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Monday, April 10, 2016.
Daniel always becomes unbearable when his birthday is approaching. At least, that's what Sean thinks as they walk home together—once again, their father has asked him to pick Daniel up. Jesus, it was the first day back at school after spring break, and he already had to pick up Daniel. Not that Sean really minds... he knows he has to do his part, but he often has plans with his friends that he ends up canceling to be the exemplary older brother.
The worst part is that when Sean tries to refuse or show his discomfort, his father bombards him with "pretty pleases" and guilt trips that ultimately convince him. Like now, as he endures his little brother's endless chatter about his upcoming 9th birthday. Sean had stopped listening a few minutes ago, only responding with monosyllables or small reactions like, "Really?" or "Oh, wow." But it seemed that Daniel didn't catch the hint, which was strange since he usually noticed when Sean's attention drifted, then would start complaining and demanding to be taken seriously.
"Sean, are you listening to me?" There it was, right on cue.
"Of course! The zombies and bones..." Sean responded, rolling his eyes. He couldn't be entirely wrong; it's not like Daniel talked about anything else lately.
"Skeletons!" Daniel corrected with a gruff voice that revealed his annoyance. "But I wasn't even talking about that, Sean... I can't believe you." Pouting, he started walking faster, leaving his brother behind, clearly upset.
"Come on, man... don't be like that. You haven't stopped talking since I picked you up at the entrance; my ears haven't stopped buzzing. How can I pay attention like this? Huh?" His little joke wasn't well-received by the younger boy, who continued his brisk pace, shoulders slightly hunched as if refusing to hear anything else.
It took Sean about two minutes of suffering through the silent treatment to apologize. He quickened his pace to catch up with Daniel and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him, moving in front pf him to look him in the eyes, both hands now on his little brother's shoulders.
"Alright, enano... I'm sorry," Sean apologized, trying to catch Daniel's gaze, but the younger boy avoided it, crossing his arms and biting his lower lip. To be fair, Sean's apology sounded more authoritative than sincere—a quality all older siblings share, almost implying that the child's attitude was absurd.
Sean had to sigh before changing his tone; he didn't want to get home and have his father notice that Daniel was in a bad mood, or he'd have to endure another long life lesson, and he had promised to call Lyla on Skype.
"I'm sorry, Daniel. Don't be mad at me, dude. Tell me what you were talking about, go on."
Despite Daniel's initial resistance, it only took a few playful pokes in the stomach and neck to bring back his smile. Sometimes, the little rascal could be adorable.
"I was telling you about what Mrs. Silva told us today, about the birthday tradition." He said in a low, embarrassed voice after giving in so quickly to his older brother. "You know... when the family sings happy birthday and the cake is cut." Sean stared at him with a blank expression—nope, he hadn't heard any of that. "About who gets the first slice..."
"Oh, right. The first slice goes to the birthday boy, of course," Sean replied simply, resuming their walk.
"No! It's tradition to give the first slice to the birthday person's most cherished one, you dumbass." Daniel continued, walking alongside his brother.
"Uh... sorry to disappoint you, buddy, but that's not common. Why would you give the first slice of your cake to someone else when everyone knows it's the tastiest? Isn't it your birthday?"
For a moment, it seemed like Daniel was processing this in his mind. It was incredible how much influence Sean's words and example had on his little brother. Sometimes even more than their father's example, who, despite being his best friend and sole guardian, was still just another adult, while Sean was the main role model for the youngest Diaz, the cool brother with all the cool things and cool friends who did cool stuff all the time.
But sometimes, like now, Daniel stood his ground.
"You never understand anything... Besides, Mrs. Silva said it's a common practice in Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico! So, Dad definitely knows more about this than you do."
"Dude, if that were common in Mexico, Dad would have taught us by now, but he's never mentioned anything about it. Plus... wasn't Mrs. Silva from Brazil?" Sean still remembered that plump, kind teacher; she had taught him Visual and Performing Arts when he was in third grade as well. In fact, she greatly influenced his current love for drawing and was the main reason for the mess in Daniel's room after discovering his newfound passion for making things out of trash.
"So what? Brazil is right next to Mexico, anyway."
Oh yes, his brother was an expert in geography as much as he was a genius in math.
Tuesday, April 11, 2016.
The next day arrived, and before the rooster could crow, an excited Esteban and a sleepy Sean were whispering outside the door to the youngest member of the family's room.
