Twin Power

Jessica Martin heard one of her daughters scream.

“Aaaah!” came the sound from downstairs, followed by a long moan, “Ohhhhh,” and then a thump. Jessica tried to stay focused on her computer screen: page 25 of 35, and still two more articles to edit after this one. She wasn't sure which daughter had yelled; but if it was serious, there would be more yelling, and the other twin would join in. Nobody ran up the stairs, so Jessica kept working.

“Mom!” yelled Tessa, the older twin. “Maaahhhmmmmm!” Jessica hit the Save icon, sighed, pushed the sliding keyboard under her desk, and stood up. It was only 9:15. The girls had been watching their movie for less than thirty minutes. Lunch was hours away.t

The screaming stopped as she walked down the stairs.

“What happened?” she asked, still on the stairs, before she could see them. “You know I’m working—”

She stopped in mid-sentence. In the living room, the twins were hugging each other. Their skin was frightfully white, except for the red splotches underneath the tears on Kelly’s face. The girls were backed up against the couch, feet and hands on the floor as if they’d crawled madly away from the wall, or perhaps from the dining room doorway. They weren’t looking at each other, or at Jessica, as they would have had there been a fight. Kelly was pointing at the beige-painted wall.

‘No blood, no horrible scary huge hairy bugs,’ thought Jessica. The mirror off to the left hung straight. She couldn’t see anything wrong.

Stooping down to put her face at their level, she put her hand on Kelly’s shoulder. She was gasping, not yet ready to speak.

“What happened, girls?” Jessica asked. “You look terrified. Who screamed?”

Kelly nodded twice, then took a deep breath and nodded a third time. Tessa spoke.

“Jilly lost their hand.”

Jessica's stomach clenched before she had a chance to think it through. Danger receptors in her brain erupted in warning as she ran through the Red Cross training checklist: choking, broken bones, deep cuts, fainting, breath stopped, eyes rolled back, eyes vacant. None of that. As her mind caught up with her vision, she realized that both of Kelly’s hands were fine. Jessica took Kelly’s fingers in her own much larger hands and kneeled on the floor.

“Well, whatever happened, her hand didn't actually disappear, Tessa,” she said. “It’s right there.”

Jessica paused for a moment, because Tessa had said Jilly, and Jilly could mean either child. It was their twin name for each other; the therapist had told her that it’s normal for twins to create a unique name they share, one that no other person can use. Up to this point, it had always meant the other twin, but there was nothing wrong with Kelly’s hands.

“What about you, Tess? Let me see your hands, honey.”

“Not me,” the older twin said. “It was Jilly.” She pointed at her sister. “Her hands just disappeared. Into the wall. Both of them.”

Kelly nodded.

“Which wall?” asked Jessica, then realized why the twins were glaring at the wall to the dining room.

“That one,” said Tessa, as Kelly pointed at it. “Her hands went right through it.”

Kelly  nodded again.

Jessica looked at the wall, then back at four unscathed hands. Kelly’s left fist clenched and unclenched. Tessa held onto her sister.

Jessica stood up. “Well, it looks okay now, kids,” she said. “No holes in the wall. I don’t think anything went through the wall. There would be a hole in it, right?”

Kelly shook her head angrily, her short curly hair bouncing. Curly Kelly and tall Tessa, born seventeen minutes apart, but Tessa was clearly the oldest, clearly the boss. Kelly was used to not being believed, and perhaps as a result, she occasionally made stories up; but Tessa, the leader, did not expect or accept opposition.

“No, Mom, it really happened,” argued Tessa. “Kelly put her hands on the wall and then the hands went right through it. She almost fell through the wall. Her hands just disappeared. We’re not making this up.”

“I didn’t say you were. But I don’t see any hole in the wall, so I have to think that means you're both mistaken. It was an illusion. Maybe a shadow? Something strange through the window, or on the TV?”

Jessica looked at the window, then at the TV. One of their favorite songs from Frozen was playing. Something serious had spooked them, or they would not be ignoring the song. She stood up.

“Let’s get up and get a snack or a drink.”

She tried to pull the twins up, but Kelly scooted farther away from the wall, the couch, and Jessica.

“It ate my hand,” she said in a whisper.

Jessica knocked on the wall. “See? It’s all normal. Hear it?” She knocked again.

“You can touch it for yourself.”

She waved them towards the wall with one hand, leaning on it with her other shoulder.

“See? I'm putting all my weight on it. It's solid.”

Both girls shook their head.

“It really happened, Mom,” said Tessa. “Jilly’s whole arm disappeared. I don't know how. Why won’t you believe us? We both saw it.”

“I believe that’s what you think you saw. That doesn’t mean that’s exactly what happened. Maybe we can figure it out while we have a snack.”

She led them through the dining room into the kitchen. Both girls kept a wide distance from the wall, looking at each other while holding hands.

“It’s okay, Jillybee,” said Tessa.

“No, it’s not,” said Kelly.

Jessica thought about her work waiting upstairs as she made the girls pizza bagels, the way they liked them--cheese and ketchup, no tomato sauce, no spices, melted on sesame bagels. It was too early for this much food, she thought, but the girls clearly weren’t ready to return to the living room with just cookies.

“You can eat in front of the TV if you want,” she said. That brightened them up a little.

“With soda, too?” pushed Tessa.

“No, with milk, as always.”

