Brother Love

Joey trudged slowly across the playground, kicking dirt as he went, refusing to make eye contact with me. He stopped about ten feet away, shoulders slumped, face dirty and scratched. It hardly looked unusual. I met him the rest of the way and wrapped my arms around him.

“How was your day?”

“I punched somebody.”

Anxiety flooded my mind as the memories of the year before, when Joey had been kicked out of pre-school, came rushing back.

“Why, Joey? Why?”

Tears ran down his face. “I don’t know.”

I paused and breathed deeply, taking time to think about my reaction. As soon as Gabe saw me he raced across the playground, jubilation bursting from his smile like an Orbit gum commercial.

“Mom, Joey beat a kid up today, and it was totally awesome!” Gabe jumped around, trying to act out the fight. “Mom, he punched him up the nose…..like this,” as he balled up his fist and pretended to hit his own nose in slow motion. I watched the reenactment of a punch that carried enough force to throw the kid’s head back and lay him out flat.

I turned my attention back to Joey. “Joey, why would you do that?”

“He was pickin’ on Gabe. I couldn’t let him talk to Gabe like that.”

Gabe took over telling the story.

“Mom, we were playing dodge ball, and Trevor got the ball and he was just holdin’ onto it, so I told him to throw it at somebody, and he told me I was puny and no one wanted to play with me, and he said he hated me.”

Joey looked up at me trying to gage what his fate would be. I bit the inside of my cheek trying to hide my smile as I opened the car door. Gabe hopped in, tossing his bookbag across the back seat, with all the energy in the world. Within two seconds he was buckled and ready to get on with the afternoon fun. Joey was still making his way towards the car, dragging his book bag across the cement sidewalk. He slung his backpack in the floor of the car, and then lifted one foot as slowly and deliberately as Neal Armstrong stepping onto the moon.

Before I could even crank up the car Gabe was already talking.

“Mom, you would not have believed it. And Trevor is a first grader….he totally should have been able to beat Joey up, but he didn’t even have a chance. And he’s way bigger than Joey.”

I adjusted my rearview mirror so that I could see my boys. Gabe’s voice faded away in my mind as I saw a slight grin begin to emerge across Joey’s face.

“Joey, why don’t you tell me what happened.”

The grin disappeared, and he hesitantly began talking, unsure of how much trouble he was in. His trepid response became more certain with each word.

“I was just walkin’ ‘round the play yard, and I heard him talkin’ ugly to Gabe. And I couldn’t let him say those mean things to my brother. So I went up to him and I called him a big booty head.”

Gabe watched Joey intently, hanging on his every word, just waiting for him to get to the good part. Joey’s voice got louder, and his words came quicker. They both began shifting in their seats as they mimicked what happened next.

“First, he kicked me in the arm, and it hurt a little, but I didn’t cry. I just rolled to the left, and then I rolled to the right, and then I did a cartwheel, and I stood up, and he wasn’t ready to punch, but I was, and PA-POW! Right in his nose!”

“Mom, you should have seen it….it was so awesome!”

“Feel my muscle!” Joey roared.

Gabe stared at his little brother like he could bend metal and rip phone books in half with his bare hands. Joey didn’t care about the consequences any longer. It was all worth it to gain the admiration of his older brother.