The Good Twin(15)

Is that what money does? I wondered. I knew what not having money did. It meant wearing clothes long after they were outgrown, never having enough to eat, always wanting what other kids had but never getting it. It meant having a mother who was never home when I returned from school and starting a part-time job as soon as I turned fourteen. It meant living in a roach-filled apartment that stopped me from ever getting out of my bed in the middle of the night for fear of what I might find crawling around in the dark. Despite those deprivations, I couldn’t imagine not being courteous to people I worked with. How could money change that?

“It’s hard for me to believe she’s like that.”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” He paused for a beat. “Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be rich?”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Never once had I imagined that. My fantasy was for fame as an artist, and sufficient money to have my own apartment, one with enough space for a studio. That’s what luxury was for me. “No. Not once.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew that wasn’t entirely true. As a child, I’d often dreamed of what it would be like to own the clothes my schoolmates wore, to have the tech gadgets that they possessed, to be able to travel to the ocean, or Disney World. By the time I entered high school, I’d buried those dreams. They were for other people. Instead, I focused on what I hoped was achievable.

“That’s all Charly thinks about. Accumulating as much money as she possibly can. She loves her father, but she’s already talking about how much she’ll inherit when he’s gone.”

I shook my head. I hated the picture he was painting of my sister. But . . . she was still my blood. The only relative I had.



Two days later I called again, and was again put off from contacting Charly. I was starting to wonder if there was another reason Ben didn’t want me to see her, so I asked him.

“Of course not. I just don’t want to increase her stress level.”

“But wouldn’t she think it’s a good thing to find out about me?”

“I know my wife. Her first thought will be to wonder if you’ll try to get some of her money.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“But that’s what she’ll think. And then she’ll stress over it.”

It was almost funny. I had nothing, yet Ben painted such an unflattering picture of Charly that I began to feel sorry for him, who had so much more.



When I’d called Ben this morning, he’d said he had something important to tell me and suggested we meet for lunch. It was a Monday, and because I needed to be in the city for my art class, I offered to meet him somewhere near his office. Instead, he wanted to come out to Queens, so I met him at a diner near The Dump. It looked like every other diner in the Northeast—a long rectangle, with an extra room added toward the rear of one side forming an L shape. Its large and varied menu kept it busy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Ben was already waiting for me when I arrived. Although I’d only met him in person once, I felt like I knew him after several phone conversations. “How’s my sister doing?” I asked as soon as I sat down.

“You’re not going to like this, Mallory. I finally told her last night about you. She doesn’t want to meet you.”

“What! What did you say about me?”

“Just that you’d recently discovered she was your twin and wanted to get to know her. She asked me what you were like, and I told her you seemed very nice and genuine. She wanted to know what your family was like, and, well, I had to be honest. I told her you’d grown up poor. Were still poor. Just as I’d feared, right away she started saying that you probably think you struck gold having a rich sister. I told her you weren’t like that, but she was adamant. I’m sorry.”

I was stunned. How could she not want to know her identical twin? I felt my chest tighten up and knew, if I spoke, my voice would be choked, and so said nothing.

“She’s a bitch!”

My mouth dropped open, shocked at Ben’s outburst.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt that out. It’s just . . . the poor guy’s not even dead yet, and she keeps talking about her inheritance. And then she shuts you out in case you wanted some of it. Frankly, if you were my sister and I had as much money as Charly, I’d want you to have some of it. Enough at least to make your life a little more comfortable.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just shook my head.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to burden you with this. It’s just . . . you seem so different from her. Softer, somehow. Charly’s always had a mean streak, but it’s gotten worse over the years. She’s not like you. She’s selfish and a bully. She takes pleasure in humiliating me in front of our friends. I can’t count the number of times she’s told them I would be a civil servant if her father hadn’t given me a job.” Ben’s face began to redden. “That’s so not true. I would have gone to law school. I would have had a career I enjoyed if she hadn’t pushed me into her father’s company.”

I put my hand on Ben’s arm. “I’m sorry. If she’s so terrible, why don’t you get a divorce?”

“Because her father would fire me, and I’d have nothing. I signed a prenup.”