Chapter 9 -- Another Couple
I went over to Marie's desk and asked her to accompany me to the local coffee house for a morning brew. The way I asked plus the wink, she knew I had something I needed to talk to her about.
After Marie and I were walking across the parking lot, I mentioned Peter's upcoming party. Marie grinned, "Yes, we're going, of course."
I said, "I put the pieces of a puzzle together today that have been vexing me for about nine months. I wasn't even sure what I needed to think about until Peter gave me the invite to his next party."
"What do you mean?"
"When I met Penny and Ryan for the first time, Peter introduced us. He mentioned that Penny was his wife's sister. Knowing what we know now, that would also mean that Ryan is also his wife's brother."
I pulled out my cellphone and showed her a picture that featured Peter, Wendy, Ryan, and Penny. I handed the phone with the picture to Marie.
I asked, "Do you see the resemblance between them?"
Marie said slowly, "Yes. That's expected"
"Now compare Peter to the other three," I instructed. "You can enlarge the image."
Marie came to a stop as we were outside the coffee shop. She was staring at the screen and scrolling between Peter and Wendy Block, and Ryan and Penny Miller.
Marie gasped and swore almost silently. She looked up at me, "Oh, my God. They're all related -- all four of them. They're all within ten years of each other. Same gene pool."
I suggested, "I'm guessing that Peter and Wendy are brother and sister, at least that's my supposition based on the photographic evidence. They might be first cousins, but they're very close genetically."
"But their last names are different."
"Easy to change legally with a little effort. I'm surprised more people don't do it."
"What now?" Marie asked.
I pointed at the door to the store. "I think we get our lattes and go back to work. Tonight, we can ask Penny and Ryan about it unless you have a better idea."
I decided to be 'cute' about how I asked Penny and Ryan about Peter and Wendy. Once we were all together at cocktail time on our home patio, I got their attention.
I said my carefully crafted question; "Your brother invited Anna and me to a party next Saturday. Are you going?"
Ryan started, "Yeah, he texted me today. Sounds good." He didn't see the trap he'd just fallen into. The steel trap in my mind snapped shut; I thought, 'Gotcha!'
Penny followed up, "We'll each have to bring ... OH!" Her mouth fell open and she gaped at me. She said, "You know?" She'd suddenly realized what the trap was and that it was too late.
I just nodded. Marie was there with me but also silent.
I finally said, "Do you want to tell us about it?"
Ryan shook his head in disbelief. Penny said, "Yes, we're related."
I stated, "And Peter and Wendy are brother and sister, and they're also your brother and sister."
Ryan said, "Yes. Wendy is six years older than I am, and Peter is only a year older that she is. Penny is the youngest."
"Why the last name Block?"
Ryan chuckled, "Subterfuge. When Peter and Wendy moved here, they were already together in every way possible. We came down here about the same time to go to school. When they realized that we'd likely live here after graduation, they changed their names. It was almost on a lark, and they didn't make a big deal of it at the time."
"And your parents know?"
Penny said, "It gets complicated. Our mom and dad are first cousins, and yes, they know about all of us. We didn't need to hide what was going on from them, and it was important to each of us to continue."
Marie laughed, "Ah, so incest runs in the whole family."
Ryan said in a more serious tone, "I guess so. Maybe it's a recessive gene. Our parents discovered each other very early in their lives, maybe when they were around five or six. Since they lived next door to each other, they became inseparable from then on.
"While they were still kids, they'd even be allowed to sleep together, but their parents tried to stop that when they got older. The two of them nearly started World War III to keep that privilege. Both sets of parents eventually conceded.