“She’s coming tomorrow, the day of the appointment”.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Gertrude asked obediently.

“We have to get you to look just like me”.  I said rubbing my fingers through her light brown hair.”

“So, I’m going to get a box of my hair dye from upstairs and we’re going to dye your hair and give you a haircut just like mine”. “And just to fool the executor we will dress alike too”.

My hair was short, black, and straight…very simple to duplicate.

Staring toward the ceiling, I came up with the rest of the plan.

“We will tie Marlene’s hands and feet and leave her down here…and no one can hear her if we wrap her mouth with duct tape.

“But will we hurt her?” Gertrude asked, concerned.

“Oh no”, I said reassuring her and rubbing her back.

Touching Gertrude relaxes her and helps to assure her that I am her friend looking out for her best interest.

So, communicating with her requires a lot of physical contact. But I don’t mind.

“Gertrude,” we won’t hurt her,” She’ll just be tied up for a little while”.

“So, go get your duct tape from your drawer and some rope so we’ll be ready.”

Gertrude has so many different items in the corner of her cellar.  She likes to collect miscellaneous items and junk. Most would consider her a hoarder.

“We’ll lure her down here tomorrow and tie her up, Ok?”

Gertrude nodded.

I ran upstairs and grabbed the hair dye and scissors for Gertrude’s new hairdo.  It had to be as short and dark as mine.  I took it downstairs and started on Gertrude’s hair.

Getting ready for the main event.

The next day, I prepared tacos. 

I had to spend all the money Gertrude had set aside for one of our bills to make sure we had all of the fixings for lunch and that it was as delicious as I had promised Marlene.

On the table, I placed a white tablecloth and set out a bowl of salty ground beef (so she would be compelled to drink the tea), fresh, bright red cubed tomatoes, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and crisp green lettuce.   I had both hard and soft taco shells because as I remember…we didn’t like the same kind.

I also prepared two glasses of sweet tea, but I put 2 sleeping pills in Marlene’s glass of tea so she would doze off at the perfect time so that we could enact my plan.

I had Gertrude stay downstairs…and wait for me to lure Marlene down there. We were dressed alike.  A pair of jeans and a blue buttoned-down shirt.  We had many outfits like this because this was basically the uniform we wore to work often.

I was nervous about the whole plan.  But I was ready. 

I waited and waited.  It was 11:15am and Marlene hadn’t arrived. 

Our apartment wasn’t hard to find.  Although it was surrounded by trees, it could easily be located on a map or with a phone app.

Finally, the doorbell rang.  My heart raced like horses taking off at a gunshot.

I could not believe what I was about to do.  But thinking quickly about the situation I was in; I knew it had to be done.

I opened the door and there Marlene stood. My twin sister from years ago. Although we were twins, I still thought she looked better than me.

Her hair was still dark, but it was long, shiny, and sleek. 

She wore bright red lipstick that looked as if it was spread quickly across her lips because it was also smeared at the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes were dark like mine…but her eyelashes were long and curly. 

She had a little quirky smile on her face almost as if she didn’t trust me. As if to say…. ‘What do you want?’

I reassured her with a great big hug before she even walked through the door.

“Oh…Marlene!”, “How I’ve missed you”.  “You look so beautiful!” I said, releasing her and looking at her up and down.

The time had finally arrived.

I noticed her long straight perfect neck that looked like a giraffe neck as he reached for some fruit from a high tree, then I noticed the black mole that connected us as sisters. Our mole was so dark that it looked like we each had a hole in our neck.

Marlene’s mole was on the right side of her neck and mine on the left.  I remember she used to tease me and say since her mole was on the ‘right’ side, then mine must be on the ‘wrong’ side. 

Like I said we really didn’t get along when we were young.

Her breasts were perky as if they were trying to peek through her tightly red knit sweater.

She had such a small waist and the stomach that I so desperately wanted…that I had surgery.

I also noticed her protruding hips on each side of her waist that any guy would stop in their tracks and take a second glance at her hourglass shape.

I realized I was jealous of her even before she stepped into my home.

“Come in”.  I said as I led her to the kitchen table to see the scrumptious lunch that I had prepared.

“This looks wonderful”, she said softly, with a smile. “Thank you, Marlo,”.

