That night Bucky sat on his bed listening to his parents having an argument. It didn't happen often, but he always felt sick to his stomach whenever they had words. Worse of all, they were arguing about him.
"Winnie, I'm sick and tired of seeing my son coming home every day looking like he went 9 rounds with Jack Johnson," George shouted. "What is our son getting out of that friendship except black eyes and bloody noses? If this keeps up, he'll get a reputation for being a troublemaker. What if he and Stevie tag team the wrong guy's kid? What if one of them gets seriously hurt? What if they put someone in the hospital? What if the guy they're beating pulls a knife or a gun? He could end up in jail or even get killed! He could ruin his life! And for what?"
"They're friends," his mother had replied.
"Some friend." George snorted. "With friends like that, who needs enemies?"
"You sound as if you don't poor little Steve," Winnie said, shocked.
"You're darn right I don't like that Rogers boy. Why should I? All he does is bring trouble on my boy's head," George said angrily. "He's hotheaded, entitled and has the worst Napoleonic Complex I've ever seen," George said.
"But Stevie's practically an invalid. He needs someone to have his back," Winnie said.
"I don't care if everybody claims he's an invalid. How weak can he be? The brat certainly has enough energy to get into back-alley brawls all the time. The problem is that Steve's mouth writes checks his body can't cash, and then he drags our son into it. It's been going on far too long and I'm putting an end to it right here and now," George said. "Miss Murgatroyd is right. Maybe if everyone stopped treating Steve like he's made out of glass and made him face the consequences of his actions for a change, he'd figure out how to get along with people. Either way, it's not our son's problem," George continued
"But George," Winnie said.
"And what's this about him missing school to look after the Rogers kid while Mrs. Rogers is at work? Since when is our son a nursemaid?" George said angrily.
"Steven was sick, someone had to stay with him, and I couldn't leave the babies alone," Winnie said.
"So? How is that our twelve-year-old son's problem?" George said, his exasperation growing. "Why does everyone seem to think that it's the responsibility of a little kid who's not even related to be a nursemaid for another child? I'm putting and end to this nonsense for once and for all."
"George, this is all a mistake," Winnie cried.
"The only mistake is that I should have realized how bad things had gotten a long time ago,"
"But. . ." Winnie started to reply.
"But nothing!" George said. "I've made my mind up and that's final."
Bucky shivered. His mind was in turmoil. What was his father going to do? Why couldn't he see how important it was to protect Steve? Was he going to be punished?
George entered Bucky's bedroom. "I guess you heard all that," he said.
"Am I in trouble?" Bucky asked.
George's expression changed. "No," he said gently. "You're not in trouble and I'm not mad at you. I just wasn't expecting to get a visit from your teacher today.
"What's a Napoleonic complex?" Bucky asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Remember Mrs. Conway's chihuahua, Cuddles, I think he was called?" George said.
"Yes," Bucky nodded, baffled at the change of subject.
"Remember how Cuddles would constantly bark at dogs 10 times his size? Remember how he'd run up to them and bite their ankles?" George said.
Bucky giggled. "Yeah, I remember that, it was pretty funny to see him attack that Great Dane. It's like he didn't get he was just a little shrimp, and he shouldn't get into a fight with a big guy." A thought struck Bucky, "But it's different with Steve, he's not a dog, he's a person,".
"It's like that with some people, and by people, I mean short fellas." George said. "Sometimes they just don't want to accept their limitations so they get extra aggressive to compensate. Does that sound familiar?"
Okay, Dad was right. Steve did act like Cuddles on a rampage. But still, Stevie was his friend and needed his help, Bucky thought.
George decided to try a different tack. "You like the Sullivan boys. Why didn't you accept their invitation to go to Jones Beach last Saturday?" George asked.
"They didn't invite Steve," Bucky said.
"So what? You and Steve aren't joined at the hip. You can go places and hang out with other boys without him," George said. "In fact, I'd prefer it if you made some more friends. Don't you have anything better to do than follow Steve around? When we lived in Shelbyville you had lots of friends."
"But I have to look out for him," Bucky said.
"No, you don't," George said firmly. "Steve Rogers is not your responsibility. Anyway, I've been thinking, and I've decided you need to take a break from him."
"What?" Bucky gasped. What did his father mean by that?
"You're going to your grandparents in Shelbyville this summer," George said. Noting his son's mulish expression, he said, "Don't look at me like that, you'll have fun."
"What about Steve? What'll he do without me?" Bucky cried.
"I don't know and I don't care," George said, inwardly fuming. This was not a natural reaction of a twelve-year-old being told he'd get to take a trip. Something was very wrong here.
"But the kids are always so mean to him! They keep beating him up." Bucky said.
"You do realize he's the one who starts all those fights, don't you, Jimmy?" George said. "He wouldn't get into them if he'd learn to ignore what other people say instead of flying off the handle every time he hears something he doesn't like. Anyway, it's not your problem. And while we're on the subject, what kind of friend keeps dragging his 'best friend' into fights? Does he enjoy watching you get hurt?"
"No," Bucky said indignantly. "Steve's my buddy."
George wanted to scream. First his wife, now his son. It was like talking to a brick wall. Was he the only one who remembered the old adage, "Everybody's friend is everybody's fool."? What kind of hold did this Rogers kid have over his family?
"Don't be such a chump! A real friend wouldn't get you into trouble," George said, a little more harshly than he intended.
Seeing Bucky's stricken expression, George sighed. "I didn't mean to be so hard on you son, you're loyal to a fault. But you have to worry about you. Life's going to through enough at you over the years, you don't need to take on other people's burdens. Remember the old saying, 'you're not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm'."
Ignoring everything George had said about Steve, his son said "Don't call me Jimmy. It's Bucky,".
"No, it's not." George said. "Bucky is cute nickname for a six-year-old. You're a big fellow now, it's high time we stopped using that childish nickname. You'll be going to Junior High next September. Trust me, you don't want to go by a silly little kid moniker there."
Bucky opened his mouth to protest. "My decision is final. I've already told the family to call you Jimmy or Jim or even James, if that's what you want, but not Bucky." George said, ignoring his son's glare.