When they entered, Esteban held a modest cake, no bigger than five servings, made by the best baker in all of Seattle, Papa Diaz. He also carried three disposable plates with utensils and a not-so-sharp metal knife.
Sean, on the other hand, was wiping the sleep from his eyes with one hand while holding his phone with the other, blasting the "mañanitas" song—a tune every Mexican child knows on their birthday.
They both sang along to the song, Esteban with his deep, sweet voice like the softest caress of spring, and Sean with a hoarse, off-key voice that betrayed the fact that he'd just been forced out of bed, accompanied by the characteristic shyness he always showed when expressing affection for his family.
Daniel was fully awake in less than a second. As usual, he hadn't slept in his bed, which was on top of a bunk-like structure. Instead, he'd slept on the small, makeshift mattress that served more as an improvised couch in his room, right above the drawers where he kept his toys and other things.
Happily, he received the hug his father offered, squeezing him tight but carefully so as not to drop the cake. Then it was Sean's turn, who, with a genuine smile, enveloped him in his arms as he rarely did these days, like he used to when Daniel was even younger, the hand still holding the phone protectively placed behind his little brother's head as was customary.
"Happy birthday, enano," Sean congratulated in his hoarse, worn-out voice after his attempt at singing, before playfully pressing the still-playing speaker against his brother's ear to tease him.
"Stop it!" Daniel laughed, trying to sound angry as he pulled away, ending the hug. Sean gave him a triumphant smile—big brother of the century.
Esteban, who couldn't help but smile at them, simply shook his head while he prepared for Daniel to cut the cake, which was mostly a vanilla sponge with caramel in the middle and pieces of choco-crisps decorating the top and sides. Of course, Daniel discovered what love at first sight meant when he saw it.
The freshly turned 9-year-old eagerly began his task, carefully cutting the cake just as the "mañanitas" song finally ended.
"Perfect! So, the first slice goes to..." Sean couldn't help but roll his eyes at hearing that. Hadn't Daniel paid attention to anything he said yesterday? It seemed the younger brother noticed his gesture, as he stared at him for a long time, his eyes seeming... a bit sad?
Sean could swear he saw that special glimmer in his brother's eyes that always appeared when he was about to cry.
"To Dad!" Daniel continued after forcing a smile, but the excitement in his voice seemed genuine.
"Hey, birthday boy. Shouldn't the first slice be for you?" Esteban responded, not having much context, affectionately pinching Daniel's button nose.
"See? I was right," Sean remarked, throwing his arms as he often did when he wanted to emphasize something.
It was Daniel's turn to roll his eyes.
"Just take it, okay? It's for you, Dad—you deserve it."
Esteban, a bit confused by the subtext he didn't quite grasp, couldn't say no and took the plate with the slice of cake while Daniel hugged him again, taking the opportunity to stick his tongue out at his older brother.
Monday, August 15, 2016.
A few months later, Sean's 16th birthday arrived. Unlike Daniel, his birthday usually fell during summer vacation, so there was no need to wake up super early, and although his father would much prefer him to be responsible and enjoy the morning sun, he agreed not to wake him with the birthday song and his cake.
Around 1PM, motivated by hunger, Sean appeared in the kitchen, yawning and scratching his belly under his shirt, his messy hair revealing how good his dreams had been.
"Finally," Daniel announced when he saw him, getting up from his seat to give him a quick hug and take his hand with one of his own to guide him to the center of the counter where his cake awaited. "Look, look! I helped Dad make it."
"Clearly..." was the first thing that escaped Sean's lips when he saw the disaster before his eyes. It was nothing like the nice cake his father had made for Daniel a while back.
From behind him, Esteban’s laughter filled the room. The eldest Diaz draped one of his arms over his son’s shoulders, turning him around for a proper hug, which Sean responded to with the typical sound of a teenager.
“If I’d known you’d take this long to wake up, I wouldn’t have agreed to skip our morning tradition,” Esteban teased.
“Nah, I’m glad you didn’t. Best birthday present ever.” Despite his grumbling at his father’s refusal to let him go, Sean returned the hug, closing his eyes affectionately and breathing in his father’s familiar scent.
“You’re such a lame grump,” Daniel commented from the side.
“Well…” Sean said as his dad finally let him go. “I’ll get ready to go out,” he announced to his small family, wanting to head towards the bathroom. After seeing that cake, his appetite had vanished. He’d just grab something to eat on his way to meet up with his friends.
