Chapter 6 - The eldest child
Five months later…
Yakko was lounging out in the living room one morning. He had already eaten his breakfast – a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios – and was looking forward to a quiet morning watching The price is right on the television. In front of him was his sister, who was fast asleep on his lap. Yakko held his sister with a firm grasp, making sure that he was supporting her head to ensure that she wouldn't fall.
Ever since Dorothy Warner had come home with them a few months ago, Yakko had been enraptured by the young infant. Her face was precious, she had chubby little baby cheeks and floppy ears. Every morning, Yakko always asked his mother if he could hold her, in which she almost always allowed him to. He couldn't explain why, but the way he had his sister cuddled up against him captivated Yakko. He loved the feeling of his sister resting her tiny head on his chest, and the way she would drool on his shirt and occasionally make soft cooing sounds. It was enlightening to him, and he would always cherish these gentle moments that he shared with his baby sister.
Cradling the infant in his arms, Yakko ran his hand through his sister's soft, silky fur. The baby girl was gazing up at him with large, curious eyes, admiring his face. She raised her hands in the air, flexing her pudgy fingers. His sister then raised her arm and grabbed onto Yakko's nose. Yakko winced at the tension of Dorothy's grabby little hands. She had a strong set of fingers for only being a few months old.
"Hey! Let go of that!" Yakko flinched as he nudged his sister's hand off his nose. He loves his sister, but he didn't like the feeling of his nose being pinched. The baby giggled, having enjoyed torturing her older brother.
In spite of his sister pinching his nose, causing it to become slightly sore, Yakko couldn't help but laugh at his little sister's harmless fun.
"You like the feeling of my nose, don't you, Dottie?" He said.
She didn't reply, of course, as she doesnt know how to talk yet. But Yakko knew that his sister was actively listening to him and everything he said to her. He had been calling her Dottie; it's what his mom had been referring to her as. Apparently, Dottie is a nickname for Dorothy, which is why his mom had been calling his sister by that name. Yakko sort of liked the sound of Dottie better than Dorothy, so he addressed her as such.
"I love you, Dottie. You little cutie," Yakko cooed as he gently rubbed his finger on his sister's forehead. The infant smiled up at her big brother happily, watching his every move.
As Yakko cradled the baby, he noticed out of the corner of his eye Wakko emerging from the hallway into the living room. It seemed like Wakko had attempted to get dressed by himself this morning. He was wearing one of his t-shirts, which was clearly too big on him, and half-buttoned overalls on top of that. Today must have been one of those days where Wakko wanted to attempt to do something by himself but failed - in today's case, getting dressed without his assistance. Why his brother just couldn't have asked for his help was beyond him.
"Wakko," Yakko asked in a warning tone. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"
His brother grinned. "I get dressed myself today."
"That's great and all, but why are you wearing one of my shirts?"
"don't know," he shrugged.
Yakko sighed, rolling his eyes. His little brother had done something he wasn't supposed to again, and the worst part is that he didn't even realize that he was doing something wrong. This made it especially hard for him to address to Wakko what he had done wrong, and why he was upset with him. Sure, what his little brother did was harmless, and he didn't do it on purpose, but that didn't mean that Yakko wasn't annoyed by his brother's antics, because he was. He hoped at the very least that Wakko didn't start crying when he asked that he take off the shirt he was wearing.
It's hard to be the oldest sometimes, he thought. Having to look after my younger siblings every day, mom and dad not being here to help me.
Yakko gave his sister a kiss on the cheek, which made little Dottie laugh. He then set her down gently, placing her next to where he was sitting. Hopefully, she wouldn't fall off the couch while he wasn't looking, he didn't think he would live with himself if he were responsible for hurting his sister. Yakko knelt down to his brother, who was admiring the outfit he had picked out for himself.
"Didn't need my help, did you," Yakko chuckled. "I see you're wearing one of my favorite shirts."
"Yes, I like this," he answered.
"But it looks like it's a little too big on you," he noted. "Let's find something else that's in your size, ok?"
Wakko frowned. "I like this shirt. It Yakko's shirt."
"But it's too big on you," Yakko told him, feeling slightly empathetic towards his younger brother. "You have your own pairs of shirts and overalls that you can wear. Why don't we put on that instead."
"I don't wanna!" Wakko shouted, stamping his feet. "I wanna keep this on!"
