Twin Brothers

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Twin Brothers

Prologue

So, here's how it all started:

Fourteen-year-old Robbie Schiller came home from his first day of high school, and couldn't wait for his two dads to come home from work. He needed desperately to talk to them. Robbie was bursting with information that he was anxious to share. He hoped they would not be late from work today.

At dinner, Louis Schiller, one of Robbie's dads, asked, "What's up Buddy?"

"Yeah, what's up?" James Carter, his other dad, repeated. "You look like you're about to explode.

Robbie's full name was Robert Carter Schiller. It was decided by a flip of a coin.

"Well," Robbie said.

He could say no more. He was hyperventilating. He finally took a deep breath, and said, "There's a guy in two of my classes, Geometry and American History ,...."

Robbie stopped to catch his breath, and at the same time he removed his phone from his pocket.

"What about this guy?" Lou asked. "You didn't have a fight with him, did you?"

"Just the opposite. We're friends."

He showed his dads a selfie on his phone. Robbie had his arm around another boy. They were both smiling at the camera. The other boy looked like Robbie's clone. In fact, if Lou and Jamie didn't know what Robbie wore to school that day, they would have no idea who was who. Robbie hadn't changed his clothes after school, and he was still wearing the same outfit.

"My God," Jamie said, "this other kid could be a relative from your birth family. Do you know if he's adopted like you are?"

"I don't know. I was too stunned to ask him anything."

"Tomorrow, find out if he was adopted, and his date of birth. If he was adopted, I'd also like to know if he was named by his adopted or his natural parents. You came to us with the name, Robert, so we kept it. We thought that the name might have special meaning to your natural parents, and we wanted to honor their wish. I'd also like to know his parents' telephone number. This calls for some detective work. I may want to phone them." Lou said.

"I'll try to find out as much as I can about him. Don't you think I'm curious too? This much I know. His name is Michael Butterfield, and his father is a foreman in a shoe factory. I told him that you were a lawyer, Jamie, and that you were an architect, Lou. He wasn't impressed."

Robbie always used his dads' first names, when it was necessary to avoid confusion.

"Were you trying to belittle him?" Lou asked. "His father makes an honest living, and I'm sure he works hard."

"I swear. I wasn't belittling him. We were just trying to learn a little about each other. Tomorrow, I'll take him aside, and really question him. It would be a hoot if we were related. We liked each other immediately."

The next day in school, Robbie asked Mike to meet him when school let out before he went home.

Mike smiled and said, "It'll be my pleasure to meet you after school."

Robbie had grown up in a gay household. When Mike said it would be a pleasure to meet him, it sounded like he was coming on to him. His tone of voice was downright seductive. Robbie didn't know what to make of it, or how he felt about it. He was sure he was straight.

-1-

The two boys stood outside the school entrance, and Robbie came right to the point.

"I'm adopted," he declared. "and you look so much like me, we could be related by birth. Were you adopted?"

"If I was, my parents never told me."

"When's your birthday?"

"January fourth. When's yours?"

"Same day," Robbie answered. "Look, my two dads want to talk to your parents. Could I have your phone number?"

"That's a very bad idea. Obviously, if you have two dads, they're gay, and my folks are the most homophobic couple I have ever met. It would be a disaster if they found out. They wouldn't let you be my friend."

"That's ridiculous," Robbie said. "What have my adoptive dads got to do with us. Besides, I'm straight."

"Well, if that's the case, we can't be twins separated at birth, because I'm gay. I'm so scared my folks will find out, and kick me out on the street, that sometimes I lay awake all night, unable to sleep, thinking about it."

"I know damn well if that happened, you could live with us. I don't give a shit that my dads are gay. I love them both. Not only are they great guys and role models, so are most of their friends. Their friends treat me like royalty. On the other hand, my dads are constantly disciplining me like all parents do. I sure don't have any complaints, and by the way, I don't give a shit that you're gay."

