Over confident
February 19 1987
"More block, More block"!!
He handed his brother another block from the bucket. Wakko took it from his hand and placed it at the top of the tower. It seemed like this was his favorite thing to do right now. And while Yakko was starting to get a little tired of making block towers every day, he knew it made his brother happy, so he played along with it.
"More block, More block", Wakko continued to scream.
"I don't know sib", Yakko said jokingly," the tower seems to be pretty tall already".
"No, more block, more block"!!
As requested, he pulled another block from the bucket and handed it to his brother. Wakko grabbed it from his hand and stacked it on top of the tower. He giggled in delight, clapping his hands together.
"Big tower, big tower", Wakko chanted
Yakko smiled at his sibling, it didn't seem like that long ago when Wakko was only a small baby. He was 3 years old when his brother was born, now he's 5 years old, and his brother is 1.
"Want me to knock it down?", He asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yes, yes, knock down, knock down"!!
He reached his hand back, and slammed his hand against the blocks. The blocks smacked onto the floor, making a large bang noise.
Wakko seemed to be delighted. He giggled cheerfully, falling down onto the floor in laughter. Yakko had to share a laugh of his own, his brother was simply the best.
Suddenly, he heard some shuffling coming from the front door. Yakko knew exactly what that sound was.
He and Wakko jumped off the floor and ran through the kitchen. When they came out the other side, they saw the front door opening. Peeking out from the door was his mom, holding a piece of paper.
"Hi Boys", she said as she opened her arms up for a hug.
"Hi Mama", Wakko said happily.
He detached from the hug, he saw his dad push past his mom and walk straight to his bedroom. He didn't even acknowledge him at all. Strange, both his parents had taken the day off today.
"What's wrong with Dad", Yakko asked.
"He's just tired, that's all"?
Tired?
"Why"?
"I don't know, it just seems that he is, ok"?
Yakko said nothing more.
"Anyway, I want to talk to you and your brother about something. Why don't you two go sit down in the living room so we can talk"?
Yakko thought his mom was acting very peculiar. He found it weird when she told him this morning that she and dad were taking the day off to run some arens. They really only ever go to the store, why would they take the day off for that? Though this wasn't the first time his mom had acted strange, she also acted strange the day that she told him…
Wait a minute..No, No it can't be!! No, it can't be true, can it!!?
"Ok", he replied," come on Wak, Mom wants us to go sit down".
Yakko grabbed onto Wakko's hand and they ran to the living room, his mom followed behind. He hopped up onto the couch, making himself comfy. Poor Wakko was struggling to pull himself up onto the couch, he was simply too small to do it. He grabbed onto his brother's hand, and helped him up. The child gave him a satisfied grin, he seemed to be thankful for his older brother's help.
His mom then came into the room, sitting on a recliner from across the room.
"So mom, what did you want to tell us"?
She gave him a concerned look.
"Do you want me to just give it to you straight?", she asked him.
"What do you mean"?
"I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, your father and I took the day off today to go see the doctor"?
"The doctor, why"!?
"Well..um..".
There was a moment of silence.
"Well, how do I put this? So..um, We're going to be having another baby"!!
His jaw dropped, he knew it!!
"Really", he said, still in a state of shock.
"Yup, you aren't dreaming. Dr Verden said that You're sibling is due in 5 months. Do you know how long that is from now".
He thought for a second.
"July"?
"That's right, your new sibling will be born in July".
He turned to face Wakko, who was leaning up against his body.
"Did you hear that Wakko, you're going to be having a younger brother or sister soon"!!
"What dat", he asked, looking confused.
"Oh it's so exciting, you'll have someone to play with and spend your time with".
"Play blocks", he asked, pointing to the blocks lying on the floor.
"Yup, you can play blocks with the baby for as long as you want".
"Hey Yak", his mom interrupted," can I talk to Wakko for a little bit".
As his name was called, Wakko suddenly jumped off the couch and ran to where his mom was sitting. He jumped into her lap, looking up at her in interest.
