Ever since Charlene and I had our twins, we've seen a lot of the behavior in them that we used to display towards each other when we were pups. They also seemed to grow more curious with age, more specifically about me and their mother. On a Saturday afternoon in September, Charlene and I were going through some of the old stuff that we had collected over the years, including many things that we had back when we were in Minnesota.
While I was working, I noticed Eddie walked into the master bedroom while Charlene was busy going through one of the other closets where we kept our old things. I was in the walk-in closet attached to the bedroom, going through things when he happened to peek in. "Dad...whatcha doin'?", Eddie curiously asked as I was on my knees going through boxes.
"I'm going through some of the things that your mother and I had when we were around your age", I answered calmly. "If you want, you can go ahead and give your father a hand here", I suggested to him.
Eddie was a lot like how I was at his age. Whenever I asked him for help, he was usually one to do so. Sure enough, Eddie was willing to give me a hand as the two of us went through some of the boxes, including a box containing my set of old baseball cards. Of course, Eddie, having spent his entire life on Kapernia had no idea who any of these players were...especially considering that the cards were from 1990, but I didn't really expect him to. Besides, he and his sister were more into collecting pokémon cards anyway.
Then, as he was going through another box, Eddie seemed to come across something else. It was a framed picture of me and Charlene from when the two of us were 4-years old...along with it was the very first hair ribbon that Charlene used to make the ponytail she almost always had. Naturally, Eddie was curious about the picture. "Dad...what's this?", he asked curiously as he presented me with the frame.
"That is something that your mother and I haven't seen in several years...not since before you and Ellie were born", I answered. "It was from when we were young pups and after your mom got her very first hair ribbon. In fact, there's a story about how she got it", I continued as I got an idea. "Let's go over to the bed and sit down and I'll tell you some more. My knees are barking anyway, and I can use a little break", I added, feeling some of the soreness in my knees that I got every once in a while.
I got up from my knees and stretched briefly before walking over to the bed and having a seat on the end of it, watching as Eddie followed close behind, getting onto the bed next to me while holding the frame. I placed an arm around my son and began to tell him the story of Charlene's first hair ribbon.
Northeast Minneapolis (Spring 1984)...
It was the middle of April, and things were just beginning to turn spring-like after another cold and snowy winter. Most of the snow had already melted, with just a few rapidly shrinking piles remaining, mostly in the larger parking lots. The grass was starting to turn green again and while the leaves weren't out on the trees, the buds on the branches were swollen and getting close to opening up.
Charlene and I were 4-years old at the time, still sweet and innocent little twin tailed fox pups with no worries or cares in the world around us. We were still about a year-and-a-half away from starting school and our parents were still living together, both of them working most of the time. Our father working during the day as a computer programmer while also spending time as a karate instructor while our mother worked at a nearby nursing home. Because both our parents worked (and often at the same time), Charlene and I needed someone to watch over us while they were away. Fortunately for our parents, they didn't have to go too far to find someone to do that job.
Two houses down from ours lived an elderly squirrel lady who Charlene and I referred to as "Grandma Betty". She wasn't really our grandmother, but to our 4-year old selves she was a lot like one. She took us in as if we were her own grandchildren, looking after us while our parents worked. The two of us would end up spending a good part of the day at her house, usually until our father got home from work late in the afternoon, the two of us doing the typical 4-year old things. Back in those days, Charlene's hairstyle was a lot different from what it is now. She wore her hair in the back long, more like how our mom's hair was, she had seen other girls with ponytails both on the TV and in the neighborhood but never thought about having one of her own. At least not until one unusually warm afternoon.
It was after our nap, and I made my way from the bedroom we were in towards the living room. Charlene had gone into the backyard and was waiting for me to join her. I had gone to the living room to look for the ball that my sister and I often played with to discover "Grandma Betty" sitting by a sewing machine. She had been working on something while my sister and I were napping and didn't realize we were up.
Naturally, 4-year old me was curious as I went towards the elderly gray squirrel female, wanting to see what was happening. "Whatcha doin'?", young me asked her curiously, my two tails waving around a bit as I did so.
She turned to face me, realizing that I was awake and put me into her lap. "Your Mommy asked me to make a little something for your sister a while ago", she explained to me, as I looked down and saw that it seemed to be a pink sweater that she had been working on. "I've got one for you, too...but I want to wait until I have hers done before I give them to each of you", she added.
I looked at her, seeming a bit puzzled. "But, I'm a boy fox...I don't wear pink", I answered innocently.
She chuckled a little before reaching over to grab a different sweater. "I know that, sweetie...that's why I made this one for you", she explained calmly before showing off the sweater that was meant for me...a dark blue one. "I'm not ready to give this to you yet, though. I want to finish the one for your sister first", she added as I curiously looked on.
"Oh...'kay", my four-year old self replied as I went back to looking for the ball I was going to use. As I did so, I discovered something else lying on the ground near where the sewing machine was. It was a strip of purple ribbon that was about a foot long and about an inch wide. The material was soft but durable as I picked it up and examined it. At the time, I didn't know what compelled me to think this way, though in hindsight I figured that my four-year old self wanted to do something to express how I really felt about my twin sister. Nevertheless, I picked up the ribbon and got the idea of giving it to Charlene.
"Grandma Betty, can I have this?", I asked her curiously, showing the piece of ribbon I found to her.
She looked over and seemed a little curious. "What do you want that for, dear?", she asked in a soft and curious tone.
"I wanna give it to my sister", I answered innocently as my tails waved a little.
