Death In Duplicate

TWO

THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL.

“They’re the most beautiful babies in the nursery.” The speaker was male.

“They’re the most beautiful babies in the world,” replied a female voice.

Susan and Jed pulled themselves away from their enchanting view into the newborn nursery and turned to see who was reading their minds. They found themselves face-to-face with their daughter’s in-laws.

“Blues!”

“Susan!”

“Rhythm!”

“Jed!”

The four grandparents hugged, turned back to admire their gorgeous grandchildren, and then, laughing, hugged again.

“Isn’t it amazing how much more alert they seem than the other babies?” Susan said.

“And they have much more hair,” Robert Canfield said. Better known as Rhythm, he had not quite recovered from growing up in the Sixties and was, Susan thought, inordinately proud of his own shoulder-length hair.

“Look at those pretty pink cheeks!” Susan said.

“Yes, their color is excellent,” Blues (also known as Barbara) agreed. “I sent Chrissy some of my special compounded vitamins. They’re entirely herbal-nothing unnatural and not yet available commercially-and they do seem to have made such a difference. The other babies are absolutely peaked.”

Susan, who knew that Chrissy had tossed Blues’s vitamins into the garbage and continued to take what her obstetrician had prescribed, didn’t argue about the twins’ appearance. “They certainly seem to be healthy.”

“And Chrissy looks wonderful!” Blues added.

“Oh, when did you see her?” Susan asked immediately.

“This morning,” Rhythm answered. “One thing about the red-eye from California -you get in early. We made it to the hospital by seven. Chrissy was still asleep-”

“And we were careful not to wake her up. We left a small present and a note on the table beside her bed and tiptoed right out of the room,” Blues added. “But she did look wonderful. Stephen says she came through the birth like a real trouper. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine having two babies at once.”

“How did you get in? We tried to see her and the nurse at the front desk in the maternity ward said visiting hours didn’t start until eleven,” Susan said, ignoring Blues’s comment.

“Oh, Rhythm and I didn’t stop at the desk. We just walked in as though we knew what we were doing and no one bothered us. We find that usually works in hospitals,” Stephen’s mother replied.

Susan turned to her husband. “We should have tried that.”

But Jed wasn’t paying attention. He was tapping on the glass and wiggling his fingers at his grandson. “Look, he’s waving back at me.”

“And he’s smiling,” Rhythm added, imitating Jed’s moves.

Susan and Blues exchanged amused glances. “Gas,” Susan whispered.

Blues nodded, grinning. “Not that he’s not a remarkable child. You know, he looks just like Stephen when he was born. He was so happy. We called him our little beam of sunshine.”

Susan, who had been about to express her belief that this baby was the spitting image of her own son when he was a newborn, smiled.

“Susan’s been looking at old baby photos for the past few months and it seems to me that the girl looks like Chrissy when she was a baby,” Jed said, still waving and tapping.

“Excuse me. Are you incapable of reading the sign, sir? It is printed in clear English. But perhaps you need someone to interpret it for you.” A short, overweight woman wearing flowery scrubs stood behind them, her hands on her ample hips and an angry expression on her florid face.

“I’m sorry. Are you speaking to me?” Jed asked, apparently stunned by being addressed in this manner.

“If you are the person banging loudly on the glass and upsetting our babies, then, yes, I am speaking to you! Can’t you read?” This time she pointed to a sign taped to the wall nearby.

BABIES SLEEPING!! DO NOT BANG ON THE GLASS!!

“I’m sorry but I didn’t see the sign and I thought I was tapping gently,” Jed said. “I had no intention of disturbing anyone.”

Susan, glancing through the glass and observing that her grandson was the only baby not sleeping soundly, was about to protest when she noticed the clock on the wall. “It’s eleven o’clock! We can go see Chrissy! Come on, Jed,” she urged. Her husband was still trying to apologize to the woman who was standing in front of the quartet as though prepared to fling herself between them and the window if they displayed any more antisocial inclinations.

“Great! Let’s-” Rhythm began.

“You and I will go get a cup of tea or something in the cafeteria,” Blues said. “Susan and Jed might want some time alone with their daughter.”

“But-”

“Come on, Rhythm.” Pulling her husband by his arm, Blues led him down the hallway. But Susan and Jed didn’t notice; they were hurrying off in the opposite direction to see their daughter.

Chrissy was sitting up in the bed nearest the door, writing notes on computer-generated birth announcements. She put down the pen and beamed when her parents walked in the doorway.

“You certainly don’t look like a young woman who gave birth to two beautiful babies less than twenty-four hours ago,” her father said, leaning over to kiss his daughter’s forehead.

“Did you see them? Aren’t they gorgeous? Are you mad at me?”

“We saw them. They’re gorgeous. Why in heaven’s name would we be mad at you?” Jed asked.

“You knew you were having twins and you didn’t tell us,” Susan said, getting the point. She kissed her daughter despite this fact.

“I just didn’t want everyone to fuss…”

“You mean you didn’t want your family to fuss more than they-we-were doing already,” Susan corrected gently.

“Yes. I guess. I mean, Stephen and I thought we were timing this so well.”

“And you did,” her father assured her, sitting down on the foot of the bed. “Getting pregnant nine months before Stephen got his degree, what could be better?”

“Stephen having a job, knowing where you’re going to live. Little things like that, right?” Susan asked her daughter.