"This is an incredibly exciting time for you Wakko", she told him," you have no idea how excited your brother was when he heard that he was going to be a big brother"?
"Brother Yakko", Wakko stated as he pointed over to him.
Yakko gave his brother a small wave of acknowledgement.
"Yes, that is Yakko. And just like how he protects you, it will be your job to protect your younger sibling, and give them lots of love".
"Love", the small child repeated," love for sibling"!!
"That's right, It's very important that you give your younger sibling plenty of love".
His mom was basically giving his brother the same exact speech she gave him when she was pregnant with Wakko. Yakko couldn't help but smile as he watched their conversation, he was so excited for his brother. Becoming a big brother changed his life, so he thought that it would probably be the same for Wakko as well.
Having Wakko in his life was so much different than if he was an only child. His brother added such an adventure to his life, and he loved spending all his time with him, making him happy. He was beyond excited to have another sibling to love. Though, he was a little worried about the responsibilities that came with it. His brother could be somewhat of a hassle to deal with sometimes. And though he would always make it through the tough moments, he knew that he shouldn't be counting his chickens before they hatched.
To amp up his anxiety even more, his parents were probably not going to be around to help him most of the time. He was extremely surprised by how much freedom they have given him when it came to looking after Wakko. Most of the time, he was left home alone. His aunt would sometimes come and visit, but those days were few far in between. What if a fire broke out while his parents were at work? An event like that is unlikely, but it could still happen.
"Yakko sibling", His brother said suddenly.
He looked over at his brother. He was waving at him, a huge smile on his face, with his tongue sticking at the tip of his mouth.
Who am I kidding, he told himself, siblings are just the cutest.
He entered his room, towel wrapped around his waist. He had just got out of the bath a little while ago. Closing the door behind him, he walked to his dresser. He threw the towel on his bed, then opening his dresser drawer.
He pulled out some underwear and slid them onto him. He then opened another drawer, pulling out black shorts, once again, slipping them onto his body. He then walked over to his closet, opening the sliding door, revealing a collection of shirts hung up on metal hangers.
He decided to pick out an orange shirt on the far end of the closet. It was one of his night shirts, he hadn't worn this one in particular in quite a while.
He then proceeded to slip it over his head onto his body. The shirt felt snug on him, he forgot when he bought it, must have been at least a year. He would ask his mom to buy him a new nightshirt tomorrow.
"Yakko", he heard his mom call", can you come here please"?
He gave out a sigh, what could his mom possibly want? He hoped that he wasn't in any trouble.
He ran out of his room, closing the door behind him. Looking around, he couldn't see his mom anywhere. He noticed his dad sitting on the couch in the living room, watching what appeared to be the news.
"Dad", Yakko asked", where's mom"?
His father looked over at him, a tired look on his face.
"I don't know", he replied, shrugging his shoulders," but it sounds like she wants you".
"Yak", his mom yelled, louder this time," where are you"!?
He recognized that she was in the bathroom, since he was standing right next to the door. He quickly opened the door, his mom was sitting on the floor, struggling to keep a naked Wakko still.
"What do you want"?
"I wanted to know if you wanted to help me give your brother a bath"?
"What"!?
"I know, you've never done it before. But you know, I want you to try. My work schedule has changed and I can't give you guys bath's anymore".
Yakko had nothing to say, he couldn't think of anything at the moment. There goes going to bed early on a Thursday night.
"Ok", was his reply.
"Let go", Wakko squealed,"let go"!!
"Hold on sweetie, Yakko do you know what you should do first"?
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Well you gotta turn on the water", she said sarcastically," how else will he be able to take a bath"!?
Yakko rolled his eyes, he did not find her joke funny.
"Don't roll your eyes at me, I wasn't the one who forgot the first step. The easiest one, I should add".
Seems to be cheerful tonight, He thought excited about having another baby, I guess.
Following orders, he walked towards the tub. He stared blankly at the tub, not knowing what to do, he turned back to his mom.
