Chapter 58

"Dammit, Angelica, of course I would want the best for my baby!"

"Then don't condemn Sylvia for acting the same way, my darling Annetta. Our husband can apply logic just as we can, and we are here to help him to find that logic, if he needs such assistance.

Let's allow Sylvia to work things out for herself. When she is ready, she will ask for our help, and I do mean OUR help, not just mine or John's."

"Hmmph!" Annetta could see the sense in this, but didn't want to actively agree. "We'll see!"

She marched out of the kitchen.

Bob Kempe reported the latest news to his family.

"Ladies, events are getting out of my control, and I think it is great! Helen and her expert friends have been exploring a new planet for possible colonisation, and it didn't have a name. It is mostly covered by forest, so The Personalia, of all people, suggested that it be named Arborea. Helen's team liked it, and I agreed with the proposal, naturally. The Personalia are not fools, and neither am I a fool.

Even more interesting, from discovering that all the trees had thick layers of bark, they deduced that there had to be long spells of very cold weather, when the planet's lack of tilt suggested shouldn't happen. From that, they deduced an external cause, and by a few facts and careful steps, they deduced that something in space, slightly nearer the star, was plunging the world into freezing darkness at intervals. The Personalia found what it was and are now actively in the process of removing it, so that the planet will now be fit for a colony.

Oh, I nearly forgot. They also discovered another stranded bunch of Filoyarine, on an island, and have transported them to Filonia, the new main planet of that race. Quite something, eh?"

Diane commented, "Yes dear. Very interesting; but not as interesting as when one of your children says her first word. It was "Mama", of course, and it was spoken by Diana, my own little wonder."

Ruth laughed. "That must have caused some confusion, as it was Cleo who heard the word being spoken. Diana's mother was nowhere around at the time, were you, Diane?" Cleo Peters was the regular babysitter.

Diane stuck out her tongue at Ruth. "Spoilsport! She still said it, didn't she?"

"She did. I was in the nursery at the time, feeding my own Siyanda, and I distinctly heard her say it. She was sitting up in her cot at the time, so I think she was asking for her mother to come and cuddle her. As soon as I finished with Siyanda, I went over and gave her a cuddle, and she repeated it. Perhaps she thinks I am her mother!" Being a black South African, Ruth could not be mistaken for Diana's mother, though her own daughter, Tessa, had trouble recognising she was not white, for most of her brothers and sisters were white.

Diane said sharply, "Of course you are her mother, Ruth, or at least her second mother. We are all mothers to ALL of our children. Every child in this family has one father and four mothers. Always remember that, ladies." Diane could never entirely escape from being the original wife of Bob Kempe: the woman who had brought Ruth into the marriage, and later accepted Mary, and then Helen's wish to join them. She was thus the female boss of the family, much though she tried to avoid acting this way. It was probably her training as a military officer that produced this attitude.

Bob tried to steer clear of any controversy. Picking sides was too dangerous, and getting involved at all was tricky. Having no opinion on the matter at hand was his preferred option. When asked, his reply was along the lines of, "I love you all, so why should I do anything to upset any one of you?" He was quick to point out that they all had their own areas of expertise, and that these should be recognised. "No-one should challenge Diane on military or security matters; no-one should challenge Ruth on psychological or educational matters; no-one should challenge Mary on food or nutritional matters; and no-one should challenge Helen on weather or climate matters. EVERYONE can challenge me on anything, as I am a non-specialist. All of you know a great deal about one area of knowledge, whereas I know a little about many areas of knowledge. That should lead to a balance where nobody should suffer; and as I don't intend to suffer, I shall keep out of your arguments, my lovely and loving ladies."

Diane got huffy. "Typical man, escaping from taking a stand on anything!"

Bob was conciliatory. "Diane, if I had a garden shed, I would retire to it, rather than get involved. I get involved in enough arguments at work, without coming home to more. I value my peace with you girls. Please allow me to have that respite."

Helen commented, "It is funny. In all the conversations I have had with Robert Smith and his two wives, I have never once seen any argument. I was wondering if it was a "twin" thing, rather than just multiple spouses?"

