A Tale of Three By J.C. Vascardi
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Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional, as are the characters featured herein, which are solely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by male/male material, or if such material cannot be legally viewed where you live, then you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.
Character Profiles: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/a-tale-of-three/profiles/index.htm Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson Writing Journal: http://jaycolin.livejournal.com
This story is Copyright 2004-2010, 2011 by J.C. Vascardi. This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, posted on any other website, or included in any form of book or media, without the explicit written permission of the author.
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Chapter Eight, Part One Aaron's Perspective Thursday, January 6, 2005
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As Nick and I walked back down to our lockers to grab our jackets and backpacks, I was tempted to ask him how he felt about Mr. Bradley taking over for Mrs. Armstrong while she was on maternity leave. I decided, however, that this wasn't the best time to discuss it because the hallways were beginning to fill up a little as other after-school meetings and activities were letting out and I didn't want anyone else overhearing since it was a pretty personal matter. I also felt that, to a certain extent, I already knew how Nick must have been feeling and, to be perfectly honest, I was amazed that he didn't start having one of his attacks.
Nick and I were on our way out the front door of the school when our friend, Brian Foster, called out, "Hey Nick! Aaron! Wait up!"
"Hey Bri! JC! What's up?" I asked as I turned to see Brian and Jayden walking toward us.
"Well, we were hoping that we could hitch a ride with you in the Jag," Jayden replied with a hopeful look on his face.
"That depends," Nick said.
"On what?" Brian asked.
"Is it just you two?" I asked. "Because if Tony needs a ride too, there isn't enough room. The Jag only seats four."
"It's just us," Brian replied. "Tony is going over to Carly's house to study for the history test tomorrow, so he got a ride home with her mom."
"Oh, that's right," Nick said as the four of us walked out the door, heading for the parking lot across the street. "We have that history test tomorrow. I've had so much on my mind lately that I totally forgot."
"What could you possibly have on your mind that could make you forget about something as important as a history test?" Jayden asked.
"Well, for one thing," I replied, "Nick and I found out yesterday that we have a cousin and half-brother on the way."
"What?" Brian asked.
"Aaron's mom is pregnant," Nick replied. "My Uncle Erik is the father."
"Wow," Jayden exclaimed. "Well, that's certainly a good reason to forget about the test. How far along is she?"
"About a week into the fifth month, I guess," I replied, "so she's seventeen weeks pregnant."
"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl, yet?" Brian asked as we got to the car and I pressed the button on the small remote to turn off the alarm, open the trunk, and unlock the doors.
"Not yet, no," Nick replied as the four of us put our backpacks in the trunk, "but Mom said she has an appointment today and that her doctor had said at her last visit that she could probably find out the sex while she's there."
"Any preferences?" Jayden asked as I got into the car, started it, and pressed the button to lower the roof.
"Not really," I said. "As long as Mom has a healthy baby, I don't really care what it is. Mom already had one stillborn baby, so I don't want her to have to go through that again."
"That's understandable," Brian remarked as he got into the backseat with Jayden.
Nick soon got into the car and once his door was closed and everyone was buckled up, I said "Let's roll," as I backed the car out of the space and drove home.
On the way, we continued to talk about the baby for a while before the conversation turned back to the history test. Both Nick and myself hadn't studied for the test yet, and while Brian had done a little studying, he didn't think he'd done enough. Jayden, of course, was well prepared, but that didn't surprise any of us because Jayden is such an incredible student. Not many students can honestly say that they've achieved straight A's in every subject they've ever taken for their entire school career -- including kindergarten. Jayden isn't a genius or anything, because if he was he'd probably be graduating from college this year instead of high school. He just studies very hard and takes his school work very seriously.
To be perfectly honest, while I suppose some people would have called Jayden a nerd, I think schools would be better places with more people like him. More people, that is, who actually go to school to learn and better themselves so that they can be successful in life, rather than those who go to school and think of it as one big popularity contest and a time to socialize with their friends. At any rate, originally, I figured I'd be dropping Jayden and Brian off at their respective houses. Thinking of the history test, however, I quickly asked, "Hey, Jayden? Brian? How about you two come over to Nick's uncle's house with us? Spend the night and we can all study together for that test tomorrow."
