The alarm rang out, signaling that it was six thirty in the morning. Monday. Garry rolled over in his bed and groaned as he slapped the snooze button on his alarm clock. He hated Mondays. He hated mornings. He hated having to go to work. He hated knowing that as soon as he got home from work he would have to work late into the night on his online college classes. He hated that he would have to repeat this same routine for the next four days. However, as he sat up in bed and picked up the small framed picture on his bedside table, he smiled and all of his negative feelings disappeared.
There were three people in the picture. In the center was Garry, bent down on one knee with his arms wrapped around two small girls. The brunette on his right had bright red eyes and was smiling shyly at the camera. The blond on his left had large blue eyes and an infectious, energetic smile. She looked like she had been laughing when the picture was being taken. Both girls had their arms wrapped around Garry's waist in a hug as he pulled them close to him. Garry smiled and chuckled to himself. His sisters.
He set the picture down and stood up. Still dressed in his nightshirt and pajama pants, Garry walked out of his room and down the hall. He knocked gently on his sisters' bedroom door, and when he got no response, he opened the door and walked in.
"Ib! Mary! Time to get up!" Garry called. Both girls moaned and pulled their blankets over their heads. Garry laughed a little and walked over to Ib's side of the room and sat on her bed. He could see a few strands of her brown hair peeking out from underneath the covers.
"Hey, Ib, it's time for school," he said as he gently pulled her blankets off of her head.
"Garry!" Ib grumbled as she desperately tried to pull her blankets back up. However, Garry was able to hold on to the blanket in one hand while also tickling Ib with the other. Ib shrieked and laughed as she tried to fend off her older brother's attack. Garry laughed and then laughed even harder when Mary yelled at them to be quiet from the other side of the small room.
"Oh Mary! You're next!" Garry exclaimed. Before the girl could react, Garry ripped off her blankets and began to tickle her. She laughed and snorted and swatted at Garry.
"Are you going to get up and get ready for school?" he asked.
"Yes! Whatever! Just stop tickling me!" Mary cried. Garry stopped and laughed as Mary tried to catch her breath.
"Good morning!" Garry said. Ib and Mary rolled their eyes, but their annoyance with him was shown to be fake when they both smiled. Both girls muttered out a "good morning" and then walked over to their closet and began to pick out their outfits for the day. Seeing that they were both getting ready, Garry retreated back to his own bedroom. As he reached into his closet, he pulled out his work clothes and got dressed. For his job at the local cafe, he had to wear a light blue polo, which he tucked into a pair of khakis. He then pinned his name tag onto the left side of his shirt and then went downstairs into the kitchen.
Ib and Mary still had not come out of their room, so Garry guessed that they were still getting dressed. He pulled out three bowls, three spoons, a box of cereal, and a carton of milk, and then set about preparing their breakfast. As he finished pouring the cereal and milk, Ib and Mary came walking down into the kitchen, wearing their favorite outfits. Ib wore a white blouse with a red ribbon wrapped around her neck. She also had on a red skirt, black knee-high socks, and her red Mary Janes. Mary wore a long, green dress with a blue ribbon wrapped around her neck, black tights, and a pair of brown flats. The two girls sat down at the table as Garry handed them their cereal bowls.
"Thanks Garry!" they said in unison.
"You're welcome!" Garry smiled as he sat down to eat his own breakfast.
After eating, Garry set the empty bowls in the sink and the three of them then went off to brush their hair and teeth. Once they were ready, Ib and Mary grabbed their backpacks and Garry grabbed his wallet and keys. As they stepped outside, Garry hugged his little sisters and waved as they ran off to their bus stop. He then hopped into his car, started the engine, and drove off.
Work at the cafe had been busy to say the least. Things had started out slow - making for a long morning - but as soon as lunch time rolled around, the small cafe had been filled with customers. Garry worked at the cash register, and dealing with some of the moodier customers was definitely difficult without lashing out at them when they demanded the fastest service because they were in a rush. So, as he pulled into his driveway, he was relieved to see his sisters running down the sidewalk from their bus stop. They could make him feel better after a hectic work day.
"Garry!" they exclaimed as he stepped out of his car. He laughed as they ran into him at full speed, pushing him back a step.
"Hey! How was school?" he asked.
"Good!" Mary replied. Ib simply nodded in agreement.
"That's good," Garry said. "Do you have any homework?" Both girls sighed and nodded. Garry laughed.
"Hey, it's alright, so do I." Ib and Mary smiled a little at that and then Garry led them all inside the house. All three of them then retreated into their rooms to start their schoolwork.
