Chapter 10: Caution - Slippery Sections Ahead

We met Beth and George on the tractor just at the gate to the big pasture. Beth held the gate open for us, waved us through abruptly, then shut the gate and climbed back onto the tractor with George without so much as a smile for us.

“Why is she so p’d off with you” Carissa asked.

“Oh, her nose gets out of joint whenever she isn’t included in anything, no matter what it is,” I sighed. “Sometimes she can be a real pain in the butt for the whole family, even though we know her heart is in the right place.”

“Oh, I see,” Carissa smiled. “Actually, I suppose that’s how I felt this morning. My nose was out of joint with Corinna. I wonder if perhaps that’s what you’re feeling toward Will as well?”

“No, I really don’t want to know their business,” I sighed again, but deeper this time. “Actually, I just want them to leave me completely out of the mess they seem to be getting themselves into. I don’t understand their reasoning. I don’t understand what Mom and Dad are doing. Heck, I’m not even sure I understand my own feelings right now.”

“So, what are you feeling right now?” she smiled like a Cheshire cat as I pulled the car up near the house and came to a stop.

“I’m not sure I can put it in words,” I admitted, then smiled at her as she reached back into the back seat to grab my crutches.

“Well, why don’t you go sit on the front porch, put your foot up and think about that while I use the hose to rinse the mud off the car. When I’m done, maybe we can talk about how we both feel?”

So I hobbled to the porch and sat there watching her for a moment, then to my surprise I felt a hand on my shoulder which almost made me jump.

“Oop’s sorry to surprise you,” Mom chuckled as I turned to see her smiling at me. “I take it you went out and found our two runaway lovers?”

“Yeah,” I snorted, then sighed. “I’m afraid I’ve washed my hands of that mess though. I haven’t got much patience for stupidity right now.”

“Oh, Chris, it’s time you learned that others don’t always do things that make sense to you,” Mom’s face had a sad, sweet smile. “What did Carissa think?”

“She seems to agree with me,” I sighed. “And that bothers me, because I feel like this isn’t just between Wil and me right now. Carissa and Corinna are part of the whole darn mess and I really don’t like the idea of them being at odds with each other.”

“Chris, you can’t prevent that, just like I can’t stop you from being annoyed with Wil. The two of them are bound to take sides and there isn’t one thing you can do to prevent it. My problem is trying to stay somewhat neutral or at least nonjudgmental.”

“But, Mom, the two girls are so much alike and yet so different. It’s just ... I don’t know, all of this is so confusing. Wil is being an idiot and yet I guess I’m not much better,” I sighed heavily. “I’m just so darn confused, it isn’t even funny.”

She chuckled softly, then hugged me from over my shoulder and afterward, she stood up and put both of her hands on my shoulders as she stood behind me.

“I think today, you and Wil need space from each other and I think Carissa and Corinna might benefit by it too. So I have a suggestion, since you have a car, why don’t you and Carissa go for a picnic for a while,” she suggested. “I’m not chasing you away, but your Dad and I need to talk to Will and Corinna before her folks show up for dinner this evening. If you two disappear, I’m sure I can find an errand for Beth to run and George will happily tag along with her, which will make buttonholing the other two much easier.”

“Aren’t you putting the cat in with the canary that way?” I turned and looked at her with a silly grin on my face. “Off by ourselves for an afternoon? You do realise that Carissa and I could get into trouble so easily it’s not funny, don’t you?”

“Hah, I trust that you two will at least try to be safe,” she snorted, slapping my shoulder with one hand, while gently squeezing the other shoulder with her other hand, all the while grinning back at me. “I’m not so sure about either Wil or Corinna though.”

“What do you trust us to be safe about?” Carissa said from close by her side, making both Mom and me jump in surprise.

She must have finished rinsing off the car, taken off her shoes at the back door, then come through the house and out on the front porch, still barefoot.

“Jeez, you’re as bad as Mom for making me jump,” I said, but had to grin to let her know I wasn’t angry. “Both of you sneak up from behind me, then make me jump half out of my skin.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, she got me too,” Mom still kept a hand on my shoulder, but reached out to Carissa with her other hand. “I was telling Chris that for some reason I feel you two are in less danger of getting yourselves in trouble than your sister and Wil are.”

“Mm, probably,” Carissa smiled enigmatically. “At least Chris seems to have both of his feet still planted solidly on the ground. I’m sort of floating on cloud number nine.”

“Oh, I think you’re fairly stable as well,” Mom chuckled. “But, all that aside, I have a favour to ask you two.”

“Oh, what’s that, Mom?” I asked as Carissa came around the bench and perched her soft bottom on the knee of my good leg.