Yakko began to grow frustrated by his brothers' refusal to do as he was told to. He noticed a few weeks ago that Wakko was becoming more stubborn with him. More often than not, the toddler would refuse to follow any orders - whether given by him or one of his parents.
He had caught Wakko arguing with his father the other day. His dad was trying to feed him some broccoli, but the little boy refused to eat it. This led to his brother getting into a heated argument with his father, which did not end well for him. His father got so mad that he yanked Wakko by his ears and dragged him all the way to his room, where he proceeded to spank Wakko and scold him to not argue with him again. After his dad had let his anger loose and stormed back off to his bedroom, Yakko entered he and Wakko's bedroom to comfort his brother. His brother was sobbing loudly, his poor face drenched with tears. The toddler was confused and scared, and so was his older brother. Yakko never knew what his younger sibling did to cause his father to become so angry.
This is why Yakko always tried his best to stay on his dad's good side at all times; it was all that he could do. Whenever his parents fought, he stood clear of his father's path when he stormed down the hallway fuming. His dad was not pretty when he was mad; he had a fierce temper that he was not afraid to show. If Yakko did something to anger his father, like breaking a vase or hitting his brother, the man would be standing in front of him scolding him in an instant. And dare he try to talk back to his dad when he was in one of his angry states..well..let's say that Yakko would be lucky if he got to see another day.
But the fact is that Yakko was home alone. Both his parents were at work and wouldn't be home for a couple of hours, leaving him with a four month old infant and a rambunctious baby brother who ruins everything he gets his grabby hands on. Dealing with a fussy Wakko was not something he wanted to deal with whatsoever, but it was his duty, as an older brother, to handle the situation in the best way he could.
"Wakko, I know you really like my shirt. But it looks a tad bit too big on you," Yakko said gently. He was trying to reason with his brother to get on an even playing field. "I know where there are clothes that will fit you a whole lot better. Why don't you try those on; I can help you if you want."
"I no need help," Wakko states with confidence. "Me do it myself."
Yakko steps back, realizing that his brother didn't want his help even though he could use it. Maybe Wakko wanted to be more independent. Maybe he should at least allow his brother to choose what he wanted to wear…
"Ok then, sibling of mine. You can pick out what you want to wear today, and then we'll put them on together. How does that sound?"
"Yippie!" His brother shouts as he jumps up in excitement. His overalls slipped off his legs as he jumped; those were probably too big for him, too. The boy adjusted his overalls, trying to rebutton them the way he did before.
Yakko laughed. "Come on, you silly goose!" he tells him," follow me! We'll get you dressed in no time."
He waved for his brother to come and follow him. Wakko races up to him, holding onto his overalls so they wouldn't fall down again. Yakko put an arm around his younger sibling, his brother smiling grandly at him. He thought about that word that he had used to refer to his brother. Sibling: a brother or sister; a person who shares the same parents as you, the same blood as you. Yakko liked this word; he had heard his parents use the word many times, and slowly overtime did he realize its meaning. He knew that he would use this new word more often, thinking that it would make him look smart amongst his siblings. Yakko certainly knew the value of being smart.
Walking into his bedroom, Yakko gasped. He saw his dresser drawers open with clothes that had been scattered all over the room. It looked like Wakko had been busy this morning. He let off an annoyed sigh; his brother giggled as he bounced around him excitedly. Yakko wasn't too mad at his brother, knowing that his younger sibling didn't do this on purpose – he doesn't know any better after all. But that didn't mean that he wasn't aggravated by Wakko's inability to keep himself from making a mess of everything he sees, because he was.
"Oh, Wakko! You made a big mess in here," Yakko grumbled. He gave out an annoyed sigh, slouching his arms. He knew that he, not his brother, was going to be cleaning this mess up before he got the chance to do anything else.
Quickly, Yakko got to work, picking up the shirts, shorts, overalls, socks and underwear that were sprawled across the floor. He put all the clothing back in the dresser where his brother had first found them, shoving them in there as neatly as possible. Wakko had climbed up onto the unmade bed and sat down on the edge, dangling his feet as he waited anxiously for his older brother to be done cleaning the mess that he made. It was a bit unfair to Yakko, having to clean up a mess that he wasn't even responsible for, but it had to be done before his mom and dad came home from work. He could already hear his mother nagging him about how messy he and Wakko's room is. How could you live in such a pigsty!? Yakko imagined her saying.