“Exactly! But now-well, I guess you haven’t seen Stephen… or his parents.”

“We ran into Rhythm and Blues outside of the nursery.”

“And they didn’t tell you?”

“Tell us what?” Jed asked.

“That Stephen has a job! He got the job he wanted!”

“Well, good for him,” Jed said.

“Where?” Susan asked immediately. “Where is it?” She took a breath and held it, waiting for the answer. She hadn’t even rocked her new grandchildren in her arms. If Chrissy and Stephen were moving to the West Coast…

“Mom, please don’t get that expression on your face. You’re going to like this. The job is in New York. New York City.”

“You’re coming home!” Susan cried, flinging her arms around her daughter’s neck and beginning to tear up.

“We’re going to New York City. We’re not moving to Connecticut. We want to live in the city, Mom-”

“In the city! Have you and Stephen thought this through? Do you know how much you’ll spend on private school tuition for two children?”

“They’re only thirteen hours old, Mother. They’re not ready for school yet. Besides, Stephen and I have enjoyed living in Philadelphia and you know I’ve always wanted to live in New York.”

“What about the dogs?” Susan asked, thinking quickly. “You always say you’d never consider getting rid of them. You can’t possibly have two bullmastiffs in a small apartment in New York City. Connecticut has lawns where dogs can run and the children can have a swing set and a sandbox and go to really excellent schools for free…”

“And live at home when they attend Yale,” Chrissy finished, beginning to sound a little sarcastic.

“And when does Stephen start work?” Jed asked.

“That’s the problem. They want him to begin in two weeks.”

“You’ll never find any place to live in two weeks…”

“I know, Mother. The company offered to put us up in a hotel for a few weeks, but with the dogs and the babies and… and all… Well, I was hoping we might be able to move in with you and Dad.”

“Of course you can!” Susan’s world changed. It was a dream come true.

“Just until we find an apartment in the city. And this isn’t going to be easy. The house will be overflowing with Stephen and me and two babies and two dogs, and-”

“You are all welcome to come and stay as long as you like,” her father assured his daughter. “We will love having you.”

“Yes, but… Stephen!” Chrissy beamed as her husband walked in the door, his arms full. A couple dozen roses were squashed beneath two large fluffy teddy bears, two tiny Yankees caps, a five-pound box of Neuchatel chocolates, a bottle of champagne, and the latest issues of the New Yorker, New York, Time Out New York, and the day’s New York Times.

“Hi, everyone. I think I have everything you asked for,” Stephen said to his wife. “How are Ethan and Rosie doing?”

“Ethan and Rosie? You named them? They’re Ethan and Rosie?” Susan asked.

“Yes. What do you think?” Chrissy sounded worried.

“Wonderful! Is Rosie a Rosemary or-?”

“Just Rosie,” Chrissy said. “And Ethan is Ethan. We don’t want anyone to put horrible nicknames on them.”

Susan, who knew that parents didn’t have as much power over their children’s nicknames as her daughter (christened Christine) seemed to think, just smiled. “They’re wonderful names. How did you come up with them?’

“I’ve always wanted a daughter named Rosie,” Chrissy said, surprising her parents with this insight into her life. “And Stephen picked Ethan.”

“My parents think it’s a bit old-fashioned, but I’ve always liked the name,” Stephen admitted as he struggled to open the champagne. “Speaking of my parents, did Chrissy tell you…?”

Before he could finish, his parents entered the room, followed by a redheaded young woman holding what appeared to be the hospital gift shop’s entire stock of “It’s a Girl!” and “It’s a Boy!” Mylar balloons. “Chrissy, you dear, dear thing!” Blues cried. “And so efficient-imagine having two children at the same time. So smart of you! And Stephen-champagne. What a treat!”

“Mother… Dad…” Stephen didn’t seem to know how to continue. “When did you get in?” he asked after a short pause.

“Absolutely hours ago,” Rhythm replied. “You know us. We don’t like to let any grass grow under our feet.”

“And it’s not every day we add to our family. Look what I bought the babies!” Blues pulled two tie-dyed infant sleepers from her massive straw purse. “I found them at a craft shop up the coast. Isn’t it lucky I bought two? They’ll look adorable in them, don’t you think?”

What Susan thought was that they’d look like miniature deadheads, but she just smiled. This was Chrissy’s problem, not hers. Besides, Stephen had managed to open the champagne and was trying to keep a half dozen little white Styrofoam cups upright while he filled them. Susan helped to pass them around, serving her daughter first.

“A toast!” Rhythm said rather loudly, raising his glass in the air. Some champagne sloshed out onto the floor just as the same nurse who had chastised Jed in the hallway appeared.

“The babies will be brought into the room in fifteen minutes. Perhaps you might want to tone down this party before then… You certainly will have your work cut out for you,” she added to the woman holding the balloons before sweeping out the door.

Susan looked at the woman. “I can take those, if you need to get to work,” she suggested.

“No, the babies are fine.”

“The babies? Don’t you work in the gift shop?” Susan asked, confused.

“No. That’s what I was going to tell you. You see, my parents-,” Stephen began, but Chrissy interrupted.

“Mother, this is Shannon Tapley. Rhythm and Blues hired her. She’s going to be our baby nurse for six months. She’ll be coming with us to your house,” Chrissy announced.