Now Mike laughed. "Same here," he said. "I don't care that you're straight. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything. If our folks can't talk to each other, let's you and me find out as much about each other as possible."

"Great. Have you ever seen your fathers having sex?" Mike asked.

"Hell no. First, they don't have sex, they make love. Second, they keep their bedroom door securely closed at night, especially since I told them that I was straight. I don't even know what their cocks look like. They're afraid to exhibit any impropriety for fear of losing me."

"Let's take another selfie, on my phone this time," Mike said. "I'll show it to my parents tonight, and see their reaction."

"Sure, let's," Robbie agreed.

"I gotta go now." Mike said after they took the selfie. "Even though I'm gay, and you're straight, could I hug you?"

"Of course. I live in a gay household. It's always filled with my folks and their friends. I get more hugs and kisses than I could ever count."

"You're so lucky," Mike said. Would you like to change places. Our parents would never know."

"Maybe for an hour or two," Robbie said, "that would be a hoot, but not permanently. I love my parents. I wouldn't want to be separated from them for any length of time."

"Yeah, it's a bad idea," Mike said, but he wasn't sure.

At dinner, that evening, Lou and Jamie quizzed Robbie if he had any more information about the other boy.

"You won't like this," Robbie said, "Mike told me that his parents are world class homophobes, and he's scared to death, because he's gay. His parents never told him if he was adopted, but we share the same birthday. It's too spooky for me to think about."

"Well, screw the bigots," Jamie said. "I have no intention of calling them."

The next day in school, Mike gave Robbie a copy of Mark Twain's novel, The Prince and the Pauper. He had read it, and he knew it was one of the books on the shelf in his den. He wanted to promote the idea of changing places with Robbie. He thought it would be a hoot. If they got caught, he erroneously believed that their folks would laugh at the joke. Fat chance!

"How did it go when your folks saw the picture of the two of us?" Robbie asked.

"My mother started to cry, and my father turned pale. I asked them point blank if I was adopted, because you were, and we had the same birthday. They swore that I was not adopted, and that I was their natural child. Somehow, I don't believe them. The fact that we met, and we're probably related, changes everything I believed about my parents."

"I think there's a good chance that we're brothers, or at least, first cousins," Robbie said. "Let's do a DNA test. I don't know about your parents, but mine would be all for it."

"I'm all for it also," Mike said. "I could secretly get hair samples of my parents."

So, the die was cast.

"I have a great idea," Robbie said. "I'll invite you to dinner this Friday night, and you invite me next Friday. It'll give us a chance to test our parents reactions when they see us together. Yours might even admit that you're adopted, Mike, and tell us things they know about our birth parents; things that they had kept secret from us."

"Like what?" Mike asked, naively.

"Like they were murderers, and were executed while we were still infants."

"Shit, I wouldn't want to hear that," Mike croaked. "I'd rather hear that they were altruists, who died in a plane crash on the way to a charity event."

Robbie laughed, "Keep dreaming, Buddy."

The next day was Wednesday. Robbie told his dads that he had invited Mike to dinner Friday evening, so that they could meet him.

"We thought that you could tell us what you know about my birth parents, so we can compare notes."

"That's a great idea," Lou said, "but we don't know much."

"How would you guys feel about us having DNA tests?" Robbie asked.

"I'm all for it," Jamie answered for both.

When Mike told his parents that he was having dinner with Robbie's family Friday night, they had no objection. They still did not know that Robbie had two dads.

-2-

Jamie and Lou knew that the two boys looked alike, but they were unprepared to see the young man who came to their house for dinner. They were more than just lookalikes, they were clones. Robbie had a small birth mark on his right cheek. Mike had the same mark on his left cheek. Robbie's hair naturally parted on the right, and Mike's parted on the left. Robbie was right-handed. Mike was left-handed. The boys were mirror images of each other. What nobody knew yet, was that Robbie was circumcised like his two dads, but Mike was uncut like his dad.

The boys hadn't even noticed the minor differences, but Mike concluded that trading places was out.

