Chapter Text
There was an unusual quietness to the air as the sun slowly rose. The way the farm house was situated, the light hit both Michael's and Lisa and Naomi's bedrooms. None of them slept well, which seemed to be the case for the past week. Although Lisa was doing better, Michael seemed to have the most difficulty.
The death of their parents hit all of them hard. Their extended family came by to help with the funeral arrangements but once they were buried, they were, for the first time in their life, alone. Lisa, as the oldest, was the first to realize that they would need to support each other. Although Lisa had begun to take on more of the house responsibilities from their mother, she knew that it was going to get overwhelming quickly.
Even though some of their extended family had come by to help with funeral arrangements and other affairs, after a while, there wasn't much left except for all of them to say goodbye and go back to their lives. Though none of them would say it, their extended family thought that the church that they had grown up in was unusual to say the least.
The three kids had attended the church for the majority of their lives. When Pastor Matthew Rivers was hired as the lead pastor almost 10 years ago, the congregation just about tripled, with almost 500 people now calling it their home. When the wake was held, the vast majority of the attendees were from the church, with only a few people who were related to their parents.
The last few days were a whirlwind, with numerous well-wishers coming by to pass along their condolences. A few brought food, though it was always lasagna. Pastor Rivers made his appearance last night, spending almost two hours talking with Michael (and only Michael) before leaving. Lisa knew better than to ask Michael what they talked about, but Naomi, being his fraternal twin sister, had no reservations.
He struggled as he recalled the conversation to his two siblings, how Pastor Rivers wanted to make sure that the church was helping them and to make sure that any final planning made to the church was made readily available. His two sisters nodded along, unsure what their parents had planned in their will. It wasn't something that their parents discussed with them.
The Pastor had also told him that Michael was now The Man of the house and he would need to take on that role. Pastor Rivers gave him an abbreviated sermon that he had given countless times from the pulpit. He shared this with his sisters, who seems to agree with the Pastor that Michael was, indeed, now The Man of the house.
They all went to bed shortly after, leaving the cleanup of the house for the morning. Although sleep came quickly for the three, it was Lisa who woke up first. She stared at the ceiling, watching the birds make shadows as they flew by. Naomi snored softly on the other side of the room. She wondered what exactly her role would be in the lives of her siblings. It was clear that Michael was now The Man, but she's heard the same sermons as Michael. The Woman has responsibilities too.
The Church of the Holy Trinity was very clear on gender roles: men did things like tend to the house, fix cars, and manage the finances while women did things like make dinner, do laundry, and keep up the house. Lisa wondered if she should begin to do those things, since she was the oldest. But before she could get up, Naomi stirred in her bed and turned toward her sister.
"I heard you tossing and turning last night," Naomi said before stretching out her arms. She clutched her comforter to her chest as she looked over at Lisa. "Did you get any sleep?"
Lisa sighed as she continued to stare at the ceiling, unsure how to respond to her. Sleep had always been elusive for her but the past few nights have been the most challenging. She turned toward Naomi before rubbing her eyes. "A little. Here and there."
Of the three kids, Lisa looked very different from the twins. Their mother used to say that Lisa won the genetic lottery by somehow getting both recessive genes to give her reddish brown hair while Michael and Naomi getting more dirty blond hair, like their parents. Lisa was slightly taller, coming in just shy of 5'6" while Naomi was a few inches shorter than her with Michael being shorter still. At 17 years old, Lisa realized that she had probably grown as much as she was going to. Naomi hit her growth spurt last year at 13 and would likely have another one next year. Michael, meanwhile just started his and was growing out of his pants faster than his parents could replace them.
Lisa slowly got up from the bed, deciding that she would take the role of Woman of the house. As she stretched, Naomi followed. "Would you mind getting all the laundry together? I'm thinking it's about time to run the wash," Lisa asked as she slowly got up from the bed. She took off her nightgown and walked over to her dresser. Her perky breasts bounced slightly as she looked through her drawer and put on a white lace bra.
Naomi took a bit longer but did the same. She took off her T-Shirt and removed her panties before going into her closet. She pulled out a simple dark blue dress with cherry blossom prints on it. While she was opening her dresser, she nodded, "Sure. Look, I know I look like a kid but I want to help too, okay? Don't think that just because I'm the youngest that I can't do laundry or cook dinner or clean the toilet. I just…" She paused, looking for the right words.
Lisa interrupted as she put on her own beige skirt with a dark gray sweater. "It's nothing about your age. What Paster Rivers' said yesterday, it's true. Michael is the Man now and it makes sense that someone help him."
"I'm his twin. It makes sense it's me." Naomi said plainly as she brushed her hair quickly.
Lisa didn't take offense to it but tried to reason with her. "There's no reason it's got to be just one person. There's enough to do. Let's just try to do this a day at a time, okay?" She put on a brave smile for her sister as she reached for the doorknob. She could smell bacon cooking and had a look of shock to her face.
She opened the door and raced down the stairs to see Michael pushing bacon around in a large pan. He smiled as he saw her come into the kitchen, but before he could say a word, she walked over to the stove and nudged him away. "Michael, you need to let us do this. This is something that Naomi or I should be doing."
"I didn't want to wake you guys up. It's not your job to make breakfast," he said as he crossed his arms watching Lisa take over. Naomi was not far behind and seemed to understand the concern.
"This is women's work. Lisa and I will make breakfast. Why don't you read the paper? That's what…" she paused as she remembered that her father would sit in his chair and read while their mother made breakfast.
Michael sighed, remembering the same image. He walked to the living room and sat down on the couch, too afraid to sit on his dad's chair. He looked around the room at all the objects that reminded him of his parents: dad's reading glasses sitting next to his very worn bible. The iron fireplace poker that had worn from frequent use. Finally his dad's pipe that his mom hated.
Lisa and Naomi worked in the kitchen, chatting quietly about what to cook when. As the oatmeal began to simmer, she noticed that in their haste to run downstairs, Naomi wasn't wearing her bra and her nipples were prominent. With her brother in earshot, she wanted to tell her to go back upstairs to get a bra but Michael had begun to smell the food and sat at the table waiting patiently. Naomi was oblivious to it as she started getting the dishes and setting the table.
Lisa wasn't sure if Michael noticed. Their mother taught them about dressing modestly. It was always for a vague reason like how God would notice or how you would attract the wrong boys. Lisa was approaching the age where her mother would have told her about the birds and the bees. All she knew was that her period was something God gave her to help prepare her for her future husband. When Naomi got her first period almost two years ago, she got the same talk.
It was as Naomi put the utensils down on the table that Lisa caught Michael's eyes glancing at the two small jellybeans. Michael's eyes focused on the bumps and felt something in his stomach he hadn't felt before. She pulled away before he could take a closer look. Lisa could feel herself clench before Michael looked at her.
"Shall I say grace?" Michael smiled as he extended his hand toward her.
Lisa nodded silently as they bowed their heads.