Two of a Kind

We had to have a talk about our lifestyle; we couldn't let our district know what it was like. As we saw it, we had five choices:

One, stay the way we were-no, that's what we need needed to change.

Two, marry one and kind of visit each other, and since they were identical twins, who would know?-The girls didn't think that was practical.

Three, break up with one, and marry the remaining sister-if looks could kill, I was a dead man for even listing it; hey, it was one of the things we could do.

Four, give up and lose my two soulmates-I canceled that one in less than a second.

Five, marry one and form some-kind-of-a domestic partnership with the other-if they used it for same-sex couples to give the partners all of the rights and trappings of a marriage, why not us?

We picked number five. So then, we had to find a lawyer smart enough to do the paperwork; we found one. Oh yeah... which sister would I marry? Hell, I couldn't make that choice. (Hey, I am a man.)

That problem was solved when Bonnie got sick one weekend, and slept on the couch for a couple of days.

Bonnie had said, "Hell, you guys spend the whole day making love; I'll sleep on the couch, so I don't give you my crud."

Well, we did make love all weekend, and we must have messed up with the condoms. About four-and-a-half weeks after that weekend, Bella was getting sick in the mornings, before we left for our teaching jobs. The girls bought some home-pregnancy tests, ten of them! Why ten? I was told that both of them would take three tests, and save the rest for the next time. Only Bella was pregnant.

Mr. Sinclair, Mrs. Sinclair and Ms. Campbell-Sinclair

We decided to have a quiet ceremony. Bonnie was Bella's maid of honor, and Bella was Bonnie's maid of honor, and witness to the domestic partnership contract. My friend Bill Taylor was my best man, and he signed both documents. Bill was that rich kid who didn't want to be rich. His dad was going to turn over the company to him, if he ever 'got his shit together.' Bill did not let people tell him what to do with his life; I liked him for that.

Both sets of our parents did not understand. "What young people are doing these days." But, they were overjoyed that they would see a grandchild soon.

We decided that we needed a house, and were able to pool all our finances. Fortunately, all three of us had only taken out small student loans, and as the house market was down, we were able to buy a five-bedroom house with a very large master bedroom. We had almost no neighbors.

I was teaching middle-school math, Bonnie was teaching first grade, and when Bella returned from pregnancy leave, she was teaching high-school English. I coached the middle-school baseball team. Bonnie and Bella co-sponsored the district 'Twins Club'; they became a lifeline for kids who had issues with the twin life. Our life together was wonderful; each wife had two children, we had three girls and a boy, who was the oldest. We all had the same last name, thanks to the domestic partnership.

Old flames

One funny thing, well two funny things.

First funny thing was that during parent-teacher conferences early in our marriages, a single mother asked Ms. Bonnie Campbell-Sinclair, if she knew a Finlay Sinclair. The mother had seen my name as being a teacher in the district.

Bonnie was always suspicious of people asking questions like that, so all she said was, "Yes, I know him," not saying I was her husband.

The woman turned out to be Jean, and her little girl was in Bonnie's class. She told Bonnie that she had almost been Mrs. Finlay Sinclair, but they had broken up. They began to talk like they had known each other for years. Bonnie's eyebrows rose, she asked Jean if her little girl was Finlay's child.

Jean said, "I wish. I was such a stupid little girl in college," with tears in her eyes. "Fin was really a great guy." Jean explained that she thought I was about to pop the question and she wanted a last fling, and somehow, I found out and broke up with her. The bastard she had the fling with was a typical bad boy; they had both had too much to drink, did not use protection, and little Finlay was conceived. Jean had so hoped that she was my child she named her Finlay.

By this time, Bonnie had a box of tissues out and was using them herself. Bonnie knew that I had been in a no-win situation. My decision to break up with Jean was easy to understand, as I would not put up with that kind of disrespect and dishonesty.

Jean had grown up a lot, and was now a mother! Her father had helped set her up in business, with a temporary employment agency that she now owned, and she was doing okay.

Bonnie knew Jean needed a good man-a husband and a father for Finlay. Bonnie was glad that I was so far from wanting Jean, that I was in another time zone.

I took personal time and helped Bonnie with Grandparents' Day at her school. I met Jean's parents again. Her father shook my hand, and told me he was sorry for what had happened years before.

Years later, I had her little girl in math, and both my wives came to my classroom when Jean had her parent-teacher conference with me, the last one of the night. I wondered if the wives didn't trust Jean, OR they were there to support me, OR maybe support Jean, OR support both of us?

I introduced Bella as my wife and Bonnie as her sister. Jean and her little girl had a new last name, Taylor. Just then, my friend Bill came rushing in late into my room, hugged and kissed both my wives on the cheek, and gave me a manly hug and a smile.

"How's life, Fin?"

Jean's jaw dropped to the floor, as he wrapped her up in a loving hug and kiss.