Both of Robbie's dads had known identical twins in their time on this planet, but this was something uncanny. They got themselves together, and Lou asked everyone to go into the living room.

"Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes," he said. "Let's chat and get to know each other."

They went into the living room. The two lads sat on the sofa very close to one another. The two fathers sat on two different side chairs. There was an uncomfortable silence.

Finally, Jamie spoke up. "Robbie tells us that you might have some questions you'd like to ask us. Don't be shy and don't be afraid. We'll answer anything we can, and as honestly as we can."

"Did Robbie tell you that I'm gay?" Mike asked.

"Yes, he did," Jamie said.

"Did he tell you how homophobic my parents are, especially my dad? My mother might learn to live with it, but my dad will disown me for sure."

"Don't assume that," Jamie said. "I'm sure he loves you, and he'll work through it."

"I'm an only child. They're both going to be very disappointed."

Mike started to cry, and Robbie put his arm around Mike's shoulder. It took a few minutes and Mike composed himself.

"How hard was it for you to come out?" Mike asked.

"We both had the same experience," Lou smiled. "When Jamie and I agreed to live together, we came out to our parents. Both sets of parents said that they had suspected our sexual orientation for several years, and they had no doubt about our relationship. We got the blessing of both sets of parents, and when we adopted Robbie, they went downright wild with joy."

"Lucky you. How do you feel about Robbie being straight."

"As long as Robbie can live an honest life, and be himself, we don't mind at all." Lou said. "Look at how conflicted you are with fear of coming out. You shouldn't have to bear this burden."

Jamie stood up. "I'm going to check on dinner. It should be ready by now."

At dinner Robbie made a momentous announcement. "Mike and I sent spit samples to the DNA testing company this morning." He thought it best not to tell them that they had also sent hair samples of Mike's parents. "I hope we get results quickly."

"There's no way that we're not brothers," Mike added. "Do you know anything about Robbie's biological parents? They're probably my parents also, and we'd like to know anything you can tell us about them."

"I swear," Jamie said. "We know nothing about them. The whole thing was very hush-hush."

"We were registered with an adoption agency for more than five years," Lou said. "We had no way of knowing where we stood on the waiting list, when one sunny morning in early July, Jamie got a call. It was one of his lawyer friends. He told us that he had a pregnant teen-aged client, who wanted to adopt out her child when it was born in about six months. She and her boyfriend were desperate for money. The fly in the ointment was that she wanted twenty-five thousand dollars. Jamie's friend even reduced his fee; the kids were so desperate. When the time came, early in January, they had a beautiful little boy, and he was ours if we wanted him. Of course, we did. You came to us when you were two days old, Robbie."

"Wow, I was one expensive baby," Robbie mused.

Jamie picked up the story. "We're grateful now that it took five years. Fate gave us the perfect little boy, who's becoming a fine young man. We're so grateful for that."

"Very grateful," Lou added, and Robbie began to cry. It was Mike who now put his arms around Robbie to comfort him.

"If it turns out that we're truly brothers," Mike said, "it was cruel of our parents to allow us to be separated."

"I agree," Jamie said, "but we can't undo the injustice that was done."

"I told Mike that if his parents kicked him out, he could live with us. Please say yes, dads. We'll always be really quiet, and we promise not to disturb you in any way."

"Don't be so dramatic, boys," James said. "Mr. Butterfield is not going to put Mike out on the street. No matter what happens, he can spend as much time with you as he'd like to, if his parents allow it."

The dinner was delicious. When it was time to leave, Jamie and Robbie drove Mike home, while Lou cleaned up.

As Mike got out of the car, Robbie said, "Next week at your house. That should be a hoot."

"It won't be bad, if you don't tell my folks that you have two dads. Just refer to them as your parents or your folks."

Robbie scowled. "I don't like lies," he said. "I'm not ashamed, and I have nothing to hide."

Mike sighed in resignation. "Do what you think is best," he said.

Then he whispered in Robbie's ear, "I'm not scared anymore. I know I'll have a home to go to."

