These Things We Do

“Open the letter first, you dolt,” yelled David, as his twin brother Daniel struggled with the little parcel, much to the chagrin of the people in the cafe. Even Miss Lei, who was often content smiling into her tea, was eyeing them from her corner table. He grabbed the brown paper and deftly ripped it, releasing its strenuous contents onto Daniel’s lap. 

Their eyes widened together as the red ink screamed from the top of the form. 

“David…” 

“I’m heading out,” said the older twin suddenly, grabbing his favorite counterfeit coat. Though they were identical, they couldn’t look more night and day: David in his dark makeup flashy bootleg clothing and Daniel with his plain face and clean cut. 

“Please, David, now’s not the time-” David flicked him in the forehead. 

“On the contrary, there is no time like now,” said David, coldly. He glanced at the customers in the cafe, who quickly averted their gaze. “You’re making a scene, Daniel.” 

As David exited through the front, a flabbergasted Daniel was left gritting his teeth. 

“Is everything alright, David?” 

This was enough for the man to wake up. 

“Oh everything is fine Miss. Lei,” said David, with his best service smile.  

“You sure? It sounds like you had quite the tiff.” 

“It’s just brothers being brothers,” said David, changing her cup with hot tea. 

“Well if there’s anything you need help with,” said Miss Lei, placing a warm hand on David’s. “Honestly, I couldn’t imagine putting up with such a brother.” 

He maintained his perfect smile, his proudest creation. It shone only light and gave no quarter to the bubbling seething mess beneath. Appearances are everything in service. Cafe Blanco was picture perfect, run by elegant the elegant Mr. and Mrs. Blanco, till it was passed on to their beautiful twin boys, David and Danielle. The clientele need not know the mess that writhed beneath. In fact, it depended on it. 

David maintained his perfect smile in spite of the ulcer that stabbed his stomach and the crippling debt that crushed his shoulders or the loathing he had for the warmth that touched his skin. 

Courtesy, not kindness, is the greatest mask, said his father, as he beat Daniel's hands blue for dropping a cup. Such was the man who, till his death, hid an outstanding propensity for gambling and an extraordinary unpaid tab at the local casino. 

It only came out in his son, the bad one. Daniel as some would call him. Privileged as he was tactless, he wore his rotten heart on his sleeve. The only stain on their perfect mask. 

“You’re holding that plate awfully tight,” said Miss Lei.  

“A small cramp,” smiled David, relaxing his white knuckles. It was more like a thorn in his side. But he had a plan for that. 

As soon as service ended, and doors were locked at 9 pm. He pressed his clothes and folded them nicely. And he gave the entire place a nice wipe down. Clean, it should all be clean, he thought to himself, especially with what he was prepared to do. 

He donned his mess of a brother’s clothes and in the mirror he donned his makeup. He didn’t realize how tired he looked, barefaced. And now with his face all dolled up, he was tired with a splash of color. 

From a case under his bed, he pulled out a large impressive gun. It was a perfect replica of an Automat Kalashnikov 47. It didn’t fire, but it didn’t have to.

Appearances were everything. 

He flies into the night, in the visage of his brother, ready to do his dark bidding. 

Come morning, Daniel wakes up a groggy mess, on the floor in front of his bed. His bed is unmade, in a room that is untidy. Why make your bed if you’re gonna fuck it up anyway? It’s more honest, he said. Although at the moment he was more concerned about how sore his shoulder was from sleeping wrong. He took a small turn and immediately winced, there was pain in all sorts of places. 

The warmth of the shower revealed where they were. 

There were bruises on his arm for when he was slammed into the door. A little bloody scrape in the knee from where he tumbled off the stairs.  And terrible pain in his gut from something having gone wrong…that and being punched there repeatedly for poor choices. 

Wash it all away, he said. Wash it all away. He listened to the trickle of the shower imagining it were rain. This sort of sound was the type of thing he needed after a night like that. A good hour of it.

Just then, there was a resounding ring of a doorbell. Front door. House guest, not customer. 

He called for his brother. 

“David, someone at the door.” 

Silence. Not even a witty remark

“David!” he hollered. 

Daniel groaned loudly as he rummaged through his filthy clothes for something to wear. He hated having to answer the door.  Unfortunately nothing was clean or morning appropriate. However, the smell of lavender and soap wafter from his brother’s room. 

He sighed as he understood what he had to do.

It was Miss Lei at the door, waving excitedly as she peered through the glass. 

“David! David!” she called. 

Daniel pulled at his starched collar uncomfortably. It’s been a while since he had worn the uniform. Smelling like flowers, he looked indistinguishable from his twin brother.  In summary, he felt like a dork. 

