On Friday, Violet was rehearsing her scene with the fairy godmother and the mice footmen when someone grabbed her from behind. The only lifts in the scene were to be performed by the footmen lifting her together, so she swiveled around, realizing something was wrong.

"What the—"

Her twin brother's beaming face greeted her. "What's up, Vi? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Kal! What are you doing here? I thought you were coming home next week."

He pulled a dramatic, wounded face and complained in a low voice, "I haven't seen you since Easter, and this is how you greet your favorite brother?"

Violet rolled her eyes and hugged him properly. "You idiot. I missed you."

Abigail eyed them curiously from several yards away before approaching and whispering, "Violet, is this your boyfriend? I thought you were dating that dark-haired guy."

"I'm not dating either of them!" she hissed, then spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "This is my twin brother, Kaleb."

"Twins? You guys don't look anything alike," Paul, one of the footmen, noted.

They exchanged a glance and simultaneously said, "We get that a lot."

Kaleb, towering over his sister at six foot four, slung an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "I look like our mom; she looks like our dad. Funny how that works out, isn't it?"

Violet glanced at the clock. Seeing that five minutes remained until six, she apologized to her fellow dancers and asked her brother to wait until they finished their scene. He shrugged and sat obediently to the side.

They finished the dance sequence without further issues. Everyone gathered their things to leave for the day. Kaleb, wanting to avoid rush hour traffic, took the subway; his sister offered to drive him home.

Violet didn't bother changing, simply pulling on sweatpants over her leotard and tights because he was waiting. It was good seeing his face again for the first time in nearly a year. She saw him semi-regularly on TV, as her family recorded all his baseball games, but that wasn't the same. As annoying as he could be, she missed him when he was gone.

"So, tell me about your first season in the majors," she said once they reached her car.

Kaleb sighed heavily. "Traveling. Lots of traveling. Of the 162 games, half were away games."

The Hales were lucky the Tigers played the Yankees at Yankee Stadium over Easter weekend; otherwise, he wouldn't have joined them for dinner. Mostly, he stayed with his team.

Easter was the only time everyone had been home that year. Oliver had driven up from Massachusetts for the weekend.

"Didn't leave much time for your girlfriend, did it?" Violet teased.

"No, which is probably why she broke up with me," Kaleb said matter-of-factly. "And with only two weeks left in the season, too. Looks like I'll be sticking around longer than I thought. All my off-season plans are dashed, and I need to make new ones."

He didn't seem upset about the breakup, which wasn't surprising. Since high school, he'd changed girlfriends more often than Violet could count—probably more than a dozen short-term relationships by now.

Kaleb wasn't a cheater—their mother would have killed him—but he changed his mind quickly, dropping girls like hot potatoes. This girlfriend was one of the few who had dumped him.

"I'm sorry," Violet said lamely.

"Nah, don't be. She was too clingy anyway." A bright smile appeared on his face. "Besides, this means more time with my favorite sister. You have the day off tomorrow. What should we do?"

She frowned. She was supposed to go to Coney Island with Noah. She didn't think he'd mind Kaleb joining them, but still… She told him her plans, and he saw no problem.

"Ah, it's been a while since I've seen Noah. Around Christmas last year, I think. What's he up to?"

"I suppose you can ask him yourself tomorrow," Violet said, sighing inwardly.

Noah might not be happy. Kaleb had been distant since high school, hurting his sister.

They caught up until they reached their building. Their mother, Keeley, immediately pounced on her son, fussing over his eating, sleeping, and how long he'd stay.

Kaleb explained his girlfriend had dumped him, so he'd probably stay until after Christmas, at minimum. That pleased his mother. Aaron was also happy to see him and asked about the baseball season.

Violet slipped away to change out of her leotard, putting on a t-shirt and keeping the sweatpants. She let her hair down. It was freeing after a long day.

Upstairs, she texted Noah: 'Hey, Kaleb came home early and wants to hang out tomorrow. Can he come?'

He replied immediately: 'I'm not going to say no to your twin, Vi. I know how long it's been since you've seen him.'

She was relieved. Noah was so understanding. 'Thanks! See you bright and early tomorrow.'

'See ya'

Violet rejoined her family downstairs. They laughed and talked until Nathan came home around 9:30. He tackled Kaleb in excitement, and the usual "what have you been up to" questions began.

When Kaleb mentioned Coney Island with Violet and Noah, Nathan was immediately jealous. "What?! And you didn't think to invite me?"

"It was supposed to be just Noah and me at first. Kaleb invited himself," she said, making Kaleb give her an affronted look.

"And here I thought you loved me and wanted to spend time with me."

"Of course I do! I'm simply stating a fact."

"Well, if you two are going, I'm going too," Nathan said stubbornly. "You can't exclude me because I'm not your twin."

Violet sighed. Her brothers' possessiveness never changed. This was what she got for being the only girl in a family full of boys.

Once Nathan heard his fill of baseball talk, he wanted to play cards—a game more fun with more players. The Hales spent the rest of the night laughing and teasing each other.

It reminded Violet of her childhood, and she smiled the entire time. No matter how distant Kaleb seemed, he was still her brother.

(The final promotional paragraph has been removed as it is promotional material and not part of the story itself.)