Robbie came into the Butterfield home with flowers for the dinner table. Margery Butterfield was thrilled with the flowers, but when she laid eyes on Robbie, she began to cry hysterically. She also hugged him. Robbie was very surprised. Douglas Butterfield shook his hand politely, but it was obvious that he had a tear in his eyes also. By now, Robbie was more than surprised. He was very confused.

They had a lovely dinner, and an even lovelier chat. The Butterfields insisted that Mike was their natural child. The boys couldn't believe it, so they learned nothing new. Robbie and Mike wisely chose not to tell them about the DNA testing.

One thing was established for sure, in both households. The boys could see as much of each other as they would like. They could even have sleepovers as-long-as they slept in separate beds.

That disturbed Mike. "What are you afraid of?" Mike asked his father. "We're both straight," he lied.

"My folks furnished my bedroom with twin beds when I was little, so I could have sleepovers," Robbie added.

Doug smiled broadly. "It's okay then," he said.

Even though it was walking distance, Doug and Mike drove Robbie home.

About five weeks later, the DNA results were delivered to Robbie's house. He and Mike got the biggest shocks of their lives. There was a separate letter inside, asking each boy to make sure that they sent the right samples, because there was no appreciable difference in their DNAs. The biggest shock of all was that Marge and Doug Butterfield were the biological parents of both boys, and they were indeed brothers, obviously, twin brothers.

-3-

"We've got to confront them with this news," Robbie said. "Now I know why they cried when they saw me."

"I'm scared," Mike whined.

"Maybe so, but it must be done. We need to know why they separated us, and adopted-out only one of us."

"I've got a better idea," Mike said. "Let's confide in your dads first. Maybe they can give us some guidance."

"That's a good idea," Robbie agreed. "Come over to my house on Saturday morning about 10 AM. They'll be back from the gym by then."

"Fine."

Lou and Jamie were surprised to find both boys waiting for them at home when they returned home from the gym. Robbie's dads had showered at the gym, and were squeaky clean of sweat and odors.

"We have something very important to talk to you about," Robbie said.

"Sure," Lou said. "Let's go into the living room and get comfortable. Then we can talk."

The two dads sat in stony silence, trying to absorb what the two boys told them about their heritage. For some reason, Lou started to cry, and Jamie told him to get hold of himself. In fact, Jamie, the attorney, took over.

"When you present your parents with this new-found knowledge, Mike, and ask them for an explanation, Robbie must be there. He too, has a right to know. As Robbie's parents, Lou and I want to be there also, but I don't think you should tell them that we're a married gay couple. They may not want to see us. Once we're together, we'll spring it on them."

"I feel better already," Mike said. "I'll set it up. What's good for you?"

"This afternoon or tomorrow afternoon. If that's no good, then any week night, after we all get home from work."

"I'll call you as soon as I know when," Mike said, and he and Robbie ran off to meet friends somewhere.

As soon as they left, Lou started to blubber. "We're going to lose Robbie, aren't we?" he asked.

"No such nonsense. The Butterfields gave him up via legal documents, and we adopted him legally. They have no claim to our boy. Robbie would never want to live with a homophobic son of a bitch anyhow. Finally, I'm a lawyer. I can tie them up with law suits until Robbie is eighteen. We know from the day we gave them $25,000, that they don't have the money for extended law suits. Feel any better."

"A little," Lou said, "but I know something that will cheer me up even more."

Lou grabbed Jamie's hand and pulled him into the bedroom.

"Just get undressed," Lou commanded. "We showered at the gyn, so we can skip that this time. I just want you to make love to me."

For whatever reason, they made love that morning with more passion than on the night they met, and on the day, they got married. Nothing was out of bounds, and everything they did, they did alternately, even-steven.

They began with extended trips around the world. Neither husband missed an inch of the other's body. They followed that with a very long game of sixty-nine. They stopped whenever one of them thought he was cumming. When they were reaching the point of no return, they stopped what they were doing, and fucked each other in the missionary position. When that was done, and their passions waned, they cuddled together, fondled each other, and dozed off.

