'It'll be three kids now,' thought Tom as he sat in the waiting room. His mother lay in the delivery room, going through the pains of giving birth to her third child with none of her loved ones around her. From what the nurses told them, she was not having a good time with it. His father wanted to be with his wife, but the nurses insisted that he stay in the waiting room because he would be of "no use" to his wife. That insinuation sent him over the edge, and he left the building to walk off some steam. Since Chris, on winter break from college, had gone off with Joe to visit a friend, it was Tom's job to sit in the waiting room and linger for any word from the nurses. "Don't leave this post. If I find out that you did, you'll be in deep trouble. You understand?" Tom nodded frantically. Mr. Jennings nodded curtly and stormed off. Tom could only sigh once his father left the room. Although he would soon turn seventeen and was now tall enough to look his father in the eye, he continued to back down to him.

Tom resumed his seat in the nearly empty waiting room. The silence felt eerie. "This is a small town hospital," he murmured quietly. "Doesn't everybody come here? Shouldn't this place be crawling with bodies?"

"Well Tom Jennings, I didn't expect to see you here!"

Tom looked up quickly and smiled. Maggie Evans stood a few feet away from him, still dressed in her uniform and looking weary. It didn't matter to him; he always thought she looked lovely. Tom remembered when Chris, Joe, and Maggie palled around after school. They had seemed inseparable. Of course, the moment Chris went away to college, the holy triumvirate crumbled and Tom rarely saw any of them afterwards, especially his own brother. That had been three years ago. "Um . . . I'm a bit in shock myself," he managed to mumble. "What brings you here, Maggie?"

"Pop hurt himself. He's being held for observation. I just wanted to check up on him before I headed home. Why are you here?"

"Mom . . . baby . . . long story."

"Uh-huh? How's she doing?" Tom told Maggie exactly what the nurses had told him. "Ugh, that's horrible. Where's Chris during all of this? He's home for the holidays, isn't he?"

"He's out with Joe."

"You mean that he searched out Joe without bothering to look for me?" asked Maggie, her voice inflicted with faux anger. "Of all the . . . argh! Listen, do you want to go search with me for them?"

With thoughts of his father's orders (and extreme sibling hatred) dancing in his head, Tom politely declined. "Understood." Maggie glanced around the room quickly and took a seat next to Tom. Maggie giggled sweetly as she looked him over, taking her time to glance him up before her eyes met with his. "It's been so long since I've seen you. Well, not really but you were . . . what . . . thirteen when we last talked? You're older now and you don't look a thing like the boy who used to run from the Jennings/Haskell domination duo."

"Um . . . okay," mumbled Tom. Was she coming on to him?

"You have changed," she continued. "You're turning out to be quite the looker, if you don't mind me saying. You'll end up cuter than Chris, watch and see."

Tom broke the stare. 'Yep, she's coming on to me. She has to be tired to even think about doing something this silly!' He turned back to Maggie and said, "I don't think most people would agree with you."

"Most people are stupid." She leaned in and whispered, "Hey, I've heard that there's actually another diner in town. Isn't that a hoot! So, why don't you and I go get some coffee? I want to be waited on for once, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Tom actually contemplated leaving his post and following Maggie to go get coffee. What would people say? Probably nothing. He looked so much like Chris that they would just assume that he was his older brother. Besides, Maggie was only three years older than him. That wasn't ancient . . . not in the least. And she wanted him to come! He would be able to spend at least a half hour solely in her company. In just the brief moments that he lulled the proposition over, Tom came up with so many scenarios of this rendezvous, each one seeming a bit more ambitious than the last. He would be a fool not to go with her!

But once again his father's warning rung inside his head: "Don't leave this post. If I find out that you did, you'll be in deep trouble. You understand?" Tom understood loud and clear. No leaving the waiting room. No leaving the hospital. No leaving to drink coffee with a flirtatious woman. "I'm sorry, Maggie, but I've really got to stay here. Something might happen with mom and no one would be around to hear about it. You understand, don't you?"

"Absolutely." She jumped form her seat and sighed. She took his hand in hers, looking directly into his eyes as she said, "But you'll have to take me up on that some other time, okay?" Tom nodded, hoping not to seem to eager. Maggie smiled, and, with a pleasant goodbye, she left the waiting room. As she left, he heard her say, "Keep an eye on your kid brother. He's going to break hearts!"

A few seconds later, Chris wandered into the waiting room. From the look on his face, Tom could tell that Maggie's words had completely confused him. He laughed a little and asked, "Since when were you going to break hearts? You're not the pretty one."

Tom wanted to let his brother's insult roll away but he couldn't. Chris had mocked and degraded him for years. Maggie's small bit of flirtation was just the ego boost he desperately needed. He wasn't going to let his brother deride it and make it seem insignificant. Without thinking, Tom spat, "I became the pretty one when you decided to get that god awful haircut. Did you pay someone to do that or did you just hold your head too close to the blades of an electric fan?

Chris seemed taken aback for a moment. He recovered quickly however, and took the seat beside his brother. "Are you telling me that only a few little words from Ms Evans turned you into this King of Sarcasm that sits beside me? Really kid, your self esteem must be nothing." Chris looked ahead when he added, "You know, she's going with Joe to get some coffee."

Tom blinked. Had she forgotten him so quickly? And for Joe! Sure, the guy was a looker, but . . . God . . . Joe! His cousin made sheetrock seem intelligent. How would Maggie find any enjoyment with Joe? As much as it bothered him, Tom did his best not to let his disappointment show. "Why should I care? Maggie does what she wants."

Chris nodded. The doctor and a few nurses quickly ran into the waiting room. Tom noticed that Chris ran a hand through his hair as one of the nurses stared at him. He had made his unshakable brother feel self-conscious! Whatever else might happen later, that little show of insecurity was enough to make Tom's day.

••••••••••••••••••••

Amy Jennings was born on December 13, 1960. She was small, a little too small and had to be kept in an incubator for a while. Everyone did their best to comfort the mother and keep the baby as safe as possible. All were surprised by how considerate Tom was. They had always assumed that Chris was the nice, caring young man. He was at least the more outgoing of the two. Most had thought Tom to be more than a little shifty. His show of compassion was highly unexpected. While Tom stuck around to help care for both mom and baby, Chris headed back to school without bothering to make sure if everything was settled. "I told you," Lenore whispered to Tom on New Year's Eve. "They're going to all learn what a good boy you are. You'll prove yourself yet!"