A couple minutes or so passed and the room was relatively tidy again. While Yakko never liked cleaning his room, he had to admit that it was fairly easy to do and not as much of a chore that he likes to think it is. Now comes the real challenge: Getting Wakko dressed. He had to get his brother dressed every day, and it was always a nightmare; Wakko never sat still, ever, which made it super difficult to get clothes onto his body. Yakko would practically have to force his brother into a shirt and pants, with Wakko protesting against him all the while. It was a pain in the butt to do, but it needed to be done for the sake of not seeing his brother run around naked all day.
He took a quick glance at his energetic younger sibling, bouncing up and down on his bed, smiling and giggling. His overalls had slipped off of his legs and somehow wound up on the floor. He was left wearing that baggy shirt of his that he put on by mistake. But the toddler continued jumping despite that; it seemed that this boy never ran out of energy, not stopping to rest for even a second. Yakko couldn't help but smile at his brother, busy having his own fun.
My brother seems to be in a good mood today, Yakko thought. Let's just hope that he doesn't start crying once I put clothes on him.
"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!" Wakko chanted as he bounced on top of his bed.
"Ok sib, time to get you dressed," Yakko said. He shortened the word sibling to just sib, for no real reason, he just sort of felt like calling his brother his sib in that moment. He sort of liked the sound of sib better than sibling.
"Bouncy, bouncy, pogo!" His brother shouted as he allowed himself to fall onto the bed, giggling and squealing as he laid on his back kicking his legs up in the air
Yakko laughed at his goofy little sib; Wakko could be so darn cute when he wasn't getting himself into trouble. He gestured to his brother to come over by him; his sibling scooted toward the end of the bed, dangling his feet over the edge. Good, he thought, Wakko is cooperating and following directions. Once his younger sibling was where he wanted him to be, Yakko started to search through dresser drawers for some clothes that his brother could wear. The drawers were messy, filled with shirts, shorts, overalls, socks, underwear, and even some toys that Yakko has no idea of how they got there. He looked back at his brother, still sitting there grinning brightly, which was unusual for him. He would have thought that his brother would start to grow impatient from having to wait so long.
"What would you like to wear today, brother sib?" Yakko asked his sibling. "Overalls? Pants?"
"The orange one!" Wakko shouted, pointing his finger at something.
He was confused. "What orange thing? I don't see a– oh, you mean the orange shirt, right?" Yakko pulled an orange shirt with a picture of Garfield on it out of the dresser drawer, holding it up for his brother to see.
Wakko beamed. "Yes! That one!"
"Excellent," Yakko said. He set the shirt down on the floor next to the dresser. Then he dug back through the sea of clothing to find some sort of bottoms for his brother to wear with his shirt. "Hmm, you want to wear overalls with your shirt, sib?"
"Yes, Yakko. I like overalls. Want to wear them like Yakko does," his brother replied.
Yakko searched through the pile of both he and his brother's clothes. It was hard at first to find a pair of overalls that was Wakko's size because they're clothes were mixed together, making it difficult to find exactly what he was looking for. Every time he thought he found a pair of overalls that looked to fit Wakko, it would turn out to be one of his pairs of overalls.
No wonder my brother had such a hard time finding something to wear.
Eventually, after picking through multiple pairs of overalls that were too big for his tiny little brother, Yakko finally found a pair of overalls that looked to be the perfect fit. The overalls were blue with golden buttons, loose straps, and a pocket in the front. These overalls in particular actually used to belong to Yakko; he remembers distinctly that he used to wear those overalls all the time. They don't fit him anymore, as he has long outgrown them – he might as well give them to Wakko.
"How about these?" He held the overalls in front of his brother.
Wakko perched up as curiosity peaked at the child. He leaned close to get a better look at the denim fabric overalls, intrigued by the two shiny golden buttons planted on the front pocket of the overalls.
"They're shiny," the boy told him, his tail wagging with excitement.
"They're all yours, Wakko," Yakko told his brother with a bright grin on his face. "They won't fit on me. I'm far too big for them, but I think they'll fit you perfectly."
His brother was beaming brightly. He stood up on the bed, the baggy shirt draped over his knees, nearly covering the entirety of his legs. It appeared that Wakko was happy with the choices he picked, which made Yakko happy. It would certainly make his job of dressing his younger brother a lot easier if he liked what he was wearing.
"Want me to help you with putting on your shirt, sib?" Yakko asked.
"No! I do it," his brother told him. "I do it before."
"Why don't I get you dressed anyway. It'll save you the trouble."
"No! No, I do it myself," Wakko said willfully.