They only dozed for about forty-five minutes and awakened. They were both hard, and they began to play, just for the fun of it. They didn't cum again, but they fucked each other under their armpits and between their legs. By that time, they needed to shower again. In the shower they bathed each other, did their backs for one another, and sterilized their ass holes. For the final game of the day, they gave themselves golden showers. Lou was over his funk. Sated and satisfied, they got dressed.

"Too bad Robbie's straight," Jamie said. "He doesn't know what he's missing." They both laughed, momentarily forgetting the drama that was about to unfold.

They just finished dressing when the boys came home. Robbie embraced his two dads, and they knew he wanted something.

"It's one o'clock," Robbie said, "and we're starving. How about taking us to the food court at the mall for lunch?"

"We're hungry also," Lou said. "Let's go."

Mike set the meeting for noon the next day. "We'll be home from church by then, and my mom insists on making lunch for all of us," he told Jamie.

When Robbie and his dads rang the Butterfield's front door bell, Robbie's knees began to give out. His biological father was about to learn that his son was raised by two fags, and they're married to boot. They weren't Catholics like the Butterfields, either. When they went to church, they attended a gay church. Robbie cringed as he feared the worst.

The door was opened by Mike and his smiling dad. Doug smiled at first, for a very short moment. Then it sunk in. Mike's best friend, Robbie, was raised by a gay couple. Doug wanted to barf, but he reined himself in. Reluctantly, he shook Jamie's hand, and when he didn't burn up, he extended his hand to Lou. At this point, Jamie told Doug that Lou was his husband. Doug did not know yet that Robbie was his biological son, so he wasn't as upset as he might have been. All he was aware of now was that Robbie and Mike bore an uncanny resemblance.

Then Mike introduced his guests to his mother.

"Shall we have lunch first, or shall we chat for a bit?" she asked.

Jamie was afraid there would be no lunch after they delivered the news. He, Lou, and Robbie might end up going home for lunch. He stopped imagining worst-case-scenarios, and said, "Let's talk first. Mike, why don't you tell your folks what you and Robbie learned."

Mike nodded, opened his mouth to speak, but not a sound came out of his mouth. He was shaking and his ashen face hinted that he might be about to faint.

"I better tell," Robbie said.

Now the Butterfield's were concerned. "Tell us what?" Doug asked.

Robbie fumbled with a large manila envelope. He removed the warning letters that each boy got from the testing company. He handed them to Doug. Then he gave him his and Mike's DNA test results. Finally, he took out the test results of Mike's parents, which clearly showed that they had two sons, Robert Schiller, and Michael Butterfield.

"Read these documents, please," Robbie said as politely and as meekly as he could. He didn't want to scare Doug.

Doug and Marge read the DNA results slowly, and very carefully. Marge screeched first. She gave out a banshee like wail, and sobbed bitterly. Then Doug, who had been labelled a rotten bigot by Robbie's family, did the same. Nobody knew what to do, so bigot or not, Jamie and Lou went over to Doug to try to comfort him, and the boys did the same to Marge. Doug forgot that the two men who had their arms around him were gay. He was indeed comforted, and somehow his hand found its way to Jamie's hand, and it rested there.

It took a long while, but eventually Doug found his voice. "Let me explain," he said.

Lou didn't want to upset Doug, so he said softly and kindly, "Yes, please. That's what we came for."

Doug spoke so softly that everyone had to strain to hear him.

"Marge and I were teen agers when I got her pregnant. Our parents are devout Catholics, and they kicked us out on the street for having fornicated before marriage, and worse yet, getting pregnant. They kept yelling at us never to come home again. We were jobless, penniless, and homeless, but we refused to abort the baby. We were Catholics also, after all.

