Exclusive tale - "Favorite Aunt" - Part 4

“One little bunny, two little bunnies,

Two little bunnies, in the bath!”

Auntie Sarah bends down to put her face next to Lucy and says, “How many bunnies in the bath? Two little bunnies in the bath! Two!”

Lucy doesn’t have anything to say about the numbers, she’s too silly to know anything about counting, but she babbles right back at Auntie Sarah, splashing her little hands into the bubbles. Her hands are so little, but she can still make a splash, and I know that’s naughty, we shouldn’t splash grown-ups, we shouldn’t make them wet, but it’s hard not to smile when Lucy’s so excited, and it’s extra-hard not to think everything’s okay when Auntie Sarah seems so pleased.

“That’s my clever girl!” Auntie Sarah says, in the same, sugar-sweet tone she’s been using with Lucy all night. I understand that it’s not a bad voice, it’s just her happy voice. The one she uses when we’re good. And a bit of me wants her to use it with me as well, but instead, she looks at me, winks, and says, “Your sister’s such a silly bunny, isn’t she.” And I know she’s saying that just for me, just like the counting is just for me, and really, even the song might just be for me as well, because I’m being so good, because I’m helping.

“Lucy’s silly,” I say, and I giggle. Because she’s got bubbles on her head, and because she’s so splashy.

I don’t splash because I’m a helper. Only babies splash. But I can run my fingers underneath the water, feel it rushing past my skin, underneath the bubbles and Auntie Sarah can’t see me do it. It’s a funny secret just for me, and I kick my feet as well, just a little, hiding my excitement in the water. And when I laugh, the sound echoing against the bathroom walls, it’s okay. I’m only giggling because of my silly baby sister. Anyone would laugh at how silly and bubbly she looks. Auntie Sarah is laughing as well, and she’s a grown-up!

Once Auntie Sarah has washed Lucy, I let her wash me as well. The sponge is tickly on my skin, and I squeal when she washes my legs.

“You’re nearly brand new,” Auntie Sarah says mildly, “that’s why you’re so sensitive.” She taps her chin thoughtfully, leaving a trace of bubbles on her skin. “How does it feel, to be fresh out of the box? How does it feel, to be so…silly!” She runs the sponge up the soles of my feet and I giggle extra loud, or maybe I shriek. Even Lucy looks surprised at how loud I am, but she doesn’t seem worried. She must like the noise, because she smacks her hands on the water with more force, making bigger splashes and more mess.

“Your brother’s so silly,” Auntie Sarah says to Lucy, using that milder tone she normally reserves for me.

Wait. Am I the silly one? Am I the baby? The idea should be alarming, but I’m too excited, too thrilled, and breathless by the tickles, to pay much attention. I want Auntie Sarah to stop washing me, because I’m brand new, I’m fresh out of the box.

I want Auntie Sarah to wash me forever.

Still, when she uses her baby voice on me, it feels like too much.

“Better get you two out of the bath, before you turn into prunes!”

Auntie Sarah lifts Lucy out and wraps her in a soft towel.

As I sit in the bubbles, I get my breath back, and I say, “Notta prune.”

Auntie Sarah glances at my serious expression and winks at me. “I know, sweetie, it’s just a joke.”

“Notta bunny,” I add as she wraps me up in a towel just like she did for Lucy.

“Not a bunny, got it,” she says. “You’re not a bunny, you’re a boy.”

I nod.

She carries us through to the nursery, one in each arm, and I look at Lucy’s calm, rosy expression. She looks sleepy after the bath, all that splashing about.

Time for pajamas.

Time for nappies.

Notta baby, I want to add. To clarify just in case there’s confusion. Because we made a deal, and I helped in the bath, just like I promised. Didn’t I?

I open my mouth to say so, but then Lucy and I are both lying on the carpet, and the towels are open, we are unwrapped gifts, and Auntie Sarah is beaming down at us, and I realise that I’m completely nude.

