Twins

Note: Just wanted to give @FlyingMozart full credit for the awesome book cover! Check her writing out, too! You won't regret it! http://www.wattpad.com/user/FlyingMozart

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Prologue

In the year 2012, the world did not end. Many ancient civilizations had prophecies of doom for humanity in that year, but alas, we’re still here...at least for now. What the year did bring is hope. My name is John Stallings and I was assigned to cover a news story in the small town of Cradle, Michigan. I worked out of Dallas for a large newspaper so you can imagine my surprise being sent to such a small town in the middle of nowhere.

 The story seemed impossible, crazy even. I was a young man in that day and, to me, it seemed that the rookie was getting a bogus assignment. I had ambition, a longing to be the best, to make everybody know my name and this story was not going to get me anywhere. Boy, was I wrong.

 Upon my arrival in Cradle, I was greeted by the Mayor, Rick Anderson. “Welcome to Tustin, Mr. Stallings. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to Marianne’s home.” The mayor was grey in the hair and round in the belly. He wore dirty jeans, suspenders, and a flannel shirt. It was hard to take this man seriously as a person of authority. It gave me a bad feeling about my story.

 Mayor Anderson led me, on foot, through the parking lot sized town and to a run-down-house next to a church. “This is it. I’ll introduce you first. Marianne is very nervous, so you’re lucky she’s allowing this interview.”

 The mayor knocked on the door and a man answered. They exchanged a few words and then we were allowed to enter. The man who opened the door grabbed me by the arm. “If she becomes agitated, I expect you to show some compassion and ease up on the questions. Understood?”

 “Who are you?” I asked.

 “I’m the pastor of the church next door. Name’s Frank O’Hare. I’ve known Marianne since she was a child. I baptized her, in fact. She is like a daughter to me, so please, try not to upset her. She’s been through more than you know.”

 “I can appreciate that. But, I still have to do my job.” I replied kindly.

 “One more thing, Mr. Stallings. We’ve tried to keep it quiet, but Marianne is having twins.”  I knew that would pique my readers interest. Who doesn’t love a good story about twins?

Without waiting for an invitation, I moved through the house to the living room. I found a young woman in her 20‘s sitting on the couch. Her belly was large and with child, just as I was told. That didn’t mean I needed to believe the story. She was not beautiful, but she did have an appeal that most men could appreciate. She had shoulder length, blonde hair, but it looked dirty and not taken care of. Her eyes were light blue, but they sparkled, even in the dimly lit room. Her lips were cherry red, even without lipstick. It was obvious she had been crying and probably for more than one day.

 “Marianne,” I said, “my name is John Stallings. I’ve come all the way from Dallas to hear your story, if you don’t mind.”

“I’m sure you already know the story Mr. Stallings,” she answered in a raspy voice.

“Well, the general story. You are pregnant, but you claim to be a virgin.”

“Yes!” the pastor answered for her. “I can verify that she is a virgin. She has consented to be examined. I have personally confirmed her claim, as have three other independent experts. Here are their sworn statements.”

I took the pieces of paper from him and examined them closely. They were all signed by doctors from the area. “My bosses think that this is just a ploy to bring in tourists to generate money for this town. Is that true, Marianne? Have you faked your virgin pregnancy?”

She still did not look me in the eye, instead looking to my immediate left at a depiction of Jesus, hanging on the wall. “I don’t know what to believe, Mr. Stallings. All I know is that I went in to see my doctor seven months ago after I had been sick for a few days. They told me that I was pregnant. End of story. There is no more to it than that.”

“What about past boyfriends?”