"After long discussions, we agreed that the best thing for the baby was to offer it for adoption. I had a buddy, who was in the same position as we were a year earlier. He gave me the name of a lawyer who made all the arrangements, including payment for the baby. I swear, I hadn't even thought about that. The lawyer told us that the going rate was between $20,000 and $30,000. That's why we asked for $25,000.

"The baby wasn't due for a few months. In the interim I got a good job at the shoe factory, and we were able to afford a small one-bedroom apartment. We still intended on going through with the adoption, but when the twins were born, everything changed. I swear we didn't know that we were having twins until they were born. We could now afford to raise one baby, especially with the $25,000 we were expecting. However, raising two babies was out of the question. After more discussion, we agreed to honor our legal obligation. We decided to adopt out one baby and keep the other. We were very young, and never thought about the terrible consequences.

"The day after the twins were born, the lawyer came to the hospital. He gave us a check from his escrow account, so we would not know the names of the adoptive parents. One of the nurses brought both boys into Marge's room. At random, she cut off the hospital identification from one of the boy's wrists, and gave it to Marge. It was Robert.

"I told the lawyer that my grandfather's name was Robert, and I would be grateful if the lucky people who got him would keep the name Robert. He promised that he would try."

Mike was weeping, and Robbie was trying to console him.

"Why are you crying?" Doug asked. "Didn't we give you a happy life?"

"Yes, you did, but that's not why I'm crying. I have one more thing to tell you. I'm gay, and if I had been the one who was given to Jamie and Lou, I wouldn't be afraid of getting kicked out on the street like you were."

"Oh," Mike cried out. "We love you. How could you think I could be as cruel as my father was."

"Because you're so goddamn homophobic."

"A guy can change. I can see what great guys Jamie and Lou are, and what a wonderful job they did raising my son. They even respected my wishes to name Robert after my grandfather. Nobody in this world showed me more love than my grandpa. Besides, all else, I love you so much, I could never hurt you."

There was a lot of crying going on. Now Doug was sobbing and Marge was sitting in a corner crying softly.

"Come to me boys," Doug yelled. "I need to hug both of you."

Epilogue

Jamie is a lawyer. Doing his job entails negotiations and compromises.

"This is what I propose," he said. "These two boys should never be separated again. I say they can visit and have sleepovers as often as they want. Furthermore, I think we should all be friends. It'll be easier on the boys, and I'd like that. We should be one happy family, don't you think?"

Everyone nodded.

One more thing," Jamie said. "I'm starving. How about that lunch you promised us, Marge?"

Everyone laughed, and went into the dining room. During lunch, Doug said, "I don't know how I'll ever be able to tell you two apart."

Robbie pointed out the subtle mirror image differences, and Doug breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said, "I don't see how you can be gay, Mike, and Robbie is straight. After all you came from the same seed."

Lou and Jamie nodded. "We wondered the same thing," Lou said.

The moment was awkward, so Robbie said, "Who knows? I'm still a virgin. I only think I'm straight. Maybe things will change."

After lunch, Robbie, Lou, and Jamie went home. Robbie hugged and kissed the Butterfields. Doug hugged Lou and Jamie.

"I'm so glad we're going to be friends," Doug said.

He completely forgot that they were gay. He was only happy that the son he adopted-out was raised in a happy, nurturing home, and that he was miraculously returned to him.

The two families became like one family indeed. Lou and Jamie invited the Butterfields to a New Years Eve party in their home. It didn't bother Doug at all, that all the other guests were gay. It didn't bother him, because he never even noticed.

When the twins were high school seniors, Robbie came home after school one day, and found his brother fucking a school chum in his bedroom. Mike wasn't the least bit embarrassed.

"Your dads gave me permission to use your bedroom," Mike said, "because we're both eighteen."

Robbie realized that he didn't mind at all. Mike was having sex regularly, and Robbie was still a virgin. Over the years, many of Mike's gay friends had become Robbie's friends also. He was comfortable with them, and enjoyed their company.

"Join us," Mike pleaded. "We'll make you feel like a million bucks."

Without hesitating, Robbie said, "Why not?"

But, that's a tale for another time.