Page 30 of The Twins

“Sorry, kiddo, you can’t intimidate your way out of this one.” My heart clenches as I watch my dad hold out his elbow for Mom and leave my room, Tev and Vandy following behind.

The door closes and with it my eyes. That was a lot first thing after anesthesia. Masud’s a comforting presence at my side. “Baby, are you sure you’re alright?”

He makes a noise of disgust, “I was not the one who got shot. Are you alright?”

“I’m alive. You’re here. My family knows about us. I grossed a few of them out. All in all, I’m good.” Shifting closer to him without touching, I ask, “Did I get the bad guys?”

“Most. However, Baird was not among them.”

“Shame.”

He sighs, his hand resting on the hospital bed above my head, his long fingers playing with my hair. “You can tell them.” I hum, enjoying having him nearby. I just got shot and had major surgery, I can indulge a little. “Everything.”

“Not my story to tell.”

“They need to know, Tov. To understand. To accept.” I hear the scrape of a chair and open my eyes to find him sitting down with a pensive look. “Perhaps—”

“If you say we should consider a divorce, I will gut you, then reanimate your corpse a laWeekend at Bernie’sand keep you in my bedroom until I die.”

He coughs a laugh. “Sounds more likeNorman Bates. And not a divorce. Just time for things to settle.”

“Do you love me?” I ask, smirking when I recall asking him that years ago when he tried to pull this shit.

“To the marrow of my bones.”

“Then kindly shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Are you sure, Masud? I don’t have to tell them anything. Or you can tell them, maybe that might help? Getting some of it out.” He thinks it over, his dark eyes trained over my head.

“I will try. For you.”

“I love you, Masud. You know that, right?”

His entire expression softens, his eyes warm. “There are few certainties in life,omri, but your love is one of them.”

Masud 21.

Steven and Gertie Frenkel stare at me over the prone body of their daughter. They wear their pain for all to see. Keeping our marriage from them has hurt them. It wasn’t our intention, yet the pain remains the same. Myomriis unique. Strong physically and mentally, confident, unflappable. It is hard to remember that no matter her age she will always be their little girl.

“Makhasheyfe!” Tevye hisses at his twin. My body tenses, wanting to punch him, but I know this is how they communicate. They don’t “talk” things out usually, often resorting to violence to work through whatever is troubling the pair. Of course, Tovah is triumphant frequently. I am infinitely proud of her, proud to be her husband.

“Shedim!”

“Will you two stop it?” Gertie spits out. She glances at her son, “Although, kudos on using the word for witch. I haven’t heard that in a long time.” Her eyes turn to her husband, “At least since Bubbe Frenkel kicked the bucket.”

Tevye slowly turns his head to look at his sister. He’s sitting at the end of her bed on her feet since she tried kicking him a few minutes ago. “That’s where you get it from!” He starts laughing, “You’re just as fucking evil as thatpaskudnik.”

“You are speaking about my deceased mother,” Steven reminds his children, and wife. They don’t care.

“Yeah? You must get your cloven hooves and horns from her. Never knew a demon quite like our beloved Bubbe Frenkel.”

Steven lifts his eyes to mine. “She wasn’t that bad.”

Mother and children immediately reply, “Yes, she was!”

“Can we get back on track?”

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