"Oh...alright then", she replied, not having any objection to letting me have the piece of ribbon.
I thanked her for the ribbon piece, then went towards the backyard where Charlene was still waiting for me. Fortunately, the backyard was surrounded by fencing on all sides, preventing anyone from coming in or Charlene from going past the yard. We had both been told to stay in the backyard if we were outside in the past.
Charlene had been sitting near the backdoor of the house on the staircase, waiting several minutes for me to come out to join her. When I finally showed up, my sister looked back at me and seemed a little upset.
"Where have you been?", Charlene replied in frustrated tone.
I started to blush and felt slightly nervous. Although Charlene and I got along well, I knew she had a bit of a temper. "Sorry...I tried to find our ball, but I found this", I answered in a calm tone, showing the ribbon to my sister. "I wanted to give this to you", I added.
Charlene curiously got up from where she had been sitting, her wearing a light pink shirt along with a pair of purple shorts that happened to be the same color as the ribbon I had. "You want me to have this?", she asked curiously, taking the ribbon from my hand and looking at it.
"Yes...I thought that it looked pretty...like you", I innocently answered, blushing more as I said those words to my sister.
Charlene also started to blush but also smiled as she held the ribbon in her hand. Then, without warning, she embraced me in her arms and rubbed her nuzzle against my own, murring while doing so. Apparently, she seemed happy that I had given her the gift.
Later that evening, after Mom and Dad were home from work and we had been dropped off at our house, Charlene went straight to our mother while holding the ribbon I gave to her. "Mommy, Chad gave me this ribbon today, can I wear it in my hair?", she asked innocently.
At that point in our lives, our mother hadn't discovered how close my sister and I really were to one another yet and thought little more about it. "It's a little late in the day for that, honey. But I can help you put it in your hair in the morning", she answered softly to my sister. "I can give you a nice ponytail with it and teach you how to make one yourself", she added, making my sister feel excited.
"Thanks, Mommy!", Charlene replied happily before we went to our room to play until it was time for dinner.
Back to the present...
"That is how your mom got her first hair ribbon", I explained to Eddie while he was sitting on the bed next to me. "Of course, over the years, this ribbon got worn and too small for your mother, so I had to give her bigger and more durable ones, but I think you get my point", I added.
Eddie seemed to listen attentively, and it seemed to give him an idea. "Dad, do you think that I could do something like that for Ellie?", he asked curiously.
"You love your sister just as much as I love your mom, don't you?", I mentioned in a calm tone, trying to think of an idea. "Well, I don't think Ellie needs a hair ribbon. After all, she already has the one that your mom gave her. However, if you give it a little thought, you might be able to come up with something", I explained to him as I got up from the bed and stretched a little. "Anyway, I suppose I've put this off long enough. I really should get back to going through our stuff", I mentioned to Eddie. "You can stick around and help if you want", I suggested to him, however it seemed like Eddie had other plans.
"That's OK, I'm going to try and find something to give to Ellie", he answered back before dashing off, leaving me alone to keep working.
Later in the evening, after the work in the closet was finished and it was getting close to dinnertime, I went down towards the Family Room to relax a little when I saw my sister peeking into the room from behind a wall. "Hey...come over here...there's something that I think you should see", she softly told me.
Curiously, I went over and joined Charlene, wondering what she could be looking at, only to find that Eddie and Ellie were already there. Apparently, Eddie took my advice and found something to give to Ellie. It wasn't a hair ribbon like I gave to my sister, it was instead bracelet made of pink and baby blue pipe cleaners. "Now where on Earth did he get those from?", I softly asked.
"Apparently, someone told him the story about how I got my first hair ribbon, and he asked me for help coming up with an idea for a gift for Ellie", Charlene replied, having been told about what I told Eddie.
"You helped him with this?", I asked Charlene curiously.
"Well, you've seen how close they are with one another. I figured it made perfect sense for him to show his affection for Ellie like you did for me", Charlene answered calmly as Eddie placed the bracelet onto one of Ellie's wrists, right before we watched Eddie and Ellie nuzzle one another.
"Speaking of your old hair ribbon, I found the frame with it inside the closet, and it got me thinking that maybe we should put it up somewhere", I suggested.
"How about in the Family Room?", she answered back.
"Well, I was thinking more like in our own bedroom, but I suppose it could work", I answered Charlene just as I watched Ellie kiss her brother. "They're going to end up just like us, aren't they?", I asked curiously.
"Is there a problem with that?", Charlene replied soon after.
"Of course not, you know what we had to go through just to get to where we are today", I replied before getting an idea. "Anyway, why don't we have a few minutes to ourselves before dinner, maybe do a little bit of brother/sister bonding of our own?", I suggested to Charlene.
"Mmm...I don't know, Rose mentioned that dinner would be ready in about 20 minutes", Charlene replied, seeing as my snugglebunny and Eva were working in the kitchen to prepare dinner for the family.
"Hmm...maybe you're right", I answered calmly. "Alright, we'll wait until later. I just thought that you might have wanted to revisit a memory from our past", I mentioned to Charlene.
She turned around and took hold of my hands, holding them tightly. "We were too young to know about sex back then, but that didn't mean that I couldn't tell you how I had the best twin brother that a vixen like me could ever have", she answered before Charlene leaned in and kissed me deeply.
I was taken by surprise, but soon gave in, embracing Charlene and joining my sister in a warm and deep kiss, the two of us murring happily as we expressed our feelings to one another, all while Eddie and Ellie were starting down the very same road that we had already traveled.
The End
