Chapter 135: Parent Teacher Conference
*That depends. Which dad are you going to call? – Camden*
Miss Jackson sat in her colorful kindergarten class at the only adult sized desk. At the knock on the door, she looked up to see a man who had tattoos on almost every visible inch of skin. The twins both looked up and smiled.
“Boys.” Ink said and they both turned back to their coloring. “Miss Jackson.”
“Mr. Reagan?” she asked standing up and offering a hand.
“One of them.” He confirmed accepting her hand. “I’m Ink, Tank and our wife are on their way.”
A look of confusion crossed the teachers face as another biker entered the room. Both boys looked up and at the cocked eyebrow, they slumped down in their chairs.
“Miss Jackson, I’m Tank.” The larger man said offering her a hand.
“Where’s Evie?” Ink asked.
“I’m here.” Evie said walking in with a very upset two-year old Monica. The tiny brunette reached for her dads. Tank was the first one to take her and she settled against his chest and began to suck her thumb.
“Sorry, she has an ear infection and is a grumpy butt. I’m Evie and I think we met at the beginning of the year.”
“Yes, there was another man with you.” The woman said.
“Yes, my brother-in-law. He’s doing his student teaching over with Mr. Kennedy in second grade.” Evie explained as the teacher motioned to a chair.
“Yes, please, let’s all sit down.” Miss Jackson sat behind her desk and waited for the other three adults to join her. “I hate to call conferences on such short notice, but the boys were fighting on the playground today.”
The three parents looked over at the twins who tried to disappear.
“I understand that they share a birthday and being in the same house, they can become confused and believe that they are twins -"
“I’m going to stop you right there and request that you call your principal.” Evie said in her no-nonsense tone. The twins grinned at each other. “Now, Miss Jackson.”
Ink and Tank shared a look over her head. Tank messaged his brother while the kindergarten teacher spoke with her principal.
“He’ll be down in just a moment. As I was saying-"
“We’ll wait.” Evie interrupted.
They sat in a tense silence until Athos walked in wearing khaki pants and a black Oxford with the sleeves rolled up. He smiled at the teacher only a few years older than himself as he sat down to color with his nephews. A moment later, Mr. Anderson entered the room.
He was approaching retirement age and looked like he may have already passed it. His bald head only had a few wisps of white hair on it. His dark eyes were sunk in behind coke bottle thick rimmed glasses. The deep wrinkles on his face increased around his eyes and mouth.
He wore navy slacks and a white dress shirt with a Fighting Irish tie. His black tennis shoes had Notre Dame shoelaces on them.
“Mrs. Reagan!” the old man exclaimed as he approached the small group of adults.
“Hello, Roy. You remember my husbands, Tank and Ink.” She said standing up and shaking the old man’s hand.
“Yes, of course. You three caused quite a stir.” He smiled as he shook hands with the other men. “And who do we have here?”
“Monica.” Ink said and the little girl turned stretching her arms out for him. The two men easily exchanged the toddler who laid her head on the new chest and resumed sucking her thumb.
“Someone is not feeling well.” The principal observed.
“Ear infection.” Evie confirmed. “Roy, you used to teach biology, correct?” Evie asked as they all sat back down. She smiled at the wistful look that crossed his face as he nodded in the affirmative. “Can you please explain the types of twins?”
“Oh, sure, there’s identical where they start with one embryo and share a placenta and amniotic fluid and sack. And then there are fraternal where the mother releases more than one egg which is fertilized. Identical are just that; identical in their looks and genetic makeup. But fraternal can be very different and even opposite sexes. Because they come from separate eggs, they can actually have different fathers.”
“As is the case with my twins.” Evie smiled at the other teacher.
“Exactly.” He agreed with a smile as the young teacher paled slightly. “Was there an issue today?”
“The boys got into a fight with a few other boys.” Miss Jackson explained. “I fear that I may have made the situation worse by agreeing that they were not actually twins.”
“The three of us were there when they were conceived and when we saw them for the first time.” Evie said coldly. “All three of us were there for every doctor appointment and sonogram. They each received a baby when they were cut out of my belly. I can assure you that they most certainly are twins.”
“Athos, why don’t you take the boys out to the playground?” Tank suggested angrily.
“Come on, boys, let’s go to the indoor playground so your sister can come to.” Athos said as he directed the boys to clean up their mess. He then took his niece from his brother-in-law. She objected slightly as she was passed from father to uncle. Brushing his lips across her forehead, Athos began softly singing “My Girl” and she slipped back to sleep.
“Why don’t we figure out how to resolve this issue?” Roy suggested with a tight smile.
