cards and oooh, oooh, I've been wanting to learn how to play chess. You were going to teach me, remember? It would also be a good time to practice on the piano."
Aidan could hear the excitement in his brother's voice and started to smile. He began to think about all the things he could do with his twin and best friend.
"Yeah, we could do this…. It'll be lots of fun too. We could play some hoops or play horse. We have that horseshoe pit that we only use once or twice a year. I'd even be up to playing on the swings like we used to. Dad didn't say that I couldn't go swimming in our pool. We could even work on our tan while we're playing outside. We are a little too white you know. I bet our fans would love it."
"You're right," Connor said. "Remember when we did that video when we went to the water park and were shirtless the whole time? Girls everywhere loved it and our fans grew by thousands."
Aidan cuts in. "The only complaint was that we'd be cuter if we had some color or tone to our skin. We could lift some weights and work on our tans… I bet we could get to 3 million subscribers. I'm liking this."
Connor laughed. "You should have been grounded a long time ago."
Aidan pretended that he was mad at Connor and he pushed him on the bed and wrestled with his twin. "You did not just say that…" He said as he jumped on Connor.
They used to play wrestle all the time until about a year ago. Who knows why, but they were having fun doing it now. They went back and forth being the dominant one and Connor was on top of Aidan when their door opened and their Mother stood there.
"What is going on in here?" Barbara said being upset. "Stop this fighting at once!"
The twins froze when they saw their Mother. Then they started laughing hysterically. Connor fell off of his brother and laid next to him. Barbara had a stunned look on her face.
Connor protested when he caught his breath. "We're just playing, Mom. We can still play can't we?"
Barbara was relieved that her son's weren't actually fighting. In fact she was pleased that they were playing with each other and getting along. There had been enough fighting in her home that day.
"Oh good." Barbara said. "Of course you boys can play. Just don't let it get out of hand. Now Aidan, your chore is to set the table. Go get cleaned up and come down and do that please."
Five minutes later, both boys came downstairs. Aidan had the box of electronics and put them on the counter. Connor then grabbed the silverware while Aidan grabbed the dishes.
"What are you doing, Connor?" Barbara said. "Aidan is supposed to do you chores. Why are you helping with the setup?"
"Dad said that Aidan had to do my chores. He didn't say that I couldn't help with his, did he?" Connor asked and waiting for his mother to answer.
"I think you're right." Barbara said. "He didn't say anything about you helping Aidan do his chores. It's okay with me. That is very sweet of you, Connor. I guess I should have expected this from you."
She then gives him a kiss on the cheek and gives him a hug. Aidan is standing next to them just looking at the floor. Barbara notices Aidan and she remembered what Sam had told them earlier. She then takes Aidan in her arms and kisses him on top of his head.
"Don't think for one moment that I don't love you just as much as Connor. I love all my children with all my heart." She pulls away just enough to look at him in the eyes. "My love for you is unconditional. There is nothing you can do or not do that will ever change that. I may or not be pleased with your actions, but that doesn't change how I feel about you. Do you understand that?"
"I think I do now, Mom." Aidan says as he embraces his Mother again. "Mom? Why doesn't Dad like me? Do you think he hates me?" Aidan asks with a quiver in his voice.
"Oh Honey." Barbara says as she tightens the embrace. "I know your father doesn't hate you, but your actions is what he hated." She again looks into his eyes. "What you did, crossed a line that should have never been crossed. You intentionally hurt another member of our family. You can never go back under that line. I know you are sorry and wish you could take it back, but the fact is that it happened. Just give him some time. He was really angry when he realized what you had done, okay?"
She once again gives him a kiss, only this time on the cheek. She reaches out to Connor and brings him into the hug. He circles the hug by hugging Aidan too. After a moment, she lets them go and tells them to finish setting the table while she finishes getting dinner ready.
Dinner wasn't going to be ready for another ten minutes, so the twins decided to practice playing "Chopsticks" on the piano. It had been a long time since they had played it and were messing up all over the place. They were laughing all along. They finally got it done right, when it was time for dinner. They both commented on how much fun that was. Aidan was feeling happier now then he had for quite a while.
After dinner, Aidan started to clear the table because he had to do Connor's kitchen chore. Ron got up and noticed the box with the electronics in it. He was going through the contents when he had a quizzical look on his face.
"Connor? Isn't this your controller and these your games?" Ron said, not waiting for an answer. "And isn't this your I-Pad? What is your stuff doing in this box?" Now he was wanting an answer.
