Peggy's Wife Monologue

“Stop goofing around. We don’t have a lot of time.” Peggy loves to boss me around. I get up from the chair, a little dizzy. I follow Peggy around the house as she locks up. I don’t remember the last time Peggy and I left her house together. It’s freeing. Peggy puts the key in the ignition and the vibration of the engine feels like a massage over my entire body. I’m not sure what to do next. Peggy looks hesitant. The letters PDRN look like some weird acronym. “I think you should try to move the stick shift to the letter D. I think that means drive.” Peggy looks hesitant and a little annoyed that I’m telling her what to do but decides to try my suggestion. We are in motion.
It’s a warm summer day, and my thighs are sticking to the leather seats.

She looks apprehensive, an expression that looks alien on her. Peggy slowly slides out of the car and gently shuts the door. Once out of the comfort of the car, Peggy turns around for a second time in the span of a minute, reassuring herself that no one is there. She casually walks over to the shrub and abruptly stops. The shrub is much taller than her, and Peggy is skinny enough to fit the narrow width. I hold my breath while watching Peggy tackle the shrub. I take a deep breath once Peggy is in place and reposition myself so that I am now scrunched behind the dashboard. I feel like a real life spy. We are the Bonnie and Clyde of our neighborhood, minus the criminal

Is this a trick? I use my hands as a shade to get a better look. This male species does look a little like me. While my thick black hair is long, his is short. His smile is a little lopsided like mine, and his eyes seem to squint in the sun like mine. I feel bile comes up my throat. “What day is it?” I ask, feeling light headed. Mama comes outside with a bag of peas for my forehead and tells me to lie down.
Mama starts talking softly; it sounds foreign in her mouth. “I thought I could keep this from you for much longer. You were always so obedient but recently you begun asking too many questions. You and Peggy were on my case. I wanted to tell you, I just didn’t know how. He, your brother, didn’t know he had a sister until your father thought it was the right time to tell him.” Mama continues: “When you were both young, your father made me choose between you two. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made.” Mama starts crying; I’ve never seen her this vulnerable.
“You were both together from when you were one and Steve was about to turn four. Then your dad and I separated and he was going to move away with one of you so I had to choose. Now that Steve is a legal adult he was able to decide for himself, and we’ve been getting to know each other daily.” Mama turned to me. “I’m so sorry, baby. I was going to introduce you once you were 18. That was the deal your father and I made but I couldn’t wait any