Double Trouble

Hameed and Hamood. Two handsome dark haired twin brothers.

Theeya totally did not expect to see two young men in their 20s waiting for them at the lobby the next morning. They were really good looking compared to their balding and rotund cousin, Dawood.

"Meet my cousins, Hameed and Hamood. Hamood is older by 10 minutes. Meet Prof Everett and Miss James," Dawood introduced them with a grin.

"Call me Jeff please," Jeff shook both their hands.

"And call me Theeya please," Theeya smiled at the twins.

"And we are the double trouble, Hameed and Hamood," said the twins in unison and they let out a hearty laugh. Theeya felt immediately at ease in their presence.

Dawood prepared a limousine for all of them.

After spending 20 minutes with the twins it was easy to tell them apart.

While both of them possessed a good sense of humor, Hameed is the goofier one while Hamood is the more serious one.

To make it easier for their guests, they wore matching T-shirts with their names embroidered on the lapels at the front.

"You know that we have never cut our hairstyle differently since the day we were born? It makes it more fun to play double with the Teachers and the Lecturers. And now, with whoever we want to play with," Hameed said.

"Or rather, whoever we want to play on," Hamood added.

"Can you guys read each other's minds or something?" Theeya asked.

"Maybe, most of the time we feel how the other one is feeling. So yeah we are pretty connected internally in terms of feelings and some thoughts," said Hamood.

"I don't understand some of Hamood's thoughts though. He's just too serious for me," winked Hameed.

Theeya studied the twins. Both were at least 6 feet tall and slim. Their black curls were swept back and a cowlick curl fell down their forehead and barely touched their big brown eyes. Blessed with thick curly lashes that would make any girl envious, their bushy brows were well defined. Their matching goatee added to their muted masculine look.

"Are you guys married?" Theeya could not help asking.

"Not to each other," said Hameed and to that his twin Hamood laughed loudly at the joke.

"Yes both of us are married with a baby boy each. We got married last year on the same day in a double wedding," explained Hamood.

"Shame, sorry to hear that you two are off the market of eligible bachelors," Theeya smiled.

"Not for Long. We have a quota for four wives each," winked Hameed.

"I will tell Fateema that you said that!" Hamood poked at his twin.

"And I will tell Fatehah you said that instead of me," challenged Hameed.

As the twins bickered, Theeya could not help but smile. It was not unlike how her sisters would bicker over the smallest thing back home. Now it was just all distant memories as each one of them are either married off or in college.

"They are married to two sisters. Not twins but born one year apart. Hamood married the elder sister Fatehah while Hameed married the younger sister Fateema," Dawood chipped into the conversation.

"That must be so interesting, double wedding, siblings marrying siblings, do they live under the same roof?" asked Theeya.

"Apparently they do. We are going to their home now," replied Dawood just as they entered through a guarded gate into a lush forest.

The forest gave way to an endless field of green grass and beautifully trimmed flower bushes. On closer look, Theeya noted that they were rose bushes of various colors.

After about five minutes of drive they finally came to a driveway with a water fountain of an Angel playing the harp.

The mansion was more like a palace than a house. Theeya estimated that there must have been at least 80 rooms like a full fledged hotel!

"So this is the famous hotel here, the Malabar?" asked Jeff who had quiet the entire ride.

"Yes, our family and extended family somehow are all involved in the hospitality industry, namely hotels," confirmed Dawood.

"So they stay here too?" Theeya's eyes took in all the intricate details on the marble fixture on the pillars.

"Yes, they stay at the Eastern Wing which isn't accessible to hotel guests," Dawood answered.

"What a stark comparison between Dawood and the twins not only in terms of looks but also in their class. Even their hotels differ so much! One is a cheap red light district motel trying to pass as a hotel. And this one is a luxury hotel, definitely with high standards and class," thought Theeya to herself.

As the limo pulled to a stop Jeff got out first and extended a hand to help Theeya as she stepped out of the vehicle.

Theeya marveled at the hotel. She stole a glance at Jeff whose stoic expression did not reveal any emotions whatsoever.

"Come, let's meet the family," said the twins in unison.

As they were led deeper into the mansion, Theeya realized they were in a private area that guests had no access to.

"This is the Eastern Wing where the families stay," said Dawood.

The double door opened after Hameed scanned his fingerprint at the security panel.

They walked into a huge ballroom and after 100 steps they reached the end of the ballroom, going through another double door which led to a passageway.

