you feel left out. They fight with you over clothes, and when you get older, maybe even boys. And they take much longer to forgive and forget than brothers do. Do you ever remember having a fight with one of your brothers that lasted for more than an hour or so? Do you ever remember any of them refusing to speak to you? Or arguing with you over borrowing your stuff?â
Woodenly, I shake my head. âI guess Iâm the one who stays mad,â I admit. âIâm the one who gives them the silent treatment. And we donât even like the same kinds of things. We leave each otherâs stuff alone.â
âThatâs just what Iâm talking about,â says Stephanie. âBecause youâre a girl and theyâre guys. Now, Iâm not saying that sisters arenât wonderful and special, because they are, and I love mine very much. But brothers are special, too. And whether you have sisters or brothers or both, there are always going to be difficulties, just because youâre siblings. So the trick is, youâve got to pay more attention, to look closely for those little things about your siblings that, deep down inside yourself, you love. The things that make you proud of them. And then youâll see just how much they mean to you.â
Like Mr. London said. âBut--but what if I canât find anything I love about them?â I ask. I am really and truly afraid of this.
âWell,â says Stephanie, and I can tell sheâs trying not to smile, âsometimes you need to help these things along.â
âWhat do you mean?â
She pulls all her hair over one shoulder and combs her fingers through it. âWell...maybe if you start being nicer to your brothers, theyâll start being nicer to you. And then youâll see what there is to love.â
âI guess Iâm not that nice to them,â I confess. âI could try to work on that....But it isnât going to be easy.â
Stephanie laughs again, louder this time. âMaybe itâll be easier than you think.â Then she pulls me into a hug--a sister hug.
Chapter Five
Over the next week, I devote most of my free time to two things: getting my Halloween costume ready and thinking carefully about the talk I had with Stephanie.
The costume part is easier by far. Mom has our gypsy skirts hemmed in no time, and between her and Auntie Luz, Gina and I come up with plenty of scarves. Auntie Luzâs scarves are the best, really. Sheâs got all these long, silky, bright, colorful ones with fringe and tassels. We choose scarves for our heads and scarves for our necks that will help disguise the bulky awkwardness of the jackets we have to wear trick-or-treating.
We spend a long time sorting through our dress-up jewelry, too, and picking out the best gaudy necklaces and big rings and bangle bracelets to complement our costumes. And Auntie Luz lets us each borrow a pair of gigantic gold hoop earrings, which is a very good thing because neither of us has hoops of our own that are anywhere near as big.
As the days pass, we grow more and more excited for Halloween. Ginaâs excitement is total, untouched by anything else. But mine is clouded with worry over my âfamily brag paper.â By Wednesday, I havenât even written one word of it.
Again and again, I replay my conversation with Stephanie in my head. She suggested that maybe if I started being nicer to my brothers, they would start being nicer to me. And then I would find what there is to love about them. It seems pretty doubtful, but Iâm desperate now. And I guess itâs worth a try....
The only thing is, how am I supposed to start being nice to them? I am not going to act like some total fool by kissing up to them, thatâs for sure. Besides, my brothers would just think Iâd gone crazy and make more fun of me than ever before. So, how am I going to manage this?
According to Stephanie, there are little things