Sibling Rivalry

Chapter Five-2

The door to the conference room shut, closing Aimee’s thoughts, as well. The phone rang. Time to get the day started.

Aimee began working for Benson and Taylor during her community college years. Her strong work ethic allowed her to slip right back into her position when she moved back home. She liked the steady paycheck and the stability that came from having what some would call a normal career. Karla was the complete opposite. She preferred to bounce from job to job as her mood changed, being easily bored. She didn’t like staying in one place for long and, once she became bored with something or someone, she quickly moved on to the next shiny toy. She worked everywhere at one time or another, doing just about everything in a short period of years—pizza delivery, waitress, paper carrier, secretary, even a cleaning lady at the local hotel. The sad part was she didn’t always wait until she had something new to go to before quitting a job. She didn’t care about stability the way Aimee did. Karla only cared about the moment and what she could squeeze out of it, and she did her best to squeeze as much out of her life as possible, even if it left people hurt in her wake, which it usually did.

Aimee could not live that way. She needed structure. She needed to know what the next day brought and that she could handle it. It was part of the reason her car was giving her fits. It was unreliable. She couldn’t handle unreliable. Things needed to work as they were supposed to work, just as she did. She worked; she got paid, and then she paid her bills. That was how you went through life. Well, that was how normal people went through life. Karla, however, was far from normal.

Aimee took a deep breath. And I know that about her. I really need to stop expecting my idea of normal out of my sister. We’re twins in birth only. She is only trying to help me in her own demented—slutty—way. She took a sip of her coffee, Karla’s antics forgiven and put out of her mind. Karla would always be Karla.

The day continued to crawl by as clients wandered in and out. More wills were written. DUIs were fought. Divorces begun. Benson and Taylor focused on family law, but they had junior partners who took on more criminal cases. Aimee was the receptionist for them all. There were days of chaos, but within that chaos, she had stability.

The office phone rang as she settled back in with her third cup of coffee. "Good morning, Benson and Taylor Law Firm."

"Who is this?" The voice—male, probably middle-aged—sounded confused.

"Benson and Taylor Law Firm."

"Who?"

"This is Benson and Taylor Law Firm. You called this number, sir."

"Yeah, but I'm trying to figure out who this is."

"Well, with all due respect, why are you calling this number if you don't know who you're calling?"

"Somebody gave me this number and told me to call for help, so I'm calling."

"Okay? What help do you need?"

"So, who is this?"

"Ben-son...and…Tay…lor…Law... Firm."

"What do you guys do?"

"We are a law firm. We represent people."

"Oh... uh, never mind then.” The phone line went dead.

Aimee held the phone away from her, staring at it in disbelief. What the hell was that all about? It should have surprised her, but it didn’t She received at least one asinine call every day. It came with the territory of her job.

Just then her cell phone went off, vibrating along the desktop. She stared at it a moment, thinking the coincidence unnerving. She slid her phone lock off and answered it. “Hello?”

“Aimee Harper? It’s Mitch Greenway. We ran some tests on your Honda and I think I was right; it’s the fuel filter. It’s a pretty easy fix.” He gave her an estimate of what it would cost to fix. Images of Karla draped over the side of the car flashed through her head.

“And this is the full price, right? No special treatment?”

“Well, it’s not the full price. I gave you a break on some of the labor, being a friend of Brad’s. The parts I can’t do anything about.”

“I would prefer paying the full price, if that’s okay.”

He chuckled into the phone. “I’ve never heard of someone asking to pay more to get their car fixed.”

“Look, I know you went out with my sister, and I know how my sister is. I don’t want whatever happened between the two of you to be the reason you give me a break on the cost.”

“Nothing has happened between the two of us outside of a dance or two.”

Aimee forced a smile into her strained voice. “I know how my sister dances. This isn’t a wanting-to-go-out-with-twins thing, is it?”

“The two of you are twins? I hadn’t noticed. Still, I’ll tell you what, if you agree to let me take you out for a drink, I’ll charge you full price.”

She stared at her computer monitor, dumbfounded. “I’m sorry. You’re asking me out? I thought you wanted to go out with Karla.”

“Who said I wanted to go out with Karla?” She could hear the laughter in his voice. “No. I’m asking you out. What do you say?”