"Well, I'm already prepared for it," Jayden replied as I glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed that he was looking rather fondly at the back of Nick's head. "Although spending the night could still be fun, so I'm in."
I've never been totally sure, but I've always had this feeling in the back of my mind that Jayden had a thing for Nick. He'd never really said as much, but I could tell that Jayden was definitely attracted to him. Nick hasn't really shown any interest whatsoever in dating, but considering the events of his life, that doesn't really surprise me. Nick does, after all, have some major issues to deal with.
"I'm in," Brian said. "I've got to get at least a C on this test or I'll be in trouble with Coach Andrews." Coach Andrews was the school's sports medicine teacher and also the coach of the varsity soccer team, of which Brian was the captain.
"Well, don't worry Bri," Jayden said with a smile as he shifted his gaze from the back of Nick's head and patted Brian's thigh lightly. "With the four of us studying for this test together, I'm sure we'll all get A's."
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Chapter Eight, Part Two Karen's Perspective Thursday, January 6, 2005
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As I was getting out of my car that afternoon, Erik's Jaguar pulled into his driveway and I could see that Nick and Aaron had brought their friends Jayden and Brian along with them. Closing and locking my car, I walked over to the driveway and smiled to them as I said, "Hello boys."
"Hi Mom," Aaron and Nick said in unison as Jayden and Brian said, "Hello Mrs. Forrester."
Even though I'm no longer married to Erik, which made me Nick's step-aunt, he has gotten into the habit of calling me Mom. I've always thought that to be a bit amazing actually, seeing as how it had only been almost three years since his own mother had died. "Jayden, Brian, please call me Karen."
"Okay, Karen," Jayden said. "I hear congratulations are in order."
"Oh, Nick and Aaron told you, did they?" I asked with a smile.
"Yeah, they did," Brian said as he climbed out of the backseat of the car. "Congrats."
"Thank you."
"So Mom, did you find out today what it will be?"
"Yes, Aaron, I did," I said with a smile.
"Well, what is it?" Nick asked, obviously very excited.
"It's a boy," I replied after pausing for a moment to keep them all in suspense.
"Cool," Brian said as he walked over to Aaron and clapped him on the shoulder. "Looks like you've got a new baby brother on the way."
"Yeah, that'll be nice, I guess."
"You guess?" I asked, a bit taken aback by my son's sudden lack of enthusiasm. "I thought you were happy about this?"
"Oh I am, Mom," Aaron said quickly. "I'm totally psyched, but at the same time, not so. I just realized how big of an age difference there'll be between my new brother and I. I mean, in today's world, I'd actually be old enough to be the father."
"What are you talking about AZ?" Nick asked with a huge grin before adding, "You're nowhere near old enough to be the father and there isn't that much of an age difference. Only four years."
Brian and Jayden immediately started laughing at Nick's joke, and I covered my nose and mouth as I pretended to sneeze while I was actually laughing a bit myself.
"Oh sure, laugh it up," Aaron said. "Nick, you really love pointing out the fact that I'm a leap-day baby, don't ya?" Nick just nodded as he kept grinning from ear to ear, and Brian and Jayden started calming down as they stopped laughing.
"At any rate," I said after a moment, "what brings you two here, Brian and Jayden?"
"Aaron asked us over," Brian said, "to spend the night and study for our history test tomorrow."
"Did he?" I asked, as I couldn't help but think that it would have been nice if Aaron had run this by Erik or me before actually doing it.
"It is okay, right Mom?" Aaron asked. "Nick and I could really use the help studying."
"Well, it's fine with me," I finally said, "though you'll have to clear it with Erik too. Brian, Jayden, I want you to call your parents and ask their permission as well. Anyway, let's all head over to my house and I'll fix you all an afternoon snack before you hit the books."
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Chapter Eight, Part Three Jonathan's Perspective Thursday, January 6, 2005
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Have you ever had one of those days that you were so bored you honestly thought you would die from it? Well, that was the kind of day I was having. I was just lying there on my bed, reading a book that I must have read at least a dozen times before. I would have preferred to be sitting at my computer playing a game or chatting online. Unfortunately, none of that was possible because I had no choice but to stay in bed. The reason was because my brother Nathan was sleeping and since he had a cold at the time, he needed his sleep. That fact alone would not really have made any difference, except that Nathan and I are conjoined twins. So, obviously if Nathan is asleep in bed, I really don't have much choice but to lie there next to him.