Yakko rolled his eyes. While he could see the determination inside of his brother, he knew that his sibling really needed the help. But Wakko was stubborn and bull-headed, so it was no surprise that he would convince himself that he could get dressed all on his own, in spite of him failing to do it the first time around. This is when Yakko would grow frustrated at his brother's stubbornness when it came to doing simple, mundane tasks like this one.
"Wakko," He started, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder," I know you think that you can get dressed all by yourself, but I don't want you making another silly mistake like you did the last time. That was my shirt that you were wearing. It was way too big on you. It was silly of you to wear my clothes, wasn't it?"
Wakko frowned and peered down at the floor. There was a look of disappointment in the small childs' eyes, with a hint of sadness and anger. It would be a lie to say that Yakko didn't feel bad for Wakko at that moment, because he was. He didn't mean for his words to come out the way they did, but he didn't want his brother to get too confident in himself and get flustered when things didn't go his way. But he didn't want the toddler to be sad, either, after him being so happy and joyful only a minute ago. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't take what he said back– Wakko would know that he was lying.
"Please don't be sad, sib. You'll make me sad, too," Yakko sympathized with his brother.
"I want to be like big brother Yakko," Wakko whimpered. "He's mad at me now."
It was like a finger had snapped in Yakko's head; everything made total sense now. His brother didn't attempt to dress himself because he just wanted to be a nuisance and thought he could get away with it; he did it because he wanted to be like him. And now that he thought about it, Yakko could see why. Wakko watched him like a hawk, keeping an eye on him all the time, watching curiously at what his big brother was doing while following him around. They spent the whole day together, every day in and out. With the amount of time they spent together each day, it made sense that his baby brother would look up to him. He felt sort of honored to have his sibling see him as a role model. He liked the feeling of his little sibs depending on him to keep them warm, safe, and, more than anything, happy.
When he remembered the way he addressed his situation, the way he spoke to Wakko, and how annoyed he was that his brother had caused a minor inconvenience for him; Yakko felt awful inside.
"Oh, Wakko," he threw his arms around his brother's shoulders. "I'm not mad at you anymore. I'm sorry I made you feel sad." Yakko kissed Wakko on the cheek, his sibling managed a shy grin. "Please be happy for me, ok sib?"
He looked at Wakko reassuringly, trying to provoke positive feelings toward his brother. Luckily for him, Wakko was grinning and looked to be happy again.
"I'm very happy!" His little brother declared as he threw his arms in the air.
Yakko chuckled. "If you're happy, then I'm happy, sib," he said, booping the toddler's nose, leading to giggles and laughter from both brothers. "Now I think it's about time we get you dressed. What do you say?"
"But I already dressed," he observed. He pointed to the baggy shirt he was wearing – Yakko's shirt, mind you.
"Are you sure you don't want to wear the overalls that you picked out?" He asked, raising his eyebrow and smirking.
"I wanna wear overalls," Wakko replied.
He smiled as he got up off his knees. He grabbed the pair of overalls and shirt that his brother had chosen. Wakko watched intently as he unfolded the clothing and smoothed out the wrinkles. Yakko had watched his mom do the laundry before, and while he's never done it himself, he has seen her fold and put away clothes enough times where he roughly knows how to do it.
"Lift up your arms, Wakko."
On que, his brother raised his arms up for Yakko to be able to take the old shirt off, and to slip on the Garfield shirt. He then loosened the overalls, and slipped them onto Wakko's legs, tucking the straps over his shoulders. In less than two minutes, the boy was dressed in overalls and a shirt that were in an appropriate size. It took a little longer than Yakko had expected to get his brother dressed, but he was proud of himself for being able to do it in a short amount of time.
"Well, what do you think, sib?" Yakko asked.
"I like it!" Wakko told him. "It faboo!"
He made a face. "What did you say, Wakko?"
"I said it faboo!" The toddler said, clarifying what he had said.
Yakko was confused. Faboo? What did that mean? Was it even a word? It took him a moment of thought before he realized what his brother was trying to say.
" Oh! You mean fabulous." Yakko laughed, "you're silly, you know that?"
"I very silly!" His little brother announced as he made his "gookie" face.
The boys laughed themselves silly, screaming "Faboo!" over and over and making silly faces. Funny how the situation went from being emotional to humorous in such a short time. If there's anything that Yakko has learned today, it's that there's never any consistency when it comes to him and Wakko; sometimes his little brother would be sad and grumpy, and other times he would be a little firecracker of silliness and giggles. And sometimes he would be calm, but those moments were few far in between.
