Hi! It’s me! Lily!
Hey, today’s entry might or might not be for little eyes. It depends on the eyes, I suppose. So parents, if you’re reading this with your kids, please read through first to make sure it’s okay. I think it’s fine, but you might not!!!
Okay!!! Here we go!!!
So David, well… I’m honored and ticked at him all at the same time.
This morning, David knocked on my door, and wanted to ask me a question.
I said, “sure, ask away”.
Oh boy did I regret that.
He fidgeted a bit, then said, “Do all girls, ummm… .have hair?”
I looked at him funny. “Well, unless we shave our heads, I guess so? And some cancer patients don’t…”
“No, no,” he said. “hair. You know. Hair. Umm…. there.”
I. finally figured out what he was asking. “Is…this about… you know…”
He nodded. “And when I was at camp, I showed them mine and they showed me theirs, and…”
Uh-oh.
I don’t get paid enough for this.
I grabbed his arm and started dragging. “Oh, no. Oh no no no. I’m not answering these questions. No way. I’m not your mother and I know I’m your big sister and you can ask me almost anything but no way am I answering this question. SABBY!”, I said, as I found Sabby getting ready to go to the shop. “Here. YOUR son has a question.”
He just started blushing. Sabby looked confused. “Lily, wha-“
“David has a question. Well? Ask your mother! Not me!”
David gave me a death stare but finally stammered out the same question he asked me. And she had about the same reaction. “Well, yes, unless we shave our head or -“
I stomped my foot. “THAT isn’t what he was asking.”
“ohhhh,” she said, and sighed.
“And what else did you tell me, David?’
He mumbled the same thing he told me.
“What?”, she said, softly.
“He said that at camp he showed them his and they showed him theirs, and… YOU deal with this!” I let go of David’s arm and ran off to my room. I heard Sabby yelling at him as I went upstairs. I wouldn’t want to be him. I felt a little bad for ratting him out, and I was happy that he trusted me, but… but… NO!!! Not my kid!!! Sabby’s kid!!!
Ai came in. “What… happened?”
I shook my head. “You remember yesterday? Well… David had a question about what he saw.”
She lowered her head. “I’m sorry for causing trouble.”
I shook my head vigorously. “You didn’t. It had to happen eventually. If he didn’t walk in on you, then maybe me, or even Beth. And he’d have the same questions.”
David stomped by. “Thanks a lot, Lily, see if I ever trust you again.” And slammed the door to his room.
I sighed. I really did appreciate that he trusted me enough to ask. But it’s not my place!!!
I gave Ai a quick hug and walked downstairs. “Sabby… I didn’t mean to violate his trust.”
She sighed. “He’ll get over it. You’re right. I’d rather not have you answering those questions.”
“Did you know -”
“No. And I wish I didn’t. I thought I was doing the right thing sending him to camp.” She sighed and put her head in her hands. “BOTH of those girls! Seriously!!!”
“Did he -”
“No, thank goodness. It was… innocent. But still. I didn’t want to have to deal with this today.”
“Me neither,” I said. “I’m going to go try to talk to David”.
So I did. I knocked on his door. “Go away,” he said. I opened his door anyway.
“David…”
“I trusted you! And you ran to mom!”
“I’m your big sister,” I exclaimed. “Not your mom! I’m not supposed to answer those kinds of questions!”
“But I trusted you!”
I sat down next to him. “I know, and I’m sorry. But… I’m kind of a kid. Like you! Just a bit older. Would you ask your friends those questions?”
He shook his head.
“And what would you do if they asked you?”
He stayed silent.
“The same thing I did?”
“No, but…”
“You wouldn’t be comfortable, would you?”
He shook his head.
“Your mother loves you,” I said quietly. “She wants what’s best for you. And she wants to be able to teach you these things before you find out for yourself. Like… well… yesterday. Do you understand?”
“I know,” he said. “I just… I was embarrassed to ask her, and… and you’re my sister, but not really, and..”
“What do you mean I’m not really your sister?”
“Well, you just showed up one day, and I had another sister. But that doesn’t make you my sister, does it? Not really? So I thought maybe you’d tell me and I wouldn’t have to talk about embarrassing things with mom.”
I felt the tears start. I couldn’t help it.
“David, I’ve been your sister since your parents adopted me. I’m… sorry you don’t feel that way. Maybe… maybe that’s my fault.”
“Lily -“
But I stood up and walked out. I closed his door softly, and then went into mine, where Ai was sitting reading one of the mangas I gave her.
I sat down on the bed and wiped my eyes.
“What’s wrong?”, she asked.
“David… doesn’t think I’m his sister. Not really.”
“Do you think you’re his sister?”
I nodded.
“Family is important,” she said, after thinking for a bit. “But sometimes with plants you have to water the seeds for them to grow.”
“A family isn’t a garden,” I said.
“Isn’t it?”, she said quietly.
I wiped my eyes again. Maybe it is.
Maybe it is.
“What do you want to do today?,” I asked. “This is your vacation, after all.”
Ai shrugged. “it is, but I don’t know what is here.”
“Well… oh. I have an idea.”
So I went to tell Sabby my idea, and she was fine with it. I rounded up David and Beth and told them we’re going somewhere with Ai. They grumbled a bit but I told them food was a part of the deal, so they got in the car.
We went to the Asian supermarket! The one in Cedar Park!!!
We went to the food court, and we had asian food!!! And then we wandered around the supermarket, and Ai was picking stuff out left and right!!! Japanese drinks! Japanese snacks! Japanese everything!!! She even picked up something called tarako and said we should try it, it’s delicious!!! David and Beth hadn’t been there before, so they were asking Ai about stuff and she was telling them what it was all for.
And some stuff was just gross. Eww.
And tonight Ai took some of her newly purchased bounty and made us a Japanese dinner. It was delicious.
Maybe Ai’s right. Sometimes family is like a garden, and you have to water it. That’s why I took David along today.
Sometimes it needs to be just us girls. But sometimes… it wouldn’t hurt to treat him more like a brother.
Tomorrow Ai’s going to learn to ride a horse! And so am I!!!