October flash #2 - "Best Trick" - Part 2 of 2

II

After a while, Daddy called me in, and I saw Eric was real little – definitely not a first grader like me – and wearing a fuzzy costume like me, except his was gray, not white. Was he wearing a diaper? I couldn’t tell, his costume was so thick.

I waved and smiled at him, feeling kinda nervous about him being so small. But it’s like he was still asleep, only with his eyes open, because he didn’t wave back.

“Well?” Daddy asked me. “What do you think?”

I paused. “That a bear costume?”

Daddy nodded. “Koala. Them bears are from Australia, which is a long, long way from here.”

“It’s not trick-or-treatin’ til Saturday,” I remind Daddy.

He smiled. “I know that, sweet girl. Just thought you’d like to see your lil brother’s costume, seeing as you’re in yours as well.”

“I guess.” I go over to Eric. “You feeling okay?”

He didn’t reply, just seemed to look at nothing, his mouth hanging open. Like my Grandma says, he looked as lost as last year’s Easter egg. He wouldn’t trick anyone into thinking he was a bear from far away, and he wouldn’t trick anyone into thinking he was a normal little boy neither. I got a bad feeling in my belly. “Eric ain’t a good trick, Daddy.”

“He will be.” Daddy pointed towards the living room. “Go sit on the loveseat.”

“Yes, sir.” I did as I was told, and then Daddy carried Eric through and put him on my lap. He wasn’t too heavy. I put my hands around his waist, and I smiled. My little brother was all fuzzy, just like me. I bounce him a little with my knees, but he didn’t laugh, so I figured I was doing it wrong.

“How old is he, Daddy?”

Daddy stroked his chin and then said, “Just shy of his third birthday, I reckon.”

I nodded. That sounded about right. I poked his rear to confirm what I thought; my baby brother was wearing a diaper.  “Wanna play hossie?” He used to love that game and we played it all the time. “Hossie?” I jiggled him again on my knee, but he didn’t make a sound.

I bit my lip, felt like I might start crying. “What’s wrong with him, Daddy?”

Daddy reached into his back pocket. “Like you said, honey. Brother ain’t quite woken up yet.” Daddy showed me a multicolored sucker. “Why don’t you give him this.” Daddy peeled off the plastic wrapper and handed it to me. “Make your brother the very best trick.”

I stared at the sucker. The colors were so swirly. I brought it right up to my eyes and it was all I could see. It didn’t smell exactly, it just seemed to feel like more than just candy.

“Can I have one?” I asked.

Daddy replied, “No ma’am.”

I pout. “I wish I could have a sucker like this. I never had one before.”

Daddy made the groaning noise that meant he wasn’t happy with me. “That there sucker is for toddlers, Laura Elizabeth. That what you are? You need your daddy to put you in a diaper like your brother?”

I thought of Daddy treating me like a baby instead of a big girl and I felt my face go red. “No-oh.”

“Well, then. Give your brother his sucker, make sure he eats it. I’ll go fix supper.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

It was strange, ‘cause I never got to have candy just before supper, but today was a special day.

I held the sucker up to my eye like before. “You want your sucker, Eric?”

I heard his voice, low and soft, like he didn’t want anyone but me to hear it. “No. Please.”

I frowned. “But it’s special,” I said. “It’s only for special little boys like you.”

Or maybe, for little girls too? I licked my lips. Just one taste. I could see how it felt on my tongue.

“Laura,” my brother said, low as before. “Daddy’s not…you gotta…” He shook his head, gripped my legs. “He tricked you. Tried tricking me too.”

A trick. I nodded. A good trick.

The best trick. So Eric and me can go trick-or-treating and the neighbors will think they’re seeing a real live bunny and a real live bear! And we’ll get lots of candy, not just one little piece.

I kiss the top of my brother’s head. “It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

“Laura, please, we- “

“Here’s your sucker.” I held it in front of Eric, nice and close, so he could see it as good as I did. “Make it all gone for Daddy.”

“Laura…Loh…” At first, I was sure he wouldn’t want the sucker. After all, Eric didn’t want to be a little boy. He was all grown up, before today.

But I guess, maybe he did want to be little, ‘cause after a couple seconds looking at the sucker, Eric grabbed it with his chubby hands and stuck the candy part in his mouth. When he started making sucky noises and kicking his feet, I burst out laughing.

I called through to the kitchen. “Daddy, he likes it! He likes his sucker!”

“Course he does,” Daddy called back. “Eric’s a good boy.”

It was true. That sucker was like some kind of magic trick, because when Eric turned around so I could see his face, all I saw was his big, goofy smile. All the anger from before had gone, and all that sleepiness too. Eric looked like he was ready to be my baby brother

I giggled. “Look at you! Sure do like your sucker.”

Eric giggled too. With his mouth full of the special candy that’s only for babies, Eric patted my knees and shouted “Hoh-thee! Hoh-thee!” And a bunch of drool came of his mouth, down his chin and onto the front of his bear costume, but he didn’t mind, I don’t think he even noticed, and that’s when I knew my brother was a happy boy again.

“Here’s your hossie,” I said, bouncing him nice and slow.

Eric’s eyes went wide, and he patted my knees again. “Fah-tuh, loh-wuh!”

I grinned. I bounced him good and fast, and I held his sides, so he didn’t fall off. We played it until that sucker was done.

He pulled the stick from his mouth and looked at it, like maybe he thought it was supposed to last forever.

“Sucker all gone,” I said in a sad voice.

“Uh-huh.” Eric tried to hand me the stick, and I said, “No sir, you gotta put it in the trash.” I lifted him off my lap and got him stood on the floor. “Let’s go to the kitchen, let’s go see Daddy.”

Eric does as he’s told, the sucker stick clutched in one hand, my fingers in the other, and I thought, if I’m jumping and twitching like a bunny, what will Eric do when we’re trick-or-treating? I made up my mind to ask Daddy all about Koalas at supper. Daddy would definitely know because Daddy knew absolutely everything.

THE END