The day the incident occurred was hot and sultry; too hot for anyone to be playing outdoors in those final dog days of summer. My brother, Murray, had been invited to his friend Jack's house to view home movies in the cool comfort of a basement recreation room. Murray and Jack were the best of friends but what happened that day put a dent in their friendship.
Jack did not mind Murray bringing his younger twin brothers, Harvey and Ivan, with him to watch the movies. That is how the two of us happened to be at the scene of the crime and became the two chief suspects in the case . For us the movies were a novelty and a welcome diversion on an otherwise boring end-of-summer day. Now keep in mind that my brother Harvey and myself were not identical twins but we were similar enough in appearance that people who did not know us well had difficulty in telling us apart.
Backyard vegetable gardens were in vogue in the city at that time and the house the boys were going to visit was no exception. Smack-dab in the middle of that garden stood a good sized apple tree. Now Jack's mother was inordinantely proud of that apple tree. When the boys arrived, she rushed them out to the garden to show them her pride and joy. There hanging tantalizingly from a branch just above their heads was a huge apple not yet ripe for the picking. The apple was magnificent. In fact, it was the only apple on the tree and that was the determining factor in the outcome of this case. To hear Jack's mother tell it, that apple was one of the seven wonders of the world. After suitable utterances of appreciation eagerly received by the hostess, the boys retreated to the basement to watch the movies.
Later that afternoon, Jack's distraught mother rushed into the basement.
"Which one of you boys did this?" she demanded, holding back tears. She held out the apple which had earlier been admired for four pairs of astonished eyes to see. "I found it lying on the ground." Hurt and disbelief were registered on her face.
The boys looked at each other but no one would admit to being the culprit.
Jack's mother proceeded with her accusation.
"The twins were the last ones by the tree. One of them must have picked it. "
She studied our now terrified faces trying to determine which one of us was the guilty party but with no success. She looked at Harvey first and then at me.
"It was you!" In desperation she singled me out "You were the last one by the tree. You are a naughty boy! My prize apple! How could you do such a thing?"
No amount of protesting on my part or reasoning from the other boys could convince her that there might be some other explanation for the fallen fruit.
"Apples do fall off trees," Murray suggested.
"Not this one," Jack's mother snapped back.
"Maybe it was the wind," Jack suggested, attempting to convince his mother but doing a poor job of it. His words were ignored. In his mother's mind, I was guilty as charged.
I was scared stiff but steadfastly maintained my innocence.
"If Ivan says that he didn't do it, then Harvey must have. You might as well tell me the truth because your mother is certainly going to hear about this."
There was no further response from either of us.
"I can't even use it in a salad," Jack's mother wailed, "it is still too green." With apple in hand, she swept out of the room.
The unfounded accusation ruined what had otherwise been a pleasant afternoon. When we got home, mother had already been informed of what had taken place. She was somewhat amused by the whole incident and she knew Jack's mother well enough to give us the benefit of the doubt.
"Well, Ivan, did you pick the apple? Tell me the truth."
"No, Mom, I never even touched her lousy, rotten, apple!"
Harvey added, "We don't know how it happened. We never left the basement the whole time we were there."
"She is very upset and you know how unreasonable she can be. She is convinced that one of you picked the apple. I have been told to tell you that neither of you are welcome at her house ever again."
"What," I protested, "just because she thinks that one of us picked the apple? That's not fair! Can't you do something?"
The punishment seemed unduly harsh especially when there was no proof that either of us was guilty. Sadly, some people only know how to over-react. My twin brother and I never went to that house again and the mystery of the fallen apple remains unsolved to this day.
The Twins
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