Sitting down at his desk with his laptop in front of him, Garry powered it on and began the assignments for his online college classes. Time seemed to fly as he worked through everything, and before he knew it, it was time for dinner. Unfortunately, he had barely made a dent in his assignments, which meant that he was most likely going to have to stay up late to finish everything. Standing up from his seat, Garry left his room and walked into the kitchen. Pulling out the necessary ingredients and cooking utensils, Garry began to make three servings of macaroni and cheese. Once he finished, he set the steaming bowls of cheesy noodles on the table and poured three cups of milk. With everything in place for dinner, he knocked on Ib and Mary's bedroom door and called them out to eat.
Together, the three of them talked and ate happily. They talked about how their day went, giving Garry the opportunity to vent to his sisters about his busy work day. Ib and Mary listened intently, giving him a few comments every now and then. Garry smiled. Talking with his sisters definitely made him feel better. After they finished eating, Garry took the dishes from breakfast and dinner and placed them into the dishwasher. Ib and Mary then ran off into the living room to play together while Garry returned to his bedroom to finish his classwork.
At around eight o'clock, Garry took a moment to take a break from his homework as he stepped out of his room and told his sisters to get ready for bed. He could hear both girls grumble from the living room, but smiled as they told him they just had to clean up their toys. Garry returned to his laptop and a few minutes later, listened to his sisters' footsteps as they walked into their room and then closed the door. He continued working on his schoolwork for a while longer, until he heard someone knock gently on his open door.
"Garry, can you tuck us in bed?" Ib asked in a quiet voice.
"Of course, just give me one second," he said. Ib gave no verbal response, and instead walked up to stand beside Garry's chair to watch as he worked.
"Is this your homework?" she asked. Garry nodded.
"It looks hard," Ib commented. Garry nodded again.
"Garry, why do you work so hard?" Ib asked. Garry finally looked away from his laptop to stare at his little sister. She simply looked at him with her big, bright red eyes, waiting for an answer.
"What do you mean, Ib?" he asked.
"Well, you wake Mary and I up every morning, get us ready for school, and then you go to work all day, and then you come home and work on your homework, and then you make us dinner, tuck Mary and I in bed, and you keep working on homework," Ib explained, "and then you get up and do it all over again. Why do you work so hard?"
Garry thought for a moment. Had his nine-year-old sister really noticed all the work he did? He didn't know how to respond.
"I guess I just do it all for you and Mary," he replied. "I want to make sure that we all have enough money for essentials like food, a house, and clothes, and I have to make sure that I do good on my schoolwork so that I can graduate and get an even better job so that I can earn more money." Ib was silent for a moment as she nodded.
"Garry, if Mom and Dad hadn't died, would you still have to work this hard for us?" Garry thought that his heart skipped a beat. Their parents had been killed in a car crash over a year ago. Since then, he had had to change his entire life around. He had to drop out of the college he had been attending so that he could get a full time job at the local cafe. However, he knew that he still needed a college education, so he enrolled in online courses. Garry had also become Ib and Mary's legal guardian, since he was eighteen (a legal adult) when they died, and because he was their older brother. All of their other family members - like their grandparents, aunts, and uncles - all lived too far away and couldn't drop everything just to take care of two little girls while their older brother went to college. Sure, they did what they could by sending them extra money, and Garry really appreciated their help. However, now that he thought about it, if their parents hadn't died, then Garry could have continued going to college, and Ib and Mary would have been taken care of by their mom and dad. Everything would be normal. Garry sighed.
"Yeah, I guess if they hadn't died, then I guess I wouldn't have to work this hard for you two," Garry admitted.
"Are we a burden to you, Garry?" Ib asked quietly.
"Now why would you think that?!" Garry exclaimed suddenly. Ib slightly jumped at his sudden shouting.
"Well, if me and Mary weren't here, and Mom and Dad had still died, then you would just have to take care of yourself," Ib explained. "We're just a burden for you."
"Ib, don't ever think like that," Garry told her. He then pulled his sister in close to him and gently rubbed her back. "You and Mary are not burdens. I love you both, and even though all this work can be kind of stressful and overwhelming at times, I would never stop working if it meant that I couldn't be here for you guys." Ib was quiet for a moment. Garry then felt her small arms wrap tightly around his neck and shoulders as she returned the hug.
"I love you too, Garry," she said quietly. "You're the best big brother ever, and I know that Mary thinks so too." Garry smiled.
"You and Mary are the coolest little sisters that I could ever ask for," he said. Ib giggled a little. As the two separated from their hug, Garry lovingly tousled Ib's hair and then stood up.
"C'mon, let's get you two to bed." Ib nodded and took his hand as she followed him into her room. Mary looked up from a book she was reading when they walked in and then immediately dropped it as she ran from her bed to hug Garry. Garry laughed as he hugged her back.
"I love you, Mary," he said. Mary looked up at him and smiled brightly.
"I love you too, Garry!" she said happily. Garry smiled and then brought his two sisters over to their beds.
"Now what story do you want me to read tonight?"
Hi! So, here's another Ib fanfic! (Don't worry, I'm still working on The New Painting. I just wanted to publish this too.) Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review!