Three weeks with my brother - Nicholas Sparks [20]
I followed his gaze, and for a moment all I could do was blink. There, right in the middle of the table, were two plastic swords and a plastic crown. Brand-new toys.
“Why are there toys there?” I asked.
“What could it mean?” Dana asked.
“It’s doesn’t make sense,” Micah added. “It’s not Christmas or our birthday.”
We pulled up our chairs and stared at them. Of course, we wanted to touch them, but we didn’t. We couldn’t. Their unexpected arrival left us stunned.
“Do you think mom or dad got them for someone else’s birthday party?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” Micah answered.
“Maybe they’re for us,” Dana volunteered.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Parents don’t buy things for their kids for no reason,” Micah said quickly.
“Yeah, Dana,” I added. “It’s like a rule or something.”
But there they were, before us. Taunting us. What if they were for us? No, it was impossible.
The sword was calling to me. It would be so easy to touch and my hand began to creep forward.
“Don’t,” Micah warned. “Mom and dad will get mad if you touch it.”
“I think they’re for us,” Dana said again.
“No they’re not,” Micah said, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the new toys either. Dana, too, continued to stare.
“Maybe we should go ask mom and dad,” Dana said.
“I’m not going in their bedroom,” Micah said. “They’re sleeping. You know how mad they get if we wake them up.”
“I’m not going in there either,” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ll go,” Dana said, rising from the table. With only the slightest hesitation, she disappeared into our parents’ bedroom.
“That’s a brave girl,” Micah said.
“I hope she doesn’t get in too much trouble,” I whispered.
We waited for the shouts, but strangely, none came. Dana appeared outside the door, closed it behind her, and crept back down the hall.
“Were they still sleeping?”
Dana shook her head excitedly as she approached the table. “No—mom was awake. She said the toys were for us. She said dad brought them home for us.”
For a moment, all I could do was stare. I’d heard what she said, but couldn’t bring myself to believe it.
“No way!”
“That’s what she said.”
“So we can play with them?”
“I guess so.”
“Are you sure? You’ve got to be sure about this, Dana.”
“Mom told me,” she insisted.
Our eyes swiveled back to the table, and with trembling hands we reached for them. The sword was light in my hands. It was brand-new. And we got it for nothing.
Dana took the crown and gently placed it on her head. Micah took the other sword and stood from the table. He swooshed it through the air, and smiled.
“Come on!” he cried, “Let’s go outside and play!”
“What do you want to play?” Dana asked.
“You be the princess, and we’ll be the knights. And we’ll protect you!”
“From what?” Dana asked.
“From the dragons and the bad guys. Come on, let’s go find a fort!”
“Shouldn’t we get dressed first? We’re still in our pajamas.”
“We will in a little while,” Micah said, not bothering to hide his impatience. “Let’s go play first! And remember, since you asked mom and dad, you can give us orders. We’ll protect you!”
So that’s what we did. We played for hours, protecting our sister from harm. Micah and I slew countless imaginary creatures. Dana called us Sir Micah and Sir Nicky, and we saved her life a hundred times that day. In real life, she had almost died once; in our imagination, we would never let it happen again.
On the way home, she held both our hands. “I’ll always be safe with my knights,” she told us. “I love you both so much.”
For weeks afterward, her nicknames for us lingered—and in the same way that our parents seemed to shelter Dana from harm, both Micah and I began to feel the need to do so, too. Unlike us, she was quiet and sweet. Unlike us, she seemed content with the world around her. Dana was our princess, and we decided then and there that we would always take care of her.
As the year wore on, my parents continued to argue even more.
Usually, these fights would occur late at night, after we’d gone to bed. We’d be sleeping soundly when their raised voices