- 3.
My 14th birthday rolled around. Mom and Dad
gave me a jersey with my favorite player’s autograph. They knew I was a fan and how
much I wanted one of his signatures.
But I felt nothing. I just stared at the jersey
without changing my expression.
“Danny, we haven’t forgotten you. We still
love you,” Mom said gently. “But you need to
treat Jake better and calm that temper down,
okay?”
Dad took the opportunity to pitch in. “See, we
went to a lot of trouble to get this autograph.
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We just want you to be considerate of us and
take care of Jake.”
“You’re the older brother, so act like it. Be a
good example to Jake.”
I caught the flash of envy in Jake’s eyes.
Then he looked like he wanted to reach out
and touch the jersey, but he didn’t, and
instead stared at it. “Do you like this player too, Danny? I do, but we were too poor
before to get anything, can I touch it, just once? I won’t break it, I promise.”
“Lucky you, your parents spoil you.”
Jake’s sad face set Mom and Dad off. Just
like last time, Dad snatched the jersey from me and handed it to Jake. He told me,
without looking at me, “Jake likes it, so you’ll
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give it to him. We already talked about
making sure Jake is happy, you didn’t forget,
did you?”
Jake took the jersey, looking shocked.
“Really? For me? I’m so happy, Mom.”
Mom tousled his hair. “Why not? We’re
family, Danny’s things are yours, it’s all for
us, brothers.”
Like last time, Jake got the jersey. My parents
told me they’d get me something better, but I
never saw it. And me refusing to give up my
birthday present only got me in trouble, they
told me I wasn’t as reasonable as Jake. But
seriously, why did he get my gift after he
asked? Why was I supposed to be the
understanding one? He wasn’t even my real
brother, why did I need to take care of him?
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Even knowing the answer, I asked anyway. “Is
it my birthday or his? Why does he get the
gifts?”
Dad snapped, pointing at me. “You’re getting
more and more impossible. We are all family,
why are you making a fuss about this? Do
you think we don’t give you gifts? You only
think about yourself, don’t you realize how
hard we work?”
“We just spoiled you too much in the past.”
I nodded, disappointed but not surprised. I
turned and went upstairs. I heard Jake’s cries
behind me, while Mom and Dad were busy
trying to calm him. Even Sarah gave him the
present she had gotten for me. And it was my
birthday!
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Two weeks later, for Jake’s birthday, Dad
rented out the entire video arcade for Jake
and his friends to celebrate.
Just because Jake mentioned he wanted to
invite some of his buddies. For dinner, my
parents took them all to a fancy restaurant. I
heard it was an expensive place, with a big
cake.
But I wasn’t invited. Instead, they gave me 20
bucks and told me to figure out dinner for
myself. The excuse was that I might ruin
Jake’s party. They didn’t even bother to bring
me a piece of cake.
I ate leftover lunch, alone. I didn’t whine, I
didn’t yell. Instead, I sat in my room quietly,
reading a book, preparing to get out of this
place.
