Shorty

        David abandoned his seat next to the TV. His parents made him stay home to take care of the dog, while they were at the hospital. They were finally home. Both his parents and the new addition to the family. With his hand between the wall and the curtain he looked down on the driveway where the car had stopped. David’s dog, Shorty, trotted downstairs and back up eagerly waiting for the arrival. His parents slowly emerged from the sedan making certain they took every precaution to keep their new child safe. At David’s first glimpse of his sister she gave the impression of being sickly. The boy fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Shorty barked persistently. He wasn’t thrilled about Emily, his new baby sister.
         His father opened the door proudly. “David! Buddy, we’re home!”
         David continued to lie on his bed silently. He felt as if a mob were assembling in his stomach. After a few moments he called out to his parents. “I’m up here!”
         “Don’t you want to see Emily for the first time? Come down here David.” His mom said.
         David echoed back, “I’ll be down in a second.” David retreated from his bedroom and down the stairs to meet his sister. As he turned the corner, David saw his mom and dad sitting on the love seat in the living room with Emily in his mother’s lap.
         “Come take dad’s place and hold Emily.”
         “It’s not like she knows who I am. Shorty even recognizes me!” David scornfully said.
         “She can tell in her heart that you’re her brother,” father replied.
         “It doesn’t matter what’s in her heart, it’s what’s in her mind and she practically doesn’t have one.” Emily giggled as David said this. “See she doesn’t even know what I’m saying.”
         “Do you guys want anything to eat? I’m starving,” father said.
         Father moved into the kitchen. Shorty followed. David took a seat next to his mother. “Why are you acting like this? You should be excited, not only for us but for yourself.”
         David turned his head from his mother and icily said, “Why does she look the way she does?” David pointed to her right leg, which was crooked and bruised.
         “Well, there were complications, you see. She has what’s called Angular Limb Deformity. It’s nothing to get upset about. Just a situation we’ll have to handle.”
         David could see his future just by looking at his sister. A life where he is no longer the center of attention and Emily’s deformity is placed in higher regard. With his head resting in his hands, David knew he smelled burgers. He then saw, as he peered through his fingers, the sizzling of the patties on the grill providing a prolific odor in the air. The deep smell of his favorite food contradicting with the sudden impact his sister brought upon him nauseated David. The grease rolled down the handle of the skillet and hit the ground with a hiss.
         Emily let out a yelp as Shorty barked and ran to the grease spill. David stood up from the love seat and started heading towards the stairs. He felt sick to his stomach. “David you probably don’t believe me now, but sooner or later you’re going to realize the love you have for you sister. Just promise me you’ll be nice,” mother said. Without a reply David made his way up the stairs towards his room. Shorty pursued him licking his snout.
         Shorty stared up at David looking into his bathroom mirror. David led his hands into the running sink water and splashed his face. Water softly bounced off the granite countertop and onto the floor. Shorty laid down and began licking it up. Shorty followed David to his bed and rested his head upon David’s lap. Emily’s cries could still be heard from upstairs.
         “God, they can’t just forget about me and only care about the baby. Shorty, promise me that you’ll always be by my side. You are always loyal, even when we went on vacation to Colorado last winter. You know what it was like around this house even before I was born. How come you didn’t get sad when mom and dad brought me home from the hospital?” As thoughts barraged his mind, David drifted into to sleep.
The voices of mom and dad downstairs caught Shorty’s attention and directed him downstairs. As mom and dad put Emily to sleep in her crib for the first time, Shorty took cover under the baby’s bed. The spinning mobile above the crib cast shadows along the blush colored walls of Emily’s room. Shorty contently snug under the crib.


End.