“Have a seat”, I said, pulling the chair out from the table in front of her; making sure she was seated directly in front of the tea specifically prepared for her.

She sat down and picked up the napkin that I had arranged so perfectly near her plate and placed it in her lap across her white silky pants.

“So how have you been?” I asked.

“Oh…fine, I guess” she replied.  “I’ve been married, divorced, now married again”.

“And you?”  she asked.

“How is your acting career going?”

“Oh…umm…still waiting for that call to get my foot in the door,” I mumbled.

How dare she ask such a question.  She knows my acting career is not going well or I would be in a mansion instead of this rundown apartment.

I felt my face getting flushed.  I knew my face would start to get red quickly so I tried to calm myself down by thinking about the money and the wonderful things it would bring me.

It worked.  I could always tell when I was calming down.  The warm feeling I get when flushed dissipates and I feel cool again.

“A toast to twin sisters”, I said, holding up my glass of tea, she picked up her glass and tapped it to mine and took a huge gulp of it.  She was thirsty and I was glad.

We ate and talked.  We laughed about old times and new times.  I realized I missed a lot when I left.  And I began to like her a bit.  But unfortunately, it didn’t change my circumstances.

I needed the money more than she did and I was sure of it now.  She was married and would be taken care of.

“Would you like to see the rest of the house?’ I asked.

Marlene looked at her watch, “Oh, I think we should be going because we need to leave a little early just in case there is heavy traffic”.

I felt my adrenaline rushing again and anger rise in me.  ‘Who does she think she is?’ I thought to myself’ ‘Coming into my house and trying to make the rules. I make the rules here’.

Marlene was always bossing me around when we were little.  Always reminding me that she was 6 minutes older than I…so I had to listen.  I didn’t then, and I won’t now.  

“Oh…just a little walk around” I pleaded. “We just moved in and I’m so proud of the place”.

“Well just for a little while”. She agreed.

We wiped our mouths with our napkins and got up from the table.

I escorted her to the living room.

“Oh yes, this is a big room”, “nice curtains”, she said.

I knew she was just placating because the curtains weren’t nice.  Gertrude had found them in the alley. We washed them and hung them up because we didn’t have a covering on the window. 

That was enough.  I had had enough of her pious attitude.

“Ok…let’s go look at the cellar”. I said, almost demanding.

Marlene yawned, so I knew the drug was taking effect.

We headed downstairs and Marlene almost stumbled so I took her by the elbow and led her down the steep stairs.

So far, everything has been going as planned.

“Man, I sure do feel tired”, Marlene said.

“Well just lay here a moment”, I said, laying her across Gertrude’s bed that was in the middle of the floor.

Marlene complied, holding her forehead, and laid on the bed.

Just then, Gertrude appeared out of the dark corner, like a shadow from a horror movie.

I noticed her short straight dark hair like mine…she looked just like me. I was pleased with the makeover we had given her.  Almost like a metamorphosis.  Then I remembered!

“You need the mole!” I said a little too loudly.  But Marlene just lifted her head and laid it back down slowly. 

I quickly grabbed a black permanent marker, from the many that were on Gertrude’s nightstand. 

Gertrude liked to sniff the permanent markers at night.  Sometimes she leaves them open by accident, so many of them have dried out.

She says they help her sleep. 

So, I buy her some at least once a week, so she doesn’t run out, because she has a hard time sleeping without them.

So, I pushed the tip of the black marker into the right side of her neck and held it there for a few seconds.

It looked perfect.  I knew this had to be done just in case a relative was at the bank and noticed our moles. When we were young, that was the only way that our relatives could tell us apart.

“That itches”. Gertrude said. Raising her hand toward her neck.  I grabbed her hand and placed it back to her side.

“Don’t touch it right now”. I scolded. 

As I stood face to face with Gertrude, I rubbed her side from under her arm down to her hips repeatedly. She calmed down.  I hugged her, she patted my head as normal.

“As soon as this is over”, I assured her, “we’ll wipe it off, ok?

Gertrude nodded once again.  Although, she seemed agreeable, I could tell she was getting irritable.  So, I knew it was time to proceed with my plan before she started to have second thoughts.

As we released one another, Gertrude looked down on the bed at Marlene.

“What will we do with her? She asked.

“I’ll tie her legs; you do her arms and mouth”.  Just make sure it’s tight”.

