Double or Nothing Pt. 02

The look on her face was one of severe vulnerability. Looking at Harmony in turn, she was also blushing almost an identical expression on her face.

"I know girls, the closer I get to both of you." I squeezed both their hands. "The more the nightmare of Carol and Mackenzie fades."

They squeezed my hands back.

"But I don't know what everyone around us is going to think if I was to introduce my girlfriends, plural, and then explain they are identical twin sisters."

Melody laughed. "Well, first of all, STUD! Every man you ever meet will be jealous of you. No doubt giving you high fives and fist bumps into eternity."

We all laughed.

Harmony chimed in, "Terry, I get some of your talking about here, but I think we can help in a few different ways. First, why don't we see if we can get your mum and dad along with your sister and brother-in-law up here soon for the weekend? It will do you a world of good to see them rather than talking to them over the phone, and you can introduce us as your girlfriends and see how they react!"

Martha laughed, standing in the lounge doorway she had been listening for a few minutes. "That's a great idea, Harmony, and just to give you three my two cents worth, I think your relationship is cute. As a mother, I never thought I would watch both my daughters fall for the same man, then not fight like banshees out of hell. But, then again, I can't complain as something between you three makes sense to William and me.

We all thought about it for a moment.

"Look, Terry, I know my girls love you; also, William and I think of you as the son we never had. We will figure out how it works moving forward, but right now, dinner is a few minutes away, and all of you need to clean up."

The girls took me to my room and then undressed me and got me in the shower. We managed to scrub each other down, and there were a few passionate kisses, but dinner was almost ready, so I was left hanging, my hard-on having to be contained by a pair of jeans.

After dinner that night, we called mum, dad, Kim and Paul and arranged for them to come up on Friday in about a month and spend a long weekend with us. After that evening, though, Melody, Harmony and I became almost inseparable. Often Melody and I would finish work, then drive into town and pick up Harmony when she finished her shift at the local clinic or hospital, whichever location she had a shift at. Fortunately, most of her shifts were daytime shifts that were pretty close hours to standard work hours. So we ate together a lot.

I found that between the three of us, we were similar in different ways. Some of the silly things that I have discovered strengthen our relationship include that Melody loved lasagne like I did, while Harmony was partial to Kraken Rum like myself. Also, Melody was a huge Star Wars fan, and while Harmony liked Star Wars, she was a massive Marvel geek. I adored watching them talk about movies and their geek side of things. I wasn't into it quite as much as they were, but I did enjoy good sci-fi action movies.

I found that Melody liked to dress with a little more flare with her shoes and wraps, while Harmony went for a little more muted fashion but liked to show a little more leg or cleavage. Of course, a couple of times, the girls tried to pretend to be each other, changing clothes to try and trick me. But it never worked.

One time we were at a restaurant in town, an excellent Italian place that we all liked. The girls had excused themselves to go to the bathroom; in the meantime, one of the staff we had gotten to know had come over and chatted to me about the upcoming country fair when the girls returned. I think he was taken with the girls; I guess who wouldn't be, they were stunning examples of the female form by anyone's measure. As they sat back down, he took a look at Harmony's post-work clothes and addressed her.

"Harmony, I was wondering, is your family attending this years country fair?"

She said, "Yes," and stood for about five minutes talking about the coming event. The grin on my face grew until I started laughing.

All three of them looked at me. "What is it, Terry?" The twin dressed in Melody's clothes said.

"I'm sorry, George," I looked at our waiter, "However the girls have been trying to play a joke on me at your expense. You see, that is not Harmony that you have been talking with for the last five minutes; it's Melody." Three sets of jaws dropped for two different reasons.

"How did you know?" George asked.

I shrugged, "It's hard to explain, but there is a multitude of reasons that the girls look different. But for the most part, when I look at them, they FEEL, different to me."

"Really?"

Again I shrugged, "Yeah, I don't know if I can explain it, but I can just tell."

Melody grinned, looking at Harmony, "We will see about that!" She said; her sister gave a sly little grin back.

