This is the part of the sequel to Two Mothers, Twin Daughters I am working on. Don't forget the contest closes at Christmas, but free ebooks will still be available if you have Kindle.
Marita dropped the yarn and sock back into the mending basket and reached for the photograph Emily was studying. Emily handed the picture to her mother but her eyes widened when she saw the stricken look on Marita's face.
Oh, if only something…anything would happen to disrupt this conversation
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“Mummy,” Emily sounded troubled so Marita looked up from the sock she was mending. “When did you allow me to wear my bangs cut and my hair in curls?”
“Oh, Alice, my little Alice,” Marita moaned as tears sprung to her eyes.
Emily was shocked to see her mother kiss the picture repeatedly. After staring at her for an instant she whirled out the door.
“Daddy!”She shrieked as she flew across the freshly fallen snow.
Randall ambled slowly towards his daughter. He was used to her excitability.
“Daddy!” she shrieked again, “Come quickly! Something happened to Mummy!
“Emily, where are your boots?” Without slackening his stride,
he scooped her up into his arms and strolled through the wide open door.
Randall was startled by his wife's expression. “Marita, are you alright?”
Marita smiled at him, her face radiant in spite of the tears.
“Oh, honey, do you know who this is,” she asked, showing him the picture.
“Em—No. No! This is Alice! Our Alice! Where did you get this?”
Without waiting for an answer, he continued; “ They're identical! They really are! Except for the fancy ringlets on this little girl's head, and,” he glanced mischievously as Emily, “this one's eyes are so huge!”
“Do you know that girl?” Emily asked.
Marita hesitated; “I saw her as a baby,” she replied.
“How come she looks so…. terribly… much like me?”
. I’m not ready for it!… Will I ever be?
Marita swallowed the lump in her throat and knelt beside the child. She cupped the solemn little face with gentle hands. “She looks so much like you, honey because she’s your twin.”
“My twin? My very own twin?” Tears of understanding slowly filled Emily’s eyes. “I always wanted a sister. Now I have one and she’s far away.” She turned away and looked unseeingly out the window. Slowly, strange new questions came to her mind. But why is she gone? Why doesn’t she live with us if she’s my sister? How come I don’t remember her? Will they send me away, to? Out loud she announced, “I’m going to write my twin and tell her I love her.”
Was there a hint of defiance in that voice, or a quiver of loneliness?
“Not right now, dear. It’s time to set the table for supper.”
As Emily carried the stack of plates to the table, her lovely blue eyes were round and sad. “Why didn’t you tell me I had a twinnie?”
Marita studied her expression, “Because you were too little to understand.”
“But why isn’t she here with me? I want to play with her. I want her to sleep in my bed.”
Marita's eyes pleaded with her husband to help. Surely he would know what to say.
“We’ll get her as soon as possible,” he said tickling her nose with the end of her braid.
Emily didn't smile. The plates made a quiet thud-thud sound as they were placed on the table. When she was done, she stood looking out at the cloudy sky.
“Where is ‘Swizzerland’ Mummy?” she asked. “Is it very far away?”
“Very far, honey. But we want to get Alice back as soon as possible.”
“Did they kin-nap her?”
“Kidnap? Oh no. They took care of her for Mummy.”
When Emily didn’t answer, Marita wondered how she was processing the information. When she merely played with the food on her plate, Marita worried but didn't pressure her to eat.