“Hmph.”

“It’s okay, Jilly,” said Kelly. “We’ll pretend it’s soda.” She carried both plates while Jessica carried the milk cups.

As they passed the wall, Tessa punched it.

“Stupid wall,” she said.

“See? It’s just a wall,” their mother said. “Nothing strange about it.”

Kelly reached out to touch Tessa on her arm.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“It’s okay,” said Tessa, punching the wall again, more lightly this time. As she did, her fist disappeared into the wall.

“Aaaah,” yelled Kelly, pulling Tessa back.

“Aaaah,” yelled Tessa.

Jessica dropped the milk on the floor. The plastic cups didn’t break, but the milk exploded in every direction. Tessa turned to Kelly and wrapped her twin in a hug. Both girls started crying. Their mother reached out to the wall. It was wet where some milk had hit it, but otherwise solid.

“It’s real, Mom,” said one twin. “We told you.”

“Did you see it this time, Mom?” asked the other.

“Uh-uh-ukk,” said Jessica. “Ukk. I mean, I don’t know what I saw. I thought I saw what you saw—but we all know that’s not possible.”

She took a deep breath.

“It was weird, though. Really weird. I’ll agree with that.”

“I want to call Daddy,” said Kelly.

Tessa hit her lightly on the shoulder.

“What?” asked Kelly. “I do.”

“We can’t call Daddy every day,” she said, looking at Jessica. “Mom doesn’t like us to.”

“I want to anyway.” Kelly looked at her mom. “I do. I’m scared.”

“I’m scared, too, sweetie,” said Jessica, “but we don’t need to call Daddy yet. Let’s try to figure this out first.”

Tessa nodded. “We’ll figure it out, Jilly, then we can tell Daddy when we see him.”

“Okay,” replied Kelly, “but if we don’t figure it out, I’m gonna call him.”

“I’m not sure there’s anything to figure out,” Jessica said, contradicting herself. “I mean, we’ll investigate. Collect the evidence, then we can decide if there’s a mystery or not.”

The girls nodded agreement. “But I’m not touching the wall again,” said Kelly.

Jessica hit the wall with her fist, first softly, then harder. She went up the wall as high as she could reach, then down again a few inches to either side.

“You can help me with this part, kids.”

“Uh uh,” said Kelly. “Not me.”

As Jessica kept tapping, she added sounds, and varied her taps to make it more interesting. Finally Tessa tapped lightly; when nothing strange happened, she kept doing it. Together, mother and daughter coursed all over the wall, drumming, and occasionally hitting the doorway trim for a different sound. Finally, Kelly, too, reached out to the wall, with just one finger, and tapped it. When her finger didn’t disappear, she tapped some more, then added a second finger. Seconds later, all three of them were tapping and punching the wall, and the girls started singing a little song, alternating lines as they made them up.

“Dumb wall, stupid wall, tried to hurt my hand wall,” sang Kelly.

“Dumb wall, ugly wall, tried to take Jilly’s hand wall,” sang Tessa.

“Ugly?” their mother asked. “I thought you liked this color. We all picked it together.”

“It’s just a song, Mom,” said Tessa.

“Yeah, Mom, just a song,” said Kelly, rolling her eyes while putting her left hand on Jessica's back and her right hand on Tessa’s neck. As she did that, Tessa’s hand went right through the wall, halfway to the elbow. Kelly pulled back from Tessa in shock; Tessa pulled back from the wall, as both girls screamed again.

“That’s not possible,” Jessica said, touching the solid wall once more.

“Get us out of here!” yelled Tessa, backing all the way up to the far wall of the dining room.

Kelly hung onto her mother's arm. “What is it?” she asked softly, her eyes wide, staring at the wall. “What is happening?”

“First you, then Tessa,” Jessica said, shaking her head while rubbing the surface of the wall. “Tessa twice. Can you try it again?”

“Nope.” Kelly shook her curly hair.

“Tessa?”

“Why?”

“I’m trying to figure this out. The odd thing is, it kind of looked like it didn’t happen until Kelly put her arm on you. Were you touching her when you saw her arm disappear the first time? Or was she touching you?”

The girls looked at each other. They seemed to reach a conclusion by looking at each other, without speaking; both nodded at the same time.

“Maybe,” said Kelly.

“Can we try it again?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t you want to know why it’s happening? You don't want to be surprised or scared if it happens again. You’ll feel better if you understand it.”

“What is there to understand? The wall is bad. It’s magic, and not good magic. We need to move,” said Tessa. No fright, just certainty, thought Jessica. Problem solved. Conclusion reached. Moving on. Tall Tessa, oldest Tessa, totally certain, righteous Tessa.

Kelly grinned. “I don’t know, Jilly. Maybe it’s not the wall. Maybe it’s twin power.”

“Twin power’s not real. We made that up.”

Kelly’s face fell. “Then what is it?”

“I think we’d all feel better if we tried some experiments,” said Jessica. “Like in school. Collect the data.” The girls hesitated, again looking at each other. “Besides, I don’t want to move. Are you going to spend every day afraid of the wall? Just one little experiment. We can try to understand what’s happening.”

Kelly walked up to Tessa.

“I will if you will,” she said, reversing the normal power order. She reached out to their sister, who was still leaning against the back wall. Tessa took Kelly’s hand, then used her right hand to push off from the back wall.