He may be a handful at times, but I love him to pieces, he thought.
A few hours later and the brothers had settled down from earlier. They're parents had come home a little while ago. His mom had brought home more leftovers from the deli, which both he and Wakko appreciated a lot. Now that his brother was a little older, it meant that he could enjoy a larger variety of foods other than baby food and milk. And boy, did the boy have quite the appetite! Wakko had a salami sandwich with lettuce and pickles on it; the sandwich was half the size of his head! And he ate the whole thing! Yakko's was bewildered by the rate that his brother was eating. His dad was cackling at the look of shock on his face as he watched his younger brother go to town on his sandwich.
Now the boys were in the living room playing with toy blocks. It was Wakko's current favorite toy; he always begged his older brother into bringing out the container filled with multicolored building blocks from they're bedroom. Yakko would then help his brother build the highest block tower they could. Wakko would get all giddy and dance around the living room in joy and excitement. Once the block tower was at a high level, Yakko would knock the tower over, and all the blocks would come crashing down onto the floor. Wakko would squeal and giggle as he watched the tower fall; the toddler found it to be hilarious. Then, after the tower had been knocked down, Yakko and Wakko would start building another block tower and the cycle would repeat itself.
"More blocks! More blocks!" Wakko chanted as he jumped up and down.
Yakko added another block to the tower, per his brother's command. Wakko squealed, shaking his hands together.
"More blocks! More blocks!" The child pleaded. "Add a blue one!"
He pulled a blue block and added it to the growing block tower. The tower had begun to shake from all the blocks that had been stacked on top of each other. Yakko stood back.
"Oh no! The tower is shaking!" He cried, acting as if he were scared by the tower falling down. Yakko was only pretending, though, in order to amp up his brothers' excitement.
"Tower gonna go down!" Wakko shrieked.
The tower of blocks wobbled, and then, it collapsed suddenly, blocks falling from the tower and onto the carpet until the tower was nothing but a pile of colorful blocks. Wakko fell onto the floor laughing, kicking his legs in the air. Yakko laughed right along with Wakko, happy to know that his little bro was in high spirits. He loved making his brother laugh; it felt good inside to bring a smile to the young boys' face. It's a certain feeling that Yakko can't quite explain, but he knew for sure that it was a good feeling to have.
"Again! Again!" Wakko cheered as he got up off the floor.
"Ok, sib. Let's build another one!" Yakko declared.
His brother giggled as he ran over to him to give him a hug. Yakko held an arm out for his sibling to run into. Wakko rested his head against his waist as he hugged his older brother.
Just then, they're mom entered the room. She was wearing a bright, yellow dress with sunflowers on it. She had applied blue eyeshadow over her eyes and red lipstick. Yakko could smell the sweet smell of lavender perfume emanating from his mother – her favorite perfume. He knew that this meant only one thing: his parents were going to be going on a date soon. Yakko ran over to his mother, and his brother followed suit.
"Mommy!" They shouted in unison as they hugged their mother's leg. Their mom ruffled the top of their heads.
"Hi, boys. Good to see you both," she told them. "Me and Daddy are going out for the evening."
"I know. I see you are wearing your favorite dress. You look very pretty," Yakko complimented.
"Thank you, Yakko. You're very sweet," his mom said. "Aunt Amelia is coming over to look after you both, so I want you two to be extra good for her. Understand?"
"Yes, mom," Yakko replied.
"I like auntie," Wakko piped in.
They're mom smiled warmly at them, clapping her hands together. " Also, me and Daddy are going to be gone all night; Amelia will put you guys to bed tonight. In fact, I think it might already be your bedtime, Wakky."
Wakko frowned. "I no wanna go to bed. I stay up with brother Yakko."
"Yakko gets to stay up later because he is older, sweetie," his mom told him empathetically. "You're still too young to stay up late with him."
"Yeah, mom is right, sib. You will get cranky if you don't go to bed," Yakko tried to reason with his younger brother, knowing how he feels about having a bedtime. Unfortunately for him, Wakko wasn't having any of it.
"Nooooo! I wanna stay up!" The little boy stubbornly refused. "Why can I no stay up!"
Yakko's mother, with an annoyed sigh, scooped his brother up into her arms. Wakko was kicking his legs, trying to free himself from his mother's tight grasp, but it was no use, as that only angered the woman even more.
