This story contains incest.
"Can my sister visit over Thanksgiving?"
It was our first semester in grad school. Bob and I hadn't known each other very well as undergraduates, mostly from taking the same courses in our major, agreeing to share a flat, when we both were accepted for the grad program in another university. I knew he had a twin sister, but she hadn't been mentioned since we had moved into the flat with two bedrooms just large enough for a bed and desk.
Sure, his sister could visit him in a couple of weeks – from wherever. I didn't even know her name. Why was he asking me? I shrugged and replied:
"Sure, of course; why did you ask?"
"I was wondering if you would mind her staying here."
I was sitting on the two-seat sofa in the small living room; Bob was sitting on the armchair, both of us were reading a magazine, and had hardly glanced up at each other. More lost in the article I was reading, I asked automatically: "Where?"
When Bob didn't immediately reply, I suddenly awoke to why he had asked and forgot the article. Where was she going to sleep, for how many nights? I didn't think it would bother me to have girl in the apartment; by then I had slept with a few – whole nights – so it was only a question of where she would sleep. He still hadn't replied. I looked over at him. His face was hidden behind his magazine.
"Where's she going to sleep?" I asked, recognizing that I was accepting that she would sleep in our little apartment. Was he blushing, when he raised his head from behind the magazine? It was still another moment before he replied:
"With me, I guess." He was blushing, and corrected himself:
"I meant in my room, I was assuming," then adding: "We're twins, you know."
Of course, everyone knew that twins were closer than other siblings, so I didn't have a problem with their sharing a room, but where would she sleep – an air mattress? But there wasn't space on the floor for one, just maybe, if part of it was under the bed. I asked:
"She has an air mattress?"
Bob shook his head. I hadn't known that an adult could blush like he was. He looked back at his magazine and murmured: "We have before, you know: twins."
He could only have meant that they had shared a bed before – a single bed like the ones in our rooms?! I knew what it was like to be in bed with a girl in beds like that. There had only been one reason to be there, and I couldn't imagine that it wouldn't occur to siblings, a male and female lying so close that they had to be aware of each other's body, touching each other, even if they were wearing pajamas or whatever his sister wore in bed. I knew that he just wore boxer shorts. I caught my breath and tried to reply evenly:
"If you want to; I guess so – twins."
Bob nodded, looking slightly less embarrassed, and murmured again: "We have before."
I shrugged, then smiled wryly and said: "I don't think I could with my sister, but I don't have one."
He also smiled wryly, also shrugging but now looking relieved, and we left the subject at that for the evening and until the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was, however, thinking too often about their sharing his bed. Had it been a big double bed with space enough to keep out of contact, maybe one like in Europe with two sets of covers? That would be fairly easy, but his single bed was not like that, the two of them under one sheet and blanket, like when I had slept with girls. It was very difficult – impossible – for me to imagine that Bob could not be having similar thoughts, and what was his sister thinking? She must be assuming that I must be wondering about their sharing his bed. It was going to be a very curious situation.
Friday evening before Thanksgiving, we were sharing a six pack. After our second beers, with a wry expression Bob said:
"I guess you must have been wondering about Deb's coming here. Deb, Deborah."
"I have been," I agreed, popping the tab of my third beer.
"She said I should thank you from her for letting her stay here, said that she was looking forward to meeting you."
"I am too, to meeting her."
"Said you must be very nice, being so understanding."
"I'm trying to be: nice, and understanding," I replied, liking that he had mentioned her visit, thinking that it might be only because Deb had said that.
I took a sip of my fresh beer. Bob took a better one of his. He looked at me, then looked away for a moment, then at me again and took another better one. Then without looking at me he said:
"She called yesterday and said that I should tell you."