My twin sister had been away travelling and working abroad for three years. We were very close and when she called one morning to let me know that she would be returning home within the month I was very excited. Not only would she be returning but she also mentioned that she had a big surprise.
I couldn’t wait to see her and the big surprise. Well, the month dragged on but finally she arrived. The whole family arrived at the airport to greet her and eventually we spotted Jessica walking through the crowd of people. But she wasn’t alone. A tall guy was walking next to her. Immediately everyone was abuzz with excitement. Jessica ran up to me smiling, crying and hugging. Instantly my attention drew back to the tall guy standing behind her. Jessica took his hand and introduced him to everyone as Chris, her fiancé.
Over the course of the week, Chris settled in at home while Jessica caught up with family and friends. Over the next few months Jessica started the wedding preparations. During that time, if I wasn’t needed for wedding duties and chores, Jessica had mainly left Chris with me as she didn’t want him to be left alone and bored. So I was left to entertain him. At first I felt a little awkward as I was quite shy but eventually we hit it off and I began to realise all the great things Jessica saw in Chris.
One day, after spending a great day out with Chris I became quite depressed. Of course Chris asked if he had done something wrong to upset me. I told him he hadn’t. I told him that I was just a little sad after having spent so much time with him and having a great time, and that I began to wonder when I would ever find my true love.
Chris assured me I would but I was very adamant that it would never happen. Being single and alone for three years, you do lose hope. I explained this to Chris and he continued to point out all my great qualities and traits. And then all of a sudden he kissed me. I was so shocked. I didn’t know what to do, so I excused myself and quickly ran into my room to be alone. I didn’t talk to or see Chris for the next three days. I stayed at my friend’s house and told my family that she needed support as she was going through a rough patch.
Chris constantly tried to call me and left messages explaining that he did not know what had come over him and that he was only trying to console me, but I did not want to speak to him as I had no idea what to do or say. I had never been in a situation like that before and I had never kept anything from my sister. I was very confused and tried to avoid both of them.
A couple of days later Mum was hosting a family dinner and it was a ‘must-attend’ event. I reluctantly went along and saw Chris for the first time in days. I completely ignored him. Jessica made a comment on my mood and I just replied that I was tired. Towards the end of the night I offered to do the dishes to get away from everyone.
I slipped into the kitchen but two minutes later Chris followed. He started talking and I instantly cut him off and told him not to say anything, but he wasn’t listening. He said that he had wanted to speak to me for days about what happened and he couldn’t keep it in any longer.
I was expecting him to apologise, to put it all down to bad judgment but instead he started confessing his feelings for me. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t really listening to what he was saying. It was all a blur. He told me how he couldn’t stop thinking about me, that he had strong feelings for me, my head started spinning. I didn’t know what to do. My twin sister was to marry this guy in less than a month and here he was telling me that he didn’t know what to do or how to stop his feelings for me.
I quickly snapped out of my daze and took hold of Chris by both arms. Very clearly and directly I told him to never mention this conversation again. Not to bring it up or repeat to anyone what he just said to me. I assured him that what he was feeling would soon subside and it was only because Jessica and I were so alike that he was confusing his feelings for her with me. I told him that I was not taking anything he said seriously and that I was going to turn a blind eye to it after the day had ended.
I left after that and never told anyone what happened between Chris and me. The wedding went ahead and my sister was none the wiser. Chris carried on very convincingly, much to my relief, and he never spoke to me about the issue again. To this day I am still unsure whether I should have told Jessica. I did not want her to blame me or even worse, herself, for losing the love of her life. I believe that everyone has moments of weakness. I just hope that Chris won’t have a moment of weakness with someone else in the future.
Picture posed by models