The right hand disappeared and both girls fell towards the wall.

“Girls!” their mother screamed, as more of Tessa disappeared, her shoulder and then her head; and as she fell forward, Kelly’s supporting hand disappeared, too. Jessica rushed the few steps forward to grab them both.

As she reached Kelly, the younger twin was already pulling back into the room.

“Don’t let go of your sister,” Jessica yelled, but she had already let go. “Quick, pull her back.”

They each grabbed one of Tessa’s legs and pulled hard.

“Ouch, Mom! Owww,” yelled Tessa, barely heard, with her head still out of sight.

“Oh my God, it’s got her,” Jessica screamed.

“Stop, Mom,” Tessa yelled. “Let go of me.”

“No, I can’t, I’ll lose you,” Jessica sobbed, pulling harder as Tessa's head came back into view.

Kelly hung onto both of Tessa’s legs and put her head down on them.

“Are you okay, Jilly?” she asked.

“I’m fine, Kelly,” said Tessa, out of breath. “Mom, geez, you almost pulled my legs off.”

“I had to, sweetie, I had to. We’re getting out of here. You were almost stuck in that wall.”

“No, Mom, I wasn’t. I wasn’t in the wall.”

Both Kelly and Jessica looked up at Tessa.

“Yes, you were,” insisted Jessica. “I saw it. We pulled you back. I was afraid you’d disappear forever, that you’d gotten stuck when Kelly let go of you.”

“I was in the back yard, Mom. I wasn’t in the wall; I went right through the wall. So did Jilly’s arm. It was kind of neat; like seeing through walls--except not really, I guess, because I had to go through the wall to see through the wall. And I couldn’t see you anymore. So it wasn't see-through, it was more like—never mind. It doesn’t matter. I was fine.”

She frowned at her mother. “And it didn’t hurt until you dragged me across the floor.”

Jessica gathered her daughter in her arms, kneeling. “I’m sorry, sweetie.” They put their heads together in a hug.

“It’s okay, Mom,” she said. “But now I can’t breathe. You’re squishing me.”

“Be nice, Jilly,” said Kelly. “Mom’s worried about you.”

“I’m worried about all of us,” said Jessica. “And this house. What is happening?”

“I told you,” said Kelly, beaming. “It’s twin power.”

Tessa slowly nodded. “I think she’s right.”

“There’s no such thing,” said Jessica.

“You’ve always said that we have twin power,” pouted Kelly. “You can’t change your mind now. Especially since we just proved it.”

“Let’s continue the experiment,” said Tessa. “Now that we know what’s happening.”

“In what possible way do we know what’s happening?” asked Jessica, almost shouting.

“When we touch, we go through the wall to the other side,” said Tessa, as if this should have been obvious. Kelly nodded.

“What if you get stuck in the wall?”

“How? I went right through it. There was nothing to get stuck in.”

“If your sister let go of you—if it’s really what you think it is, then letting go would end whatever's happening and leave you trapped. We can't risk that. We've got to move.”

“But I did let go of her,” said Kelly. “Not on purpose, but I did. I was falling, and then when I landed on the floor, I used my hands to get up. I let go, and she wasn’t stuck.”

Thinking back, still trying to slow down her breathing, Jessica decided that her daughter was right. “Still, I don’t want to try it again. I don’t want to risk it.”

“So you don’t want to know how it works? You want us to be surprised and scared by it next time?” said Tessa, with a smug smile. Kelly smiled, too; they knew they had their mom, trapped by her own words, long before she realized how she'd set herself up.

“I just don’t see why we have to keep playing with things we don’t understand. Someone could get hurt.”

“So we’re going to move?” asked Tessa.

“You said you don’t want to move,” said Kelly.

“The wall isn’t that ugly, anyway. I want to stay here.”

“Me, too.”

Jessica looked back and forth at each of the girls. They all sat in silence for some time. The girls had gone from terrified to excited, while their mother had the opposite reaction. The twins sat next to each other, shoulders touching, almost occupying the same space.

“Let’s do it, Mom,” said Tessa.

Kelly nodded.

“Okay, girls,” Jessica finally agreed. “But after we clean up this mess, and after you eat your bagels. Then we’ll do it, but we have to be careful.”

The twins picked up their pizza bagels, then asked for new ones because dirt had gotten on the first batch. Jessica cleaned up the milk while the bagels were cooking. The girls huddled together, whispering and giggling, as excited as they’d been on Christmas morning. Jessica decided to eat in the kitchen this time. Best to avoid the dining room wall for a few minutes. Occasionally, one of the girls would pretend to poke at the wall, watching their mother for a reaction. After she jumped twice and yelled once, they grew bored with teasing her.

“You’re like a toy, Mom,” said Kelly.

“Yeah,” said Tessa, finishing her sister’s thought. “We point, you jump. You’re a robot.”

Jessica shook her head.

“You’ll do whatever we say,” said Kelly. “I command you, robot: stand on your head!”

Jessica looked at Kelly, smiling.

“Bad robot,” she muttered.

All three of them headed back into the living room to start the experiment.

“Try this wall?” Jessica asked, pointing.

“I don’t think it matters,” said Tessa.

“This wall,” said Kelly, pointing to a different wall, the door to the side yard.

“Let’s stick with an inside wall first,” said their mom. “So I can watch both sides. And so the neighbors don’t see your head going through the wall, if it really works.”