He opened the door. “Hello, Miss Lei,” he said, as politely as he could muster. “The store doesn’t open for three hours.” 

“Oh I’m well aware, my dear.” she said. “And good morning to you! Looks like you took my advice and finally had some fun last night. Good on you David.”  

“Thank you Miss. I’m not -” 

“Here I brought you something.” she said, interrupting him with the heaviest box he had ever given and a thick letter on top. 

“Miss, I-” 

The large black car behind her beeped. 

“Hold that thought, I have to go,” she said with a grin. “Business calls. I’ll see you for tea time.” 

He isn’t even able to say goodbye before she scurried down the driveway into her car. Daniel would have scratched his head if the box weren’t so heavy. It was the weight of a bowling ball and just about as big. He plops it on to the kitchen table with a heavy thud. The letter was much easier, plopped right on top of the dense thing. It was a thick affair, with an oldschool wax seal on top.  

Using his nail, he ripped off the seal.

 Always read the letter first, his father had said,  regardless of what they give you. It’s polite. 

This was the only advice he had taken seriously. Because he would only get his birthday presents after answering a quiz on said letter. 

Daniel, however, would barely get past the Dears because as soon as he opened the 

letter, a large stack of hundreds fell out, covering the floor with dubious wealth. 

Daniel, though not as quick as his brother, was smart enough not to question simple gifts. 

“Good job, David,” he whispered. Whatever his brother was doing, he was doing it right. 

He cleaned up all the money from the ground faster than he had ever cleaned anything before in his life. 

Fat wad in hand, he couldn’t help but smile. He knew exactly what to do with it. 

The metallic cling of a slot machine was ever a comfort. The warmth of its arm kept him steady. He was home. Unfortunately, some other people didn’t see it that way. 

“First time I’ve ever seen you here.” said the bouncer. 

“Yeah?” said 

“Well, not really,” said the bouncer. “There was  someone who looked awfully like you.”

One look at his hands reminded him of his bruises. They were strong enough to throw him. He was pretty sure they did. Daniel laughed nervously.  

“I just wanted to try my luck today. Take a break, you know.” 

The bouncer smiled. “Good, you deserve a break, David. Daniel’s such a good for nothing drunk.” His smile dropped. “He isn’t here, is he? I had to throw him out last night.”

   “Oh no no no,” said Daniel, his injuries tingling. “It’s just me, I don’t think he’ll be coming back here.”

He gave him a solid slap on the back, sending a shock through every ache and bruise, before leaving him to his own devices. 

Daniel sneered to himself. Why were they so much nicer to David? 

He pulled on the machine, and all of a sudden it was raining coins. 

His clean reflection seemed to mock him in those lights. “Shut up, David.” 

Gambling was a little different, sober. One important thing he found was that he was winning a lot more often. There was just something in th clarity of his brain that let him see the patterns in things. That and all the other fools here were shit faced daydrinkers. 

High stakes blackjack was just like. 

“Like taking candy from a baby.”he whispered to himself.  

“Why don’t you take me instead, sugar?” said a decadent voice.

It was Gabe. The daughter of the casino’s owner. The person they send when someone earns a little too much. And most importantly, someone he desperately wanted to get with. 

“Hi-”

She held her hand out. “Gabrielle” she said, “I hate your brother.”

“A little on the nose,” he said. 

“Forgive me for being frank, I just had to make things clear.” she said. “You don’t love him do you?” 

“At the moment, I absolutely despise him,” said Daniel. She was looking so uncomfortably close to him. He didn’t know whether to recoil or kiss her. 

“Good answer,” she said, pulling away.

“Thank you?” 

She slammed the deck of cards onto the table.

“Let’s play a game,” she said. “It’ll be casual.”

With a wave of her hand, a new dealer appeared at the table, with the rest of the idiots being shuffled away. 

“I really don’t think I’ll-” 

Several wads of cash land in front of him with a heavy thud.

“-pass up such a wonderful opportunity.” 

The table was set and the match was made. She sat a couple of seats down, eyeing him like a hawk. 

The dealer shuffled, filling the now silent air with the sounds of flickering cards. 

“Texas hold’em. Buy in is 3000” 

The two players nonchalantly threw their chips in,

“I’m impressed. The average person would balk at such a number.”

Daniel actually screamed. Last night, when she challenged him to the exact same game. He would have won too, if he hadn’t vomited all over the table. 

He looked down at a darkened patch of green. Looks like they couldn’t get it all out. 

