The Scale (Martha's Way) (2 page)

Well,
there goes your effort to look trim and sexy
. Her nemesis mocked her efforts to trim down her
curvy figure, tempting her to prove it wrong—she did have willpower and had met
her goal for the week.

Except
at that instant, the acid chose to flare inside her esophagus, a reminder of
one too many slices of pizza along with the wine she had consumed.

Dejected,
Minka turned away from the uninvited monster and wished she could smash it down
the garbage disposal. Any opportunity to listen to its metallic death throes
was sure to bring her great pleasure. But that thought was not enough to boost
her mood as she entered the shower, wishing she was playing Monopoly and
miraculously landed on the
Go Straight to Jail, Do Not Pass Go,
Do
Not Collect
Two
Hundred Dollars
card. Anything that could make her
vanish
for the day.

* * * *

Don’t
look at them! Don’t look at them!

But
Minka’s gaze deviated from its direct course and wandered to Keely’s glowing
smile. Her twin sister looked radiant and overjoyed. Her laughter floated in
the room like a melody, causing Minka’s throbbing headache to surge to new
heights of discomfort.

Well
aware that no one had even detected her presence, Minka studied her sister a
little longer than usual as Keely interacted with a woman holding her hand and
admiring the beautiful diamond on her ring finger. On a typical day, she always
made a conscious effort not to stare too much, which would make people wonder.
But like everyone, she couldn’t help but look and today was no different.

If
possible, Keely looked more beautiful than ever, wearing a form-fitting
sapphire dress that hugged her like a glove, a dress she no doubt had designed
herself. Her sister was breathtaking for her engagement party.

Minka’s
eyes shifted to the reason for her sister’
s happiness.

Blake
Howard Alexander.

Her misery.
Just the sight of him caused
a
tightness
in her chest.

Yet,
he was indeed perfect for her sister. Standing well over six feet tall with
broad shoulders and a smooth caramel complexion, Blake was physically flawless.
He still possessed the tight, taut muscles of a college athlete, so in
opposition to Keely’s delicate stature.

But
his physical attributes weren’t the only thing she loved about him. He also
possessed intelligence, had graduated cum laude from Yale Law School, and was in
line for partnership at a prestigious law firm in Philadelphia. He was
financially secure and on a professional upswing. Not that her sister needed
his money. Keely was equally successful as a fashion designer.

Minka
also admired his sense of humor, his desire to help those in need and his
versatility. Blake was the only man she knew, aside from her father, who had
the ability to hold a stimulating conversation about anything, regardless how
trivial the topic.

With
one arm around her sister’s tiny waist, he leaned over to place a kiss on her
lips before whispering something in her ear. As he did so, he ran the back of
his hand affectionately over her naked arm, causing her to chuckle. Whatever
words he whispered made her sister blush. Minka watched Keely lift her delicate
hand to touch Blake’s face. The three-and-a-half carat diamond caught the light
and sparkled in the dimly lit room.

Tonight
everyone gathered in the large dining room. Minka had to give credit to the
inn’s owner for the understated, elegant décor. The buttery yellow ribbons
holding back white filmy drapes provided a touch of her sister’s favorite
color. The room was dimly illuminated with several blue hourglass candle jars
lined up on each table. The floating movement of the flames reflected against
the jars projected a hue of amber while filling the room with a tropical fusion
of mango and coconut. Cheerful conversation and Sade’s sensuous voice playing
in the background completed the invigorating atmosphere, capturing the essence
of the couple.

Martha’s
Way, one of the most prestigious hotels in The Vineyard, the location for the engagement
party and wedding in two weeks, was known for its quiet elegance. The inn was
owned and operated by Blake’s longtime friend Jason Montgomery, who had put a
lot of effort toward making sure the couple’s night was perfect.

She
scanned the room for the host; they had not met but she had seen pictures of
him together with Blake and a few more friends on the island. There were four
of them to be exact from what she recalled, all handsome and carefree, but she
remembered Jason’s features the most. His eyes—if she closed hers she could see
them—icy and clouded blue. The last picture she saw of him, his stare had been
distant and cold. The image made her shudder.

He
had not arrived yet.

She
spotted Blake’s other close friends.
The dark-haired Italian
and the easy-going doctor.
Both men were now engaged in a conversation
with her sister. A familiarity existed between them; an indication Keely was
well accepted and loved. Claire, Keely’s best friend, was due to arrive in a
couple of days.

Blake
walked over to join the group. He put his arm around her sister and showed off
her ring to his friends, their love apparent, forcing Minka to realize her time
had passed, if she ever had a chance.

The
image burned her mind’s eye, a reminder Blake had managed to move even farther
away from her grasp. She needed to stop reaching, hoping for the impossible.

He
had chosen Keely.

He
had chosen the beautiful twin.

An
intense wave of rejection swept over Minka as her mind raced with ideas,
questions.

Would
he have wanted her had she been thinner with a tinier waist, longer legs, had
she been more cheerful and possessed a savvy sense of couture?

Perhaps
she could have done more to gain his attention.

Perhaps
she could have done less, such as not introducing them to each other.

Or
was it that she needed to do anything, everything in her power to make him
notice her as a woman?

Because
now, the reality was Blake and Keely were no longer parts of her life that she
could continue to hope would change. They were taking the first step toward
permanence.

