Of Celebrations and History Lessons

"Breakfast is ready!" Called Clare to her brothers. She wanted to get breakfast out of the way so she could get started on the birthday cake for the twins, who were looking at their last couple of hours as teenagers.

Camren looked at his twin brother and frowned, "Dude...why are you doing homework? We're done with school, remember?"

Cole stared blankly at his notebook for a moment then chuckled, "Right, I'd totally forgotten about that. I'm so used to doing homework..."

After making sure everyone had their breakfast Clare went right to work on the birthday cake. She always enjoyed making cakes. There was something blissfully soothing about baking desserts.

At last, it was time to celebrate the twins' birthdays. At Clare's endless insistence the whole family managed to be able to be in the same room, at the same time to do a proper family celebration. And they all had a lovely time together.

Camren, always the overachiever, had already completed his aspiration of becoming a Painter Extraordinaire as a teen. Now that he was a young adult he wanted to complete his aspiration of being a bestselling author. Camren, true to his nature since childhood grew up to be creative, childish and a goofball. It was amazing that despite his playful nature he still managed to take his aspirations seriously.

Cole on the other hand, had been in no hurry to complete his aspiration as a teen. He'd been too busy playing with his twin brother and eating expertly created desserts by his little sister and mother. Now that he was a young adult however, he figured it was time to start working on his aspiration. Cole was still active and a foodie but he'd grown to be noncommittal to boot. Cole wanted to have fun, to try different things out, and different loves. He had no intention of settling down for anything just yet.

"The cake was perfect, Clare! Thank you." Said Camren with a smile.

"You're welcome." Said Clare happily.

"Now, listen boys." Said Ben to his twin sons. "Your mother and I have been giving this quite a bit of thought and we finally came down to a decision."

Camren and Cole looked at each other puzzled, then at their father. "...Ok?" they said in unison.

Blythe chuckled as she returned to the kitchen, "You're not in trouble boys, breathe."

The twins smiled nervously.

"Your grandparents, your grandmother in particular, had been constantly worried about our having firstborn twins." Ben said gently.

The twins breathed easily then, they really weren't in trouble then.

"Your grandmother had a very good and valid reason for being concerned." Blythe said seriously. "Many generations ago, back in Monte Vista when the Montgomery Family was at the height of their wealth and influence twin heirs were born. Up until then there had always been twins, but never firstborn twins. The twins' parents and family failed to establish who was the rightful heir before their parents died. This in turn, gave way to a terrible dispute."

The twins said nothing, speechless for the very first time. They simply listened to their parents in silence.

"The family was torn apart, there was the side that believed the first of the twins to be born was the rightful heir. While the other side believed that both twins were equally liable to be heirs since they were both the product of the first pregnancy. But the Montgomery Family had never had more than one living heir at any given time. And so the family divided, followed by generations of dispute until in the end the family was reduced to nothing more than a small impoverished few family members with a violent and tragic family history." Blythe said as she remembered when her mother had first told her about their family history.

"But mom, that's not a problem with us. Both Camren and I agree that since he was born first he is the rightful heir. Besides, we don't have the wealth and influence that they had all those generations ago. So there's not a whole lot to fight and be envious about. And even if there was, I have absolutely no interest in being tied down to one place alone for the rest of my life....no offense." Cole said and shrugged.

Ben smiled, "That's uh...very noble of you boys. Needless to say, it is a situation that might arise in the future, and that future set of twins might not be as wise and generous as you two. So some sort of ground rules need to be set in place as to avoid any unpleasant situations like in the past."

"So, we've decided on what we think is a very fair solution. You will both be heirs, seeing as you are both the result of our first pregnancy. Now, to solve the following generation's issue on heir selection. Which ever one of your produces a child first, that will be the heir or heiress and the line continues on from there. Does that seem like a good compromise?" Blythe said hopeful.

Camren and Cole looked at each other, both fighting the urge to laugh. Their parents were entirely too serious. "Sure." Said Cole hiding a smile. "But, for the record, I'm not in a hurry to have a child so I'm pretty sure it will be up to Camren to work that out. But..." he said as he noticed his mother about to talk again. "I understand what you said and why you've come up with these rules. We'll be sure to follow them and ensure the generations ahead of us do as well. Relax, mom"

"What he said." Camren said with a chuckle. "Now, can I go back to eating my birthday cake? There's a girl that's waiting for me at the nightclub."

Blythe and Ben looked at each other and shrugged: Boys!