“It’ll work,” said Tessa.

Kelly nodded. “It’s twin power.”

“You first?” asked Tessa.

Kelly shook her head. “Will you go first, Jilly?”

Tessa nodded and stepped to the wall. Jessica stood in the doorway, facing the wall, able to see both the dining room and the living room. Kelly reached her hand out to Tessa’s back and pushed a little. Tessa put her hand on the wall. Then she pushed harder on the wall, and finally punched the wall. She looked back at Kelly, total despair on her face.

“It doesn’t work,” she whispered. “We waited too long.”

“Wait,” their mom said. “Kelly, touch your sister on her skin. Her neck, like you did before; or on her hand or arm.”

They looked at each other, then did as she suggested. Tessa’s left hand went right through the wall. Jessica had a brief moment of vertigo, seeing most of her daughter in one room, and a different, disconnected piece in another room. Then she acknowledged that it was all the same body, not disconnected at all; she could see Tessa's hand in the living room, the left side of her view, and her elbow on the right side, still in the dining room. A few inches of her forearm was in the wall. There was nothing disconnected. As long as Jessica didn’t think of it as two separate pieces of Tessa, as any kind of a weird dimensional thing, it was okay; the wall just blocked her view of Tessa's forearm. She took a deep breath.

“Wiggle your fingers, Tess,” she said.

Tessa did.

“Pull your hand back and forth a little.”

Tessa did, and Jessica's vertigo didn’t come back: it was clearly still Tessa's arm, just as if there was a hole in the wall.

“You’re definitely going right through the wall,” Jessica said.

“I want to see,” said Kelly, letting go of Tessa and walking towards Jessica.

“Wait!” her mom yelled. “Don’t let go—”

It was too late. Kelly stood by Jessica, and Tessa’s arm was still in the wall. Tessa smiled back at Jessica and Kelly.

“Are you stuck at all?” Jessica asked.

“Nope. It’s no different.” Tessa wiggled her hand, then pulled her arm back and forth, and raised it up and down. “Now I want to see, too,” she said.

“See what? You mean, change places with Kelly so she’s the one in the wall?”

“Nope.”

Tessa grinned and stuck her head into the wall. First her hair, then her forehead, then her whole face came through into the living room. Jessica screamed, then took a deep breath and let out a big exhalation, shaking her head.

“That’s cool,” said Kelly, watching.

“It’s scary,” said Jessica. “I wish you had asked me before you tried that.”

Tessa stepped through the wall into the living room. She turned to go back, but without Kelly’s hand on her skin, the wall was solid again.

“My turn,” said Kelly. She joined Tessa in the living room, tried to put her hand through the wall, then looked at Tessa when the wall stayed solid. Tessa took Kelly’s hand, and Kelly put her head through the wall, turned it right to look at her mother, then walked right through it. Tessa didn’t let go, and once Tessa’s hand reached the wall, still holding onto Kelly, Tessa, too, was able to step right through the wall. Both girls stood in the dining room, hugged hard, and laughed. They turned back and did it again, holding hands.

“This is not a good thing,” said Jessica.

“Why not?” asked Kelly. “It’s kinda fun.”

“It's not normal.”

“We're twins. We have twin power. We're not supposed to be normal.”

“I can’t imagine what trouble you girls could get into like this. I’ll never know where you are. No more privacy.”

“We’ll be great at hide-and-seek.”

“I’m thinking the opposite—that maybe no more hide-and-seek. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“You meanie,” said Tessa, laughing.

The experiment continued. They proved quickly that it required skin contact. The girls couldn’t pass their mother through a wall, no matter how they touched her, even with all of them holding hands. They couldn’t lead with a foot at first; they thought this meant it only worked with a hand or a head, until Kelly took off her socks and proved that a foot was just as good as a hand, as long as they led with skin while touching the other twin’s skin. Once a twin started to pass through the wall, the other could let go; whatever made the wall insubstantial, or made the twin insubstantial, stayed in effect. Jessica could touch her girls on either side of the wall, holding their hands while their bodies were in the wall, so they remained whole, at least to Jessica; either it was the wall that was disappearing, or just the part of the twin that was in the wall.

It worked as well for outside walls, and that started another round of giggling and game playing as the girls raced in and out of the house without using the doors. Jessica made them do those tests in the back yard, so there was less chance of being seen by the neighbors. Still, they were loud enough that they would draw attention, so she soon made them stop. That took a couple of attempts because they kept switching from inside to outside, pretending that they couldn’t hear her. She chased them, taking the long way around through the back door, before they took pity on her and stopped long enough to ‘hear’ her.

“You want us to stop?” asked Tessa.

“Why didn’t you say so?” said Kelly. “We can’t hear you when we’re outside and you’re inside. Silly Mommy.”

The last piece of the experiment they did on their own, disappearing together into the bathroom without opening the door.

“Oh, no,” Jessica said. “No more bathroom privacy?”

“What’s the bathroom rule?” asked Kelly. “Don’t you remember your own rules, Mom?”

Tessa answered first. “Isn’t it supposed to be Knock and Lock, Jilly? Knock before opening the door, and lock it when you’re in there?”

Kelly nodded, looking stern. “Yes, that’s right, sister. Did you break the rule?”

