The Twins

“I can’t believe what you are saying, doctor, can you repeat that?” Agnes Emerson asked again in surprise.

“Is something wrong?” Laura asked when she joined them.

Looking from the doctor to Agnes, whom she called aunt now. The pregnancy was a constant reminder of how she had left home.

“It’s nothing, my dear; can you excuse us for a minute?” Agnes asked.

“Sure, I’ll be by the car,” Laura replied with a smile.

Laura rested her back on the car, her eyes taking in the buildings across the road. It looked pretty much the same as it did the first day she got to town.

“That’s the Prof. Emerson girl, the one who moved into town a while ago,” Laura heard a woman say behind her.

Laura shook her head; she was sure they knew she could hear them, but they continued none the less.

“Yes, you ever wonder who knocked her up?” a second person asked.

Frustrated, Laura turned in the direction of their voice and said, “I’m as clueless as you are.”

The two ladies quickly walked past her and hurried down the road. It was a small town, and everyone was in every other person’s business.

“I know you said it'd get better, but what is this you’re saying?" Laura could faintly hear her aunt’s muffled voice through the door.

She was due anytime soon, but she was having difficulty sleeping. Which was why they were at the clinic.

The clinic was small, located a long distance from her aunt’s house; it was the only clinic in the town. Since the night Laura arrived in Grafton town, she has had nightmares about that night—the one night she could not remember.

Looking up, Laura saw Agnes coming out of the clinic. “Aunt Agnes, is everything okay? What did the doctor say?” Laura asked.

“We would need to head to the city to get you checked up, darling, that is all; you don’t have to worry,” Agnes responded with a cheerful smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Are we going right now? It’s almost sundown,” Laura replied. She wasn’t sure why her aunt was hell-bent on going to the city.

"Yes, dear, we’ll find a place to lodge; don’t you worry, your pretty self,” Agnes replied as they got into the car.

“We can just get a pill at the pharmacy, Aunt Agnes; that should do for tonight,” Laura said.

“No, that’s not good for you. We’ll just go and be back in no time,” Agnes replied.

Laura noticed a basket covered by a shawl at the back of the truck; her aunt seemed to have it whenever they stepped out of the house, since she was almost due to give birth. She paid no attention to it and settled in for the long ride, stretching out her legs.

“I called your father,” Agnes said as she drove out of town.

Laura was silent; she said nothing and continued to stare out the window.

“I wanted him to know you were due and if he'd want you to come over there for the delivery,” Agnes continued.

Breaking her silence, Laura said, “He said I was never coming back; I don’t expect that to change.”

“He is your father; he’ll come around, don’t worry.” Agnes said.

The sun was setting when they drove into the city.

“Aunt Agnes!” Laura said through gritted teeth, “I feel nauseous.”

“Breath in and out, dear; we are almost there,” Agnes said. As she looked towards Laura, she didn’t see the traffic light change.

The car hit them on the side. “Oh my god!” Laura screamed, feeling a sharp pain in her midsection and her heart pounding like a drum.

The truck slid to a stop on the side of the road, and there was a lot of horning and shouting around them.

“Are you alright?” someone asked outside Laura’s window.

Agnes raised her head from the airbag, her vision clouded.

“Laura? Laura? somebody help!” Agnes shouted as she got down and ran to the side of the stranger who was standing at Laura’s window.

“Ahhhhh!” Laura screamed as she felt the first pain of a contraction. It was close to her due date, and the accident had caused forced labor.

“We need to get her to the hospital; she is in labor!” Agnes shouted.

“Okay, bring the car!” the stranger shouted over his shoulder at someone behind him as he jerked open the car door and carried Laura out.

In a matter of minutes, they drove into the hospital. Laura was carried into the theater, and as Agnes looked around for the young man who had helped them, he was nowhere to be found.

Down at the theater, the doctor told Laura, “Push! Yes, again,”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Laura screamed, beads of sweat coating her head and all over her body.

“Yes, again, push,” the doctor encouraged.

Laura remembered the look on her stepmother's face, the contempt with which her father had driven her out, and she pushed again with all her strength. “Ahhhhhhhhhh!” she screamed again.

“It’s a girl; we’ve got her,” the doctor announced as he pulled the baby out.

“Congratulations!” the nurses around her chorused, and Laura almost felt relieved, but a sharp pain pierced through her midsection again.

“Oh, my god! I think there’s one more" Laura screamed in pain as she added, “It’s a twin!”

In no time, Laura pushed out the second child.

“It’s a boy; we’ve got him; that’s all; you’re good,” the doctor announced.

Laura’s eyes slid close, tears rolling down the side of her cheeks as she muttered.

“You all will see how strong I’m going to get for my babies; no one will treat them how I’ve been treated.”

Laura felt something move down her nose. She squeezed her face to get rid of it, but it kept coming. With her eyes still closed, she felt a push on her stomach; her face crunched up in confusion. what’s happening?