“Oh, thank you!” I gushed at her compliment.

“I have twins at home, too,” she continued. “What are your sons’ names?”

“Caleb and Austen,” I answered, and then added recklessly, “Don’t you just hate it when people give their twins cute sound-alike names like ‘Brandon’ and ‘Brandi’ or ‘Marlene’ and ‘Charlene’?”

Strangely, the woman gave a little half-smile, but offered no response. Awkwardly, I blurted out, “So…what are your twins’ names?”

“Jimmy and Jamie,” she stiffly replied.

Needless to say, I wanted to crawl under the grocery cart!

Susan M. Heim

Web site: www.SusanHeim.com

Susan is now collecting inspirational stories and poems for her upcoming book, Chicken Soup for the Soul of Twins! Send your stories or questions to chickensoup@twinstalk.com.