“I didn’t,” said Tessa. “I knocked, and my hand went right through, because you were touching me. And I did lock. See?” They turned to their mother and proved that the bathroom, now unoccupied, was still locked.

“Oh, no,” Jessica said. “That’s even worse. You can get in and out, and I can’t.”

The girls broke into hysterical laughter, finally rolling on the floor.

Eventually, Jessica said, “We’re going to have to call your father.”

That stopped the girls cold. They weren’t used to hearing that from Jessica.

“Why?”

“I think he needs to know about this. It’s kind of a family meeting sort of thing.”

“Oh, no, not a family meeting,” said Kelly.

“I thought you wanted me and your father to talk more.”

“But not a family meeting,” said Tessa. “That’s one of the good things about the divorce: no more family meetings.”

“What are the other good things?”

The girls looked at each other, then turned away without answering.

“Can we watch TV?” they asked together.

Jessica called her ex while the twins finished their movie. After getting an agreement from the girls that they wouldn’t play with walls, she went upstairs to continue working. After just a few minutes, she realized she couldn’t concentrate, and brought her laptop downstairs. Better to have the annoying TV noise than the worried voices in her head.

Keith came over after work. Jessica offered him dinner, and was glad when he said no.

The girls showed him what they called their trick. He thought it really was a trick at first and was impressed. He got less impressed when he realized there was no trick. The whole family agreed that the girls would not show the trick to anyone else, and would be careful about touching each other’s skin in public. With no school for another month, and only one babysitter, the Martins held some hope that they could keep it under wraps until they learned more.

Jessica walked Keith out to his car. The girls were perfectly happy to stay inside, in front of the TV, after hugging their dad good-bye.

“What are you going to do?” he asked from inside his car, with the window down.

“Me? Don’t you mean us? What are WE going to do?”

Keith frowned. “I’m not trying to fight,” he said. “I was just asking.”

“Sorry,” she replied. “You’re right.” She paused. “I thought maybe we’d go to the clinic. Look at the records.”

The girls didn’t know about the clinic. The Martins hadn't gotten around to explaining that bit of history while they were married, and they felt even less need to explain since the divorce. The girls thought Keith was their father; legally, he was, on their birth certificates. Jessica was conflicted about splitting up the family anyway, and did not want to take away another piece of what the girls trusted in, and believed.

The Martins chose the clinic when Jessica couldn't get pregnant. Tests showed that Keith was the problem, so they selected an anonymous donor, based on the reports and profiles presented by the clinic. The donor was tall, like Keith, with roughly his coloring, a good college degree, and a career in the performing arts. They'd wondered if the career, combined with the donor's single status, suggested that he was gay, but that information was not available and didn't matter. Jessica's eggs were fertilized in the clinic with washed and tested sperm from the donor. Three eggs were implanted. Two attached, and both survived: Tessa and the Kelly.

He nodded. “Do you want me to go with you?”

Jessica found it hard to control her response. Of course she wanted him to go with her. That’s why she had called him. Holding her tongue, she thought that perhaps her intent hadn't been obvious.

“Yes, I would like that,” Jessica said finally. “We should go together. You’re their Dad.”

“Yeah, I am. I know that. That’s not why I asked. I just thought—you and I don’t always work well together in public. It might be easier for you if I’m not there.”

“No. I mean, I understand. Thank you. But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to go together.”

“Okay. When?”

“Tomorrow? We won’t make an appointment; we’re just going in to look at the records, to see if there's anything odd that we missed. Then try to contact the donor, maybe.”

“What do you hope to find? This can't be genetic.”

“It can't be anything, Keith. You're the engineer. Is this a quantum thing, the way they're always talking about matter being waves? I don't understand it, and the donor is the first obvious place to look.”

“I'm a software programmer, Jess. This only makes sense to me if it's happening in a video game. Things like this don’t happen in the real world.”

They both paused for some seconds. If these things didn’t happen in the real world, if Keith only saw such things in video games, then where were they all living?

“Do you have a better idea?” asked Jessica.

“Than quantum waves? Because of the donor, and them being twins? No. That doesn't make any sense, but nothing else does, either.”

"Then let's start there.”

“Okay. Tell me when. I’ll meet you.”

The clinic looked different to Jessica: a bright sign outside, nice furniture in the lobby instead of the metal chairs she remembered, a glassed-in reception area, two hallways instead of one. A large fish tank, and a flat screen TV on the wall. A big sign outside and a smaller one inside, both saying Unity Care. Fertility clinics are a booming business, she thought. But what’s with the name?

She didn’t recognize the receptionist. They gave their names.

“So what can we do for you, Mr. and Mrs. Martin?”

Keith looked at Jessica, letting her lead. Same old Keith, she thought.

“We’ve been noticing some things with the girls, perhaps because they’re approaching puberty, and wanted to take a look at the donor records. We’re just trying to collect all the information we can.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You lost your records? We have a charge for replacing them. It will take about ten days. We can send them to you.”

Keith looked at Jessica in surprise. “I have my copy if you lost yours, Jess,” he said.

“I didn’t lose it,” she said to him. She turned back to the receptionist.

“No, we’re not looking for replacement records. We have those. I’m just looking for any other information you have. Details we might have missed.”

The receptionist took a minute to enter some data on her keyboard and look at her computer screen. “We gave you everything, Mrs. Martin. We don’t have any more information. Is there a problem? A medical problem we should know about? You know you’re supposed to tell us about any problems, so we can notify other parents who used the same donor.”

