The man's chocolatey brown face scrunches up and he starts crying. "I can't believe it. Come in, come in!" We all pile into the midsized house. Scott's mother walks in just then; she is holding a girl who looks about Joy's age. She sets the girl down and runs to Scott, throwing her arms around him.
"I knew it! I knew you'd find us!"
Scott's usually-controlled face breaks into tears. His father wraps his arms around the two of them and cries with his wife and long-lost son. I feel my heart overflowing as I watch the reunited family. The government is cruel to take us away from people who love us like this. We should be hugged and kissed and cried over. Garth, Jefrey, Ernestine and I creep quietly around them and seat ourselves on the gently-worn sofa and armchairs nearby. When the tear-stained family breaks out of the hug, Scott's father says, "They have been watching the house for weeks. We were afraid they might have captured you. But then the news today says that they are offering a reward for your capture. It made it seem like they hadn't found you."
Ernestine looks at Mick Taylor. "They don't know where we are, and we intend to keep it that way."
Scott slides a finger around the top of his turtleneck shirt. "I've been staying somewhere safe and comfortable. We've been waiting for the watching peace officers to leave."
His mother gently pulls the turtleneck down a little so she can see Scott's lumpy neck. "Your neck isn't that bad. I was so upset when they took you away. I wrote letters of protest. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do."
Scott's tear-stained lips smile. "I know. I'm just happy to meet you."
Lola Taylor starts bawling hysterically. "I wish you remembered me."
He hugs his mom again. "Don't cry. This feels familiar, but I don't remember life before the complex."
Lola looks Scott over as if expecting to find bruises. "Did they hurt you?"
Scott looks at me before answering his mother. "Not physically, but it was mentally hard at times. I tried not to cause trouble. If I had stayed in the complex one more year, I would have had a job nine hours a day, seven days a week of hard labor. My life was about to become—grim."
"I'm so glad you got out when you did. You won't be able to stay long; the officers are coming here for a meeting in an hour. But you have to meet your sisters."
Ernestine leans forward in her chair. "We can't risk having little mouths saying things to their friends that will get us captured."
Lola frowns then perks up. "We can call him a cousin then. Will that work?"
Ernestine pauses before she nods. "Just keep your story consistent in front of them."
Lola nudges the little girl hanging on her arm forward. "This little one is Ann, and I'm pretty sure Laura is in the kitchen. She is ten and doesn't like company. She's very shy."
Scott's father brings out the shy ten-year-old and Scott hugs the two girls. "Hi, girls. I'm your cousin... Seth. I'm so happy to meet you."
The girls smile shyly at him. Ann looks him in the eyes. "Mom said you can't stay long. Will you visit us again?"
"Yes. I will visit you as often as I can."
"Okay, good." Ann smiles at Scott in the most heart-melting way.
Mr. Taylor takes the girls into the kitchen for some milk and cookies. Mrs. Taylor hugs Scott again and then cradles his face in her hands. I can barely hear her whisper, "Scott, I want you to know that we were heartbroken when they took you away from us. There was nothing we could do. When all the excitement dies down, we would like you to move back in with us. We have so much to catch up on."
Through his tears, Scott says, "I will. I will move back in as soon as it is safe. I will have to live in hiding, but I want to know you. I want to know my family."
Mr. Taylor rubs Scott's head of cornrows affectionately with his hand. "You will, Scott. I wish you could stay longer, but I don't want to risk the peace officers seeing you. If you can, come by on Fridays at noon. I only work half a day on Fridays, and the officers have a big weekly lunch and powwow on the other side of town. It'll be the safest time for now."
"Okay. I will be here Friday at noon."
Scott's parents hug him again, and his mother kisses his cheeks about twenty times. We all feel warm and fuzzy as we leave. Scott has a hard time keeping his emotions in check as we walk home. He keeps saying, "They love me," and, "They want me back."
I punch him playfully in the arm. "Of course they want you back. I know someone else who probably wants you back right now too."