She didn’t know what to say. It didn’t make sense. Karla was the one throwing herself at him with her skimpy outfit and her seductive behavior. Why was he asking Aimee out? “I’ll have to think about it,” she said, for no other reason than she needed time to think. “How long before my car is fixed?”

“You can pick it up tomorrow afternoon. We can discuss the p*****t then.” She could hear his smile through the phone. His voice was playful. She didn’t know how to deal with playful. Playful was Karla’s territory.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Betty Harper held the soup spoon in front of her mouth, blowing on it, sending the steam billowing away from her, before swallowing. Aimee stuffed a forkful of salad into her mouth, wishing all the while she had a hamburger. Her mother offered to pick her up and take her to lunch since her car was in the shop, which worked out well since Aimee was in such a rush that morning she forgot to pack a lunch. She hated not having her car.

“How long before it’s fixed?”

“The mechanic said it would be ready by tomorrow afternoon. Ginny is taking me home tonight and I’m sure I can get Karla to bring me back tomorrow. She has nothing else to do. I may need your help getting the car when it’s ready, however, if you’re available.”

“I can do that. You still coming for dinner tonight?”

“Sure. I’m always up for a pot roast, especially yours. I never could get the recipe right when I was at college.”

Betty laughed as she scooped up another spoonful of her corn chowder. “No one knows how to cook in college. It’s why you all keep coming back. It’s probably why Karla never left.” Betty swallowed the soup with a smile on her face. “If you hadn’t moved back and into your own place, she’d probably still be at home.”

“And you’d still be paying for everything.” Aimee thought about Karla’s unemployed status. “You aren’t paying her bills now, are you?”

“No, I’m not. I’ve offered, but she says she has it covered for now.”

Aimee wondered how. Karla was never the type to save money. It didn’t fit into her live-for-the-moment status. “Does she have any leads on a job?”

Betty shook her head. “Not that I know of. Something will fall into her lap, though. One thing about your sister, she’s always good at making things happen.”

Aimee wondered just how much of Karla’s exploits and manipulations her mother knew. Would she think her sister was the perfect little girl if she did? Aimee started to nod at her own thoughts, and then stopped herself. Her mother would never think ill of either of her daughters. It wasn’t in her makeup.

“How about you, though? Do you need any help getting the car repaired? I could help out if you need a little extra. No one is ever ready for these little emergencies. Trust me. I speak from experience.”

Aimee believed her. Her parents lived paycheck to paycheck when the twins were younger, and when something broke, it almost broke them trying to replace it or get it fixed. Aimee had learned from her parents’ mistakes, however. Her car may keep her from going to the Decades of Rock concerts, but it wouldn’t make her borrow from her mother. “I’ve got it covered. Promise. But thank you.”

“That’s what mom’s do.”

Aimee smiled at her and thought of Karla. It’s what families do, each in their own way. “How did two sisters who are identical, wind up so vastly different?”

Her mother sat there, her spoon halfway to her lips. “Oh, sweetie, you two have always been different. Have been since birth. I’ve even been able to tell you apart where others couldn’t, not even your father.” She swallowed the spoonful of soup.

“But we used to be so much alike. We did everything together.” Her hand rested on her glass of water, but she didn’t pick it up. “Now it seems like we have nothing in common.”

“You’re sisters. Twins. You’re not clones. You fight and bicker, but you have each other’s back in the end. That’s what you have in common—your loyalty for each other. Your differences make you a strong combination. As long as you two work together, nothing will ever defeat you.”

“You know that sounds like a line from some fantasy novel, right?”

“Sorry. I was up reading all night. Still, it’s the truth. When you’re upset, you eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Your sister goes dancing. You enjoy quiet nights, but they drive your sister crazy. She’d prefer to go out, get drunk, and wake up wondering what she did the night before. You like to work. Your sister prefers to party. Yet, you both are joined at the hip by what drives you—a love of family. She may have dyed her hair to look a little different, but she’s still your sister. She loves you in her own little way. Looks don’t determine personality. That happens in the heart.”

“Karla has a heart? When did that happen?”

Betty laughed. “She has one. The rest of us just may not always see it.”

“It’s the only part of her I haven’t seen.” Aimee offered her mother a smile as she lifted her glass to her lips. She wondered when Karla would ever reveal her heart more than she did her ass.