"What do I do"?
"You need to turn the handle, do you know where that is"?
"Is it this", he asked, pointing to the weird metal thing mounted on the wall.
"Yup, that's it!! You're going to turn the handle left, ok"?
He nodded his head.
"Ok, now do it".
Yakko grabbed onto the metal handle and turned it to the left. As he did so, water started coming out of the spout.
"Let go", he heard Wakko scream," me want in"!!
"Hold still", his mom said sternly," be patient, and Yakko, make sure to feel the water to make sure it's not too hot".
He stuck his hand under the tap, feeling the warm water in his hands. He hadn't felt water in its entirety in a long time. His mom had called him in before he had a chance to put his gloves back on.
"The water feels fine mom".
"Good, hope you're ready because Wakko seems eager to get in the tub, aren't you bud"?
Wakko was desperately trying to escape his mom's grasp. He was wiggling around in her arms, trying to find a way to escape.
"Me in tub, me in tub"!!
"Alright, I'm gonna let go now ok"?
The small child looked to be extremely excited to take a bath. He was panting, his tongue was sticking out.
His mom then started to count down.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1".
At one, she let go of Wakko and he raced towards the tub. He leaned up on the edge, struggling to pull himself up. Yakko sighed, he would have to help his brother out again.
If only he was taller.
He grabbed onto Wakko's waist, and pushed him up into the tub. His brother finally managed to get himself into the tub, promptly sitting down in the water. Wakko seemed to be happy, as he looked up at him with a big smile on his face.
Yakko looked at his mom with a blank stare, looking for further instructions.
"What do you want me to do now"?
"Now you start washing him", she told him," do you know where the scrub is"?
"No", he answered.
"It's on that shelf over there", she said, pointing to a small bookcase next to a small bookcase next to the toilet.
He inched toward the shelf, grabbing a red container. The container was labeled, " Toon Scrub - shampoo and conditioner combined made for any breed of toon".
He turned his back to face the tub, holding the toon scrub in his hand. Wakko was sitting in the same position, grinning brightly. The child's eyes grew wide, and he started giggling. His brother moved his arms around in the water, splashing him in the face.
Yakko splattered, "Ugh Wakko, my clothes"!!
Wakko continued to laugh.
"Funny", he said.
"It's fine Yakko", his mom said,"you did the same thing when you were his age".
He rolled his eyes.
"What do you want me to do now"?
"Grab the loofah from over there, and then start scrubbing your brother".
Yakko looked down and saw a pink loofah placed next to the tub. He grabbed it from off the floor, then squirting a little toon scrub onto it.
"Great, now dunk it into the water", his mom added.
Yakko followed orders and dunked the loofah into the tub. The loofah created bubbles in the water, which seemed to please his brother. After doing that for a few seconds, he started to scrub Wakko. His brother seemed to enjoy being washed, his tongue stuck out as he scrubbed his head and upper body. He smiled, this was easier than he thought he was. He started to enjoy washing his brother, he looked over at his mom who was turning off the water.
"I'm I doing a good job"?
"Yeah you're doing a great job. Make sure to wash Wakko's belly, legs, and feet as well".
"I will", Yakko replied," stand up Wak".
"No"!
"Stand up please".
"No, me like water".
"Yakko wants you to stand up for him", his mom interfered," he needs to wash your entire body".
"But me like water", his brother whined.
"You're not getting out of the bath sweetie, Yakko needs to wash you".
"No", Wakko screamed, sounding as he was about to cry,"Me want stay, Me want stay in water"!!
His brother was starting to cry, mumbling in words Yakko couldn't understand.
"I don't think he wants to stand up", he said nervously," what should I do"?
"Hmm, I don't think Wakko has to stand up in order to wash him. Do you know what, we can just be done"?
"Really", he said, sounding surprised," but you didn't do this with me"?
"I know, but we just have to do things a little differently today. Why don't you try to calm your brother down and then we can dry him off, ok"?
