Picture Perfect?

DEVLIN'S POV :

I'm sitting in the kitchen of the house I grew up in , watching my brother , Tony , use a pastry bag to pipe purple violets onto the cake sitting on the kitchen island . He's already decked it out with pink roses and several butterflies , in various colors , hoping to get it finished before our folks get back from the store We were sort of an oddity growing up , being the only set of quads in the area , and a lot of people said that we almost seemed more like two completely different sets of twins instead . Tony and I were always more of the non - conformist type , leaning toward more creative pursuits . Which , I suppose , accounts for why I became a photographer and he's a pastry chef , who works at a rather upscale restaurant in St . Louis . On the other hand , our brother , Paul , and our sister Hollis , who prefers Holli , were always more practical , logical types . Holli is currently in her final year of medical school , and Paul is a pilot in the Air Force , who is currently stationed at a base not far from Kansas City .
"Hey , sis ! Can you hand me my box of tips over there , please ?" , Tony asks , gesturing toward the table with his elbow .
I pick up the box and walk across the room , and as I put it down in front of him , my phone goes off . I look at the display , and see that it's Andy , so I take the call and say , "Hey , Andy , what's up ? Did you guys have a good Christmas ?"
"Yeah , pretty good ." , he replies . "Better than some people we know , anyway . That's actually why I called you , because we may need to postpone that shoot we have scheduled for next week ."
"Why ? What happened ?" , I ask . "Is everybody okay ?"
"Ash had to go back home , his grandpa passed away a few days ago , so I'm not sure when he'll be back , or what frame of mind he'll be in ." he informs me .
"Oh , no ! Poor Ash , I know how close they were , he must feel awful ! Of course , we can do it whenever he feels up to it . Just let me know if you hear anything before I get back ."
He says that he will , and we talk for a couple more minutes , then he says he has to go , and ends the call .
"What was that about , Dev ?" , Tony inquires
I explain what Andy had told me , and he says , "Man that sucks for your friend , especially at Christmas ! Ash ... That's your roomies boyfriend , right ?"
"Yeah , he's a good guy , and I feel really bad for him right now . Hopefully , Tanya managed to get past her self - absorption long enough to be there for him , because I'm sure he needs her right now ."
The door opens and Holli and Paul walk in from the backyard , along with Paul's wife , Darcy . She was his high - school sweetheart , and they got married right after he got out of basic training . After he got stationed at Whiteman AFB , she got her degree at a nearby college , and currently teaches third grade at a school a few miles from the base .
"What did we miss ?" , Paul questions . "Sounds like you two were having a pretty heavy conversation ."
I summarize the call again for them , and as I finish , my phone rings again . This time , I just leave it lying on the table , and turn on the speaker . "Hello ." , I say .
"Hey there , Dev , it's CC ."
"And Jinxx !" , a second voice adds
"Hi , guys ! What's up with the conference call ?" , I respond . "If you're calling me about Ashley's grandad , Andy already told me ."
"Good , I'm glad somebody let you know , but that's not exactly why we decided to call you ." , Jinxx says . "It's about Ash , yeah , but not this ."
"Dude , just say it , for fuck's sake !" , CC bursts out . "We're calling because we're pretty sure that Tanya's been screwing around on him , and we've been wondering if you've noticed anything off recently ."
"No , and if I had , he would've already heard about it ." , I inform them . "Where did you get that idea , anyway ?"
They explain that they've been suspicious because she's been canceling plans with him rather frequently , and that she bailed on going to the funeral with him , supposedly because she had to work , and couldn't get anyone to replace her , and that the photographer had threatened to have her blackballed if she didn't show .
"That does sound a bit weird ." , I say . "I know the photographer she was scheduled to work with for that particular shoot . True , Esteban does have a reputation for being a bit temperamental , but that's extreme even for him ! If that's true , then either she's managed to seriously piss him off somehow , or he got into it with his wife again , and he's taking it out on everybody else . But I can't begin to think of why she'd want to cheat on him . I mean , he's a sweet guy , he treats her great , and ..." , I let the sentence trail off , realizing just a bit too late that I've walked into something that I'll probably never hear the end of .
"And what , Dev ?" , Jinxx asks .
I sigh , and reluctantly continue , saying , "I just don't see why she'd even need to think about something like that , because not long after they started dating , one of the first times he stayed over , I wound up being woken up at three in the morning , out of a dead sleep , by some of the most ungodly noise you could imagine . I was halfway through the living room with a gigundous pair of scissors before my brain woke up enough to realize that she WASN'T being murdered . That's why I sleep with my TV on now . So if he can do that , why would she need anybody else ?"
By the time I finish , everyone has totally cracked up . Tony put down his icing bag as soon as I started talking , as if he knew he shouldn't try to keep going on the cake just yet . Paul excuses himself to the bathroom , for fear of wetting himself , and CC is practically hyperventilating .
Finally , he recovers himself enough to say , "Hon , one of the things that we all love about you is your tendency to look for the best in people , but trust me , great sex isn't always enough to stop people from screwing around ."
"He's right , sis ." , Holli says . "One of my classmates had that problem . He told anybody who'd listen that his fiancee was the best lay he'd ever had , but he still hit on anything that looked as though it might have a vagina . Unfortunately for him , one of her friend became aware of it , and told her , so she dumped him ."
The whole thing still sounds a bit weird to me , but I agree to keep my eyes open for anything suspicious when I get home , and they end the call .
Tony goes back to work on the cake , and a few minutes later , our parents get home . Paul and Darcy go to help Dad bring in the groceries , while Holli and I start straightening up to get the kitchen ready for dinner . After we set the table , Mom shoos everybody out of the kitchen , so she can make her chili without anybody figuring out what her "secret ingredient" is . I go to the living room and grab a seat in Dad's old papa - san chair , and try to focus on watching the news with Dad and Holli . But I can't stop thinking about everything I've heard today , and I pull my phone again , and decide to text Ash .

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