"I'm sure dad." said Sammy. The three year old was standing in front of his father with a determined expression on his little face.
John sighed. He always thought that his youngest would beat him in stubbornness when he grew up.
"You sure you're gonna live with me?" he asked, still a pit perturbed over the fact that Sammy wanted to be away from his big brother.
At that , the expression on the little face became fierce again and he started counting his fingers, "Monkey, mouse, dwarf, fool, chimp…he called me five bad names dad! Five!" Sammy answered in an way of explanation. "And he called me a baby too!"
John nodded solemnly. He didn't think it would be wise to remind Sammy that he called his brother a hoofy. Apparently he was running short of bad names and decided to make one up.
His sons had been fighting for the better part of the last hour over the issue of something John had no idea about. All he knew was that suddenly his youngest wanted to live in dad's room away from "the bad boy!".
The bad boy in question was sitting beside his dad too with a cloudy expression on his face. "That's fine dad!" he began, " let the little chim..someone I don't know live with you!"
John internally congratulated his son for controlling himself.
"You called me chimp again!" came the angry response.
But before a further war erupted, John put his foot down. "Enough boys ! It's dinner time."
Mealtime was tense. With no merry chatter around, John was glad that it ended quickly. He wasn't sure that his little boy would go through with his plan. Ever since he was a baby, his brother's presence by his side and his arms around him were the only things that helped him sleep. It worked better than a teddy..much more than a lullaby.
He knew that. Before nightfall Sammy would know it too.
At bedtime, the three year old appeared with his little pillow clutched to his chest. Without a further word he laid down beside his dad and closed his eyes.
What happened next was anything but sleep. The little boy wriggled, squirmed and turned from side to side. Every now and then he would get up to fluff his pillow .
Meanwhile John was waiting for the inevitable. And it happened.
The door screeched open. Someone inched towards the bed and whispered, "Sammy?"
There was a movement on the bed beside him. John surreptitiously opened one eye to find just what he had expected. Sammy had his legs wrapped around his big brother and his little arms were wrapped around Dean's neck.
"Little Monkey!" whispered Dean. Sammy yawned and let out a sleepy giggle.
"Lets go Deanie!" urged the little boy as he buried his face in his brother's neck, "M sleepy!" The fight was forgotten in a single moment and all bad names thrown at each other were forgiven instantly.
John remained motionless feigning sleep while his oldest carried his little brother back to where he belonged.
Next morning all was well again. The boyish chatter filled the room once more.
With a relieved mind, John began writing in his journal.
But soon he heard little footsteps behind him. It was Sammy again.
"He called me a spider dad!" he whined, "I'm gonna live with you."