Over the next month, in the lead up to my family coming to visit, the girls were constantly trying to trick me into thinking they were each other. Sometimes they would try to lead me into believing they were themselves but then try to act differently; other times, they would try to swap clothes or rooms or do things differently. One time, Harmony tried to come to work as Melody; I let her get almost to lunchtime before I gave her a complex task that only Melody would have the knowledge to do.

"Your dad needs this report in an hour," I said to Harmony; I could see she was trying not to panic and give away the ruse. She thought that she had fooled me this time.

"Sure, sweetie, it will be ready as usual."

"Awesome, oh and by the way...."

"Yes?"

"You should most likely call Melody and get her to come to help you with it." I walked away laughing. William caught me laughing, walking out of Melody's office, and Harmony sitting there getting caught out. He raised his eyebrows, beckoning me.

"What has my daughter done now?"

"Nothing, the girls tried to trick me again; they thought I wouldn't notice, so I lined up the day to catch them out."

"So you noticed that?"

"Yeah, from the moment Harmony got in the car pretending to be Melody, I knew, so I kept making more requests of her here in the office till I gave her a task that only Melody could do here in the office."

We laughed about that for a few minutes.

"I had a feeling they were trying to get you. I usually wouldn't accept that when it comes to business, but knowing you and your relationship with the girls, I thought I would see where it goes." he paused and looked at me. "You know, very few people can tell the girls apart, even up close. However, almost from the moment you met them, you know which of them is which."

He got up, went to the cabinet at the back of his office, and returned with a bottle of Michter's Whiskey and a couple of glasses. It was a little before lunchtime, and it wasn't unheard of William to do this with a manager. However, with the topic of conversation, I was wondering where it was going. He poured us both a measure.

"I guess it's time that I ask how you're finding it here?"

The question caught me a little off guard; I thought we would keep talking about the girls and my developing relationship with his daughters. But, instead, I smiled as I took a sip of my whiskey.

"Honestly, I love it. The people are great, the work is interesting, and I feel like I am making a difference to my fellow plumbers out there in the world. I mean, I can't thank Martha and yourself enough for the opportunity. You gave me something when I was at my lowest, and I hope that I am meeting your expectations." I paused, a sudden thought coming to mind that it was not all sunshine and unicorns.

"Why is that William? Have I not been meeting your expectations?"

He snorted, looking at his glass, already a third gone. "Quite the opposite, Terry," he looked up at me. "Everyone loves you. You care and listen, you don't yell at people, and when you find an opportunity to improve our quality or process, you bring the right people along and share the credit. Our old quality manager, Tom, was well-loved but very stagnant in his ways; you have brought so many new ideas that I think we will need to look at new growth projects before the end of next quarter, at least double what we were expecting."

He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, that look that all bosses can give to their staff. But it wasn't a critical assessment, more of a soul searching look. "In all honesty, we all love you here, and I am hoping that we were meeting YOUR standards. In some ways, it's easier to talk to you than the others because of how close we are," I nodded, "In others, it's a lot harder....."

I watched him as he took a larger swallow of his drink; there wasn't a lot left in his glass now.

"What I mean to say is that ever since you rescued the girls, I can see the obvious connection between the three of you. I know they spent most nights in your room; I'd have to be blind not to see the affection between the three of you." He sighed. "Terry, I'm going to be blunt. When I look at you, I see the son that I never had, but it's hard seeing the three of you together; they are my babies after all." He trailed off.

It was my turn to take a big swallow of my drink. I felt the liquor burn a little as it flowed down my throat. I thought for a few moments how to respond, I had known William for just over a year now, and I knew this topic was as hard for him as it was for me.

It was my turn to sigh, "You're not wrong William, the affections that I have for both of them are growing every day. Even today's little stunt by both of them makes me feel loved by both of them."

William looked at me, "I thought it was funny, but you say you feel loved by them for trying to trick you at work?" he raised his eyebrows.

"When I was growing up, my older sister Kim used to tease me as all older siblings do, it was never mean spirited, but she would push me to better myself. She would challenge me to always look for the hidden truth when she picked on me. She would be trying to help me most of the time, and she was always there for me when I needed it."

