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Three months post the last round of chemo, he’s not doing well. It’s not just the chemo. It’s his mother’s hysteric worrying not helping him recharge. He hasn’t seen his schoolmates in months, his mother panicked at the thought of him getting sicker from their mere existence. He’s lying in bed, all he has energy for these days. He’s afforded a TV in his room, connected to his VHS player and Atari console. Not that he can really play them much these days. Baby Evan’s come home from the hospital and the house is in constant disaray, not physically, just emotionally. Mother demands a spotless house. She doesn’t respond to Evan’s cries, not timely anwyays. Maddie has changed more diapers than she has in his three months of life. He contemplates this as the baby cries again. He hears Maddie all but sprint to get to him before Mother spouts more insanity about ‘crying it out’ and ‘being ungrateful.’ How can a baby be ungrateful? Afterall, he’s just a baby.
Maddie walks by his open door with a now quieter baby. “He ok?”
“Yeah, just needed a new diaper.”
“Come in.” He beckons.
Maddie comes in, incapable of saying no to her brother on a good day, and good days have been harder to find as of late. “There he is.”
She sits on the bed, still cradling Evan. “How are you?”
He huffs what one could graciously call a laugh. “Bad.”
She laughs a little at his bluntness. “Yeah.”
Evan gurgles, wanting to be involved in the conversation. “How is he doing?”
“Good. I think. You looked a lot like this when you came home.” Maddie smiles. “Mom and dad were so happy to see you.”
“Yeahhhhhhhh.” He trails off. “Can I hold him?”
“Danny.”
“Please. Maddie. Please.”
“Alright.” She concedes quickly. She moves to sit closer to him, shoulder to shoulder now with Evan inbetween them. She holds most of his weight as she shifts him into Daniel’s arms.
He sniffles, “He’s so big.”
“Yeah. He’s only gonna get bigger too.” The air thick with emotion and a few elephants they don’t address.
They sit in silence for a bit, Evan squirms slightly, trying to escape his pajama prison. Danny just sits there, laughing.
Ten minutes later, Margaret finds them. She rampages through the room, berating Maddie for letting Daniel do something and bringing ‘that boy’ in his room. She snatches Evan away from her kids, paying no mind to how loud Evan cries at the sudden changes. Maddie yells at mom about the baby, mother doesn’t care. Maddie gets up, taking Evan back from her mother, taking him to her bedroom so she can soothe him again.
Margaret spends the next twenty minutes alternating between doting on Daniel and telling him he shouldn’t be worried about Evan. “That’s not your responsibility right now.”
“He’s still my brother. I want to see him.”
“But he could get you sick, baby.”
“I’m only getting treatment because you made him mom.”
She struggles for words at this. “It’s getting near dinner time, do you want anything?”
“I can’t keep anything down mom.”
“You need to try Daniel.”
“So I can puke it up later?” He argues, tired of knowing the bathroom as well as he does.
She tries to get control back, changing the subject. “You need to keep your strength up.”
“I’ll eat later mom. Aunt Susan left some soup in the freezer right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll have that later.”
“Ok dear.” She's almost patronizing in her tone though her body language tells him he’s going to be eating later regardless of how he feels about kneeling in front of the toilet again.