Double Dutch Read Free Page A

figuring that even reruns of
Barney
were better than this, but suddenly thecamera was focused on the unsmiling faces of Tabu and Titan Tolliver.
    Randy jumped up, knocked over the carton of milk onto the floor, dropped the rest of his last sandwich, and ran to the telephone. The cat pounced on the sandwich and the spilled milk while Randy frantically dialed Yolanda’s number.
    â€œYolanda!” Randy said breathlessly. “Turn on Channel Twelve! Quick!”
    â€œI already have it on. I was on three-way with Charlene and Delia, and we’re all looking at it! I’ll call you back! I’m taping it!”
    Randy turned the volume up loud and sat back on the couch, stunned. These weren’t actors—these were real people. From his school. From his third-bell English class. “Unbelievable!” he muttered again, but this time it was for a completely different reason.
    The commercial ended, and Mrs. Tolliver, the twins’ mother, a thin, tired-looking woman, showed pictures of them as three-year-olds—identically chubby little boys staring at the camera with faint smiles. The TV camera then focused on Tabu and Titan as teenagers, dressed in their usual black, looking defiant and uncaring. Randy listened in amazed silence.
    HOST: So tell me, Mrs. Tolliver, how long have you been having problems with these two young men of yours?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: Well, Preston, I think it started when they were born. I didn’t even know I was carrying twins.They were preemies—really tiny and sickly at birth. I went into labor early, and they were born at home. By the time I was able to get to the hospital, both babies needed oxygen. Maybe they missed something important those first few minutes of life. Maybe it’s my fault.
    HOST: Let’s not place any blame here, Mrs. Tolliver. What happened next?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: I took them home, but it was a struggle just to find enough food for them. My husband had been laid off, and we couldn’t pay the rent. We moved around a lot. It was awful.
    HOST: How did they act as infants? How did they react to others when they were kids?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: They were scrawny little things, but they were happy babies, I guess. Seemed like they just focused on each other and left me out, though. They cried when they were hungry, and sometimes that was pretty often. I feel so bad. I loved my babies—I didn’t want to be a bad mother, but I never felt I was giving them what they needed. When they got old enough, and I found me a job, I sent them to day care. I figured maybe they needed socialization. They didn’t seem to like anything or anybody but each other.
    HOST: Did day care help?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: Not really. The teachers complainedthat they refused to play with the other children—only with each other. Plus, sometimes they would hit other children, and the teachers said they broke toys on purpose. I had to take them out. I don’t think it was their fault, though.
    HOST: What do you mean—not their fault?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: They couldn’t cope with their father’s death. How do you explain to three-year-olds that their daddy is dead?
    HOST: Did you ever seek professional help for them?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: I didn’t have money for that.
    HOST: How did their father die?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: In a storm. I don’t want to talk about it. Look, I work hard and I’ve tried to do my best for my boys. But I guess I’m failing.
    HOST: Don’t cry, now. We’re going to see if we can get you some help. What happened when the boys got to kindergarten?
    MRS. TOLLIVER: I moved from Minnesota to California when they were five. But it was all the same stuff. Even worse. I moved around quite a bit, trying to find work for me and a place they could be happy at, a place where they could just be kids. But it just got worse. I’ve moved to seven states in seven years. Maybe that’s theproblem. We just moved to Ohio, and so far