Gus wakes up the next morning not fully cognizant of what happened the night before. He slugs back last nights remaining brown liquor in the snifter on his nightstand as his eyes adjust to the harsh light of morning. In throwing the drink down his throat, he immediately feels a sharp pain upon the bending of his right elbow. He posits what he can attribute the pain to; for him, it feels like he bashed his elbow plumb through a window, but he can't be certain. He shakes his head and gets up off the foot of his bed.
Gus: Edna? Edna?!
A deafening stillness radiates through the small house. Gus searches for his other half. As he makes his way to the living room, he finds her balled up on the floor in front of the sofa. She's shivering with a pained look drawn across what he can make of her face.
Edna: (slowly and timidly) I gotta go to the hospital.
Gus: I'll start up the truck.
Gus heads out into the frozen tundra. He scrapes a thick layer of frost from off his old tow. After letting it thaw for a few minutes, he cradles Edna into his trembling arms and lays her down gently across the bench seat. They decide it best not to concern Tiffany due to the unknown nature or severity of the illness.
Six hours later, the phone rings at the McHaliburton house. Luckily, Tiffany is around and answers the call. Gus tells her to rush to the hospital.
As Tiffany is headed out the door, a shiny black Ford Fairlane pulls into the dirt driveway, blocking her car in. Before she is even off the porch, a well-dressed, pleasant looking man in a long black overcoat finds his way to greet her.
Man: Hello ma'am... Um, I hope it's no bother, but I'm looking for a gentleman named Gus... Is he around?
Tiffany: (slightly concerned) Gus? No, I'm afraid not.
Man: (clenches teeth together to indicate dejection) Oh... well... Do you, uh, do you know when he'll be home?
Tiffany: I'm actually going to see him right now. Do you want me to send a message to him?
Man: (surprised) Oh... In that case, yes. (reaches inside his coat) Could you give him this envelope?
Tiffany: Sure. (accepts it from him)
Man: He's a great man, you know... You can tell him that. Thank you.
Tiffany: Ok, will do.
Tiffany places the envelope in her purse, gets in her old beat up Chrysler New Yorker and heads on her way to see her sister.
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The closest hospital is a couple towns over but Tiffany makes it there in no time. Living with Gus and Edna, she's been exposed to a lot of substance abuse, so she fears the worst. After checking in at the front desk, she gets the room number and is on her way.
Approaching the room, she hears crying from the hallway, but not cries that an adult would make. She looks up and realizes the sign above her reads: maternity ward. After double-checking the room number, she slows down to a turtle's pace upon entering the room, bracing herself for the mystery that is to come.
Edna has a small baby in each one of her arms, pressed against her bosom. Gus is behind the bed, gently combing Edna's hair with his fingers. Tiffany's mouth is agape as she walks in slow motion towards her big sister.
Edna: Oh, Tiff... (starts crying)
With tears of her own, Tiffany approaches and shares a long embrace with her big sister. Gus's dry eyes prove to be no match for the jubilation in the room; after wiping away the waterworks, he locates Tiffany and hugs little sister, too.
Tiffany: (in shock) I had no idea.
Edna: (teary-eyed) None of us did.
The three share a tender family moment with the newborn twins. They talk about how their lives will have to be adjusted to accommodate the baby boys. Tiffany eagerly volunteers for additional duties as she instantly falls in the love with the new McHaliburtons.
Tiffany: So, do you have any names in mind?
Edna: (smiles and looks up at the ceiling) We've been talking about this all day... (looks up towards Gus) I don't think we've made any headway.
Tiffany: (recollects the man who stopped by earlier) Oh... Gus... Some guy, a well-dressed man in a nice car came by just as I was leaving the house today. He gave me this.
She reaches into her purse and pulls out the envelope. Gus guardedly accepts it with a flummoxed look on his face. He opens the envelope with the same precautionary level that a skilled technician would use to dismantle a bomb. The letter has his full attention as he reads through it. Within a few moments, tears billow up below his eyes then run down his cheeks.
Edna: (concerned) What is it, hun?
As instructed by the letter, Gus looks down into the envelope and finds $100. He pulls out the money, shows it to Edna, then puts it in his pocket. Words escape him as he stares down at the most important person in his life and the two beautiful baby boys she helped create. More tears. Edna's eyes connect with his as she matches his tears. Gus hands the letter over to her and excuses himself from the room.
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Being overwhelmed by the surprise birth of his children and now this letter, Gus heads to the outside area and lights up a cigarette. He really enjoys this cigarette. Gus has always been self-conscious about procreating and the societal pressures attached with it, so these accidental babies are of great relief and a blessing in disguise. He always assumed that if he had a child, it would happen like this, unplanned. He finishes up the smoke and heads back into the room, where he finds Edna in tears.
Edna: Gus... You know what this means?
Gus looks at her not knowing what she means.
Edna: These are going to be the names of our boys (motions to the letter). The two men you saved.
Gus: (puzzled) John and Jon? That could get confusing.
Edna: (chuckles) No. Deacon and Pastor.
Gus ruminates on the names while preserving any judgment.
Edna: You didn't tell me you saved these guys lives yesterday, (re-reads names in the letter) Deacon John Hartwell and Pastor Jon Covington.
Gus: (sheepishly) Well, just another day at the office, really.
Edna: Gus, this is destiny, how we had these two babies today... how you saved these two guys lives last night... and how you saw that cross last week... (motions to babies) These are our little miracles... Deacon and Pastor.
Gus: I don't know babe, aren't we getting a little religious all of a sudden?
Edna: Well, what about that cross you saw the other night at the exact same time your grandmother died? You said that was destiny and it was some sort of symbol. And here, this line in the letter: It was fate that you happened to find us, a few more minutes and we would have froze to death. We would never see our families again; for this we are eternally grateful. May God bless you and your family.
Gus: Yeah, that's remarkable.
Edna: This is... like you said... destiny, Gus. (motions to the babies, then to the letter)
Edna scrutinizes the letter and bestows some additional reverence to it because it is written by a pastor. She waxes poetic about the letter as Gus sets his mind agaze.
He takes a long stare out the window. From the outside, it looks likes he's having a deeply profound moment, perhaps a moment of self-realization. His view is ensconced by the sprawling countryside. In the far east corner of the window he sees a barn. A non distinct plain old faded red barn, not unlike the barn where he lost his virginity. Judy Kelmar. Some five years older than him. What a rush. Gus's pants tighten in the crotch as he recalls the carnal knowledge the two would exchange those summer afternoons in the hayloft. Going at it right there in the same barn where the livestock would gather below brought out an added animalistic intensity in each other.
Edna: Honey, we've got to do something... (tears up) We just can't keep living like this... You know? Especially with the kids now.
The contented grin on Gus's face remains as he slowly turns to Edna... (thinks again to himself) Judy Kelmar...
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