I wrapped the silver duct tape around her ankles about 6 times.  So, she couldn’t move if she wanted to. She only shuffled around a little during the process.

Then I went upstairs to clear the table of all the food and empty the leftover tainted tea from Marlene’s glass, while Gertrude finished tying her up.

Keeping our table clear was a chore both Gertrude and I were religious about keeping up with.

I glanced at the black and white clock on the wall above the refrigerator and noticed that it was almost time to go if we were going to beat traffic.

“Come on, Gertrude!” I called down to the cellar. She rushed up.

We left and headed to the bank.

The bank was huge and formidable.  It looked like a castle for a King or Queen.  I was nervous as we entered the tall building.

I looked down at the letter and re-read it word for word to make sure that I was following the specific instructions.

We walked over to a blonde lady at a desk that was near the entrance. 

“Hello, may I help you”, she said in a soft, but firm tone.

“I, I mean, we, are here to see Mr. Ludgekins”.  I stammered.

She turned her head and pointed to an office behind her. 

I headed in the direction of the office and Gertrude followed closely behind.  We walked in and sat at the large rectangular desk and waited.

Sitting in this large bank, all I could think about was getting the money and going on a long trip. 

I stared at the painting that was on the wall in front of us of a man in a boat rowing with an ore.   

His attention was directed at the water, not where he was headed.

I wondered if that was how many people lived their lives; not really paying attention to where they are going, just focused on the place that they are.

He didn’t look like he knew where he would end up, but he was rowing anyway.  And, surprisingly, I wanted to go with him.  I wanted to be heading somewhere to escape the world I felt trapped in.

I could not back out now.

After about 15 minutes, a stocky man entered the room and sat at the enormous desk in front of us.

“Hello”, he said. “I’m sorry about the loss of your dad.”

“However, I have a total of $100,000.00 cash for you”.  “Each of you will receive $50,000.00 cash.   You may deposit it in this bank or take it with you” he said, sounding hurried, as if he had someplace to be.

“I just need you to sign for it”.  He came and sat in front of us at the large conference table and handed us a document with a lot of information to read.

I didn’t read it at all.  I signed first, Marlo Wyrin, and I handed it to Gertrude, hoping she would remember that I told her to sign Marlene’s name.

She signed it, and I glanced at it when she pushed it back in my direction and noticed she signed it correctly.  So, I slid the signed document back to the executor.

Then, he turned and picked up 2 large boxes from his desk and he handed one to each of us.

I was shaking.  I couldn’t believe it. 

He opened it briefly so that we could peek inside.

“Would either of you like to make a deposit today?” he said with a hopeful expression on his face.

“Um…we’ll think about it and let you know later”. I stammered.

Gertrude just smirked at him, without making a sound.

We picked up our box and headed toward the exit, next to the entrance we used.

“Have a good day!’ the blonde lady said as we exited the bank.

She startled me and I almost tripped on the way out the door.

I was so excited that we got away with it.  

As we walked down the stairs…I could feel the anxiety leave me.

Gertrude was walking close behind me.  She always staggered along behind me.

I stopped, turned around toward her.

“We did it! We did it!  I said, excitedly.

I gave her a hug…she didn’t pat me on the head like normal.  But she was nervous…so I’m sure she was just ready to get home to her safe haven, the cellar.

I thought about Marlene in the cellar all tied up, and I knew we had to get back to her soon.  But if she caused an issue for us…I knew what I would have to do.

I would give her sleeping pills until she didn’t wake up.  If she pushed me to that, I would have to do it.

But I felt good in the embrace of my friend Gertrude, who always followed my lead.

I released Gertrude and took her by the shoulders….” Do you know what this means?” “We did it, we’re ok now”. “We have $100,000.00 that no one can take from us.”

She just stared at me.

“It’s ok”, I said. “Finally, I realized what was wrong with Gertrude, she was uncomfortable with that mole that I had made with that permanent black marker.

“Let me get this fake mole off you”, I said in a motherly tone.

I licked my finger and began to wipe the right side of her neck on top of the mole. I wiped and wiped.  But it never disappeared.

As I wiped harder and harder, I looked up at Gertrude.  She was staring at me with piercing eyes…never blinking, never looking away.

That’s when I realized, this was not Gertrude….it was Marlene!

Don’t forget to check out Part II