“Well, no one has been up to see Uncle Toby for a while and he’s not answering the calls on his CB either. Chris is about the only one I dare to send up there, at least in the state everyone is in right now,” Mom sighed. “I think your car could make it up his roads, especially the way you seem to be able to drive through just about anything. You can make it up to his place, can’t you Chris?”

“Whoa, you want us to go up to see Grampa Bender?” I chuckled. “Today? I thought you just said that Carissa’s folks were coming to dinner? If we get into any sort of trouble at all, or if Grampa Bender wants to talk for long, we could be late getting back.”

“That’s why I want you to do it,” Mom smiled knowingly. “I want you to have a darn good excuse to be late.”

“You want us to be late?” Carissa questioned, her tone registering her total disbelief.

“Unh huh, I’d like that,” Mom smiled again. “Your Mom is fit to be tied right now and your Dad isn’t much better, but at least he’s calm enough to be somewhat realistic. As you said, Corinna and Wil are off somewhere in a world of their own. Willard and I think we’re going to have our hands full just calming things down and making everyone see reality. So we need some time without any distractions around to see if we can’t manage to get everyone to think calmly.”

“I don’t get it, wouldn’t we be able to help you?” Carissa questioned.

Mom just shook her head from side to side very slowly and frowned deeply.

“No, I think you two are simply complications as far as this situation is concerned,” she spoke slowly. “You’re both so emotionally close to this that you can’t help but react, which stirs up both Corinna and Wil. Willard and I have a hard enough time staying on an even keel. You two being involved might just make it impossible.”

“What about Beth?” I asked bluntly. “She’s not much better.”

“Ah, that’s taken care of,” Mom smiled. “I’m going to send her on an errand this afternoon, then George’s parents have asked her to eat over there tonight. Then I plan to send John out along with Willard and Wil to do the chores, which will let me have a quiet chat with Corrina and your mom before we sit down to eat.”

“So, how late do you want us to be?” Carissa asked.

“Oh, an hour after we normally eat should do, more would be okay though,” Mom smiled at her as if she knew that with Carissa on her side of the discussion, I was bound to give in.

“But, with us gone, are you going to be able to convince Carissa’s folks that we’re away because we have to do this today?” I asked in a last ditch effort to get out of the trip.

“Oh, I’m sure Willard and I can convince everyone else that a trip to see Uncle Toby had been arranged long ago and it was simply circumstance that led to my sending you two on the errand,” Mom answered.

She paused for a moment and her eyebrows lifted in an unspoken question. I looked over at Carissa and her eyes twinkled as if she was delighted with the idea. I simply spread my hands apart, palms upward and nodded to signify that I was giving in. I knew enough not to try to fight the two of them, besides I really didn’t want to be there to share in the blame of ‘corrupting’ either one of the two twins.

“Okay, you just sit here,” Mom dictated to me as her hand gently squeezed my shoulder in thanks. “Carissa can help me to pack a picnic lunch as well as some supplies for you to take to Uncle Toby. We’ll get it all in the car and then call you, okay?”

“I guess,” I sighed, knowing that I was whipped, but not really certain if I was up to the task. “I think going up there at this time of year in my car is nuts though. What if we get stuck in one of the creek crossings or something? My car isn’t a darn Jeep.”

“Oh for cripes sake,” Mom snapped, then she grinned almost wickedly. “You aren’t going to get stuck, but if you want, we could throw your tent and your sleeping bag in the trunk of your car. I’m sure Carissa wouldn’t mind roughing it for one night.”

I stared at her, not knowing what to say about the idea of spending a night alone with Carissa, meanwhile Mom and Carissa both broke into laughter. Well actually, Carissa giggled and shook her head to signify she wouldn’t mind at all, but Mom was laughing, probably at my blushing face. I just shook my head; there was no way I was going to win against the two of them. Somehow they had both decided that they were going to tease me and no matter what I did, it wasn’t going to help my cause. Once more I simply gave up and threw my hands in the air.

I really didn’t sit there long before Carissa came back and handed me my crutches.

“Come on, Mr. Man. Time to go, that car is all packed up and ready to go. Your Mom would rather we got away from here before either Beth and George, or your Dad and the two lovers get back to ask a bunch of questions,” she grinned at me.

“Why?” I asked, but I was getting up as I spoke.

“Because, Beth and George might want to go along and Will and Corinna definitely would,” she laughed. “I think your mom has everyone figured out pretty darn well.”

“So, has she got you figured out too?” I had to ask, but I was grinning. I was already certain that she did, but I wanted Carissa to admit it.

“Oh yeah. She’s got me pegged,” Carissa giggled. “Probably better than you do.”