“No, no problem,” Keith said. “We just want to see everything that you have.”

“The records you have are all that we have,” she said. “I can get you another copy if that makes you feel better.”

Jessica shook her head and started to answer, but Keith interrupted. “Yes, please, let’s do that.” He handed her his credit card.

“Is the address still the same?”

“Yes,” Keith answered quickly, nodding briefly to Jessica, who had not moved since the girls were born. “You said there are other children from the same donor?”

The receptionist looked at the screen again. “Yes, indeed. That’s pretty common, you know. When we get a good donor, he tends to be selected by more than one family.”

“So the kids have what, step-siblings?” Jessica asked.

“It’s really up to you whether you want to think of it that way. We don’t use labels like that.”

“How many?” asked Keith. “Are we allowed to know?”

“Oh, definitely. It’s important to some people to know. There’s a set of twins—actually, I see that you have twins, also, so that makes two sets of twins, that's also not uncommon—and two other girls, sisters. Their mother had one, then two years later, had the second. She wanted them to share the same father. That’s pretty common, too. In fact, maybe they could also be considered twins, even though they were born two years apart, since they’re from the same donor batch.”

“Are the other twins girls?” Jessica asked.

“Yes. Isn’t that sweet? All six from this donor are girls.”

‘Sweet,’ Jessica thought. It didn’t seem so sweet to her. She could see the same thought on Keith’s face.

The receptionist continued. “But remember, that’s only here, at our clinic, and our sister site across the valley. The donor might very well have other children through other banks.”

“Why would he go elsewhere?” Keith asked.

“Well, I don’t know,” she said. “But it happens often, I hear. Once someone decides to be a donor, and passes the testing, they often want to do it several times. Some do it for the money, though it isn’t much; others, just because they like to think of future generations and, for whatever reason, don’t have a family of their own. Some donors might even go on to have families of their own later. Since it’s all anonymous, we don't know if your donor visited other clinics here, or anywhere else.

“Now, are you sure there isn’t anything you should report, that the other parents need to know?”

“We're sure,” said Jessica. “Would it be possible to contact the other parents, to compare experiences?”

The receptionist looked at them suspiciously. “Why, if there’s no medical problem? But no, in any case; we can’t give their information to you. If you want, you can initiate a request for contact; we'll pass that request to them, and if they want to contact you, they will. It’s entirely up to them. Just like no one can contact you—even your donor—without your permission, you can’t contact the other parents. Do you want to make that request?”

“No. Not yet, anyway. But one more question: Can we get in touch with the donor, perhaps start a dialogue with him?”

“Some donors allow that, as I'm sure you know, Mrs. Martin. That's usually part of the selection process. Didn't you consider that when you chose the donor?”

“We did,” interrupted Keith. “It wasn't important to us then. We're just not sure what the rules are now. Could you look it up for us, please?”

She looked at her screen, scrolled down, and read a little more. "No, I'm sorry. By his request—and I see that you signed off on it, let's see, that was in 2012—he can only be contacted by the children, when they're of age. At that time, it will be up to him whether he chooses to respond. We can't give out his contact information directly to the children, even when they're old enough; what we can do is send a message to the donor, and he’ll decide whether to answer.” She read a little bit more. “Although—”

“Yes?” Jessica prompted. “Is there another way?”

“Actually, no.”

“It seemed like you were about to say something more.”

“Yes. Just nothing that will help. It seems that our contact information for your donor is no longer accurate. We don't have a way to reach him, in any case.”

The Martins looked at each other. Jessica took Keith’s hand; when he looked at their hands, then back at her, she pulled back.

“We'll never be able to find him?”

“Not necessarily. The donor might not know the information we have is old, and he could eventually notify us with his current details. The girls have a few years still. He has other recipient children; he might call us, to make sure he's available as they get older.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Well, not that I know of. I mean, I haven't seen it happen—but a lot of donor children are still under age, and not all that many donors agree to be contacted anyway. He probably doesn't know that we lost track of him.”

“Oh.”

“Can you add a note to his file,” Keith asked, “to notify us if anything changes? Or just to let him know that we asked?”

“I think that would be all right,” she said. “It would really help if I knew why you were asking. Are you sure there's nothing medically wrong with the children?”

“Don't you think we would know if there was?” Jessica snapped. The Martins left as the receptionist put her head down and went back to her work.

Out in the parking lot, again standing by Keith's car, Jessica clenched her fist in frustration. “We didn't learn anything.”

“No. There wasn't anything to learn.”

“Why did you pay for a copy of the records? I said I have them.”

“It doesn't hurt to have another set. Maybe there will be a page we don't have.”

“She said there isn't any more.”

Keith looked at her and sighed. “I'd rather pay a little fee than wonder.”

“You had them sent to my house.”

“They don't know we're divorced. I figured you would tell them, if you wanted to.” The two parents looked at each other for a long moment.

“I’m sorry, Keith. I guess I’m just tense, about everything. Thanks for coming with me.”

“Sure. What are you going to do next? About their trick? It's kind of scary.”

“Why is it always up to me to decide what to do next?”

Keith opened his car door. “I’m not trying to start a fight. Let me know if you need me.”

“Don't you care what happens to our daughters?”

