Caris St. John leaned back in her chair and allowed her thoughts to wander, though 'wander' was an inaccurate word to use. Each time she gave her thoughts free rein, they headed unerringly to her encounter of the previous day. And oh, what an encounter it had been!
She'd gone to the construction site on Cliff and Oakburn expecting to meet up with Client 56674. The most Caris hoped for was that her randomly matched sexual partner would be both worldly and experienced. She had gotten that. And more. So very much more. Client 56674 turned out to be her mother's new groom, Eamonn Danvers.
He was everything Caris preferred in an older man: worldly, world-weary, decisive and in charge. It was a combination Caris rarely encountered. Not even for her mother's sake was she willing to pass up such an opportunity.
'Stepdaddy' had not disappointed. Their thirty minute time limit flew by with only the surface of their sexual curiosity scratched. Eamonn was, in turns, tender and demanding. He had, at times been just on the other side of cruel. And Caris had no problems with that. So in spite of the most unbreakable rule of The Service's client contract (no further contact), Caris pushed any uncomfortable thoughts of her mother far away and agreed when Eamonn suggested they meet again in the upcoming days. She was, frankly, surprised their second encounter hadn't already occurred.
The murmur of voices outside her office drew Caris' attention. She strained to recognize the voice. Caris hoped it wasn't one of her regulars in crisis. She'd seen her last scheduled patient quite some time ago, but had hung around the office in case Eamonn's text came in. The construction site where they would meet again was closer to Caris' office than to her home.
"Els!" Caris was surprised to see her twin sister step through the door. It was nearly 8 PM. When they'd departed at lunch earlier, Caris did not expect to see Ellyn again that day. "What are you doing here? It's pretty late."
Ellyn did not reply. Instead she stared at Caris for several long, silent seconds. "Who are you?" she finally asked.
"What?"
"I said who are you? You certainly aren't the person I grew up with."
Caris' mind raced. Something was wrong. She could tell it from the granite tone of her twin sister's voice. It was a tone she had heard Ellyn use on others, but never on her. "Els, what's wrong?" she asked carefully.
Ellyn mutely held out her cell phone for Caris to see. There in the 2-inch screen blinked four simple words: 56674, Cliff, Oakburn, Now.
Caris stepped back slowly. "Is that supposed to mean something?" she stalled.
The young psychiatrist was so busy analyzing and discarding explanations that she did not see her twin sister's arm go back. Caris' head snapped back with the force of the slap Ellyn laid upon her. She lost her balance and went crashing into the nearby bookshelf.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Caris screamed as she struggled to r
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ellyn countered. "Screwing our mother's husband? Not to mention having sex with random strangers!"
"It's what she deserves!" Caris' chest heaved with the passion of her words. "She cheated on Daddy and deserved to know how it felt! Daddy gave her his whole life and she still cheated!"
Ellyn shook her head. "I am tired of everyone protecting your feelings, Caris. Mama didn't cheat on Daddy."
"Stop lying," Caris railed loudly. "I heard the words from her own mouth. Daddy's body wasn't even cold and she was on the phone with someone trying to assuage her own guilt. I heard her, Ellyn!" Caris began to quote their mother. "We were never the same after the infidelity."
"After Daddy's infidelity! He was the one who cheated!"
Caris stepped to her sister until they were virtually nose to nose. "You take that back." The words were low and deadly. "You take that back and admit that you're lying for her. You always did," the words dripped with scorn, "take her side."
Ellyn met her younger twin's anger without blinking. "There's nothing to take back. Daddy was the one that cheated. For almost ten years. And if you need proof that my words won't give you," Ellyn added softly, "go and pay Aunt Cecile a visit."
"Aunt Cecile?" She was a longtime family friend who had been a part of the twin's lives for as long as they both could remember. "What? Is she supposed to have proof about this supposed infidelity of our father's?" Caris sneered.
Ellyn smiled. It was more a pained twist of her lips. "I guess you could say that. Her proof is named CJ and he is our 11-year-old half-brother."
Caris' knees buckled. It was as if the very foundation of her universe had been yanked out from under her. "Half-brother..." She began to hyperventilate. Without expression Ellyn watched her flounder for a few minutes before cursing beneath her breath and moving to Caris' side to assist her in her struggle to breathe.
"Why...didn't...anybody tell...me?" Caris panted.
"Cause you didn't want to know." Ellyn pulled no punches. "And that same mother you went out of your way to hurt in as many ways as you could, well, she was the one determined to help you stay blind to Daddy's feet of clay."
"I need to talk to her. I need to apologize-"
"Apologize for what, exactly, Caris?" Ellyn interrupted. "For treating our mother so shamefully? For disrespecting her in front of her friends? For screwing her new husband? For planning to do it again?"
Caris shakily rose to her feet. "I need to try and explain."
She reached for the car keys on her desk. Ellyn smoothly lifted them away. "I will drive you there. After my encounter with Eamonn Danvers this afternoon I deserve to hear the whole sordid truth. Not to mention that between you and our new stepfather, Mama is going to need someone there who is actually thinking about her and not themselves."
End Notes:
The title comes from a line of dialogue in the movie Barbershop.