This confused him a little, his mom had never done this before. Yakko saw her as a problem solver, But today, it seems like she's just going to let his brother get his way. Yet again, he didn't want Wakko to go into a full on tantrum either.
"Alright", he finally said," Ok sib, I guess your bath time is over".
"No", Wakko screamed," me want stay"!!
"Then you have to stand up so I can clean..".
His brother interrupted,"No, me stay"!!
He was starting to get real tired of dealing with this nonsense.
"What do I do?", Yakko whined to his mom,"Wakko won't get out"!
"Honey I don't know….just leave, I can deal with it
"Fine", he said, getting up from the floor.
He laid down on his bed, pondering to himself. He usually could take care of his younger sibling with little to no trouble at all. But today, it seemed like he was having a real difficult time giving his brother a bath.
Yakko had been noticing a change in his brother's behavior recently, he'd been acting a lot more cheeky than he had been. Earlier today, Wakko hid in a closet in his parents bedroom to avoid feeding time.
One question floated in his head, he tried to forget it, but he couldn't. It kept repeating in his mind.
Am I a good big brother.
Suddenly, he heard a knock at his bedroom door.
"Come in", he hollered.
The door opened, his mom peered through the doorway.
"Can we talk?", she asked.
He nodded, he sat up on his bed, his mom sat next to him. She put an arm around him.
"Sweetie, You didn't do anything wrong. You were very helpful, you know that"?
He nodded his head,"I guess so".
"Don't say that".
"What do you mean"?
"You aren't putting yourself down again are you"?
"No I'm not", he answered,"I just...I just don't know what I did wrong".
"You did nothing honey, you know very well how proud I am of you. You are a great brother, you know that, don't be sad ok"?
Yakko looked up at his mom.
"I will", he said, his face turning into a smile.
"Good, my work schedule is changing and..".
"Again", Yakko said in shock.
"I know I know, it seems that it changes all the time doesn't it. But it's not a big deal, you're basically doing exactly what you're doing now, looking after your brother".
"What will happen when my new sibling is born"?
"Same thing as well, just you have two cute faces to look at instead of one".
His mom pulled him closer.
"It's gonna be fine Yakko, don't be scared. Like I said many times before, your siblings look up to you, they see you as a role model. It's up to you to show them the right way of doing things".
"Yeah, but will I be able to do that"?
"What do you think"?
He thought about it for a second, even though bathing his brother didn't go as smoothly as he originally expected, he still tried his best.
He found his answer pretty quickly.
"Yes", he said," I will, I promise".
Thankful for his mom's encouraging words, he put his arms around her, giving her the biggest hug possible.
"You're the best".
"You don't have to say that", his mom said softly," I already know".
It was moments like these where he realized how much he loved his mom. He wouldn't be here without her. She was there for him whenever he needed her.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, an idea suddenly came into his mind.
"Is Wakko still awake", he asked.
"Think so, just put him in his crib, you can check".
"Ok, thank you".
He parted from their hug, then exited out of his room heading towards his brother's crib. To his luck, Wakko was awake. He was standing in his crib, holding a brown teddy bear by the ear. He pulled out the stool from under the crib, stepping onto it.
Wakko seemed to be happy to see him, the little one was clapping his hands together in excitement.
"Yakko here", he proclaimed.
"Hello baby bro", Yakko said,"it seems you're jolly this evening. Are you excited for our new sibling to come"?
"Sibling", the baby stated," Yakko my sibling".
"That's right, I am, you're pretty smart sib".
Wakko continued to clap his hands together, it seemed like that was his favorite thing to do.
"I love you sib", Yakko went on,"I love you more than anything in the whole world".
He stretched his arms out as he said that, his brother copying him as he did so.
He smirked," Mom is right, you really are such a copycat".
"Cat", Wakko said,"cat".
Yakko laughed a little, he just taught his sib another word. His brother was getting better at talking, he was now able to string his own sentences together.
"What a chatterbox", Yakko said as he rubbed his sibling's head.
End of Chapter 9