Single With Twins

Oh, darn, she thought frantically, she could feel the sting of tears. She had to get a grip, regain control of her emotions now. Right now. It was just that she had never, not once in her entire life, been given flowers by a man. She felt like Emma…she wanted to keep them forever.

Heather opened a cupboard, remembered that she didn’t own a vase, then proceeded to half fill an empty pickle jar with water and arrange the flowers. She returned to the living room and placed the makeshift vase on the coffee table.

Mack was sitting on the sofa with a twin on each side of him, each holding their sucker and staring up at him.

He looked about as comfortable as a man waiting to have a root canal, Heather thought, curbing a smile as she seated herself in the rocker. She had the distinct impression that Mack’s experience with children was zip.

“So,” Heather said, “are you enjoying our weather, Mack? March is a lovely month here, and April will be even nicer.” Good grief, was this the best she could do? Talk about the weather? But her experience in-conversing with a worldly man such as Mack was most definitely zip. “I’ve told the girls that you’re a famous photographer.”

“Well, yes, I do take pictures of…of things,” he said, glancing at Melissa, then Emma. “Lots and lots of photographs.”

“Where’s your camera?” Melissa said.

“It’s locked in my vehicle out front,” Mack said. “I never go anywhere without it, it seems. Would you like me to take your picture?”

“No,” Melissa said.

“Oh,” he said, then cleared his throat.

“Do you have a house?” Emma said.

“A house? No, I have an apartment that I rent in New York City. I’m not there too much of the time, though, because I travel a great deal taking photographs.”

“Oh-h-h,” Emma said, nodding. “We rent our house, too, but we have a dream piggy. Maybe if you got a real job, instead of just playing with a camera and stuff, you could get a dream piggy, too, and get a house.”

“Emma,” Heather said quickly, “being a photojournalist is a real job, a very difficult one, in fact. Mack has won a great many awards with his photographs.”

“But Uncle Mack doesn’t have enough money to buy a house, Mommy,” Emma said. “He needs a dream piggy.”

“What’s a dream piggy, Emma?” Mack asked.

“Well.” Emma set the sucker very carefully next to her on the sofa, then folded her hands in her lap. “You see, when you want something more than anything else in the whole wide world…that’s your dream. Me and Melissa and my mommy want to have our very own house, buy it, not rent it and everything, and fix it up real nice, and have enough bedrooms for everyone to have their very own, and we save all our pennies and stuff in our dream piggy, ’cause someday we’re going to have our dream. Our house. Get it?”

Mack nodded slowly. “Got it.”

“So!” Emma continued. “You could get a house, too, but you gotta have a dream piggy first so you have a place to put your pennies.”

“I’ll certainly give that some serious thought,” Mack said. “I appreciate your telling me about a dream piggy, Emma. I didn’t know such a thing existed.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “You didn’t? Wow. Well, now you know, so that’s okay.”

“Not everyone has the same dream, Emma,” Heather said. “Maybe Mack doesn’t want to own a house.”

“Buzzy doesn’t care if he has a house,” Melissa said. “His dream is to be the bestest baseball player in the whole wide world.”

“What’s your dream, Uncle Mack?” Emma said, gazing up at him.

“I, um, well, Emma, I…” Mack stopped speaking and sent a pleading look at Heather, who just smiled at him pleasantly. “I guess I don’t have a dream.”

Emma’s little hands flew to her cheeks. “You don’t? Oh, that’s terrible. That’s really, really terrible. My mommy says that dreams are ’portant, ’cause they’re magic, and they help you work harder and never give up no matter what, and…and stuff. Right, Mommy?”

“That’s right, Emma,” Heather said, smiling at her warmly.

Emma reached over and patted Mack on the knee, causing him to jerk in surprise.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Mack,” Emma said, “we’ll help you find a dream for yourself. Okay? We will. I promise. So don’t be sad that you don’t have a dream right now, ’cause we’re going to fix that. If it’s the kind of dream that needs pennies, we’ll need to get you a dream piggy, too.” She patted Mack’s knee again. “Just don’t be sad. Okay?”

A strange warmth along with a foreign achiness in his throat suffused Mack as he looked at Emma and saw the sincere concern on her little face. He nodded, not certain he was capable of speaking at that moment.

A loud knock sounded at the front door and again Mack jerked in surprise.

“Buzzy,” Heather, Melissa and Emma said in unison.

“Can I go play ball now, Mommy?” Melissa said. “Please?”

“Yes, you may,” Heather said. “You know the rules. You stay in our front yard, or Buzzy’s.”

“’Kay.” Melissa slid off the sofa, placed her sucker on the coffee table next to the pickle jar holding the flowers, then ran to the front door, flinging it open. “Hi, Buzzy. I’ll get my mitt. Guess what? We got a new uncle, who didn’t know we were here, but now he does, and he brought me the biggest sucker that was ever made.”

“Cool,” a voice said. “Can I have a lick of your sucker?”

“Maybe. I’ll be right back.”

Melissa ran across the room, down the hall, then returned moments later with an obviously very worn baseball mitt.

“Melissa,” Heather said as the little girl zoomed past her. “Say goodbye to Uncle Mack.”

“’Bye,” Melissa said, then left the house, yanking the door closed behind her.

Emma wiggled off the sofa and picked up her sucker. “I’m going to put this in a special safe place in my part of the bedroom, Mom. I’m keeping it forever, you know.”

Heather glanced quickly at the flowers. “Yes, Emma, I know.”

“’Bye, Uncle Mack,” Emma said. “Don’t forget now. We’re gonna help you find your dream.”

“I won’t forget,” Mack said, smiling at her. “And I thank you for that, Emma, I really do.”

“No-o-o-o problem,” Emma said, then left the room, cradling the sucker in her arms as though it were a baby doll. Mack took a deep breath and let it out slowly, puffing his cheeks and shaking his head.

“I’m exhausted,” he said, chuckling. “That was the most amazing conversation I’ve ever taken part in in my entire life.” He paused. “Heather, your daughters are wonderful, absolutely fantastic.”

“Thank you,” she said, dipping her head slightly. “I rather like them myself.”

“But how do you keep up with them? I mean, their minds never stop, and they’re so honest and real, just tell it like it is. They’re completely different, aren’t they? Even though they’re identical twins their personalities are like day and night.”

“Oh, yes,” Heather said, laughing. “Emma is very ladylike and tries to be so prim and proper all the time, and Melissa is my tomboy. They do keep me on my toes. I love them so much, Mack. I simply can’t imagine my life without them.”

“Mmm,” Mack said, nodding. “It would seem that I’m to have assistance in getting a dream for myself.”