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The Shaver twins impersonated one another with such frequency that they, themselves, often forgot which was which. While official procedures like fingerprinting and blood samples could be used in a pinch, Trina and Tatiana’s parents soon tired of such measures as each twin seemed to positively relish losing her identity in the other’s.
The girls’ mother Ada adamantly resisted her husband Dale’s suggestion that they have the girls tattooed. They tried cutting one girl’s hair shorter than the other, but the one with longer hair would eventually, and nearly imperceptibly, whittle her hair down to the other’s length. Their older brother suggested having ID chips implanted in them, but this was also dismissed.
It was in high school that I first developed a crush on Tatiana. Yes, Tatiana.
Only Tatiana was enrolled in my music class, but both girls accidentally showed up one afternoon. Their alternating days had previously been a complete success but, on leap year day, Trina became disoriented. After some informal investigating by the teacher and, more formally, by the principal, the Shaver girls both received a two-day suspension.
The experience sent me reeling in a way I would never have expected. Until then, I had wondered why on some days Tatiana would give me a great deal of attention while, on others, it was as though I were invisible. I now understood that one of them had taken an interest in me, and I was determined to discern which of them it was.
After the Shavers once again had their daughters officially identified, Dale made Tatiana sit with him in the front of the car, while Trina sat with her mother in back. Ada later suspected Dale of intentionally causing the collision that blackened Tatiana’s right eye, but he always insisted this wasn’t true.
When Tatiana first returned to school, she hardly looked in my direction. As a result, I tried to flirt with Trina when I saw her walking on campus. I might have experienced more success flirting with one of the Eucalyptus Trees.
In class on the following day, I began to suspect the girl in my class was feeling self-conscious about the shiner the accident had left on her face and, therefore, was avoiding eye contact with me. I decided to persist with my glances and smiles in her direction, despite their being unrequited. This was obviously Tatiana, as they were unlikely to risk another suspension so soon.
To my astonishment, I saw the two girls walking together after school and each was sporting a black eye. It was difficult to imagine what the other sister had done to bruise herself in such a manner.
“Hi, girls,” I ventured against better judgment.
The girl on the left smiled back uneasily, while the other appeared as though she hadn’t heard. This must have initiated a discussion between them because, afterward, both began to flirt with me.
When I discussed the situation with a friend, he thought I was a fool for thinking that having the attentions of the Shaver twins as a dilemma.
“One of them doesn’t like me,” I explained. “They realized that if they treated me differently, I would be able to tell them apart.”
“They could’ve started ignoring you instead,” my friend reasoned. “After class tomorrow, try holding the hand of whichever one shows up.”
“So, if she lets me, the other one will have to start letting me hold her hand too,” I deduced.
“Sounds like the best of both worlds to me,” my friend replied.
After music class the next day, I reached for the Shaver girl’s hand. The abruptness with which she jerked it away startled me into losing my balance. I fell onto my back and the girl was quickly upon me, digging her knees into my chest. I closed my eyes as she raised a ukulele over my head.
Surely this was Trina, I surmised, and she was about to do to my face what she had done to her own. I waited with dread anticipation, but nothing was happening. I slowly opened my eyes.
Behind Trina stood Tatiana, firmly holding back the instrument. A crowd of students had begun to gather. My friend tickled Tatiana and caused her to lose her grip.
I awoke in the hospital thinking I was seeing double of Tatiana, as one weeping twin held my right hand and the other my left. Though it appeared I had the best of both worlds, all I really wanted was my Tatiana.
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