"Behave yourself, Wakko. What's gotten into you?" She scolded. "We go through the same thing every night; I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Mommy noooo!" The boy cried as tears began to bellow under his eyes.
Yakko watched as his mom carried his younger brother into his bedroom. While it hurt to see his brother cry like that, he had to agree that Wakko was being a brat. If it were him putting his brother to bed instead of his mom, it would surely have taken him a lot longer. He was glad it wasn't his duty to get his rambunctious sibling to lay down and go to sleep. Besides, he's already done his part for the day–he took care of Wakko and Dot on his own for almost an entire afternoon. Now that both his siblings were put to sleep for the night, it would just be him and his aunt hanging out for the evening while his parents "Went out" as they put it. Yakko appreciated the fact that he would get some alone time with Aunt Amelia; it had been a while since he's last seen her, and he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to show her a cool trick that he learned from a book.
His father entered the room suddenly. The man was dressed more dapper than usual; he wore a light blue button-up shirt and sported some brown khakis and dress shoes. Yakko was taken aback by this, as he had gotten used to seeing his dad in a dusty brown sweater and ripped blue jeans. Of course, his dad was smoking a cigarette, allowing smoke to bellow into the air, making Yakko cough.
"Welp. Mom and I are heading out, leaving you with your aunt," he stated, ruffling the top of Yakko's head. "Be good for Amelia, ok, sport?"
"I will, dad," Yakko told his father. "I already told mom that I would."
"Now don't get smart with me, boy," the man said sternly. "It won't get you anywhere in life if you act smart to those in charge of you."
Yakko lowered his head, feeling ashamed. "Sorry, dad," he apologized. "I won't say it again."
"That's what I wanna hear," his dad said. "Be in bed at eight, as we always say. Don't be staying up too late now, it ain't good for ya. A boy like you needs plenty of sleep to grow big and strong like his dad."
His father took another puff of his cigarette, blowing more smoke into the air. Yakko coughed and sputtered as his eyes and nose burned from taking in all the smoke. His mom entered the room a short time later, having put his younger brother to bed. When she saw her husband, she spared herself a look of disbelief.
"Rocko, what did I tell you about smoking around the children!" She gasped.
His dad smirked. "If it isn't my beautiful wife. How are you doing this fine time of night, my dear," he swooned her as he blew out his cigarette in one puff of air.
He flicked the cigarette into an ashtray located on a side table in the living room, then he put one arm around his wife's waist. The pretty woman was pulled into her husband's warm grasp. The two nuzzed each other's noses, then, their heads leaned in close to each other and the two exchanged kisses with one another. Yakko stood in front of them, watching with a slightly disgusted look on his face. He found the sight of his parents kissing each other in affection to be gross. He would never be caught kissing another girl, unless it was his mom or sister, but they're family. He had met two boys at the playground over the summer, and since then they had become close friends. Those boys were routy and often sneered at and mocked other girls. If either one of them ever saw him kiss a girl his age over sheer love and affection for her, he'd be mocked at for sure.
There was a knock at the door; Yakko's mom answered the door, he and his dad followed behind. When she opened the door, there was Yakko's aunt Amelia. Yakko, feeling happy and excited to see his aunt, raced up to her to give her a hug. His aunt chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Hi, my little cutie pie," she said, ruffling his hair in affection towards him. "Looks like you're stuck with me for the rest of the evening."
"Does this mean…?" Yakko started to speak, but his aunt cut him off.
"Don't worry, I won't make you do any math tonight," she chuckled. "Your mom has told me that you've been very helpful around the house lately, so you've earned yourself a free day. Great job, kiddo!"
Yakko smiled, relieved at the fact that he wouldn't be forced to do any boring math this evening. His high-energy little brother and his baby sister had tired him out; he had no energy left in him to…really do anything at all except lounge around with his aunt until bedtime.
His aunt entered the apartment, hugging his mom and shaking his dad's hand. She whispered a few things into both of their ears quietly enough so Yakko couldn't hear anything. After a few minutes of his aunt talking with his parents about how both of them had been and other stuff of the sort, she said goodnight to the both of them, wishing that they have fun on their date. The couple left the apartment laughing and kissing each other. Yakko saw his father twirl his mom around in a circle, her dress blowing in the wind. The man then gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek as he closed the front door. Yakko could hear his parent's footsteps as they walked out to their car, and could hear their laughter as they went off to have fun without him.
