American Girl

Alabama

"I saw him first," Haille Monroe shouted. She pinned the poster to the bedroom wall and, stepping backward, made sure it was straight.

"Did not." Harper pasted her hands on her hips. "He smiled at me."

"No, he didn't," Haille rebuffed smugly. "He smiled at Daddy."

"Why would he do that?"

"Oh, please." Haille rolled her hazel eyes. "Daddy's the Crew Chief. Of course, he smiled at Daddy. You're so stupid sometimes."

"Am not!" Harper grabbed her sister's honey-gold hair and yanked it.

Haille entwined her hands in Harper's identical locks. Both girls screamed and rotated in a circular motion. Landing on a twin bed, they kicked and clutched at each other. Haille received a sharp knee in her groin. Shrieking in pain, she leaped up and stood doubled over.

"I'll get you for that, Harper Monroe." Haille plunged onto her sister, her fists flying.

"Girls!" Alvin Monroe grabbed his daughter's collars and pulled them up. He stood the twins in front of him and demanded an explanation.

Haille and Harper began speaking at the same time. Flinging accusations, they tried to outshout each other.

"Enough." Alvin motioned for the girls to simmer down. "You first, Haille."

"Haille always goes first," Harper complained.

"I got here first," the older twin snorted. Standing on tiptoes, she glared down at her sister.

Harper crossed her arms and turned her back.

"Go on, Haille." Her father waved for her to begin.

"Blake Fielding gave me his poster," Haille stated, indicating the photograph on the wall. "He even autographed it."

"He gave it to both of us," Harper cut in.

Alvin Monroe studied the NASCAR poster. It depicted Blake Fielding in his blue and gold fire suit, holding his helmet in the crook of his left arm. His wavy brown hair fell over twinkling brown eyes. He grinned widely, showing impossible white teeth. At age twenty-three, a newcomer to the circuit, he was ranked as the youngest participant at Talladega. Al thought he had as good a chance as any of winning at the speedway.

He studied his sixteen-year-old twins. Life had become challenging for them after Connie left. Alvin knew he shouldn't have married her. Constance Alexandre had her head in the clouds all through high school. She flirted with all the boys and finally settled on Alvin. When she told him of her pregnancy, he proposed. After the wedding, he discovered she wasn't pregnant. When he confronted her, she laughed. She said she couldn't have caught him otherwise.

A year later, Connie gave birth to twins. She turned sour when he mentioned the two-for-one made-up for the baby she lied about. Al knew his wife wouldn't stick around for long. He worked as a mechanic at the local Citgo while she waitressed at the diner. When the babies cried at night, Al changed their diapers and rocked them back to sleep. Connie lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. She was gone before Haille and Harper turned three.

Alvin Monroe worked hard to support his twins. He left the garage to become a tire-changer at the Talladega Speedway. Eventually, he worked his way to the crew chief position. His girls came to work with him, sitting in the nearby stands so he could keep an eye on them.

Haille and Harper were best friends until they reached thirteen. They dressed alike, helped each other with homework, and spoke a unique language. Alvin's pride in them grew until puberty set in. He blamed himself for the conflict; he had no experience with teenage girls. Connie should have taken care of their adolescent problems. Connie ran off to become a model. She looked beautiful on the covers of fashion magazines, but that didn't help him raise his girls.