Keith closed the door without getting in. "Of course I care. I've always cared. I just don't have a good way of working together with you. The girls and I do fine when we're on our own. Family decisions—things that you care about—I leave those up to you.”

“You always did. We both work, but I'm supposed to make all the decisions: food, clothes, rules, sleepovers. Was it because we used a donor? Do you not feel responsible for your children?”

“Of course I feel responsible. I don't remember asking you to take over all the cooking and chores—”

“I don't remember offering,” interrupted Jessica.

“Then it just sort of happened that way. It has nothing to do with the donor. They're my girls, in every way that matters. I learned to stay away from you, rather than to argue. I guess that's just my style. I'm sorry.”

“I hear you cook for them at your house. When did you learn to cook?”

Keith looked surprised, then shook his head and opened the door again. “I've always known how to cook, Jess. We used to share cooking, before the girls. You know that.” He got into the car.

Jessica put her hand on the car door. “I know. I'm sorry, too. I was surprised when I started hearing about the time you spend with them now: cooking, buying them clothes, taking them places. You didn't seem to be around as much when we were together.”

“I know. Maybe I couldn't figure out how to fit in, how to raise them the way you wanted. I'm liking it a lot now.”

“That's because you only have them part-time.”

“I'd be happy to take them more. This is the way you suggested.”

“Yes.” She paused. “When is your girlfriend going to move in?” It had not taken Keith long to find a girlfriend, or to introduce the younger woman to the twins.

“No plans. Not for a long time, I think.”

“Why not? Doesn't she like the girls? I think they like her.”

“She likes them fine. She likes them a lot. I don't want her moving in. I don't want to fade away again, like I did with you. I enjoy being the parent, on my nights. I'm afraid I would fade into the background if somebody else was there.”

“Oh.”

“We do still trigger each other, Jess. Or at least, I trigger you.”

“It's okay. We both want what's best for the girls. I miss them on your nights, but this is better for all of us.”

“Yeah. That's true. But this twin power thing is going to get complicated for everyone. At least in public.”

“Yes. Though it's not really twin power.”

“Do you have a better name for it?”

“No. And I'm scared. I don't want them getting in trouble. I don't want other kids thinking they're freaks. I hope it goes away.”

"I do, too.”

Jessica closed his door as her phone rang. “I'll let you know if anything changes.”

“Thank you.”

The phone call was from Tessa. The phone stopped ringing before she answered it. She got in her car and started to call Tessa back, but the phone rang again first.

“Hi Sweetie, what's up? Two calls in a row—”

“Mom, come home right away. We need you. Fast.”

She switched her phone to speaker and started the car, backing out quickly. "What's wrong, Tess? Are you hurt?”

“It's Jilly. She's locked in the shed.”

“Is she hurt?”

“No. I don't think so. You have to hurry.”

“Why? If she's not hurt.”

“Cause she's crying and scared. She says it's dark.”

“How did she get in there, anyway? Wasn’t it locked?”

Tessa didn't answer. After a moment, Jessica said, “Oh, no. You didn’t.”

“I didn't do anything,” said Tessa.

“Was it the twin power?” asked Jessica.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn't you go in with her?”

“I tried. That was the plan. But I fell. Now I can't get in, and she can't get out.”

“Take the phone to her,” said Jessica.

“I can't, Mom. Aren't you listening? She's locked in and I can't get her out.”

“I know that, Tess. Just take the phone out to the shed, so I can talk to her.”

“Why don't you just come home, Mom? This is important.”

“I know it is, dear. I'm coming home. I'm driving right now, as fast as I can. I'll be there in about thirty minutes. I just want to talk to your sister for now.”

“Okay.”

Jessica waited. She cut off one car, then switched to the right lane to pass a slow driver. She never drove like that, but was glad to see her minivan handle the acceleration. Once back in the left lane, she slowed down a touch; a speeding stop, even though she could probably talk her way out of it, wouldn't get her home any faster.

Tessa came back on the phone. “I'm there, Mom. I can't hear anything. Hey Jilly, Mom's here, on the phone. You can talk to her.”

Jessica heard some light pounding sounds. “C'mon, Kelly, answer. You're on speaker phone, Mom can hear you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let go. It was an accident. Please say something.”

“What's going on, Tessa? Why won't she answer?”

“I think she's mad at me.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“Nothing. She just thinks I fell on purpose, and left her in the dark. I didn't, Mom, honest.”

“I believe you, Tess. Now put the phone right up to the shed wall, please.” Jessica waited a moment, then raised her voice and bellowed into the phone. “Kelly, it's Mommy. I'm here. Say something, honey. Are you okay?”

She heard nothing.

“Are you sure she's in there, Tessa?”

“Um, what do you mean? Where else would she be?”

“If she's not answering, how do you know she's in there? Maybe she’s disappeared much farther away. Maybe you need to break the door down.”

Jessica heard mumbling.

“What was that?”

“She said she's there, Mom,” said Tessa.

“That's good,” said Jessica, letting go of the breath she hadn't known she was holding. She looked at the speedometer and realized it had crept up again. “C'mon, Kelly, talk to me. Are you okay?”

There was no answer.

“Are you scared, honey?”

“Yes,” Jessica heard softly.

“She said yes,” said Tessa.

“I hate her,” Jessica thought she heard.

“What did she say, Tessa?” barked Jessica.

“I HATE her,” shouted Kelly, clearly this time.