The cards were dealt, but he didn’t really bother looking. Poker was a mental game. He was looking straight at her face. 

“I’ve seen you around before,” she said, looking right back. “And I must say, you’re quite a bit more attractive than your brother.” 

She gave the bartender a wink. “Raise 2000” 

“Call,” said Daniel. “But we have the same face.”

“Somehow, he’s uglier.” 

 Daniel smiled, all the while crying inside. 

“Here’s the flop.” said the dealer. 

Gabe raised another 2000

“It’s all a matter of demeanor, I suppose,” said Gabe. “He always had 

this…presumptuous feeling about him.” 

“Call,” said Daniel. “Presumptuous how?” 

“Like he owed the world nothing.” 

“Check.” 

There was a turn. 

“Another 2000 from me.” 

“I’ll raise you 4” said Daniel, with a sneer. 

Gabe raised her eyebrow and flipped her cards, revealing a straight.

“Confident, are we?-” 

Daniel flipped his cards to reveal a flush. She was stunned to silence as he took the pot. 

“Looks like you owe me.” 

Gabe broke out into an impressed smile. 

“Looks like you’re more talented than your brother too.” 

His brother was actually terrible at gambling. He’s lost every bet he’s made since he was a child, except for the one about him being a failure. That one still held up.
Truth be told, Daniel wasn’t very good with numbers either. But one thing last night that he did notice from the devilish Gabe was that she has a tell. And quite a blatant one at that. 

“The buy in is 6000 now.”  said the dealer. 

Both parties casually threw their chips in.

“I’ll bet a good 5000 as well.” said Daniel, with a cocky grin. “So what were you saying about my brother?” 

The dealer set the flop. 

“Well, he’s a terrible drunk. Horribly audacious. The type who couldn’t learn tact if his life depended on it. Although, I suppose those are all things I could live with. I work in the casino business after all.” 

Daniel licked his teeth. 

“But what makes you say he owes the world nothing.” 

“I mean just look at what he does,” said Gabe. “He leaves his brother to work all day while he lazes away here, just wasting money. He always makes the most outrageous debts. It’s a wonder that the business isn’t defunct yet.”

The dealer showed the turn. 

“You’re carrying that place on your back.” 

“Final bets,” said the dealer.

“You work hard. And you suffer.” she grinned. “I like a man who suffers.” 

She turned to the dealer. 

This was where her tell came in. It was so blatantly obvious. He didn’t have to look at her face. All he had to do was look at the bartender, rubbing his large hooked nose.

“I’ll bet 1000,” said Gabe. 

“I’ll call.” 

“Not so confident this time, eh?” she said. 

Her face dropped as Daniel revealed his cards. 

“4 of a kind.” 

Gabe didn’t bother to show her cards. 

Daniel blew her a little kiss in the air as he pulled up the chips, ready to cash out. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” said Gabe. “Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna collect my winnings.”

“Sit.” 

“I don’t want to.” said Daniel, a good way towards the cashier. 

“I’ll let you take me out if you win.” 

It was like Daniel never left.

“Buy in’s at-” started the dealer. 

“Make it 10 this time, Chuck.” interrupted Gabe. 

“I-” 

“It’s all my money anyway.”

She smiled and turned to Daniel. “It isn’t fun if there isn’t any real risk. I remember your brother said that last night.”

Daniel vaguely recalled saying something similar about his relationship to cheese and his lactose intolerance. 

Daniel tossed his ten in. The stack was high, a full on tower compared to the measly house of chips he had left.  It would have been a dicey bet, had he not had his secret weapon. 

The dealer rubbed his left nostril, which meant that he had given her a three of a kind.

He looked down at his cards, and with a face as still as stone, he said.  

“I think you have my brother pegged a little wrong.” 

“Oh?” said Gabe. “You think my analysis is doubtful?” 

He shoves his measly pile of chips left. 

“I’m willing to bet on it.” 

“Oh you’re on.”

 Gabe gleefully pushed hers to the center too, alongside a pack of condoms. 

The dealer nervously flipped all the cards, revealing another full house for Daniel. He didn’t bother hiding a smile. And to his surprise, neither did Gabrielle. Something he desperately wanted to wipe off her pretty face. 

“Do we show our hands?” 

“Not so fast,” said Daniel. “You see my brother may have been a piece of shit, always late for things, never cleans after himself. He always leaves his crumpled laundry in the morning. He always get in the house when he comes home and he sometimes leaves puddles of piss on the floor-” Chuck and Gabrielle looked at each other. Daniel understood he might have overshared a little much. “But the thing is, he doesn’t go away. He doesn’t know how to go away. Because as much as he’s a burden on me, he still loves.” 