I suppose you're probably wondering how it was that Nathan was sick and I wasn't, but the truth is that when we do get sick, it's very rarely at the same time. You see, with the exception of a shared leg and an interconnected circulatory system, Nathan and I are pretty separate. We don't share any vital organs with one another, so it's very possible for one of us to get sick when the other is perfectly healthy. Of course, Nathan had come down with his cold the previous day, so I knew that more than likely within the next two to three days, I'd be sick as well, simply because of the fact that it is extremely easy to transmit germs when you can't get away from one another.
Some people would probably say, "Well, seeing as you don't share any vital organs, you should get separated so that things like this don't happen." Of course, in today's society, even if Nathan and I did share vital organs, there would be people who would say that we should be separated. Being conjoined twins, Nathan and I have done lots of research on the matter and we know that there is a large portion of people who believe that simply because the technology to separate conjoined twins exists that all sets of such twins born should be separated, even if the operation would end up killing one or both.
There are some people who don't believe that and my parents were among them. After our birth, they discussed it amongst themselves and, despite pressure from the doctors at the hospital to have us separated, our parents made the very unpopular decision of not having the operation performed. They whole-heartedly believed that a serious decision such as that should be left up to the people most greatly affected by it, namely Nathan and myself. We've read about cases where conjoined twins are born, the parents said no to separation, and then the doctors took it upon themselves to take the parents to court and have a judge force them to consent to the operation.
In Nathan's and my case, the doctors probably would have tried to force the separation, if it were not for two things. My father was at the time, and still is, the Chief of Staff at the hospital where we were born, so the doctors did not really want to sue their boss. The other reason was because they also did not want to sue the Chairman of the hospital's board of directors, who at the time happened to be our now deceased paternal grandfather, who had himself served as Chief of Staff for over fifty years and was also the hospital's biggest financial benefactor. So, to be perfectly honest, Nathan and I are incredibly happy that we were born into a family with that kind of influence. While it may seem strange to some people, we like being conjoined, and we decided a long time ago that we came into this world joined together and, come hell or high water, we are going to leave it joined together.
I was brought out of my thoughts when there was a soft knock on the door. My mom came into the room shortly thereafter and, after taking in the sight before her, said, "It's good that Nate is getting his rest, but you must be so bored."
"You have no idea, Mom," I said with a sigh.
"Well, your father and I have something for you," my mom said as she motioned toward the door and my dad came in holding a box wrapped in blue metallic wrapping paper, "which we hope might help with your boredom."
"What is it?" I asked curiously.
"Open it and find out," my dad said as he set the box down on my lap.
Sitting up as carefully as possible so as to not disturb Nathan's sleep, I began to carefully remove the silver bow encircling the package before starting to carefully remove the wrapping paper. I was concentrating so hard on the box that I never even noticed that Nathan had woken up until he spoke, his voice a bit hoarse from coughing. "Just rip it open already!"
As if one needed proof that despite being conjoined we were in fact individual people, Nathan and I do have very different personalities. I am the more cautious and careful twin who likes things to be ordered. When it comes to opening gifts, I've always thought it best to open them carefully instead of just ripping it open. I've always thought that since the person giving the gift spent so much time wrapping it and making it look nice, that it would be a shame to just rip off the paper and ribbons and toss them aside. Nathan, however, is the opposite of me in almost every way because he's the more adventurous twin who likes taking risks and doesn't much care if things are organized. He would rather just rip the ribbon and paper from the box and cast it aside like yesterday's trashæ`iore concerned with what is in the box than not making a huge mess.
Normally I probably would have said no, but since Nathan was ill, I decided to humor him and just said, "Oh fine", as I grabbed the paper and ripped it open. Nathan applauded and Mom and Dad just grinned. Under the wrapping paper was a box with the Dell Computers logo printed on it, and as I removed the rest of the paper, I quickly realized that it was a Dell Inspiron 9100 notebook.
"Wow, thanks Mom, Dad," I said with a smile.
"You're welcome," Mom said before adding, "and don't get jealous Nate. We bought you one too. We just figured we'd give Jon his now so that he doesn't spend his time bored out of his mind while you're sleeping because of your cold."
