“Parker, do you ever worry that one day the stars will just be…gone?”
Parker bites his upper lip and laughs.
“No, silly the-the stars can’t be, they stay. Silly.”
I breathe in and hold it.
Parker follows.
We stare at each other,
not that there’s much to stare at,
because it’s so dark.
I open my mouth and let all the air I can come flooding in.
“You win!”
He screeches.
“Yay! Yay, Parker—I winned, Brooke, I winned!”
He flaps his hands and chews on his wrist.
“Hey, guys! Where are ya?”
I jump down onto my stomach.
“HAHAHA! We’re hiding, Brooke!”
“Shh, Parker, don’t let him find us.”
He puts his finger to his lips and ducks down beside me.
“Now, where could those hooligans be?”
Linkon and Marigold stand over us,
pretending like they have no idea we’re below their feet.
Parker cracks up.
He kicks his feet and screeches,
but more quieter than usual.
“Now, Brookey? Now? Now? Now?”
“No…NOW!”
We fly into the air and scream.
“Ahhhhh!”
Link tackles us,
and drags us inside.
----------------------------------
“I did it last time, Ma.”
“Well what about Grace, when was the last time she did it?”
“Hah. Grace never does it.”
I stand up and grab Parker’s hand.
“I’ll do it.”
Momma smiles and flips her beautiful curly hair.
Parker takes of his clothes and I start to fill the bath tub.
“How’s that, Park?”
He puts his hand in the water and nods.
He bites his lip and flaps.
“Alright, buddy, get on in!”
He leaps into the tub, splashing water everywhere.
“Oh, c’mon!”
He squeals.
“Let’s start washing.”
He takes a cloth and scrubs his rubber turtle
while I clean his back.
Somehow,
by the end of every day,
Parker is covered in dirt.
He sure does get around.
I tip his head back and soak his shaggy blonde hair.
He flutters his eyelashes at me and screams happily.
“All clean?”
“All…clean, Brookey.”
I hold open a towel while he unplugs the tub.
“Get out before it sucks you in, Parker!”
“Ahhhhh!”
He jumps into me and I wrap him in a towel.
He shivers.
“Brrrr…”
“Let’s get your jammies on.”
He darts down the hallway,
his hands flailing around him like a windmill.
Parker drops his towel in the doorway and looks around
our new room.
“You like it?”
“I do, Brooke! I do! You sleep there, I sleep there!”
“Where does Sky sleep?”
“Oh, well Sky sleeps there! What about Gracie? And Mari and Link and Mom?”
“They have different rooms.”
“Oooooh.” He puts his hand over his mouth while I slip on
his pants, then his shirt,
then lead him to his bed.
I tuck the blanket under his chin and kiss his head.
“Brooke, I’m not tired yet. Not yet. Not yet.”
“Well, just pretend to be.”
“Ohhh, like a game Brooke, like a game.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll play to? Brooke will play?”
“Sure.”
I collapse into my bed,
not even wearing my jammies,
and fall asleep to Parker’s counting.
“Four and a-five, seven ten eight nine…”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I don’t even remember when it all started.
I just remember that suddenly,
everyone looked at my brother differently than I did.
Everyone pittied me.
Suddenly,
Parker was a retard.
And I was his sister.
And he was my brother.
But he was more to me than that,
he was my savior,
and my best friend.
He was my hero.
And he still is.
No matter what he’s labeled,
no matter what anyone thinks,
no matter who says I have to take care of him.
Because really,
Parker’s the one taking care of me.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Oh HAHAHAHA! Look at that! When it goes-goes…”
I sit at a table in Mr. Bee’s store while Parker
plays around with the hermit crabs at the counter.
“I got those yesterday, son. Just put ‘em out.”
“Their so pretty! Pretty little crabbies HAHAHA!”
He pulls at his face and screeches.
Parker loves the creepy-crawly things.
I look back into my magazine.
But not for long.
There’s a ding,
and then a handsome boy standing next to my brother at the counter.
“Mr. Bee, I’m here to pick up my momma’s order.”
“Ah, of course Lucas. One moment. Parker—watch the store.”
Parker’s face gets all serious.
“Yes sir I will watching watching watching!”
He flaps and screeches.
The handsome boy, Lucas aparently,
stares at my brother.
“Parker, quiet.”
Lucas looks at me.
“He your brother?”
“Yup.”
“Well…what’s wrong with him?”
“There’s nothing wrong with him.”
I can already tell this kid’s like those ones
who beat up on my brother yesterday.
“There’s something wrong with him.”
“Nope. He’s perfect.”
“I’m not being rude, I’m wondering is all.”
“He’s fine.”
Lucas turns back around to my brother.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Parker. It’s Parker. And that’s my sister, Brookey.
And I have four-three-” Parker stumbles with his
fingers, then puts the right amount up.
“two more at the house,
I have Marigold and Gracie, then I have ones like me,
Link and Sky and Sky’s only little and he rides on my back and…”
Lucas smiles a little bit wider at every word Parker says.
He turns to me after Parker goes back to
screeching and flapping.
“I like him.”
“Here you are, Lucas.”
Mr. Bee hands the boy a bag of groceries.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Have a nice day.”
Lucas leaves,
but not without smiling at me and ruffling Parker’s hair first.
Once he’s out of sight,
I laugh.
Maybe he’s not like all the others.