“No, you don't, sweetie. You're just scared. She didn't do it on purpose.”

“Yes, she did.”

“I did not. I didn't, Mom. She's just saying that.”

“It's okay, Tessie. I know. She's scared. Let's worry about her right now, not about what you did.”

“I didn't do anything, Mom!” yelled Tessa.

“Tessa, stop it right now. We're all worried. You're scared, Kelly is scared. You need to stop thinking about you and start thinking about your sister. She's the one stuck in the shed. You stay out of it. Please.”

“Fine,” said Tessa. “Be that way.”

“Now Kelly,” said her mom. “Can you see anything at all? Are you able to sit?” She paused. “Kelly, talk to me, please.”

“She can't hear you,” said Tessa.

“Why not?”

“She’s in the shed. I’m in the house.”

“What? Why are you inside?”

“You told me to stay out of it.”

“Tessa Martin, you get out there right now and make sure your sister can talk to me. You hear me?”

“Yes. Yeesh.” Then she mumbled, soft enough that Jessica could pretend not to hear, “Make up your mind.” A moment later, she added, “Okay, the phone is next to the shed. You can talk to her now.”

“Kelly, can you hear me now?” There was no answer. “Kelly, sweetie, please, it's Mommy. Talk to me.”

After more silence, Jessica said, "Tessa, can you get her to talk?” Again, there was no response.

“Tessa?”

“My God,” she muttered under her breath. “Tessa, are you there?”

After a few seconds, she spoke forcefully. “Tessa, can you hear me?”

Then, “Kelly, can you hear me?”

Finally, she sighed. “Kelly, I'm going to hang up now, unless you say something. I'll be home soon. Please talk to me.” There was no answer, and after another minute of silence, Jessica hung up.

When she got home, she flung herself out of the car, then hesitated. Through the house to get Tessa, or straight out back to the shed? Kelly needed her. But Tessa had walked away from the phone, and from her sister. Jessica chose the house.

She tried to slam the door forcefully as she entered, but it had a mechanical door-closer and couldn't be rushed. Tessa was on the floor watching TV.

“Get outside with your sister, now. No more TV. You are in hot water.” Tessa started to protest, but Jessica ran through the house and out the back door.

“Honey, are you all right?” she called, as she looked through her purse for the shed key. She found it before Kelly answered, and unlocked the shed. Afternoon sunlight illuminated the shed as she opened the door. Her daughter was curled in a ball on the floor, her hands over her face. Jessica couldn't get to her right away, with the lawn mower, rake, and a pile of bikes in the way: the girls' current bicycles, and the ones they'd outgrown. Kelly was near the back, a shelf of garden and bug sprays above her, an old canvas lounge chair, and assorted snow shovels and garden tools next to her. Somehow she’d cleared a space just big enough to lie down.

“Kelly, I'm coming, honey, I'm here. Look at me, please.”

From behind her hands, Kelly said softly, “I don't want to see.”

Jessica looked at the ceiling, saw the spiderwebs, and yanked the remaining bicycles out of the way. “That's okay, honey, you don't need to look. I understand. I'll carry you.” She tried to get her arms around her daughter, but the shed was too tight. "Honey, can you stand up, and I'll help you out? You can keep your eyes closed." Jessica moved the rake out of the way as Kelly slowly stood up.

“There you go, dear. Here you are. Here I am.” Kelly stepped into the sunlight, covered in dust, dirt from a broken bag of topsoil, and white powder that Jessica could not identify. Jessica brushed the worst of it and wrapped her arms around the girl. She turned, and Tessa was there.

“I can't believe you left your sister like this,” said Jessica.

“You told me to stay out of it,” said Tessa. Then she reached her hand up to touch Kelly, who pulled away.

“Don't touch me.”

“I'm sorry, Jilly. I really am. I didn't want to trap you there.”

“I hate twin power,” said Kelly. “I hate you.”

“Let's get you cleaned up,” said Jessica. Looking at Tessa, she added, “While I clean her up, you make her a nice snack.”

“What kind?” asked Tessa, surprised.

Jessica glared at her. “Figure it out. Have it ready by the time we come back down.” As she headed up the stairs, carrying a crying Kelly, Jessica added, “And that TV stays off.”

“I know.”

Jessica undressed Kelly, who gradually started to help. Together, they went into the bathroom, where Jessica started the shower and brushed her fingers through Kelly’s curly hair. Kelly finally looked at her face in the mirror and shuddered.

“Were there bugs in there?” she asked.

“No bugs, sweetie,” lied Jessica.

“But these are spiderwebs,” said Kelly, brushing some off the ends of her hair. “Yuck. Gross. I hate this.”

“Must have been from old spiders.”

After the shower, Jessica dried Kelly’s hair and told her to put on pajamas. “You can wear pajamas for dinner, dear. And if you want to walk up the street for ice cream, you can go out in pajamas, too. Just this one time.”

Kelly looked surprised, then smiled. “Jilly, too?”

Jessica looked at her daughter, uncertain. “I don't know. Do you want her to?”

“Yes, Mom. She'll like that.”

Jessica shook her head at the mystery of twins. “Okay. You tell her.”

“Jilly!” yelled Kelly, as she ran down the stairs. “We're wearing pajamas for dinner. Then we're getting ice cream, and wearing pajamas to the ice cream store!”

Chapter 2 is coming