Suddenly a peace officer with a thick gray mustache walks out of a house in front of us. He looks at us curiously as he approaches his car. Ernestine nods at him and says, "Nice day, officer." We make a sharp right turn and then another quick left turn down the alley. Ernestine whispers to us as she signs with her hands. Hide, now. And be quiet. We probably aren't thinking clearly, but we quickly find places to hide. Ernestine climbs up the side of a broken-down building like a spider and slips in a broken window. The twins and Scott hide in an abandoned van that has been left to rot in the alleyway. I won't fit in there with them. Jefrey points to big, black bags of garbage beside the van. Oh, gag. I don't have time to find anything else so I shift the stinky, lumpy bags on top of myself.
The officer turns down the alley in his car. I understand why Ernestine was so quiet now. I'm pretty sure his window is down because I hear him snort and spit on my garbage bags. Gross! I try not to wiggle or gag. The tires of his vehicle pause just past the garbage heap I'm hiding in. Luckily, he doesn't exit his vehicle. I try not to breathe as I hear the tires roll past me. My heart is beating so fast, I worry that the whole city can hear it.
Crack, tinkle, tinkle. It sounds like a window has broken around the corner from where we came. The officer backs his car down the alley and turns toward the sound of broken glass and zips off.
"Let's go now, kids!" Ernestine yells out as she scampers down the side of the building. We run straight down the alleyway and then try to walk quickly without drawing attention to ourselves once we get to the main street. I am going as fast as I can, but my tender toes make me slower than everyone else. Ernestine turns around and looks at me with concern.
"You can leave me behind, Ernestine. Just get them to safety."
She laughs at me. "And face your mother without you? No way. You can do it, we're almost there." She takes my arm and pulls me forward.
I am gasping for air by the time we collapse inside the basement door of my parents' house. "Elira, are you okay?" my mother asks with alarm.
If she knew that a peace officer was tailing us, she probably won't let me out again. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just out of shape. I really should exercise more."
My mother doesn't believe me. "Ernestine, what happened? Why are you all exhausted?"
"Oh, no big deal, we just thought we saw a peace officer, so we decided to move a little faster."
My mother stares hard at Ernestine, who refuses to meet her gaze. "Look! My favorite soup. Let's eat!"
We all take Ernestine's hint and sit down at the table, trying not to look confused or shocked. Avra sits next to Scott and asks, "So, how was it, Scott? Were your parents nice?"
Scott positively lights up and hugs Avra. "Yes, they were kind and loving, and they want me back! My mother kissed my cheeks over and over again. I think I kind of remember her doing that. It felt so—right."
Avra smiles at him and sighs, "I can't wait until I get to meet my parents. It'll be just like that I bet."
Chapter 11
Scott only gets to be the center of attention for two days. Ernestine goes by herself to observe the Yesterlys again. When she gets back, Garth insists that we are ready to meet the twins' parents.
"I'm not 100% sure they are the right people, Garth."
"You said you were 95% sure though."
"Yeah, I thin
k it's them, but they aren't like Scott's parents."
Garth is insistent. "Every parent is going to be different, Ernestine. I want to meet them."
Ernestine is a little bit reluctant after the close call we had the other day, but she finally gives in. Garth is excited. Jefrey is nervous, of course. Everything makes him nervous. Mother doesn't really want me to go, but she doesn't stop me. Rocky and Avra aren't feeling well again, so they will be staying here. Scott says he'll stay with Avra to keep her company. That means it'll just be Ernestine, Garth, Jefrey, and me. Yikes. I hope I can tolerate the love triangle I've placed myself in.
Ernestine is disguised as a woman with her fake chin today. She's decided that we need to approach this visit differently. "If we see a peace officer or anyone suspicious this time, we are not going to run. We have to learn to talk our way out of trouble."
"What do we say?" Jefrey asks.