When
they had first started dating, Minka refused to believe the possibility of her
sister and her best friend as a couple. From their first encounter, the
connection between Blake and Keely was undeniable. The moment their eyes met,
the attraction was so strong Minka felt an immediate sense of loss. Never in
her life had she seen Blake, her friend, the cool, aloof superstar athlete on
campus, so taken in by someone.

As their relationship progressed, Minka waited for
something to change. She hoped their attraction was just a phase, a short
chapter in their lives upon which they would all look back fondly. She waited
for them to snap out of it, to see they didn’t work—that they couldn’t work and
eventually go their separate ways. But one date turned into two, then a third
and before Minka knew it, they were spending long weekends together—romantic
getaways, her sister had gleefully referred to them. Those morphed into an
enduring living arrangement that culminated in today’s festivities.

Minka
could no longer deny the obvious: Blake Howard Alexander, her closest friend in
college, the man she had secretly loved her entire adult life, would never fall
in love with her.

To
block the festivity out of her brain and to digest the overwhelming hurt that
weighed heavily on her heart, Minka turned her attention to the meal of gingered
salmon with grilled corn and watercress salad.

She
eventually needed to do what every good twin sister should do. Go to the happy
couple, have a happy conversation with them. Ask all the right questions about
their upcoming nuptials. Tell them how perfectly suited they were. Ask Keely
about wedding dress ideas, her bridal party. But for the moment, Minka was
still trying to digest that information herself. For this reason, she remained
seated at the empty table and glanced at the slim gold watch on her wrist.

The
evening was progressing slowly. She couldn’t believe it had only been one hour
with two more hours to go. Another wave of laughter rang from Keely and Blake’s
direction. Minka closed her eyes in an attempt to shut them out, to not look at
them. But most of all, she tried not to look at
him
.

But,
of course, she was drawn to him.

And
there he was still, hours later, smiling, kissing, and laughing with her twin
sister.

Minka’s
heart pounded with that now familiar feeling called pain, a feeling she had
been able to mask for the past five years but no longer. Yet, she found herself
glancing back at her sister. Her smile was radiant; her hazel eyes, one of the
few physical traits they shared, gleamed with happiness.

They
were twins, but beyond the shade of their eyes and their curly locks the
similarities ended. People never believed they were produced from the same
pregnancy or they were from the same gene pool, for that matter. Minka always
felt the need to point out the obvious—that they were fraternal twins—and of
course, the light bulb would switch on.

“Ah!
That makes sense now,” some would say with a polite smile.

She
knew what they meant. Any resemblance they shared stopped at their hair and
eyes, which they had inherited from their mother. But even then, they wore
their hair differently; Keely often blew out her curls, whereas Minka never
bothered. On most days, she simply let the curls fall in whichever direction suited
them.

She
stood barely five foot three inches tall, with curves; perhaps too many curves.
According to the latest BMI statistics, she fell in the overweight percentage
of Americans. Her hips were curvy and her breasts were more than a handful. No,
she wasn’t built like a model, which was apparently what appealed to Blake.

Her
approaching parents made Minka want to hide her empty dessert plate. Her
mother, a former model in her mid-fifties with the figure and face of a much
younger woman, intimidated most women just by walking into the room. The
daughter of an African-American father and an Irish mother, she had inherited
all of the best traits from both cultures. No one could deny her beauty, so
much so that she was able to break many barriers as a model. Her personality
also matched her looks. She was easy-going, funny, and laid-
back,
all traits Keely seemed to have inherited. Her presence overwhelmed Minka.

Her
father, a former successful college basketball player, tall with lean muscles,
was equally handsome in his early sixties. Due to a knee injury he had acquired
in college, he was never able to pursue basketball as a career. Instead, as a
graduate of Duke University, he went on to study public relations and now owned
one of the best PR firms in New Jersey.

Yet,
as they strode across the room with pure elegance, Minka found herself quickly
looking around for somewhere to stash the empty dessert plate.

Too
bad she was the only one still sitting at the table.

“Are
you having a good time, Minka?” her mother asked in her soft, demure voice as
she peeked at the plate.

She
stared down at her hands. “I’m having a ball.”

 
“You don’
t look well,
” her mother continued with what
appeared to be genuine concern in her voice.

“I
have a bit of a headache,” Minka explained nonchalantly. She lifted her chin
and met her parents’ probing gazes. “
Doesn
’t Keely look beautiful?” she
quickly asked, changing the subject. For what it was worth, it wasn’t her
sister’s fault she’d inherited all of her parents’ wonderful genes while Minka
was still trying to put the puzzle together on whose genes were passed down to
her.

At
the mention of her star daughter, her mother’s face brightened with so much joy
and pride.

So much for concern
.

But
then again, what was there not to be proud of?

Keely
was an established and successful designer. She’d not only inherited her
mother’s looks, she’d also inherited her love of fashion. Despite her beauty,
she was warm, caring, down-to-earth, and extremely loving. People flocked to
her like she was honey. Minka had never met anyone who didn’t want to be around
Keely. If they had been strangers, Minka had to admit that even she would be
intrigued and in awe of Keely. But, they weren’t strangers; they were sisters.
Twins.
And all her life, Keely had gotten the better half of
the deal, and Minka’s perception of the iniquity between the two of them had
shaped the dynamics of their relationship. It wasn’t something she could
surmount easily.

“Yes,”
her mother responded with obvious pride, “she’s radiant. She will make a
beautiful bride. And, of course, Blake is perfect for her.”

“Yes,
he’s perfect.”