The Secret

Ariadne, sitting at the dining room table, was calmly sipping her second glass of Merlot.  The deep rich flavor washed the taste of his kisses from her lips, but not from her memory.  This is the last time, she heard him say to her as he closed the door to her bedroom and gave her that icy stare.  Fear of discovery made the encounter exciting, more than the act itself.  She found his touch erotic because it was so forbidden.  Yes, he said that would be the last time, but he says that after each rendezvous. He would leave her bed, looking back at her with self-loathing, vowing never to come back.  She would agree with him, the guilt eating at her as well.  And yet, later, they would look at each other across the room, and their mutual hunger would force them back to each other.

She heard a footstep into the dining room and over the rim of her glass, she saw her brother Dion staring at her.  His eyes were glistening with confusion and something else.  Even though he was her twin and they often were able to read each other’s thoughts, this time, there was something unrecognizable in his face.  She smiled, only to see his mouth frozen in a straight line. 

“Dion, what’s the matter?”

He looked at his sister, and for the first time in their lives he didn’t know what to say to her.  His discovery was unexpected, but this confrontation was necessary.  He crossed the few feet from the door to the table, sat down across from her and said, “Ari, I know.”

Ariadne slowly swallowed the last of the wine as she looked at him.  “Know what?”

“About you and Matthew! What are you doing? Are you insane?”  Dion was trying, straining to maintain control.  The two of them were alone in the apartment for now, but who knew for how long?  He had to talk to her about what he knew, had to convince that she had to end it, before it went too far and she got hurt..or hurt someone else more.

Ariadne put the glass down on the table and searched her brother’s face.  She was looking for a clue.  He’d mentioned Matthew, but to what was he alluding? There was so much going on between them.  She said nothing, waiting.
“Matthew is Mom’s husband!  How long has it been going on?” Dion said, his voice so tight she could barely hear him.

She said nothing, hoping her face gave nothing away.  She wasn’t sure what he knew and his face was inscrutable.  Her safest defense was ignorance.  “Dion, uh, what on Earth are you talking about?”

Dion pulled a page from his jacket pocket and began to read aloud:

“Dearest Ari,

Last night we cleared the air and resolved our issues. The plan I devised is perfect and foolproof.  Please tell me you agree and that you will help me.  I can’t do it without you.

Matt”

Dion looked up again and this time his words were clear and unambiguous.  “What are you two planning together, Ari.  Tell me right now!”

She closed her eyes, her breath coming in ragged gasps.  So it wasn’t the affair he discovered, but Matt’s plan to embezzle funds from the company she worked for.  The plan was foolproof and had gone without a hitch.  The money had been safely deposited in an offshore account and nobody knew who had pulled off the heist or how it had been accomplished.  Now here was her brother, with a note from Matt which might be the downfall of them both. Ariadne opened her eyes and watched various emotions flicker across Dion’s face.  What would be worse, she wondered.  Would it be better to confess to the theft or to the affair?  She felt that time was standing still, but she knew she only had seconds to decide.  She chose affair.

She took a deep breath and said, “A month”. That money was her way out of the stultifying life she was living. Out of this house with the man who married her mother with the idea of using her daughter to commit a high tech robbery.  With that money she could be anyone else, become a different person, and rid herself of all that came before.  Dion wouldn’t understand that. He was the more admirable of the two of them.  It was true what they said about twins---one was always the dark one. She could stop being part of a set, and be her own person.  Get away from people who thought they knew what she was thinking before she thought it.  This would accomplish that.

Dion looked at his sister and realized he never really knew her.  They’d shared a womb for nine months and though they weren’t identical twins, he thought they were always on the same wave length.  “You’ve been deceiving us, mom, me.  With HIM of all people! Ari, Mom will be destroyed once she finds out.”

Ariadne looked Dion straight in the face and said, “Don’t tell her, Dion.  You don’t know everything and I don’t want to explain.  You don’t always have to take the high road, you know.  Can’t you think about me?”

Dion blinked and his mouth dropped open in amazement.  She was really sitting there, all wide eyed and innocent, turning this into his betrayal of her! He really didn’t know her at all.

“Ari”, he sputtered. “you’ve been sleeping with our stepfather and you want me to be silent? Are you kidding me?”

Ariadne shrugged her shoulders and poured herself another glass of wine.  She offered Dion a glass, which he refused.  Typical she thought. Wouldn’t even indulge her by sharing a glass of wine with her.  Always the good son.  “Look, I didn’t mean for it to happen, it just did.  It wasn’t that good, anyway and it’s over.  Mom doesn’t have a clue, she’s happy.  So let’s not say anymore about it.” She lowered her eyes after she said the last sentence. She hoped the appearance of indifference would fool him and she forced herself to keep her eyes on her lap.