"I've made up a fake name and story for each of you. Elira, you are Edith Westergard, niece to Doctor Hamble. You are an 18-year-old student of pharmaceuticals. You are visiting your uncle for the weekend."
"Okay, I'll do my best."
"Garth, you are Garrett Shofield. You're 19 years old and a student of medicine. You are being mentored by Doctor Hamble."
"Sure. Am I from here?"
"Uh, you don't know how to get around town, so we better say no. You are from Wellington. You are just visiting to shadow Doctor Hamble."
"Okay."
"Jefrey, you are Jack Dodge, 18 years old and an apprentice to an electrician. You are helping your boss fix an electrical problem at the Hamble's residence. Well, only say that if you are seen here. If you are seen anywhere else, say you're fixing an electrical problem at the museum."
"Why does Garth get to be older than me?"
"We need to make you two as unlike twins as possible."
"I want to be older."
Ernestine rolls her eyes. "Garth, is it okay if you are 18 and Jefrey is 19?"
Garth's lip curls as he looks at his brother's smug face. "Whatever."
"Great. Think of as many details as you can for the character you are playing. If a stranger asks your opinion on something, be ready with a response."
We practice having a conversation as our fake characters with my mom. "What do you mean you don't know if you like ice cream or not, Jack?"
"I've never had any."
"You have to pretend like you have and own your answer. Either say ‘yes, I like ice cream' or ‘no, I don't care for it,' It doesn't matter what you choose, just be confident in your answer when you aren't sure what they're talking about."
"Okay. I don't care for ice cream. I prefer cookies."
"That's better." Mother still doesn't look incredibly convinced when it's time to go.
I make sure I'm the last one out the door. Ernestine leads the way, with Jefrey by her side, pestering her with questions. I hang back a few steps, and Garth pauses his stride to match mine. I reach out and take his hand. He looks at me with excited, disguised-brown eyes. The sun is warm, the air is fresh, and I wish this walk would never end. Unfortunately, it does end, and rather quickly. Ernestine takes us to the big shop at the back of the property and opens the garage door. The shiny black car with four doors is in there instead of the garage. "Get in. The twins' parents live too far away to walk."
"How long will the drive be?" Garth asks.
"About 25 minutes; they live in the country."
Ernestine climbs into the driver seat. I motion at Garth to get in the back with me. I slide in the side door and he slides in right behind me. Unfortunately, Jefrey does not climb in the front passenger seat like I hoped he would. He climbs in the back on my other side. My hand that is holding Garth's lets go. I fold my arms in front of me instead. Jefrey smiles at me and starts rambling on about how nervous he is.
I try to catch Garth's eye, but he is looking out the window in his own little world. I'm sure both twins are wound as tight as springs inside. I hope this visit goes as well as Scott's did.
As we drive into the country, we pass fields of green plants and fields of big animals. I'm pretty sure the animals are cows. A grouping of houses surrounded by trees appears ahead of us. We pull up to a small, yet reasonably-fancy white house with an enormous green yard. A young boy, I'm guessing about age nine, is swinging on a swing connected to a tree branch. The tree is huge and old, yet healthy and charming. When the boy sees us pull into the driveway, he runs inside the house.
Ernestine turns around. "Did you see that kid? He looks just like you two! This has to be your parents' house!"
Garth smiles and jumps out of the car. Jefrey looks green. He slowly opens his door and just as slowly gets out. I sit there in the middle of the back seat for a moment. The car door on either side of me is open. I have to exit out one of them. I get out of Garth's door and shut it. I walk around the car to the other side and shut that door too because Jefrey didn't do it.
Garth speed walks to the front door of the white house before I can hold his hand. The rest of us follow behind him, much slower. Garth knocks on the door. It opens quickly to reveal the boy we saw on the swing.
"Hi, I'm Garrett. Who are you?"
The boy looks Garth over carefully before answering, "I'm Joseph. You look kind of familiar. Do you live around here?"
Garth smiles at the miniature version of himself. "Are your parents home, Joseph?"