"I feel the same way with Melody and Harmony, we have spent so much time talking, and yes, there has been a lot of physical affection." He glared at me for a moment, father instincts coming into play, but then softened, and he waited for me to continue.

"For the past month, the girls have been trying to trick me in different ways to make me think it was each other. But, even today, they never denied it, and there was always a grin or a glint in their eyes. They may have been testing me, but they would never do it to hurt me. Every evening, they make sure to talk to me about it, ensuring they have never gone too far or hurt my feelings. I never got that consideration from Carol or Mackenzie!"

I looked down into my whiskey glass. "I know that I am still hurt by what Carol and Mackenzie did to me. However, both Melody and Harmony have made a lot of that fade into the background. Oh, I know I still have a lot of processing to do, feelings to sort out and more than likely disagreements with my ex-family to go through. It's just..."

"Just what, Terry?" William prodded.

"I think, no, I know, I am falling in love with both of them." I let my shoulders fall, the admission to their father sealing one wound left by what I left behind, but opening another being in love with two sisters and telling it to their father. "They are both different, yet when I look at either of them, I don't feel complete without both of them."

I looked at William, who was sitting and rolling the last tiny bit of whiskey around his glass as he contemplated me.

"I have to apologise, William; I likely should not have shared this with you, as these are your daughters. I know how much family is to you, and talking to you about this is likely harder to hear from me than it is for me say, and I know how hard it is to say."

He snorted again, much like he did that time back at the hospital when Dr Dickhead was ranting at me; it felt like he resolved something in his head.

"You're right Terry; I love my daughters like there is no tomorrow; there is nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for them. Martha and I have been watching the three of you over the past few months, and I won't say watching you and them is easy, but Terry," he paused for effect. "They WANT you!" Melody doesn't want you separately from Harmony or vice-versa; if their conversations with Martha and I are any indications, they both want you equally. It might be strange and an unconventional relationship, but if you make my girls happy, then I am not going to stand in the way."

"And, sure as their father, you sitting here telling me this is hard, but I think you might be wrong. I believe your struggling with this more than anyone right now. You love two girls wholly and completely. Can I give you a word of advice?"

I nodded, taking another sip of the beautiful whiskey.

"Just let it be for now; those girls will get what they want when they put their minds to it, and when they work together, there are very few forces, their mother and I included, that can stop them. Having watched you, I know that with whatever happens, the three of you will always be close."

I gave him a sly smile, "William, I have to say that you're very casual about this considering you're talking to a suitor for your daughters."

"Terry, since the girls hit their teenage years, I can count on one hand, between the two of them, how many guys they have dated. When one has shown interest in a boy, the other carries out the scrutiny. This is the first time that I think they have been in sync on a guy. And honestly, I like you. You ending up with my girls works for me as I know your character and quality. After what you went through with Carol and Mackenzie, I know you would never hurt either of my daughters."

We spoke for a few minutes more, and when we stood to walk to the manufacturing floor together, we heard footsteps retreating quickly from the other side of Williams office door. Opening it, we noticed two flames of red hair retreating into Melody's office. Poking our heads in, we could see that Melody had joined Harmony; both looked embarrassed. I wonder how much of the conversation they heard?

[:::: - ::::]

The weekend my family had come to visit was a little bitter-sweet for me. They marvelled at the house, were complimentary but teasing about my blossoming relationship with the girls, and we had a grand time reminiscing about past times. Everyone heard stories about my childhood; Kim told tall tales about how she teased me at school. We even fondly remembered some of the family times with Mackenzie growing up. By the end, I was a little sad. However, they were fond memories even if someone else's actions had fouled them.

It was then that the next blow in my life landed. My mum, Josephine, had been quiet all night. But suddenly, she commanded the conversation, and everyone fell silent.

"Terry, we have something we need to tell you. If you recall, a few months ago, right around the time of your divorce, I wasn't feeling well. So we had some tests, and we have just had them redone and verified."

I knew this wasn't going to be good, there were tears in mum and dad's eyes, but mum continued.