Dion shook his head.  His family was the most important thing in his life.  His father’s betraying his mother was one thing. The divorce a few years ago was hard on all of them, Ariadne in particular, for she was their father’s favorite.  When he ran out on them without a word and disappeared, something changed in his sister and he thought it brought them closer.  Where she used to share things with their father, she came to him.  And he thought that the three of them had joined forces against the rest of the world.  Money had been tight and Ariadne had to leave college before graduating in order to get a job to help support them.  He did the best he could, but he had received a sports scholarship and his education was paid for. Ariadne’s job wasn’t glamorous, but she made a good living at a small software company where she was the assistant to the accounts manager.  When their mother met Matthew, he wasn’t against it, per se, he just didn’t want to have an interloper upsetting the balance.  He spoke with Ari about it and she agreed with him.  Their mother eloped and it became a fait accompli a year ago.  Now Ariadne was sitting here, serenely drinking wine, and telling him that sleeping with her stepfather was no big deal. What was happening?

“What do you mean, ‘it’s over’? This letter says that last night you two made a plan.  Are you going to run off with him? Break Mom’s heart again!?” His voice was rising now.  He had to know, to be prepared.  Because if what he thought was true, he’d be the one left to pick up the pieces.

Ariadne was glad that there was no date on that stupid letter she forgot to shred.  “Where did you find that letter, anyway Dion? Snooping among my things? That’s really beneath you, don’t you think?” she hissed. She was really mad at herself. Where DID he find it?

“It doesn’t matter, Ari, and stop deflecting. What does it mean? Answer me-then I’ll decide what to do with it.”

Ariadne loved her brother very much, but his self-righteous stance in this matter was getting on her nerves.  She was a consenting adult, engaging in adult behaviors with another consenting adult.  Ariadne stood up, and leaned across the table.  Brown eyes met brown eyes in an ultimate stare down. Her voice was quiet, tone modulated. “Mind your own business, Dion! This is my affair, pun intended and I will handle it my own way. You want to be a baby, a ‘mama’s boy’? Go ahead, tell her. I make no apologies, no excuses and no explanations, you understand?  I just say this to you…everything isn’t always black and white, good or bad.  It’s not true in life and it’s definitely not true in twins.  All our lives I’ve been compared to you and always I come up short.  You think anyone would be surprised by this twist of events? No, you’ll come out looking like the saint and I’ll be the sinner. Do with it what you want.”  She stood up straight, crossed her arms in front of her and waited….and waited….and waited. 

The silence between them was deafening. Watching the expressions cross her brother’s face, she thought she saw them all---astonishment, fear, guilt, and for a moment—understanding.  With that brief glimmer, Ariadne knew her secret was safe.  Dion wasn’t going to tell, not yet anyway.


Dion folded the paper and pushed it across toward Ariadne.  She’d never spoken to him like that and he’d never known she felt she was the sinner.  Dion had admired how she taken the knocks and rolled with them, always maintaining dignity and a sense of humor.  He remembered when she came home after that last semester of school, dropped her bags on the floor and hugged their mother.  Mom was so upset that Ariadne had to quit school, but Ari threw her arms around her mother and said in his ear, “College really wasn’t for me, Mom.  I’m glad to be home.”  Dion saw the pained look that flashed in Ariadne’s eyes as she met his and he realized what a sacrifice it had been.  That was a watershed moment between them and his respect for his sister grew.

This woman, though, was someone he didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know her.  The face was beautiful, a softer version of his own. But she had changed.  He wanted desperately to understand, to help her.  So for now, he’d say nothing.  He’d watch and see if it was really over with Matt.

“Okay, Ari, you’re right.  I didn’t know you felt like the sinner, but if you sin, that’s what you are. I’m warning you though, and you’d better tell Matt—nothing better happen to Mom because of this.  If it does, my revenge on you both will be fierce.  Clear?”

Ariadne breathed in relief on the inside, but outwardly, her bold stance remained unchanged.  She nonchalantly picked up the page and tore it up, putting the pieces in the back pocket of her jeans.  Her real secret was safe, for now.  And with the fact that Dion thought he knew, she could tell Matt she needed her money now rather than later.  Then she could stop her part of his plan, stop sleeping with her married boss and leave. After she’d gone, she would let Dion know everything and how he almost had it right.  But even he, her twin, the one who was supposed to know her better than anyone, was willing to believe she was capable of being THAT bad.  She smiled at him.

“Crystal”.


word count = 1983