“That wouldn’t take much,” I admitted and smiled at her as I hobbled at her side, or rather as she dithered along at my pace. “I haven’t got you figured out at all.”

“Oh, you’ll figure me out, I’m not really all that complicated,” Carissa grinned at me.

As we came around the house, Mom was just closing the back door of the car and she paused to give me a hug and a kiss, then did the same to Carissa.

“Have a good time and I’ll see you two later,” she said, then turned to head inside the house, but I thought I caught her winking at Carissa.

“See you, Mom,” I said, wondering what the wink could be about.

“Bye for now,” Carissa called, grabbing my crutches as I leaned against the car and opened the driver’s door.

She slid in and stood the crutches on the passenger’s side of the front seat, which placed her right next to me as I slid in behind the wheel. Mom waved to us from the back door of the kitchen as I started the car and waved back as I set out. Just as I turned onto the road from our driveway, I glanced back and saw the tractor pulling into the yard.

“Wow, I guess we barely left in time,” I commented.

“Unh huh,” Carissa snuggled even closer, lifting my arm in it’s cast and ducking under it so it was resting on her shoulder. “You can drive one handed for a while; I want to snuggle.”

“I’ll need both hands in only a few moments, especially when I get on the rough road,” I laughed, gently pulling her body against mine.

“Mm, I know, your Mom warned me what the road would be like,” she sighed softly. “She even told me where she thought I should get you to stop for our picnic.”

“You two sure seem to get along well,” I said without thinking.

“Oh yeah,” Carissa agreed, then chortled softly, if anything snuggling even closer. “I told you, she’s got me pegged.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mmm, she knows I’m out to seduce you,” she laughed softly and I could feel her twist to look up at me face. “And she knows that you’ll fight it, but that you’ll eventually give in.”

“Hmmph,” I snorted, not wanting to either agree or disagree with her, but I shifted my hand for a few seconds and gave her breast a light caress with my finger tips before lifting my arm and swinging it back on the wheel.

“That’s not fair, teasing me like that,” she laughed.

“Sorry, but I need both hands now,” I gestured ahead.

She could see we were coming up on a ‘T’ with a dirt road so she shifted away from me slightly. As I turned onto the old dirt road that I’d need to follow to go up to Grampa Bender’s place I happened to glance in the rear view mirror, then did a double take; it seemed to me that there was an awful lot of stuff in the back seat. Once we were on the dirt road, I actually turned my head and looked back to check what was packed back there and I frowned.

“Wow, is all of that pile just supplies for Grampa Bender?” I wondered aloud.

“A lot of it is,” Carissa laughed and snuggled against me again. “But there’s also a picnic lunch for us and some other stuff as well.”

“Other stuff?” I questioned.

“Other stuff!” she laughed again. “Your mom and I looked at both of our test schedules for next week.”

“Umm, yeah, so what?”

“Neither one of us has to take a test tomorrow,” she chortled.

“Meaning what?” I slowed the car and glanced at her.

“Meaning that if we get stuck in the mud along the way, we have lots of time to get unstuck before your family will worry much,” her face was twisted into a wide grin.

“Just what are you saying?” I asked.

“I guess I’m saying that she took you at your word that the road might be bad,” she laughed aloud. “She called your bluff and threw your tent and your sleeping bag in the back seat, along with some of your camping gear.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“Unh uh,” she snorted. “I’m not kidding. I told you; your mom has me pegged. But then, she and I had a talk this morning while your Dad was talking to you.”

“Oh?”

“Unh huh,” she grunted then shifted close for a second. “She knows what I want and I think she liked what I told her. On top of that, I think she likes me just because I was honest with her about how I feel.”

“Well, how would you like to be honest with me and tell me what you want then,” I almost growled.

“I thought I had, last night, but I might have been a little bit vague I guess,” she said quietly. “Or maybe I didn’t say everything, I don’t know. Things are a bit muddled from last night.”

“You just handed me your panties and told me they were a promise of more in the future, then you ran off. Right now you’re being vague,” I was starting to get really impatient with her for beating around the bush.

“Unh, could you stop for a few moments, please,” she said and as I glanced at her, she looked at me strangely.

“Are you telling me that I’ve been talking to you all day as if you knew about my feelings and I didn’t really talk to you about them last night?” she whispered as I pulled the car to the side and parked.

“You never said much,” I told her.

“Really?” she sighed. “Oh my! You must really think I’m weird then, because I must have dreamed about telling you about everything I want to do.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because she still wasn’t telling me anything. Instead I leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose, then held her back when she wanted to cuddle.

“Talk first,” I growled in a fake sound of anger. “Then maybe we can cuddle.”

She broke into laughter for a second or two, then she took a deep breath.