“Hey, hey, hey, where are you going so fast, Seanie boy?” The young man, who had already taken a few steps, turned on his heels to look at his father with a betrayed expression. They’d already talked about him spending this special day with his friends, and his dad had agreed.
Did Esteban figure out their real plans? Did he know they weren’t going to the movies but instead sneaking off to the reservoir? Or worse… maybe he actually believed the movie lie and was going to make him take Daniel along.
Sean’s mind raced, trying to come up with a way out of this situation, but his father spoke before he could.
“At least before you leave, do us the honor of cutting your cake. Your brother worked very hard on it.” It was then that Sean turned to look at his little brother, who seemed quieter than usual, even a bit embarrassed.
Sean felt immediate relief—it wasn’t any of the scenarios that had invaded his thoughts. So, with heavy steps, he returned to the counter and took the knife his father offered to cut the... he couldn’t call it a cake.
It was more like a small chocolate mass stacked with colorful sprinkles and whole Chock o’ Crisp pieces that weren’t even arranged in an aesthetic way.
Sean could bet his father hadn’t helped much at all. He was probably just there to tell Daniel what to do and make sure whatever he cooked wasn’t poisonous. Though, considering how it looked…
The eldest son gave his father a quick glance, who encouraged him to stop wasting time with a nod of his head. All of this was watched by an excited Daniel, who seemed impatient.
Making the first cut felt a lot stranger than he had expected. Nope, he wasn’t eating that. He didn’t want to get sick before meeting up with Lyla and his friends. But, of course… now that he thought about it, maybe that was his family’s plan after all.
He mentally kicked himself for thinking that before placing the slice on one of the disposable plates his father had handed him. But, of course, before it even hit the plate, it crumbled.
“So... you’re not going to eat it?” Esteban asked, and to Sean’s ears, it seemed like he was doing it on purpose. This was his punishment for not wanting to get up early and preferring to spend the day with his crew instead of them.
Sean picked up the plate and sat on one of the high chairs, mainly encouraged by Daniel, who couldn’t stop staring at him with puppy eyes. He was probably just waiting for Sean to tell him his cake was delicious and that he was the best little brother in the world… Sure.
And, as always, something in Daniel’s eyes made Sean give in. He picked up one of the forks from the counter to poke at that strange mass, but before lifting the bite, Sean couldn’t do it. It didn’t look appetizing at all.
“Uhm… This one’s for Daniel,” he said as he took the plate and pushed it toward where his little brother was standing.
It took a total of three seconds of silence before Daniel’s face crumpled, and he started crying with great emotion.
Esteban immediately shot his eldest son a stern look for making the little one feel bad, but before he could scold him, Daniel threw himself into Sean’s arms in a tender hug that neither of the older Diaz understood.
Feeling oddly saved from a punishment by his little brother’s sudden affection, Sean hugged him back, holding him protectively and lovingly in his arms, still confused.
One thing was clear: he hated seeing Daniel cry. All his big brother instincts kicked in, and he felt an immense urge to shower him with love and affection so that whatever was bothering him would disappear.
“Hey Daniel, it’s okay. Everything’s okay, enano. Don’t cry.” But his sweet words only seemed to have the opposite effect, as the younger one cried even harder.
“Are you alright, mijo?” Esteban asked, stepping closer, gently stroking Daniel’s back. The little boy had buried his face in his brother’s shirt, unable to stop his tears.
Esteban gave his eldest a questioning look, but Sean just shook his head in response.
Esteban’s heart throbbed rarely proud to see his sons like this. He didn’t want to take away this special moment, so he stepped back before announcing, “I have your gift in my room, Sean. Give me a moment,” and left the kitchen.
“Please, don’t cry anymore.” Sean was surprised at himself for being so attentive, but he kept holding his little brother close, stroking his hair, tenderly kissing the top of his head, soothing him with gentle “shh shh” sounds like their parents had taught him when Daniel was a newborn.
While doing everything he could to calm him down, Sean’s eyes fell on the cake still sitting on the counter. Interestingly, there were two flies on the piece he had just cut and none on the rest of the cake. Of course, everyone knows the first slice is always the tastiest.
Suddenly, something clicked in his brain.
He felt stupid for not remembering sooner.
Sean pulled away from the hug, cupping his little brother’s cheeks and making him look up at him. Daniel’s face was red, covered in tears and snot—he looked even more of a mess than the cake. Sean’s heart ached and swelled with equal measure.
“You will always be my most cherished one, I promise.”
“Yes, I love you too.”