There was a sparkle in his eyes as he could barely hold back his tears.  

“Da- I’m not holding it all together. I may look like I am but it's hard. There are deadlines to keep. We could lose the cafe. I can’t do it on my own. So he took a risk.”

“And he lost.” said Gabrielle. 

“But I'm going to win.” 

He showed his hand, smiling proudly as he cried. 

Then Gabrielle showed hers. 

Outside Daniel sat, mouth slightly foaming. Chuck was patting his back while stared listlessly into the yellow afternoon sky. 

“I thought I had her.” he said. 

“In her own casino. With me on her payroll.” said Chuck. “I don’t know why you thought you would win…at any point.” 

“I thought she’d play fair.” 

“It’s a casino…” said Chuck. “The house always wins. 

The bouncer came around from the side. “You lost?” 

Daniel nodded despondently.
“You’re a lot more like your brother than I thought,” he said. 

“What do you mean?” 

“He actually beat her a bunch last night,” said the bouncer. “Went all in all the last hand. Lost. A little more ungracefully, if I might add.” 

“I-” Daniel vaguely remembers the taste of the concrete as all the bruises smarted. 

“It’s okay,” said the bouncer. “You’re handling it a lot better.” he patted his head. “It’s just that the house always wins.” 

The bouncer dropped a suitcase at his feet. “The boss also wanted you to have this.” 

He opened it up, revealing a broken gun.

“Not that one, you dolt,” said Gabrielle, dragging a much heavier suitcase, behind her. 

With some effort, she dropped it at Daniel’s feet. 

“The house always wins,” she said. 

He opened the case, this time revealing thousands of notes, all neatly clipped and arranged with the faces of people he would have known had he properly gone to school facing upwards. 

“And it wouldn’t really win if someone we liked came out a loser.” she said, planting him a kiss on the cheek. “You do good work. It’s about time you were rewarded.” She leaned in real close to his ear. “The other prize still has to be won though.” 

Daniel picked up the broken gun. “I have to win this?” 

“What?” Gabe looked down. “Oh, that thing. Yeah, I meant to warn you. You do good 

work, but that old brother of yours…no matter what his intentions are, if he keeps on like that, he’s as good as in the gutter, with the rest of his kind.”

He looked down at the gun, confused. He never owned a gun.   

“So what do I do now?” asked Daniel. 

“Whatever you normally do.” said Gabrielle, walking back into the casino. “I’ve got work to do. My granny’s gonna kill me if I load around any more.” 

In the purple evening light, Daniel found his way home, somehow with both suitcases 

There was a decent line outside his place. Stretching far and long, at its front was Miss Lei, waving gleefully at Daniel.

“David dear, open up.” 

“Uhh, sure thing, Miss Lei.” 

He rushed inside, looking for his brother. “David? David!?” 

Daniel checked his room, only to be assaulted by a terrible smell. 

“The hell is that?” But all that was left there was the package. His brother was nowhere to be seen.

“Dammit, David, where are you?” 

He passed by a  door, and David suddenly passed by with him. Daniel backtracked only

to find a mirror. 

“So damn stupid” he said, examining his face. He looked into his brother's eyes and told him. “You rest for the day, I got you.” 

He opened the doors, and started the shift. 

The bitter fragrance of coffee began to fill the room as he served them. It had been so long, but he remembered how. That didn’t make it any easier though. 

Midway through, he was drenched in sweat under his shirt, and tired out of his mind. His brother hadn’t come home yet and he was worried sick. 

And then he realized, was that how he felt?

“Had a good day, did you David?” asked Miss Lei, sipping her tea. 

“That gift of yours was surely something,” he said. “Thank you.” 

“You deserve it,” she said. “Along with every good thing coming your way.” 

She raised a glass to him, and he bowed. 

“I never really noticed how kind you all were.” he said, “And right now, I’m starting to understand how hard I have to work to earn it.”  

He smiled, a vulnerable and happy thing. Miss Lei’s face suddenly fell.  

“You’re not David are you?” 

David chuckled. 

“So someone finally figured it out. If someone had to do it, I thought it’d be you.” 

Her face was so serious and grim. It was hard to tell she was the same person. 

“That’s wasn’t your gun?,” she asked. “That wasn’t your face.” 

“What are you-” 

“You didn’t read the letter did you?” 

“What letter-?” 

“On the package.” 

A terrible sank down into his stomach, dragging it to hell. A scent wafted into his nose.  

“What’s in the package?” he asked. 

Silence.

“What’s in the package!?”