Chapter 11

After dinner, Naomi helped Lisa put the freshly laundered sheets on her bed. They had been mostly quiet since they left Michael downstairs. Once both their beds were made, Lisa sat on her bed, almost exactly where she was the night before. The memories occupied her mind as Naomi brushed her hair in the mirror.

Her mind drifted to the morning, recalling the sounds she heard her brother and sister had made. She bit her lip, unsure of what to make of the feelings that were bubbling underneath the surface. She closed her eyes before she finally spoke up.

“Naomi, can I ask you something?”

She stopped brushing her hair momentarily to look at her sister’s reflection in the mirror. “Sure.”

“What did you and Michael do different?”

Naomi didn’t show it but her mind had been replaying the moment throughout the day, making her stomach ache in a way that felt unfamiliar and foreign. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling but a feeling that left her wanting and, perhaps more poignantly, unsure of what to do next. She let her mind wander again, but felt comforted sharing the story with her sister.

“I had thought about what had happened when you and I rubbed his thing.” While Lisa nodded in following along, Naomi paused to smile, knowing she had put something together. “And began to wonder if he rubbed his thing on my flower, if something would happen. And it just sort of did.”

Naomi’s head filled with the memories of the sensation, reliving each moment in her head. She closed her eyes as her hand stopped midway in her hair, remembering what it felt like to have her brother on top of her, feeling the weight of his body on hers, his thing pressing between their bodies. Then she remembered the shock of his willy pushing inside her. She felt a flush rise up to her chest and up her neck.

Lisa could see that her sister was lost in thought. “I know I was a bit jealous this morning but, a small part of me was sad that you didn’t get to feel what I felt. But I’m glad you were finally able to.”

Naomi nodded her head as she put the brush down. She didn’t want to turn around and show how much her cheeks were flushed. “I’m sorry we made you jealous. And we really weren’t trying to leave you out.”

She sighed softly, wondering how to make it up to Lisa. “Have you and Michael ever slept in the same bed? Like we did when we were younger?”

Lisa shook her head. “No. Except the times where the three of us were all sleeping together. But never just the two of us.”

Naomi turned around and sat next to her sister on the bed, hoping the blood had rushed elsewhere. “Maybe you should.” Naomi turned toward her sister. “It doesn’t seem right that Michael and I have had literally our entire lives to get to know each other. We practically finish each other’s sentences. We didn’t get there overnight.”

Lisa nodded in understanding, hanging on Naomi’s every word. “Remember Pastor Rivers’ message? I don’t know about you but I’ve been getting the feeling that something is changing. I can’t put my finger on it but maybe that change needs some help. And it might give your sheets a break from having to be washed a third night in a row.”

Naomi gave her a reassuring smile, hoping that would settle the matter. Lisa swung her arms around her sister and gave her a tight hug.

“I’m sorry for being upset this morning.”

Naomi nodded against her head. “It’s alright. I forgive you. Do you forgive me? Us?”

Lisa nodded as she pulled away. “Of course, Naomi.” She slowly got up and made her way toward the closet. She wasn’t sure what she should wear. She went through her clothes and found herself fumbling through each one.

Naomi looked over at her sister. “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know what I should wear. Normally when I’m around Michael, I wear my pajamas. But I don’t sleep in them,” Lisa replied between shuffles of clothes.

“Didn’t you wear just a robe a few nights ago?” Naomi chided her before walking over to her. “And besides, we’ve been naked with him now. I even slept naked with him yesterday.”

“That’s different though. You guys have done that before.” Lisa was starting to get more worried. Naomi put her hand on top of hers.

“If you’re going to be ‘one of us’, be ‘one of us’. Sleep in what you normally sleep in. Or do what I did and sleep naked.” Naomi gave her a reassuring smile which made Lisa realize how mature her sister had gotten. It felt like, in this moment, her younger sister knew more than she did. Lisa returned her smile and got ready for bed.

Behind the closed door of the study, Michael was at his father’s desk re-reading the notes he took on Sunday. He had a bad habit of biting the end of the pen cap as he thought through. Between looking at his terrible writing and his bible, he wasn’t sure what message he should focus on.

He allowed his mind to drift to Saturday evening, when Lisa first came to him. Although it made him uncomfortable and embarrassed, he saw how much it helped her. Then his mind drifted to last night, when he was naked with his siblings. He had helped them again.