"Not yet, they had to take some tree trimmers back to the neighbor. They should be back any minute."
"Is it okay if we wait for them?"
"I guess so. Do you want to play catch with me?"
Garth looks at his little brother affectionately. "Yes, we can play catch while we wait for them."
"I'll go get Mom and Dad's mitts. You guys go wait by the swing."
"Okay."
Jefrey leans over to Garth. "Do you know what mitts are?"
"No idea. But if it's called ‘catch' I'm sure it's easy enough to figure out."
We all sigh with relief as we walk to the swing. Joseph is super cute and friendly. I sit down and start swinging back and forth. Garth smiles at my beaming face. He gives me a big push. It startles me yet exhilarates me too. I become very aware of the gravity and air current around me; it's amazing. I let him push me a few times, then insist that he try it. I jump off the swing. Garth goes to sit down, but pauses as he looks down at the wooden seat. Etched in the wood, it says, "Happy Birthday, Garth and Jefrey. Love, Grandpa."
"Jefrey, take a look at this."
"This has to be the right place."
Garth runs his fingers over the words. "I wonder if this Grandpa is still alive."
Joseph joins us with the mitt things he was talking about. "Wait, did you just call him, Jefrey?"
Garth gives Ernestine an apologetic look as he nods. "Yes, I did. Is your grandpa still alive?"
"Yes, but we can't visit him anymore. He lives in the Complex for the Elderly."
I watch Garth's face harden with anger and disappointment. "Was he sick when he went there?"
"No, not really. He played catch with me the day before he left."
Garth's eyes fill with emotion. Joseph looks at him curiously. "Why do you care about my grandpa?"
"I—I'm related to him too." Ernestine gives Garth a warning look.
Joseph looks at the inscription on the swing seat and then looks at the twins. The wheels are definitely turning in his head. Garth looks at Joseph and asks, "Do you know who we are, Joseph?"
"Garrett and Jefrey," Joseph mutters and then looks at the swing seat again. "Are you—my brothers?"
Jefrey smiles for the first time in a long time as he answers him, "Yes, we are." Ernestine shakes her head.
"But Mom a
nd Dad said you died when you were two and a half." I hear footsteps approaching us on the gravel driveway.
"Hello, there. May I help you folks?" A man with dirty-blonde hair and broad shoulders asks from the driveway. His dark-haired, chubby wife stands cautiously behind him.
Jefrey approaches his father and mother at a faster pace than I think he should. "I'm Jefrey, your son. Why did you tell my little brother that we were dead?"
His father stumbles back several steps. "Wiona, call the authorities, now."
"NO!" Everyone else in the yard screams at once.
The nine-year old jumps up and down as he faces his father. "Dad, these are my brothers. They aren't dead. Let's invite them in!"
"They are wanted persons."
The woman takes her husband's hand. "Bart, look closely at them. I can see our features; they are our sons. It's like they have come back from the dead! I've missed them so. I want to talk to them."
The twins' dad does not budge. "We promised the authorities that we would not do that."
Wiona Yesterly stomps her foot. "I don't care what the authorities want. They have never cared about what I want." She pulls on her husband's arm in frustration. "Bart, these boys are your own flesh and blood. Come on, everybody. Let's go inside and have some lemonade."
"If we feed them, or take them in, we could be charged with aiding and abetting..."
"Shut up, Bart. Let's go inside, everyone."
Ernestine and I look at each other warily. Can we trust these people? Will the mom or the dad win out? We hesitantly decide to follow the divided family inside the house. We are led into a lovely sitting room with comfortable leather furniture. Joseph sits beside Garth and can't stop looking at him. Jefrey and their dad, Bart, keep glaring at each other across the room. Ernestine and I look at the mom for some assurance.
Wiona is the one who breaks the uncomfortable silence. "Your hair color is so different than I would have expected. You two used to be identical."
The Complex Law: Young Adult Dystopian Page-Turner (The Complex Trilogy Book 2) Page 8