I wonder where Mom and Dad are going, Yakko thought to himself. They're probably going to do boring grown up stuff like they always do.
Yakko followed his aunt into the living room. The woman appeared tired, but she still wore that same grin on her face that she had one when she entered. She sat down on the couch, adjusting her body to make herself feel comfortable. He sat next to his aunt, scooching close to her so he could lay his head on her lap. His aunt smiled down at him fondly. She gently rubbed his ears, which made Yakko feel relaxed. It was her way of showing love towards him; she understood that petting his ears would help him wind down before bed, and he loved the way that his aunt would scratch behind his ears.
"Does that feel good, bud?" His aunt cooed
"Very good," Yakko sighed, satisfied by the relaxed feeling of being petted.
"You must have had a hard day, taking care of your brother and sister," his aunt figured. "It's not easy being the oldest, huh?"
"No, it's not," he replied, thinking back to earlier. "Wakko made a big mess in my room and I had to clean it up. Dot pooped in her diaper twice today. It smelled gross!"
Aunt Amelia chuckled. "Yeah, diapers aren't the most pleasant smell ever."
"No, eww, gross!" Yakko cringed just thinking about the abysmal smell of his sister's diapers. He hated the smell of diapers, especially when Wakko or Dot pooped in it.
"I'm with you, kiddo. Diapers can be awfully smelly. I remember when I used to have to change your diaper when you were a baby."
"Was it stinky?"
"Very stinky. But you were a cute little baby then. You've grown up so much, Yakko," his aunt told him, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. Yakko wiped his cheek as he sat up on the couch.
"Am I not cute anymore?"
" Oh! Goodness no! You still are! I'm just saying how you've grown up over the past couple of months, taking responsibility over your siblings while your parents are at work."
A frown suddenly puckered his lips as a thought occurred to him: his parents weren't home often anymore. It seemed like he was babysitting for his baby siblings almost every day now. He was left home alone, his parents not home to supervise him, Aunt Amlelia not being there as the adult to look after him and his siblings. It was as if he were the second parent to Wakko and Dot whenever mom and dad were away, which was most every day. Even when they were home, mom and dad rarely checked on him because they were off doing something else without him…without him.
"What's the matter, dear?" His aunt asked suddenly, her face showing deep concern.
Yakko sighed, he gazed down at the floor. "Why are mom and dad never home anymore? Why do they never look after me and Wakko and Dot?"
"Yakko, your parents love you very much," she told him. "They've just been busy, that's all."
"But they're never home," his eyes started filling up with tears. "They used to hug and kiss me when I woke up and before I went to bed. They don't do that anymore. Mom goes to sleep before I do, and dad always leaves at night to hang out with friends. They don't have time for me anymore." He winced, tears beginning to drip from his eyes. "They don't love me anymore."
Yakko closed his eyes as he sobbed, tears falling from his eyes and dripping down his cheek slowly. His aunt wrapped a gentle arm around him and lifted him onto her lap. Amelia took her finger and wiped away his tears.
"Yakko, honey, it's going to be ok," she soothed him. "Your parents have been going through a hard time lately, and they need to work in order to buy things for you to make you happy. Don't take it the wrong way, sweetie. Your parents will always love you."
"But why don't they spend time with me anymore?" Yakko asked, rubbing his tear-filled eyes.
"They have jobs, as most adults do. They work very hard every day to make money," she explained. "I know how you feel, Yakko. When I was a kid, my father worked the night shift as a security guard at Warner Bros. Studios. During the day, my mom was teaching students at a local elementary school. And that only left me to take care of my little sister."
"That's mom," Yakko noted.
"Mhmm, that's right," his aunt nodded. "My dad would wake up sometime in the afternoon, and my mom would usually get home around five. We'd have some dinner, talk about each other's day, and then us kids went to bed while our parents stayed up late to watch Johnny Carson."
"That's Johnny and Ed."
"Right again, bud," his aunt praised, ruffling the top of his head. Yakko was usually in bed around the time The Tonight Show would air, but sometimes he could hear the hollering of laughter coming from his father out in the living room as he watched Johnny and his guests perform.
"Your dad worked nights just like my dad," Yakko mused.
"Yeah, your grandfather enjoyed working the night shift because it was usually not too busy around that time," his aunt recalled. She then chuckled to herself. "Sometimes, he would drive down to the local doughnut shop to get a jelly doughnut. Then he would drive back to the lot, sit inside his booth and take a nap. I'm surprised his boss never reprimanded him for sleeping on the job."