"Cool," Nate said as he sat up and watched as I opened the box, removed the computer, opened the lid, and turned it on.
"Okay," my dad said, "we'll leave you two alone now, but Nateæ`iake sure you get your rest so you can beat that cold. Jon, there is a set of headphones in the box, so you can use them while you work on the computer. That way, Nate can get some sleep."
"Thanks again, Mom and Dad," I said as they left the room.
"It's really a very cool computer," Nathan said as he pulled the packaging slip from the box and started looking over the installed components. "Certainly not the best of the best, but very good nonetheless."
"Yeah," I said as I began to acclimate myself with the new system. "You think we could go over to the desk for a few minutes so that I can grab a few CDs and get the cable to hook it up to the internet?"
"Oh, I think I have enough strength for that," Nate said, pausing for a few seconds to cough. "I have to use the bathroom anyway, so we can stop at the desk on our way back to bed."
"Okay, let's go," I said as the two of us got out of bed and stood up. Nathan wrapped one of his arms around my waist for a little extra support and rested his head on my shoulder as we walked over to the door of our private bathroom.
About twenty minutes later we were back in bed, and I was installing a few things on the computer as Nate piled a few of the extra pillows behind my back so that I could sit up more easily while he was lying down. Nate lay back down to get some more sleep while I plugged the headphones into the computer and began playing the computer game "The Sims 2." After a few hours of playing, I logged onto the internet to check my e-mail and saw that there was an e-mail there from Mom's sister, Aunt Karen. Opening the e-mail and reading it, I quickly said, "Hey Nate, wake up a second."
"What is it?" Nate asked a little groggily as he sat up.
"E-mail from Aunt Karen," I said as I pointed at the computer screen.
"Oh?" Nate asked as he leaned over a little to read the e-mail, knowing I wouldn't have woken him up if her e-mail wasn't something important.
After a few moments, Nate said, "Wow, Aunt Karen's pregnant? You think Mom and Dad know yet?"
"I would assume they don't," I said, "or I think they would have told us by now."
"Well, then we should probably tell them," Nate said as he reached over to the nightstand and picked up the small silver bell that Mom had put there to ring if he needed anything. Within a few moments, Dad came in and, trying to make us laugh, he asked, "You rang?" in his best impression of Ted Cassidy as Lurch from the television show The Addams Family.
"Yes, Lurch," I said with a grin as Dad grinned too. "I was just checking my e-mail and Aunt Karen e-mailed."
"Really?" Dad asked. "Haven't heard from her in a while. What did she say?"
"I think Mom would be very interested," Nate said as he pushed the notebook screen down so our dad couldn't read the e-mail, "so maybe you should get her in here quick."
"Okay," Dad said, obviously wondering why we were being so secretive as he stepped out of the room and returned a few moments later with our mom.
"So what is this about an e-mail from Karen?" Mom asked.
I looked at Nate for a moment, and then we both turned to Mom and Dad and said in perfect unison, "Aunt Karen is pregnant."
"What?" Mom asked. "You're kidding, right?"
"Nope," I said as I lifted the notebook screen and looked at Aunt Karen's e-mail. "She says that she's a week into her fifth month right now. Erik is the father and she just found out today that it's a boy, so she's decided to name him after Uncle Lance and cousin Aaron."
"Wow, that's incredible news," Dad said after a few minutes of silence. "E-mail her back with our congratulations."
"E-mail?" Mom asked incredulously. "Why don't we just call her to congratulate her?"
"Honey," Dad said, "it's almost quarter to eleven right now, which means that it's almost midnight in Wilmington, so Karen is probably in bed by now."
After thinking about it for a few minutes, Mom said, "Yeah, you're right, Tom. Okay Jon, e-mail Karen with our congratulations and then you can stay up and play with the new computer for a little while, but make sure you do get some sleep."
"Don't worry, Mom," I replied as Nate took his cough medicine. "I'm sure I'll get plenty of sleep because before long, Nate's cough medicine will work its way through his bloodstream and into mine and put me to sleep too."
"Okay, well, have a good night boys," Dad said as he turned on the table lamp on my side of the bed, which was closest to the door, and then flipped the switch to turn off the overhead lights as he left the room with my mom, closing the door behind them.
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To be continued.