"I have cancer."

Several things in this life can get you upset; I'd been through a few already, but hearing that my mother had cancer was not one that I was ready for.

"Mum, I know this is silly, but are you sure?"

My dad John, jumped in, "Yes, son, we're sure, from what we know, it's a fairly rare type of bone cancer. There are treatments, and we don't know what the future brings, but we wanted to let you know." My dad, the master plumber who had been there my entire life, and I never saw him cry, had tears streaming down his face as he told us. Although, I must admit, so did everyone.

For the next hour, we all sat around; Harmony went inside and brought out her tablet and asked mum and dad for details so she could look up points around the type of cancer and treatments. She spent a few minutes browsing sites, generally ignoring Dr Google for medical sites she knew and gave a good breakdown on treatments and success rates, which she was happy to report were relatively high.

At the end of the sad conversation, everyone started drifting off to rooms. Tomorrow being Saturday, we were all heading into town after a late breakfast for some shopping. So after a while, it was just Kim, Paul, Melody, Harmony and me along with the remainders of a jug of sangria that Martha had made earlier.

"So, how is mum really, Kim?" I asked at one point.

"She's devastated, little bro," Kim said sadly. "I've only known a few more days than you, and I must admit I have cried myself to sleep more than once in that time. I mean, come on, this is mum!"

"I know!" I almost exploded, "After everything this past year, I hoped that we would catch a break!" I felt Melody slip her hand into mine; Harmony slipped her hand into my other hand. I looked at Harmony.

"I know cancer is always serious, but how serious is this one?" I asked Harmony.

She thought for a moment before responding, "It's pretty rare from what I can tell, and if caught earlier enough is less of a worry. However, it can move quickly in later stages, being that it can affect the bone marrow."

"I suppose that I am going to have to let Carol and Mackenzie know at some point." I slumped forward; of all the hard conversations that I would have to have, that one was going to be upsetting.

Kim looked at me, "Not yet, Terry; those bitches can wait a while until we know more around mum's treatment." I felt there was more.

"What are you not saying, Kim?"

She looked at me and sighed; a lot of that was going around lately.

"After you moved a few months ago, it took less than a week for Mackenzie to reach out to mum and dad and ask to see them."

"And you didn't tell me because?"

"Well, at the time, you had just had your accident and were recovering thanks to your eternal helpers here." She smiled at the girls. "We didn't think in your condition that you needed to know."

I gulped and shot a glare at Kim. She held up her hands in defence.

"Terry, we were not trying to hide anything; it just didn't come up once you were feeling better."

"So tell me what happened?"

"Well, mum and dad were upset; they loathe what Carol did to you and were obviously disappointed in Mackenzie, but they still love her, so they agreed to see her. The dickhead, Stephen was the one to bring Mackenzie over; Mackenzie introduced him as her new father, and mum just about hit the roof."

Kim gave me a sad smile.

"Their meeting lasted less than five minutes; dad asked Dr Dickhead to wait outside, and when he insisted that his daughter would not enter a house that he couldn't, dad asked them both to leave. Mackenzie cried and told them they were not being fair. She cried that she hadn't seen them on her birthday and hadn't gotten her birthday presents from them."

"Well, at that point, mum fired up and told Mackenzie pretty much what you did about being a selfish little bitch. Mum told her how she was disappointed that she had lost a loving granddaughter and that she was ashamed of what she had done to you.

"Mum actually said that?" my mother never swore.

"Yeah, dad laughed when he told me, though there wasn't much humour in his eyes. Anyway, after that, dad asked them to leave again; they got into dickheads's BMW, Mackenzie crying and as they drove off dickhead gave mum and dad the finger out the window. That's the last mum and dad have heard from them."

"He sounds like a right royal prick!" Melody exclaimed.

"Well, he's not getting an easy run from the hospital at the moment," Kim told us and proceeded to tell us all how he was on probation with no bonuses for two years following his treatment of me. "From what I gather, he does have a trust fund. However, it's limited, and it appears there is not much left in it, so between Carol and him, they have not been entirely living within their means for the last few months."