I should cover myself up, I should be embarrassed. Unlike Lucy, who seems oblivious, who just waves her arms and legs. She’s so happy, so content, she knows what’s next.

Nappy, jammies, bedtime kisses. Auntie Sarah is following the same routine that Mummy does. Mummy must have told her about it.

Auntie Sarah is so clever for remembering.

“One little bunny, two little bunnies,

Two little bunnies, ready for ni-nights!”

Auntie Sarah takes the fluffy pink bunny and places it gently on Lucy’s chest. My baby sister immediately wraps her arms around it, grinning with delight, and I watch as Auntie Sarah puts her in a thick nappy and then dresses her in fuzzy pyjamas that look as soft as her pink toy bunny. I smile because Lucy’s jammies are covered in bunnies.

And then I remember the agreement. “Noh nah-pee,” I say, to make sure that Auntie Sarah hasn’t forgotten our deal. I’m going to be a big boy because I’m a good helper, and I’m going to tell Mummy all about it.

Auntie Sarah smiles down at me. “Noh nah-pee,” she echoes, and it sounds like nonsense, like a silly song, when she says it back to me, and I feel a tingle of uncertainty.

Dimly, I hear the front door open. A faraway jingle of keys, and Mummy’s light singing. She sounds happy. I know she’ll be even happier when she hears what a good boy I’ve been.

I grin in anticipation, and then I gaze at the object Auntie Sarah holds above me. The fuzzy blue bunny toy. My blue bunny.

“One little bunny, two little bunnies,

Two little bunnies, ready for their nappies!”

I wrinkle my nose. That’s not for me, that’s for bay-

Auntie Sarah drops the bunny, and it falls onto my chest. I clutch it instinctively, wrap my arms around it, and it’s fuzzy all over me, tingling and tickling, even in my head, and I giggle, my legs lifting up so I can feel even more of the bunny’s lovely softness.

“There’s my good boy,” Auntie Sarah says sweetly, and I smile even more at her special tone of voice. The tone that tells me that I’m doing just the right thing.

“Let’s get you all sweet and snuggly for Mummy,” says Auntie Sarah.

And I think about that as I cuddle my bunny. I look over at Lucy, who’s sucking on one of her bunny ears, and I think how silly she is, and I want to suck on something, so I suck on my fingers and sigh at how fluffy and soft my bunny is, and I don’t notice Auntie Sarah putting me in a nappy, I don’t even notice her dressing me, until she zips up my front.

“There,” she says gently. She kisses Lucy and me, and then she sings.

“One little bunny, two little bunnies,

Two little bunnies, ready for their mummy!”

I can hear feet on the stairs. Mummy.

Auntie Sarah lifts me up and I can see Mummy enter the nursery. I reach out eagerly and then I’m in Mummy’s arms. I reach for Mummy’s face; my tired eyes open wide because Mummy’s so pretty. I smile and tell Mummy that I’m happy to see her, but my words come out all silly, I sound just like Lucy.

“Look at you,” Mummy whispers. “My sweet little bunny.” She holds me in her arms, nuzzles my face. I feel her hair tickling my cheeks, her hands supporting my bum. “Mmm,” she says, “this is why everyone loves Auntie Sarah, this is why she’s our favourite. Both of you so innocent and happy. We don’t have to think about anything or anyone but just us.”

I smell her perfume; Mummy smells like flowers.

I want to tell her that, I want to tell Mummy that I love her, that I’m her good boy, but my mouth is still all babyish and I can’t speak. I want to bounce, to show her what a funny bunny I am, but I’m so sleepy that my legs won’t do it.

And so I let her kiss me and stroke my back, and then I’m in bed with Lucy and our fluffy bunnies – pink for Lucy because she’s a girl, blue for me because I’m a boy - and Mummy is kissing both of us, and she runs her fingers up our fronts, tells us that we’re both her lovely, chunky bunnies, and then I go to sleep.

THE END

"When a teen refuses to babysit his toddler sister, Auntie babysits instead, and it's going to be bath, nappy and bed for little ones..." - Waynee