"It's like this, Dad." Connor answered. "Aidan is my brother and best friend. Playing video games, watching movies or surfing the net isn't fun without him. Besides, Mom has been on us about our lives being dominated by electronics. So, we've decided we could find other things to do to entertain ourselves. So until Connor is no longer grounded, I'm giving up these things too."
"Listen, Son. You are not being grounded and you are not being punished. You can still do all the things you used to do. You can do most anything you want to do. It's just that Aidan…"
Connor interrupts his dad. "What I want to do is take a break from computers and video games and do the things that make me happy. Is that okay with you that I do what makes me happy?"
Ron shakes his head and says, "Fine." He walks off with the box of goodies and is thinking to himself that Connor will get board really quick doing nothing with Aidan that he'll be back to normal. Under his breath he says, "Teenagers!"
After the dinner chores are done, Connor gets the family chess set out and places it on the table and waits for his brother to get back from the bathroom. Logan comes into the room.
"Hey Connor, my man. How about you and I go watch 'Dune: Part Two'. I know that you have been wanting to see it. There is a showing in a half hour and it's on me! What do ya say? Let's do this, Whooo!"
"Thanks for the invite, Logan, but I already have plans for tonight. Plus, Aidan really wants to see this movie as much as I do and I wouldn't enjoy myself knowing that he was home alone while I was out seeing it. I'll go when we all can go. It's okay, I don't mind waiting."
"Okay." Logan says. "Your loss." He walks away and Aidan comes in and sees the chess set.
"So." Connor says. "Aren't you going to teach me how to play Chess?"
Over the next hour, Aidan explains the objectives of the game, what the chessmen are called and how they move. "The thing about Chess, is that everything is out in the open. You can see all my pieces and I can see all of yours. There is no luck of the dice, only the strategy of the mind. You have to have your own plan and try to figure what my plan is too. It is a sport of the brain."
They play a practice game with Aidan explaining the pros and cons of each move. Aidan notices the clock on the microwave that said, 7:40pm.
"Oh crap!" Aidan yells. "I only have 20 minutes to take my shower and get to bed."
They put away the chess set and run upstairs. Aidan runs into the bathroom with Connor on his heels. Aidan quickly takes off his clothes and notices that Connor is also.
"What are you doing, Connor? I have to be in bed in 15 minutes, not you." Aidan says.
"If you have to be in bed at 8pm, then I am too. We don't have time to take separate showers so get in. I'll wash your back and you wash mine."
After their shower and the brushing of their teeth, they only had time to pull some boxers on and jump into bed. Connor turned off the light and their clock said 7:59. Thirty seconds later, their door opened and Ron turned on the light. He thought that he might catch Aidan miss his bed time.
"Hey Dad." Connor said. "Are you here to tuck us in?"
Ron saw that both his boys were in bed, on time and had had their showers. He was going to say something to Connor about no being grounded but he remembered his prior conversation with him. He turned off the light, said, "Good night boys," and closed the door.
They were quiet for a few seconds, then Aidan puts his arm around Connor and says, "Thanks for...well everything. I heard Logan ask you to go see Dune 2 with him. I thought for sure you would go, but you didn't. You stayed here with me. You could be up watching TV or playing on your iPad, but here you are with me."
Aidan pulls him a little closer and Connor leans next to him, resting his head on Aidan's shoulder.
Aidan continues. "I'm the luckiest guy ever to have you as my brother. I don't know what I did to deserve you but...I...I love you so much! I really do."
Connor throws his arm across Aidan's chest and pulls him snug. "I love you, too, Aidan and I always will."
Soon the boys fell asleep. They didn't stir until Aidan was awaken with a flash of light. Barbara had checked in on the boys on her way to bed and saw them cuddled up like they did when they were young. She had to take a picture and since the lights were off, she had to use the flash.
"What? Oh hey Mom." Aidan said when he focused on his mom in the doorway. Connor woke up and rubbed his eyes as he sat up. "Is it morning already?" He said.
"No Honey." Barbara said as she came closer to the boys. "Sorry to have awaken you two. I was going to bed and I wanted to check in on you. You guys looked so cute all cuddled up one with the other, that I just had to take a picture. It warmed my heart to see you two like this after everything that went on earlier."
She gave each boy a kiss and a hug and told them that she loved them. In unison, the twins said, "We love you too, Mom." She smiled and closed the door.