I decided to go for broke. It was like pulling off a band-aid, quick and fast was the only way to go.
I plunged in.
“Mark’s a year older than me,” I started.
“A year older, how did you meet? Are you still in school?” She asked, posing the last question to Mark.
Mark looked over at me. I knew what he was asking with the look. I shook my head yes. We might as well get it over with.
“I go to Krista’s school, but I’m not a student. I’m doing my graduate thesis at her school,” he said.
I took over and filled in the rest of the blanks for her. I told her how he had skipped grades growing up, and was able to graduate from college last year. I told her how our love of history had given us a common bond and that we talked about it after school one day. Then I told her that Sam and I had run into him and his friend yesterday at the Boardwalk.
“Does the Dean know your dating a student?” she asked.
I thought I detected just a touch of accusation in her voice.
“Yes, and he was not happy about it,” Mark said truthfully.
“Mrs. Miller, I know that it is unprofessional that I’m seeing your daughter. I have no excuse, except that I think she is pretty special, and I would like your permission to continue seeing her.”
“I don’t know if it’s best for Krista to date an intern where she goes to school.”
“Mom, we’re going to keep it quiet, nobody will know except Sam,” I said, starting to feel the first stirrings of doubt about telling her. What would I do if my mom wouldn’t let me see him anymore?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea Krista. He’s an adult. He goes to work every day while you’re in school. You still have years of schooling ahead of you,” she said.
“I’m sure you’re a nice young man, but Krista’s never even dated. I would prefer her first boyfriend to actually attend her school,” she said to Mark.
“I was hoping you would feel differently,” Mark said, looking disappointed.
I couldn’t believe it. This was not the way it was supposed to go. My mom was supposed to be okay with it. She was supposed to be glad that I was finally interested in someone.
“Mom, I want to see him, I love him.” The words slipped out. I wished I could take them back. I knew instantly that I had made a mistake, by the look on her face.
“Love him? You’ve only known him for a week, how can you love him?” She said angrily. “I don’t want you to see each other again.”
I was shocked.
Not see him. >“I know none of us are twins, but we seem to share many of the same traits as twins,” Sam mused.
I patted Feline absently on the head as he settled onto my lap. He was mad at me for abandoning him the night before, but couldn’t turn down the attention. I stroked his fur as I continued to read more on twins.
“We share many similarities with the twins on this site, but their connection comes from genetics,” Sam said as she read over my shoulder. “Well, except these ones.” I said, clicking onto another site that had a more paranormal spin on it.
My first instinct was to laugh. “Give me a break. Some of these twins act like they’re some kind of superhero,” I said as I read how one twin was convinced that he and his brother were put on earth to save the world and that they could read each other’s minds. “This is like reading the National Enquirer. I’m surprised he didn’t add that his mother was an alien from another planet.”
“Well, we mock it, but really Krista, is it any different than what all of us are going through? We dream about the same guy every night, we feel a surge of electricity when any of us touch, and not to mention; we all realized that we somehow freakishly neutralize each other.”
She of course had a point.
We decided to call Mark to see if he and Shawn wanted to meet us at the park by my house.
Mark answered the phone on the first ring. “Sam and I stumbled onto something while we were searching the web,” I said as a greeting.
“What kind of thing?” Mark asked, sounding intrigued.
“It’s too much to explain over the phone. We were hoping you could meet us at the park.”