Bill and I had become friends just after Jean and I broke up. He had not told her that he knew any of us. He explained he was afraid that hell would open up and swallow him, if he told any of us. Bill was a really good man. We laughed at Jean's faux anger that made Bill beg to be forgiven. The girls and I forgave him for not telling us, and I think Jean forgave him sometime that night after their daughter went to sleep.

Bill had gotten his shit together. He was the Vice President of Human Resources of his dad's company, and had used Jean's employment agency for finding temporary workers. Cupid had a field day with them. They flew up to Las Vegas and got married just weeks before the parent-teacher conference, and Bill adopted Finlay. (Money, his dad's I was sure, really does help grease the legal machine.) Since Jean hand never named godparents for Finlay, Bill talked her into naming 'Team Sinclair' as co-godparents. We became Uncle Fin, Aunt Bon and Aunt Belle, and we excelled at those jobs. I did make sure I was never alone with Jean just to be safe.

Second funny thing: was Bella's cheating boyfriend's ex wife, Pam. She came in for a parent-teacher conference with Ms. Campbell-Sinclair and thought she was Bella. Bonnie straightened her out. She said she had wished she had known that her ex had been cheating on Bella when she met him. She had married him, and then divorced him for cheating while she was pregnant. She had a great lawyer, though, and got the house, the BMW, the boat, the beach house, all loan and mortgage-free. She also got a good part of his retirement and with child support and alimony, she was doing great. When Bonnie told Bella, Bella called her! Somehow, they became friends.

Friendship

When all the girls went out, Bill and I, and Roy, when Pam got married, were dragged along so there was never a misunderstanding on what the ladies did on their Girls' Night out. We would find a table with a view of a TV, and watch some game, any game! The girls' idea.

The guys, to get even, went to baseball games, since Bill's seats were right behind the dugout; the wives could just turn on the TV to check on us. You should have seen the jokes we played when we knew the wives were watching. Fake mustaches, fake dreadlocks, blacked out teeth, dressed as a bad imitation of ZZ Top, and one time, we had a blonde with the biggest tits we had ever seen, trying to sit on our laps. After we got home, the wives, after having some wine, showed us a lot of faux anger on that one. One of us, I won't say who, had to sleep on the couch, until the wives were finished taking their showers.

Family

The kids could tell Bella and Bonnie apart; I had to look behind left ears, so I would always kiss whoever I was with on the neck, they always loved it. I found out that the wives knew what I was doing all the time; after all, they both liked neck kissing.

Until they were in their late twenties, the kids all thought they were brother and sisters. (And the DNA says they are.) The kids never used the term 'aunt'; it was Momma Bon and Momma Belle. For them, it was normal to have two mommies and one daddy. It was funny when one of the kids would cry out, "Mommy!" when scared at night. If I went in they would tell me, "You're not a mommy," and by that time, both wives would have come in, laying down on each side, and I would slink back to bed with my daddy feelings hurt.

Our middle two girls were born the same night, one before midnight and the other just after. Before the first birth, I was able to just stay in one set of scrubs, but when the show began, I became a quick-change artist taking off the scrubs from Bonnie's firstborn, to run to Bella's second. I did cut both cords. One nurse showed pity on me, and gave me an energy drink. The hospital staff was very professional; I guess whatever HIPAA type rules that were in effect, had helped. We had both sets of grandparents take charge of babysitting and daycare, so both mommas were able to get back to work quickly.

That was nine months to remember. I really don't know or remember how we conceived them so close together; it must have been a wonderful night, well one of many wonderful nights, at least.

After Bonnie had her second child, we decided not to have any more. I was looking into getting snipped, but the wives found a plan that they could go to a spa-like clinic to get their tubes tied, and have a whole week of being pampered. The grandmothers and my sister joined them, during the week of recuperation. The men, of course, took care of the kids. Yes, all the kids survived. I think all of us men-two grandpas, me, and my sister's fiancé-got lucky when the ladies came home, all we had do was to say how beautiful they looked.

When the moms, the grandmothers and my sister got together at one of our houses, the men found some home-improvement, car-care or lawn-maintenance projects to do there. Believe me, all of our homes had great lawns, the cars ran like tops, and not one door was out of square. It was great what men could do when motivated. Also, beer was drunk, games were watched and kids were played with.

Dr. Finlay Sinclair, PhD

I advanced in the teaching profession with my masters and then my doctorate. I was hired as principal at Bella's high school. Luckily, I have two vice-principals, but only one can evaluate Bella because Bonnie Campbell-Sinclair, MA, got her masters and became one of my vice-principals. The district never caught on to our home situation, or looked the other way, and would have us interviewed all the time for the newspapers and TV, always calling the story, "A Family Affair. Husband, Wife, and Sister-in-law." This is how we are today.

Because I have never lost any time to pregnancy, I will be able to retire two-and-a-half years before the wives can. (I don't remind them of that.) During those two-and-a-half years, I plan to do a lot of fishing, woodworking AND taking care of the two most beautiful girls to ever have walked a university campus.

When the wives retire, we will drive a motorhome around North America... with some grandkids on each trip.

The End

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