Ruth gave her opinion. "It could be, but young love may have more to do with it. Any two sisters normally bicker a lot, including twins, but adult twins seldom do so, in my experience. I suspect it is because they have come to realise that being twins is rather special. I am willing to be proved wrong."

Mary enquired, "Do any of you know any other twins? It would be intriguing to discover if there was a pattern. Of course, such a small sample proves nothing."

Bob said, "I know that Annabel Defreitas had twins recently, but they are too young to derive useful data from them. Perhaps we should stick to grown-up twins?"

No-one appeared t know any adult twins, so Bob suggested that he try the Colony database. He logged on and searched for twins, coming up with only two sets. One pair was the girls Helen knew, but the others were girls with unusual names: Adeola and Eniola Oluwosu. "They are aged seventeen, so do we count that as adult? ... Oh, sorry. I have just noticed that is their married surname, so they are indeed adults. Ruth, do you want to phone them and ask if they still argue; or is that being too intrusive?"

"As always, dear husband, people are individuals. One might say no to the request, another might say yes. I expect twins will both say the same thing, whatever the answer is. It never hurts to ask. though. They can always say no."

Diane looked around, and said, "Does anyone mind if I take this on? I get away with more things as "the Governor's wife" - far more than I do as security chief!" The others left the buck with her, so she got out her phone. "It is still early evening, so they should be available." She took a note of the number Bob found in the database, and rang it. Shortly a voice answered, "Oluwosu farm. Can I help you?"

"I hope so. I was hoping to speak to twin girls, named Adeola and Eniola Oluwosu."

"Oh. They are my married daughters. My surname is Odumosu. I Can I ask what you wish to speak to them about? It may be something their husband should be involved in."

"They are both married to the same man? Interesting. We know another set of twins married to the one man, and they seem very happy."

"My girls are very happy with Winston. Can I ask who you are and why you are asking?"

"Of course, Mrs Odumosu. My name is Diane Kempe. I am wife of the Governor. This whole thing is a result of idle conversation about a set of twins who married the one man recently. They seemed very happy to do so, and we wondered if this was typical of twins. It appears it is, based on a sample of two!"

"Mrs Kempe, if you had seen them grow up, you would never have thought they would fall for the one man. As children they never agreed on anything. However, by the time they were fourteen, and much more aware of how special they were, they began to start agreeing on more and more topics. Now, they agree on almost everything. They have even adopted Winston's other wife as a pretend twin, and have got her in agreement with them both most of the time. It is astonishing!

Mind you, now that I think back, it was in Simisola's interest to agree with them, as she could not marry Winston without his other wives agreeing to the match. I do so like the law on Rehome."

"Mrs Odumosu ... do you have a first name, as this sounds so formal?"

"I do, but I have been called Mama for so long, it is all I answer to, so just call me Mama."

"Mama Odumosu, I meant to interview the twins, but you have probably given me better answers than they might have. Do you think them both choosing to marry the one man had any effect on how they act?"

"Diane, they have informed me that they decided two years ago that they would both marry Winston. He didn't know anything about it, so when we arrived as a family, he was seeing them as young women, instead of the skinny girls he knew previously (We all come from the same locality, you see, and their big brother was Winston's childhood friend).

He was struck by their beauty, and made tentative overtures, asking me whether they were of marriageable age, and if so, would it be acceptable for him to show interest in them. He then asked them if he could pay suit to them, both of them. One asked the other "What does that mean?" and she replied, "It means he wants to consider marrying us." The response to that was, "Why don't we just say yes, and get down to the details?" and it went on from there. Eniola and Adeola are quite a pair. They decide what they want, and go for it.

Winston is such a nice boy, and he is a good husband to them, they tell me. On Simisola's wedding might, all four of them slept together and made love together. Simisola is even younger than my twins, so they were teaching her about pleasuring their husband. Sometimes, Diane, my girls give me more information than I really want to hear, but I cannot find it in me to dissuade them.

Do you have any children, Diane?"

"I have a son and a daughter, but my daughter is just a baby, still, and I am in the process of producing another baby. Bob and I were late in getting married, as we were both career persons until The Personalia turned our lives upside down."