Sabrina and Suzy Richards head toward a new school day at Hartwood Elementary in Stafford County. The best friends have their own rooms at home and school, but start and finish every day together. Photos by REBECCA SELL/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Suzy (left) and Sabrina sit with classmates and parents at Hartwood Elementary after receiving their awards for making the Honor Roll. Photos by REBECCA SELL/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Identical twins Sabrina (left) and Suzy Richards of Stafford County tumble onto the couch like a human pretzel, playing and teasing each other before it's time to have dinner with their family. The 11-year-old fashion plates, who have two older sisters, make up dances together and invent new words. Photos by REBECCA SELL/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Sabrina (left) and Suzy Richards sit in the kitchen to work on their homework. Though the two are in different classes and do not have the same assignments, they are able to help each other. Photos by REBECCA SELL/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Sabrina (left) and Suzy raise their hands to answer a question during an after-school drama club meeting. Photos by REBECCA SELL/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

A look into the lives of twins

Date published: 4/10/2006

By KRISTIN DAVIS

Two pairs of blue eyes peer around a sitting room door that is open just a crack.

Susan Richards spots her two youngest daughters, who had slipped out of sight when the doorbell rang moments before.

Suzy and Sabrina stand so close their strawberry blond curls seem to flow into each other's.

The girls laugh. They've been found.

"So you're being shy," Susan says.

The girls correct her as they step into the kitchen smiling identical smiles. They're not shy. They're playing a game.

Besides, it's easy to feel relaxed and confident with your twin by your side. A twin takes the pressure off. A twin talks when you don't feel like it, takes up for you, shoulders your burdens.

It's just after 4 p.m. and Suzy and Sabrina are home from Hartwood Elementary in Stafford County, where they are fifth-graders.

They're still in their school clothes--Sabrina's wearing jeans and a black blazer with red shoes and gold hoop earrings. Suzy is also in jeans, with a paisley-print, gauzy blue shirt.

When the girls were babies, Susan dressed them alike because it was easier to buy in pairs. Once they started picking out their own clothes, the duplicates stopped. It had nothing to do with dissimilar tastes and everything to do with math.

"It doubles the amount," Suzy says.

Sabrina goes through a series of commands with their dog, Scooter, in the middle of the kitchen floor. She's the sister who wants to be a veterinarian.

Suzy stands over the stove, stirring noodles her mother started for dinner. She is the quieter twin, and listens when Sabrina starts conversations with strangers.

Identical twins Sabrina and Suzy Richards are more alike than different, their mother says, and closer than any two people she's ever known.

"Sometimes," Suzy says, "we think the same things. We guess what the other is thinking."

That's the way of twins, says Cathy Thomas of King George County. She has an identical twin, Debby Carter. They are 47.

In 1958, a doctor mistook them for one baby because their hearts beat in unison.

"You think of [your twin] as an extension of yourself," Cathy says. "You shared nine months together before you were even born. You're so used to that person being there. They're like your alter ego."

Date published: 4/10/2006