"This place is huge! How many rooms are there in this wing alone?" Theeya was amazed.

"Depending on how big the rooms are. Some were made bigger and some bigger rooms were made smaller. But at least 138 families are staying here, Dawood has his own suite with 3 bedrooms here," said Hamood.

"138 families!?! How big is this property?" Theeya exclaimed.

"The estate itself is a small township on its own. We are self sufficient. What you saw was just the hotel front. The real action happens beyond the hotel," winked Hameed.

"We are here," announced Hamood.

They were in an even bigger ballroom than the first one they walked through just moments ago.

At least 400 people were in the room. Men, women, old and young with children ranging from all ages looking at them, some smiling, some serious.

Theeya sat down on her seat which was pulled by a waiter and a waitress poured sparkling water for her as she took her seat. A napkin was placed on her lap no sooner had she sat down.

Bewildered, Theeya turned to Jeff with a questioning look.

"Get used to it. The adventure has just started. Go along with it, enjoy the food," he smiled his dashing smile.

The waiter and waitress serving their table began to place a scrumptious spread of food and Theeya realised they had not had breakfast yet. Her stomach gave a low rumble and she groaned inwardly.

"They are all "family", the entire clan, from close relatives to distant family members many times removed, the family keep a room or a suite in the house to continue enjoy the monthly stipend from the clan's funds, that was part of the terms and conditions," Jeff explained in a soft voice just loud enough for Theeya to hear.

"Wow, 138 families, there must be over a thousand of them! And I thought my family was big!" Theeya exclaimed.

Just then the twins walked up the their table each with a baby in their arm and their mother fussing over the baby.

"Don't shake Ben too hard! He just had his milk!" said the lady who must be his wife to Hameed.

"Yeah, please be gentle with Farouk, he was just vomiting a bit just now," Hamood's wife reminded him.

"Meet Fatehah, my wife." Hamood introduced the beautiful lady beside him. "And our son Farouk."

"And here's Fateema, the mother of my firstborn son Ben," said Hameed.

"Theeya," smiled Theeya, before she was pulled into a group hug with the two wives and sisters.

"You are so beautiful. Are you married? We have unmarried cousins here in the family," said Fateema.

"Oh you two are so beautiful too, you look so much alike I would have thought you are twins too!" Laughed Theeya.

"That's what we always get, we look alike enough to fool some people while we were still little girls," said Fatehah.

"Ladies, and this is Professor Everett," Dawood interrupted the ladies.

"Jeff, please call me Jeff," he placed his right arm over his chest and gave a slight bow.

"Let's eat!" Dawood said and dug into his rice with lamb meal in front of him.

"Bon appetit," said Jeff.

"Are you dating Professor Jeff?" asked Fateema in a not so discreet tone to Theeya from across the table.

Theeya's face turned crimson with embarrassment.

Fatehah turned her head towards them and remarked: "Is that why you aren't interested in marrying any of the man of our clan? You are already in a relationship with our handsome professor?"

Theeya thought she would die from embarrassment. "We are just working together on the family curse, that's all."

Jeff's face was indifferent as he was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Dawood and the twins.

"Ah, the curse. Yeah. It happens every night. We have to wear ear plugs so as to sleep through the night, do you have them too?" asked Fateema sympathetically.

"Yes, it started after my father died last month," Theeya's eyes were downcast, remembering her late father.

"I'm sorry to hear that, yeah it seems like the nightmares are passed down once the older generation passed away," Fatehah added.

"How many of you here in this clan have the nightmares?" asked Theeya.

"Dawood, Hameed and Hamood," said Fateema.

"Out of 138 families only three men inherited the bloodline?" Theeya was puzzled.

"It seems like there is a criteria to "inherit the curse", I think the clan is only made up of the two brothers and a cousin who were a part of the original Forty Thieves, with some intermarriages happening between cousins over the decades the curse had always been kept to three individuals at a time," Jeff turned his attention to the ladies' conversation.

"So now we have 5 of the 40. Only 35 more to locate. Can we do it in the next 6 months?" Theeya asked out loud.

"We have about 50 more leads today thanks to the clan. Dawood and the twins will come along with us," Jeff announced.

"We will be following too with the babies," said Fatehah.

"The more the merrier," Theeya smiled.

"Let us cheers to that," said Dawood and glasses clinked at the breakfast table.