“Okay, I want you for a boyfriend and a lover, but I also want to become a nurse,” she rattled off in a hurry. “So, we need to be careful when we make love, because I don’t want to have to get married right away, okay? That’s everything in a nutshell.”

“Damn you are one forward wench,” I had to laugh as I hugged her tightly. “But, why me?”

“Just because I think you’re what I want in the long run,” she mumbled, her head buried in my shoulder. “I have to be forward because you’re too darn shy and I’m grabbing onto you now before anyone else realizes just what kind of guy you really are.”

I didn’t move the car for almost half an hour. We spent that time kissing, cuddling and talking. Actually I found out that we were a lot more alike than I would have believed possible. Although I’d always felt like a loner, she had always felt alone as well, even though she was a twin. She felt that being a twin had set Corinna and her apart from everyone else and while both of them had been alike in so many ways, they’d been very different as well. For one thing, Corinna wanted a husband and a family right away, but Carissa wanted a career. She wanted to be a nurse and she wanted a lot of time to grow and change, not an instant family of kids.

When I did start the car again, it felt a lot more comfortable to me to have her snuggled at my side. That short talk and the cuddling session had really helped and I could understand how she and Mom had gotten along so well. Unfortunately the rest of the road up to Grampa Benders was so rough that it wasn’t long before she had to let me have more space to drive. Then we came to a little area that had a stand of Poplar trees on a knoll and a seasonal creek running on the far side of the knoll from the road.

“Oh, stop here,” she suddenly sat up and put her hand on mine as it rested on the steering wheel. “I’m sure this is the place your Mom said we should have our picnic or are there any other places like this on the way, with the trees and the creek?”

“This is the only one with Poplar trees and a creek, but it only runs in the early spring,” I grinned as I pulled over. “Do you know the history of this spot?”

“What do you know about it?” she grinned right back at me.”Your Mom told me that Beth was conceived under those Poplar trees while you and Wil slept in the back seat of an old car.”

“Oh,” I laughed. “It’s also where Wil lost his virginity.”

“Hmmph, I didn’t know that, but it’s where your Dad and his first wife, Kate, first made love too. She told your mom about it and your mom told me,” she giggled. “Maybe we should wait and set up camp here this evening instead of having a picnic here now?”

“What?”

“You heard me,” she laughed. “This seems to be the spot where your family gets lucky and I wouldn’t want to spoil the perfect record, but I really don’t want to meet your Grampa Bender when I smell as if I’ve just had sex.”

I had shut the car off because I’d thought we were going to get out and have a picnic, but after that statement, I just stared at her in astonishment. I didn’t have a clue what to say or do. This girl, no, make that this woman had just told me in so many words that she wanted to have sex with me and from the sounds of it, she’d even told my Mother what she planned on doing. It even seemed that Mom had gone along with the idea to the point of setting me up.

Carissa simply sat there and smiled at me. It was as if she was waiting patiently for me to catch up to her in some way. My mind went flashing back through all the years I had known her and I couldn’t help but remember the incident involving the two twins and the Valentines. In all honesty, other than that day, the two of them had only been guilty of ignoring me. That was the only day that I felt either of them had actually been cruel toward me.

I felt that I had to bring it up because it was something that had bothered me for years.

“Do you remember when we were in grade seven or eight and I gave you and Corinna each a Valentine? You both crumbled them up and threw them in the garbage pail while I was standing right there watching,” I said bluntly. “I’ve never felt that I could really trust either of you since then.”

“But I didn’t throw away that Valentine,” Carissa protested, her eyes huge as she stared at me in surprise. “I remember that one because it was special. It was the first Valentine that I ever got that cost more than a few pennies, so to me it was really a big deal. I’ve still got it; it’s mounted in one of my scrap books. I might have thrown away the envelope that it came in, but I would never have thrown that card away. I remember it did take us both by surprise. Then when you never did anything else, like talking to us or anything, I know we were both a little bit ticked off with you for teasing us.”

“But you both ignored me, like I didn’t exist,” I protested.

“Well, you ignored us,” she snapped, then she stared at me in surprise. Suddenly she broke into a grin. “You ignored us, because we ignored you and we ignored you, because you ignored us, right?”

“It would seem like that’s what happened,” I managed to smile somewhat weakly.

“So, what are we going to do about it? It’s not as if we can go back and live that period of our lives over. So how do we get over the hurt we’ve both felt because we were both damn fools,” she laughed aloud, then grew serious.

“Just what’s going on in that devious mind of yours?” I asked.

“Well, we could sit over there and have a picnic under the trees, but we could pretend we were back there in time,” she smiled. “This could be like our first date.”