The Butler(46)

    Joachim dropped her off at her apartment in Paris and went home. His mother was waiting for him, to hear all about the fun he’d had in New York. The minute he came through the door, she could see that something was wrong. He had burst into tears when he got to his hotel room in New York, and he almost did now. The humiliation of the four-and-a-half-hour interrogation had been a nightmare, particularly since he was with Olivia. He told his mother about it and she looked shocked.

“They thought you were Javier?” The whole story sounded awful to her.

Joachim nodded. “Yes, they did. Thank God they finally produced a photograph of him and you could see the mole we both have, on opposite sides, and the birthmark on his shoulder. Otherwise I’d probably be in prison by now, as a drug dealer, and he’d be scot-free.” He had loved being an identical twin as a boy, and they had played tricks on everyone, their teachers, their friends. The only one who could always tell them apart instantly was their mother. But it was not fun being the twin of a criminal like Javier. The federal agent said he had killed several American agents, and probably a number of other people as well. He had become a very dangerous man.

“At least we know he’s still alive,” Joachim said with a sigh, sitting next to his mother on the couch. It felt good to be home. “That’s some small consolation.”

    “It’s no consolation at all,” she said with a ravaged look. “He’s no longer the man we knew. The Javier we loved is gone. He might as well be dead,” but she was glad he wasn’t too. He was still her son, no matter how bad he was.

“I should probably quit my job.” He’d been thinking that for two days. “I’m an embarrassment to Olivia. I’m surprised she didn’t fire me in New York.”

“She needs you,” his mother said simply. “And walking out on her and quitting is cowardly. You’re better than that. You embarrassed her, and probably terrified her. Now you have to stick it out until it calms down. You don’t walk away when things get hard,” she admonished him.

“I never have before. But she doesn’t need the headache I represent.”

“No, she doesn’t. But she does need your help. You owe it to her to stick around. If she wants to fire you, she will. Then you can go. Not before.” His mother was very firm about it, and in the end, he promised her he wouldn’t quit for now, and went to bed.

The atmosphere between Joachim and Olivia was still tense the next day, on their first day back. They had returned to real life and were together all the time. And he knew his mother was right. It would take a while to settle down again. He thought Olivia still looked scared and maybe she was. It had terrified him too. He didn’t know how his brother could live like that, always on the wrong side of the law, wanted all over South America, and in the United States, with criminals just like him who wanted to kill him and maybe his family. He was amazed his brother was still alive.

    Olivia was as uncomfortable with Joachim as he was with her. She thought she would probably fire him before anything else happened, but she wanted to wait for the results of the criminal investigation to come back. Maybe he was as innocent as a lamb. She wanted to be fair, which was one of the things he liked most about her. He could sense how torn she was, but knew nothing of the investigation she had launched. He just thought she was jumpy. And he didn’t blame her. It had unnerved him too. It was the undiscussed elephant in the room whenever they were together.

They both felt a little more normal when they had the distraction of the chateau to keep them busy. They were sifting through assorted estimates from subcontractors that week, and other workmen they were hiring. They consulted with each other constantly and went out to the chateau three times. It was a relief to have a project to focus on, and little by little, they began to feel normal with each other again. He even made her laugh once or twice, which broke the tension.

Olivia finally said something to him about it at the end of the week. It took her that long to be able to talk about it. They were sharing a sandwich at the chateau, and she looked at him calmly. “Are you okay?” she asked him, and he looked surprised. They’d had a nice morning, working together, with no trace of the malaise that had plagued them since New York.

“Yes. Why?”

“I was scared to death in New York. You must have been even more terrified than I was. I thought they were going to put you in jail.”

    “So did I.” It was a relief to talk about it, and he was glad she had. “I felt so awful putting you through that.”

“I’m sorry about your brother. It must be terrible for you and your mother.” He nodded agreement and looked at her.

“I thought you were going to fire me in New York. I wouldn’t have blamed you. You were incredibly decent about it.”

“It’s not your fault. It must be a heavy burden for you to carry.”

“I’ve never been accused of being him before. That was a little too much reality for me.” He still looked shaken.

“I’ve never heard of mirror twins before. Lucky for you.”

“It’s the only way our mother could tell us apart. I think it’s pretty rare.”

“It must have been fun being twins,” she commented.

“It was, as kids. Not anymore. Once we were teenagers, he was always tougher than I was, and meaner. He used to beat the shit out of me sometimes. My mother says now that he was always different, that he has no heart. I loved him anyway. I think that’s how twins are, it’s a special bond. I would have died for him then. But not anymore. I have no intention of taking the rap for him. I hope that’s the last time that anyone ever gets us confused.”