Chapter 2: Daddy and Her
I've been meaning to update this story for a while. This little short has taken many a different forms in the past, but here it is, finally, for you viewing pleasure.
Daddy and Her
He never pays attention to me. It's always about her. Probably helps that she's constantly doing stupid things and hurting herself. He's always rushing her off to the hospital. Like the time she jumped off the roof, thinking she could fly. How dumb was that? Everyone knows humans can't fly. Our bones are too dense and we don't have feathers or wings. Sometimes I wish my sister would just grow up.
Like yesterday when we got home from school. We'd just gotten off the bus. I was first because I'm older, and also because I was really excited about my award that I'd gotten and wanted to show Mommy and Daddy. I was skipping up the path to the porch where Mommy was waiting for us when she gasped and called to Daddy in that urgent voice she got every time Stephanie did something stupid. I tried to grab her attention and show her my award as she rushed past me. And then the same with Daddy. But they ignored me. They were too focused on Stupid Stephanie.
That's what I was going to start calling her. Stupid Stephanie. She couldn't even walk without screwing up. How did she get past kindergarten if she couldn't walk without injury?
Dropping my hand and award to my side, I let out a long suffering sigh and turned to see what idiotic thing my sister had done this time.
Daddy had her on his knee while Mommy dabbed at her face with her apron. Stupid Stephanie was bawling her eyes out with blood gushing from her nose and gravel embedded in her face. My immediate assumption was that she'd tripped over her shoelace – she never did her laces up right and they were always coming undone, no matter what – coming down the stairs of the bus and ended up face planting in the gutter. How did she even manage to land face first in the gutter when there was less than a foot between the bus door and the curb?
I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning to go inside and drag the first aid kit out from under the sink. I honestly had no idea why we even bothered putting it away. It seemed the moment we did Stupid Stephanie hurt herself again.
I'd just hefted the box onto the kitchen table when Daddy carried Stupid Stephanie in and sat her on the counter. It looked like she was holding Mommy's good apron to her still bleeding nose. Dadd started gently cleaning the gravel from her forehead and dabbed some antiseptic on the graze before persuading her to move the bloody apron so he could take a look at it.
Mommy handed me my usual after school snack of milk and a fresh baked cookie and sat me down at the kitchen table to do my homework. I was working on my spelling words when Mommy came back into the room and handed Stupid Stephanie a wad of what looked like tissues to hold to her stillbleeding nose, taking the disgusting apron and heading toward the laundry, muttering about soaking it to get the blood out.
Setting my pencil aside, I grabbed up my award and followed her down the hall, catching up with her as she was about to go down to the laundry.
"Look what I got, Mommy!" I exclaimed, tugging on her hand to get her attention and holding my award under her nose so she couldn't miss it. "I got an award!"
"That's brilliant, Baby!" Mommy enthused, then read from my award. "For the best speller." She bent down and hugged me tight, kissing me on the head. "Very good, Valerie. Well done. Go back to your homework now. I'll hang this on the fridge just as soon as I've put my apron on to soak."
"Can I show Daddy?" I asked her, reaching for the award.
"Daddy's busy at the moment," she informed me, as if I couldn't already see that. "We'll show it to him after dinner maybe."
After dinner? I thought. Maybe? This was so not fair. All Stephanie had to do was fall on her face and she was the centre of attention. I couldn't even get recognition for one stinking award that I worked hard for weeks for.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stomped back to the kitchen table to finish my homework. Stupid Stephanie was there. Eating an ice-pop! No fair!
"Can I have an ice-pop?" I asked Daddy as he threw Stupid Stephanie's wrapper in the bin.
"You just had milk and a cookie," he told me. What was it with my parents and telling me things I already knew? Did they think I was as dumb as Stupid Stephanie?
"But Stephanie got an ice pole!" I exclaimed.
Daddy came over and sat on the chair next to me. "Stephanie's hurt. The ice-pole is making her feel better, and it's helping make sure her lip doesn't get too swollen."
I glared at him. "It was her nose that got hurt, Daddy, not her mouth," I told him.
He shook his head. "Stephanie split her lip when she fell as well."
I rolled my eyes and went back to my homework, ignoring the both of them. For dinner we, of course, had one of Stupid Stephanie's favourites. And after, I was all geared up to show Daddy my special award where Mommy had pinned it to the fridge, but Stupid Stephanie dragged him into the living room first to play with her stupid action figures. Which he did. I hope he realises that the stupid action figures are part of the reason she decided to jump of the roof and break her leg.
It just wasn't fair. Daddy did absolutely everything with Stupid Stephanie and he wouldn't even have a tea party with me and my pretty, well behaved dollies. So there I sat, reading my book, while Daddy and Stupid Stephanie zoomed the stupid little plastic toys all around the room, occasionally having the gall to bounce one off my shoulder or head or even land one in my book. Stupid Stephanie didn't even look like she was in pain any more. She was just an attention seeking poo brain.
I huffed and closed my book, setting it gently on the coffee table while Stupid Stephanie made her Wonder Woman toy do back flips from the arm of the couch.
"Hey Chicken," Daddy called from his position on the floor. "Why don't you take over for me? I've gotta go help Mommy with the dishes." For just a moment I thought he was going to ask me to join him. Or even ask me about my day. I don't know why I even got my hopes up.
I rolled my eyes and took the stupid boy doll from him and made it do the splits on the coffee table before throwing it at the couch so it could fly. Stupid Stephanie giggled and threw Wonder Woman at the couch too. Which turned into an absolutely boring contest to see who's toy could bounce off the cushion the highest.
Before I knew it, it was bed time. I dutifully washed my face and hands and brushed my teeth while Stupid Stephanie complained that it hurt too much to touch her face and was exempt from the nightly hygiene routine. Daddy tucked her into bed and read her a story, while Mommy pulled up my covers and gave me my book for me to read to myself. Because I'm a big girl and can read for myself. Unlike Stupid Stephanie.
I was about to close my book and turn off my bedside lamp to go to sleep when Daddy stuck his head in the door. "Hey Chicken," he called softly. "You still awake?" I set the book aside and nodded at him as he came in and sat on the edge of my bed. "I'm proud of you," he told me, ruffling my hair. "Mommy showed me your award. Best Speller. Of course, I already knew you were the best speller. In the whole, wide world. You know how I know?"
I shook my head.
"You spell better than Mommy," he whispered, then put his finger over his lip when I giggled. "Shhh, he urged me. Don't tell Mommy, she'll get jealous."
Giggling some more, I zipped my lips. "I love you Daddy," I told him.
I grinned at me. "I love you too, Chicken. And thank you for playing with Stephanie tonight. It was a real help."
"You're welcome, Daddy," I said, feeling my heart grow so big that it was practically bursting out of my chest. I rolled over and pulled the covers up over my shoulders, unable to stop grinning.
"Goodnight, Chicken," he whispered, dropping a light kiss on my cheek before leaving my room.
That night, I went to sleep with the biggest smile on my face that I'd ever had and dreamt of a world where everything was spectacularly pretty and not stupid like Stupid Stephanie.
That's the end of that one. Please take the time to review.
