"Everything packed?" Mary asked. They were embarking on a journey of faith into the unknown. Mary had become a seamstress out of necessity. Pants were not a problem, but she had to sew garments to cover the two dear joined torsos.
"It's all here," Joe answered. They threw everything into Joe's car. There was no emotional parting with their drab apartment. Joe helped Mary secure the twins in their car seat. There were no car seats for conjoined twins available on the market, and they could not afford to have one custom made, so Joe built one out of PVC and plywood, lined with foam rubber and soft linens. For once, he was glad to be the son of a hardware store owner. He knew a little something about construction.
Joe pulled out of the apartment complex parking lot and looked at Mary, then the twins. It felt like a real family. Catching his eyes and reading his mind, Mary wrinkled her nose and whined, "Are we there yet?"
"Pipe down back there, or I'll have to separate y...," he said with pretend anger. He stopped when he saw the mortified look on Mary's face. His expression changed from embarrassment to serious. "We might as well face it, dear," he said. If I can make a comment like that by accident, you know what we can expect from family, friends and strangers. We might as well laugh at ourselves before they do; best way to defuse nasty talk." Mary blinked away a tear and nodded. Joey laughed. Jerry punched him in the face.
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