A spark of curiosity irked the child. "Your dad sounds nice," he told her.
Amelia nodded. "Your grandpa was funny, witty, and had a bit of sarcasm in him. He was a fun person to be around, for sure." Her face grew somber as she spoke. "I could have imagined you two getting along nicely together. I see a lot of him in you."
"Where is grandpa?" Yakko asked innocently. "How come I've never seen him before?"
"You've met him before, when you were really little," his aunt told him. She hesitated for a moment before finishing her thought. "He's gone to a better place."
Yakko tilted his head, confused. "What does that mean?"
His aunt tightened her grip on his shoulder, adjusting his body so he was sitting on her lap. The woman sighed heavily, her eyes becoming misty looking.
"It's very hard to explain, sweetie. I don't want to make you upset by what I'm telling you. But just know that your grandfather was a good person while he was alive." His aunt explained to him with a level of ernesty in her voice.
"What did your dad like doing?"
"He enjoyed doing a lot of things in his spare time, such as doing card tricks, watching cartoons with me and your mom, and pulling whatever he could think of out of his hammerspace. In the summer, he liked to fish by the river. My family would make a camping trip out of it."
Yakko was drowning in thought. He didn't quite understand what his aunt was talking about, nor did he know what she meant by "a better place". He didn't have a clear memory of what his grandpa looked like, but he imagined him looking somewhat like his father, maybe he wore glasses on his face. But he barely knew the man at all, which was making it hard to emphasize with his aunt as Yakko never got the chance to get to know him that well.
Although, the mentioning of hammerspace reminded him of something that he had wanted to tell his aunt for a while now.
"Auntie, guess what?" Yakko told her excitedly. "I learned a cool new trick with my hammerspace last week. Wanna see?"
His aunt's frown turned into a smile. "Sure, you can show me!" She replied.
With his aunt's kind permission, Yakko leaped off the couch onto the rug that was on the floor. Taking a couple deep breaths, he reached his left hand behind his back into his hammerspace. It was easier to find his hammerspace this time around as he had been using it more lately. Digging around in there for a while, Yakko thought about a specific object in mind; he was going to give his aunt something really special which he hoped would cheer her up. He felt the object take form in the palm of his hand and, after a few seconds of thought, he pulled his arm out quickly.
His aunt gasped, then she smiled. In the palm of his hand was a bright, yellow rubber duck with an orange beak with the words Aunt Amelia printed in bold letters on its chest. The rubber duck looked like that of one that Yakko saw in the store front at a toy store downtown. Feeling proud of himself, he trotted over to his aunt to give it to her.
"I made this for you," Yakko smiled as his aunt took the duck from her hand. She observed the duck that Yakko had made with his hammerspace, then she grinned.
"Thank you so much, Yakko," she told him. "It's good to know that you're still practicing using that hammerspace of yours."
"Every day," Yakko added.
Aunt Amelia ruffled his fur, giving him another kiss on the cheek. Yakko giggled, rubbing his hand against his cheek. Ever since that day when he pulled a nickel from thin air for the first time, he has been creating all kinds of things with his wonderful hammerspace: such as a tennis ball, a golf ball, a nail, and an abundance of nickels, dimes and quarters.
"Looks like Mr. Ducky will be joining us for the rest of this evening," Aunt Amelia commented.
"You can put it on your desk if you want," Yakko suggested.
"No, your duck is going to disappear by tomorrow morning," she said. "One thing you should know is that any object you make from your hammerspace will disappear within a few hours. Sorry Yakko, but I still like your rubber duck regardless of that."
" Oh," Yakko frowned at the thought. "I didn't know that. Maybe that's what happened to the tennis ball I lost a couple weeks ago."
"Mhmm, it is," his aunt nodded. "Hey, if you want, I can take a picture of you holding the duck. I'm sure your mom's camera is around here somewhere."
"Yes, please!" Yakko's face lit up, his tail wagged behind him. While his rubber duck may not last forever, a photo certainly will.
His aunt quickly grabbed her camera from his parent's bedroom, being as quiet as she could as his baby sister was sound asleep in there. Quietly closing behind her, his aunt made her way over to where he was sitting. He held the duck up in his hand as his aunt shot a photo at him. His eyes were blinded in the flash, but Yakko's smile still remained. His aunt then sat down next to him and showed him the photograph she took of him.
" This I will cherish forever," she told him.