Our parents were hippies. No, really. Haight-Ashbury, Summer of love and everything. Our folks found each other, and were really a good match. They married in Golden Gate Park in 1970, and we were born three years later. Mom didnât expect twins, because she didnât believe in doctors, so we were birthed by a midwife. A midwife who almost left before my brother was born, because she was really a pot-head who believed in the miracle of childbirth up until the moment she witnessed it. Then it was gross.
Our parents actually got us birth certificates and named us Michelle and Michael. Classy, right? But they called us Mike and Mikie. Imagine how confused my mother got after her third joint. Thank god for public health clinics in California. We were well cared for, but I got sick in kindergarten. I contracted pleurosis. Michael pronounced it âblue roses.â From then on, he called me Blue Rose, which later became Rosie. Even today, he calls me Rosie. When I decided to get a tattoo, it had to be a blue rose.
I always called him Bubbie. Today, I call him Bub. No one else uses these names for us, and I donât think we would allow them to.
We moved back to Indiana in the late 70âs and my folks did their best to provide for us. My dad had a degree in philosophy, but ran a forklift in a factory. My mom had a degree in art, and worked in a paint store (read wall paint). Our folks worked hard and gave up a lot for us. They also gave lots to worthy causes. We lived in a very 60s style even into the 80âs. We were poor since they gave away most of their money, but very happy. We had a great family life growing up.
Bubbie and I were inseparable. Through school, we stayed close. I liked art and science and he liked language. We helped each other through it all. We shared a room our whole childhood. Our twin beds lay end to end, and we talked out our problems deep into many nights. If either one of us was really upset, we slept together. In the winter, we slept together if I was cold, which was often. Because of my childhood illness, I was much smaller than he and I was skinny â no body fat to keep me warm. We are hand holders. We are opposite sides of a coin.
I was a gawky teen. I was skinny and boyish. I did well at sports, but I was small. Bubbie helped me so much. It was like having another part of me that could understand what I could not. We were so much a part of one another. I knew before he did when he had a crush on a girl. He knew every time a boy crushed my heart. Michael had lots of girlfriends and I loved most of them. I had tons of crushes and only dated one guy, just because he was the only one to ask. Bubbie knew.
My brother is so smart. He developed a knack for language and decided to go into the foreign service. I loved art. We went to different colleges. It was really hard. Our separation was more difficult than we expected. It was as if a part of each of us had gone far away. Life afforded us opportunities which kept us apart. I had summer school, he studied abroad. We stayed in touch, and still do. But after college started, the only time we saw one another was July 4 weekend and Christmas, at our folksâ home. Even those times were filled with family and other friends. We didnât get to be together, just us. It was hard on both of us.
We speak or communicate three or four times a week, but we are not together more than those two times a year, some years not even that much. I have wanted to visit him at his postings, but he has kept me away. Lagos, Nigeria and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia are no place for a âcute white girlâ he said. When he got posted to Paris, he finally said to come on.
French is his best language, but he speaks Arabic and Spanish fairly well. I took French because of him, and I got fairly good at it. I was about to change jobs, so I decided to take a month and be with the yin to my yang for an extended period for the first time in nearly ten years.
Summer is not the best time for Paris. The weather feels like the Midwest of America, 90 degrees and 90% humidity. No wonder everyone leaves in July & August. I had no choice. July was it or never. After July 4 weekend at home, we flew to Paris together.
Michael is still a lower-level diplomat, so he has a small studio apartment the State Department chose for him. For life in one room, it was fairly well designed and Michael is very neat. It was all him. It was so nice to be with my kindred spirit. And, lying on the bed, you could see the Eiffel Tower. I was so jealous.
He took me everywhere. Louvre, the tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre, Invalides, Pont Neuf, and on and on. And we ate like royalty, for cheap. Michael knew lots of people and they directed us to great restaurants that treated you like family. He knew tons of unique sites that were charming. It was so exciting. I learned so much. We spoke French as much as we could. I was thrilled.
We have always been touchy-feely with one another. I think it is the womb thing. We have always held hands and hugged. We snuggle.
Every night, we curled up on his bed and passed out. By day four, I was reaching my limit. I could barely walk because of the pain in my claves. We had either walked or taken the Metro everywhere. I ached from many parts of my body.
That morning, I said, âBubbie, this is our last day of marathon sightseeing. I know you want to share all of your Paris with me, but Iâll be here all month. Please donât kill me the first week. I want to sleep in tomorrow.â
âOkay, Rosie. Iâm sorry. Iâll cut down on the schedule today, weâll have an early dinner and go home and Iâll give you a back rub.â
After the Luxembourg Gardens and the Tuilleries, we had dinner. He did give me a back rub. It was deep and soothing and reminded me of our teenage years. When I first got my period and would have debilitating cramps, Bubbie would massage my tummy to make me sleep.
I was out by ten that night. Thatâs really early for Paris. I donât think they sleep there. Night ends late and morning starts early.
I am not particularly modest, never have been. I sleep in little or nothing most of the time, unless I am cold. Summer in Paris is not cold. Michaelâs apartment was hot with only a small window fan moving the air. I had my top off for the back rub anyway. I sat up and stripped the rest of the way. âItâs way too hot to sleep in clothes. Iâm going buff.â