I want to thank my anonymous editor for making my story a much better read.
I receive a lot of comments on my stories and do my best to read them all. I was re-reading my story--'Valentine's Day Dinner'--and it kind of got to me. I've written about twins before but I got an e-mail from a reader who said that story reminded him of his life and family. He told me about it and I thought I'd share my version with you. This is a standalone story.
My name is Jim Russell and I grew up in Ohio. I have two brothers and three sisters. My brothers and one sister were older than I was. My other sisters were two and three years younger than I was.
My story begins when I took an old childhood friend, Mary Jane, to our prom. I was eighteen at the time. I cared for her but we really never went steady or dated much. Her parents were rather strict but did let her go to our prom. We had a wonderful time and ended up kissing at the end of the evening. I had feelings for her but she would be going to Michigan to college. She wanted to be a teacher. And I was going to West Virginia on a football scholarship for the next four years.
Before I left, I attended her graduation party and told her how much I would miss her. We kissed a number of times and she admitted she always had a crush on me. I left three weeks later to college. I heard from others how long-distance relationships rarely worked out, so I accepted that we wouldn't be a couple.
I tried to see her whenever I went home but she was never there at the same time. Three years later, her parents moved. By this time, my brothers and my oldest sister were out of college and trade school and were married. They had families of their own. My oldest brother worked in manufacturing, my other brother was an electrician, and my oldest sister became a nurse.
One of my younger sisters just started community college. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life. My other sister joined the work force and got a job at Kohl's. She liked talking to people and was happy with her life. They both still lived at home.
I dated a few girls in college and by my senior year, I had sex with many of them. I met Veronica at a party and she was the sexiest woman I had ever been with. We began having sex on a regular basis after I heard she broke up with her boyfriend. When we first got together, I always used condoms. Veronica told me she was on the pill and eventually I stopped using them. Two months before graduation she told me she was pregnant.
I cared for her but I wasn't sure if I loved her. However, I wanted to do the right thing so I asked her to marry me. We got married shortly after I graduated. I can't say my family was happy about it but they knew I was doing the right thing. Veronica went to the doctor and when she came home, she said she was having twins. I started crying. I was going to be a father of not just one baby but two!
Veronica grew up in foster homes and was only in her second year of college. She dropped out at the end of the semester but mentioned she might go back after having the babies. We didn't want a big wedding so we went to a justice of the peace. Veronica had no family to come to a wedding however my parents threw us a nice reception and all the family attended. We went away for the weekend and spent some time looking around Amish country and spending our nights in a motel. When we returned, we rented an older three-bedroom house that was more than big enough for us but something we could afford.
I had received my Bachelor's in Business Administration and my dad got me in at the warehouse he managed. He told me I would have to learn several positions there before I could become a supervisor. I made good money but I had to put in a lot of hours.
A couple of months after we married, Veronica seemed to change. She wasn't happy. We hardly ever had sex and she was always complaining. I just figured it was mood swings from being pregnant. Mom told me she thought Veronica was hiding something. She asked me if I was sure they were my babies. It was easy to see she was worried about me.
My mom and my sisters stopped at our house whenever they could to help Veronica out. When it was time for the delivery, mom called me at work and I left for the hospital. I was in the delivery room with Veronica. My mom and sister stayed in the waiting room. My dad showed up later. We ended up having two baby girls. We named them Tracy and Lacy. They were so tiny. I was scared just holding them. Mom called my other siblings to tell them the good news.
When the babies were born, I had the hospital run a DNA test. I didn't mention it to Veronica. I didn't want her to think I didn't believe her until I found out for sure. I really hoped they were mine. Seeing their birth really got to me. When I received the DNA results, I sat down and cried. I loved those two little girls. Now I had proof they were mine.
After we got the girls home, Veronica said she couldn't handle the stress of the babies always crying. I did my best and did almost everything for them when I was home. Mom went over and helped her during the daytime. She said Veronica didn't take care of the girls much. Instead, she spent most of her time on the phone.
It bothered me because she said she didn't know anyone. One day when the girls were about three months old, Veronica said she needed to get out. Hours passed and I hadn't heard from her. Ten o'clock that evening a sheriff deputy came to my door.
"Are you Mr. James Russell?" he asked.
"I am. Is there a problem officer?"
"Are you married to a Veronica Russell?"
"Yes sir, she's my wife. Is everything all right?"
"I'm sorry to inform you that your wife was killed in an auto accident this evening. We need you to come down to the station."
"My god! What happened?"
"Everything will be explained to you at the station," replied the officer.
I called my mom and told her the horrible news. She offered to come over and watch the babies while I went to the police station. Once there, the officer said Veronica had died instantly of a broken neck. Apparently she wasn't in her car but was a passenger in a car driven by a man named Dale Wilson. He died too. I explained to the officer that I had never heard of the man. I had no idea who he was.
My wife's car was at his apartment. Since I didn't know where that was, the officer offered to have someone bring it to me. They had already checked it out for any information. I went home and explained everything to my mom and two sisters. My dad was also at the house. I told everyone the police would have more information in a couple of days. All they knew was that the man was from West Virginia.
Right now, I had a big problem. I had two sweet three-month-old baby girls who no longer had a mother.
Mom said she would take care of the babies while I was at work. My sister Beth said she would move in with me temporarily to help out if I wanted her to. She would be there for her nieces whenever she wasn't in school. So that was our immediate plan. Abby also stopped in to help when she could. I had the best family anyone could ask for.
