Page 1 of Rett

CHAPTER ONE

Everett Baptiste Wolfkill stared into the big mirror in their great-grandmother’s home. It was enormous, stretching from the floor nearly to the ceiling. It had an ornate gilded frame, with heavy decorative cherubs on the corners and gold fillagree along the edges.

He stared at himself, then turned to one side, then the other, looking at his brothers. Eastman Matthew and Ethan Ezekiel were the other two-thirds of their triplet gang. He tried to find something unique about himself, but everywhere he looked, they were identical.

“She was right,” said Rett, his preferred name with friends and family. “We look exactly alike. There’s nothing different about the three of us.”

“I don’t know,” frowned Eastman, tilting his head. “I see differences. I mean, you have that little scar where I stabbed you with a pencil when we were three.”

“That hurt,” frowned Ethan.

“I know. I’m sorry,” said his brother.

“What are you boys doin’?” asked Mama Irene. She was their great-grandmother on their mother’s side of the family. Elizabeth “Liz” Robicheaux was the daughter of Baptiste and Rose Robicheaux. Technically, she wasn’t Baptiste’s daughter by blood. But none of that mattered in their family. Liz was theirs. Period.

“Trying to see how we’re different,” frowned Rett with a big sigh.

“Why on earth would you want to do that?” asked Mama Irene. She already knew the answer to that question. Having four sets of twins herself, every single one of them had asked that very question at one time or another.

“Because everybody at school says there’s nothing special about us. We’re just three copies of each other. I think they’re right.”

“Nonsense! Do you know how rare it is for someone to have triplets?” she said.

“We have a lot of them here,” smirked Ethan.

“I know, I know, but that’s different. We’re different, and that’s a good thing. Y’all have a lot of qualities that are different.”

“Like what?” asked Eastman.

“Like you’re much better at math than your brothers.”

“That’s true,” said Rett thoughtfully. “I mean, we’re not stupid, but you give us help sometimes when we get stuck.”

“That’s right!” said Mama Irene excitedly. “And when y’all are havin’ trouble with science, it’s Rett that helps you boys.”

“And Ethan helps us with history questions,” said Eastman.

“See, y’all are very different. You’re triplets, but you’re also individuals. You have your own personalities, your own interests, and your own thoughts and feelings. I know what it’s like to be a multiple,” she said, hugging the boys.

“Camille and Claudette, Baptiste and Raphael, Antoine and Luc, and Adele and Rachelle all had the same problem that y’all are havin’. I think them kids at school are jealous.”

“Jealous?” said Rett with a scrunched face. “What would they be jealous of?”

“Oh, baby, you got the perfect family. You got a beautiful mama and daddy, you got two sets of grandparents, great-grandparents, and the big one, the really big one. Are you ready?” The boys nodded, smiling at her. “You got each other. You never have to worry about someone to play with, someone to tell secrets to, someone to fight with.”

The boys laughed, nudging one another. They were known for the sudden brawls on the grounds after a football game or game of tag.

“You will always have one another,” said their great-grandmother. “Let me tell y’all somethin’. In the years ahead, you’re gonna fight and bicker with one another. Then you’ll make up and be close again. But there is nothin’, nothin’ like the love of your siblings, especially when you’re multiples.

“You’re gonna need each other when you decide to leave here and go do your thing in that big old world out there. I’ll miss y’all somethin’ fierce,” she said, shaking her head.

“Great-grandma, you have hundreds of other people here,” said Rett. “You won’t miss us.”

“Oh, yes, I will,” she frowned. “See, there’s no one like y’all. There’s no one like you, Rett. There ain’t no one like Ethan. And Eastman, well, he’s in a class all by himself.”

The brothers all giggled, nudging one another. Mama Irene stood back, staring at them. She had tears in her eyes, shaking her head.

“You’re such fine, fine boys. Tall, like your daddy. Strong, like your grandpas. Smart, like your mama and grandmas. You’re just fine, boys.”

---