Reminiscing

By Jacob Pardo (‘23)

[Eric and Liam are lying in bed, with Liam’s head on Eric’s chest. Eric (the larger of the two) looks nearly asleep. Liam is looking up at him with admiration]

Liam: How many siblings did you have again?

Eric: Hmm?

Liam: Oh, I was just wondering how many brothers and sisters you have. I was just curious, I guess.

Eric: I have two sisters and a brother.

Liam: Wow, four kids on one house?

Eric: (Reminiscing) Yeah, it could get pretty hectic.

Liam: Did you all have your own rooms?

Eric: Uhh —

Liam: Sorry if that’s weird. I guess I’m just curious cause, you know, I was an only child. So I don’t know how that stuff works, I guess.

Eric: Well, my older brother and sister had their own rooms. Me and my other sister were the youngest, so we shared a bunk bed.

Liam: Aww, that’s so cute!

Eric: Well, sometimes it was kind of annoying. (Laughs)

Liam: But you still loved each other, right?

Eric: Well yeah, I just wished I had my own room like Luke did. That’s my older brother.

Liam: But it had to be fun at some parts, right? Like, would you ever whisper to each other when you were supposed to be sleeping?

Eric: She would mostly tell me to stop snoring. (Laughs)

Liam: But it was still fun, right?

Eric: Yeah, we had some fun. I really wanted my own place, though — I kept asking my mom if I could move into the basement, but she wouldn’t let me.

Liam: What about in the morning? What was that routine like?

Eric: Well, it was pretty crazy. (Laughs) Luke and Sarah went to different schools, so it was like a race trying to get us all dressed and packed to get there on time. We were always fighting over the shower, and they would always be banging on the door when I was in there.

Liam: Would you eat breakfast together?

Eric: We couldn’t really do that, since Luke and Sarah had to leave so early.

Liam: What about your younger sister?

Eric: Katie? I think we would eat cereal together sometimes.

Liam: Oh, that must’ve been nice.

Eric: I guess so, I don’t think we would talk a whole lot in the morning. (Laughs)

Liam: What about your parents? Were they at the table? 

Eric: Well, my dad would’ve been driving Luke and Sarah, so that left mom to drive us. They were real troopers when I think about it.

Liam: So your mom was with you?

Eric: Yeah, we needed someone to drive us to school. (Laughs)

Liam: Would she dress you too? And feed you breakfast?

Eric: Well, we were old enough to do that stuff ourselves.

Liam: What about when you were younger? Would she do it then?

Eric: Yeah, I guess so. You know, your parents kinda have to do that stuff when you’re a kid.

Liam: Your mom and your dad? 

Eric: Yeah, they were troopers, man.

Liam: So they got along pretty well, it sounds.

Eric: I think so. I mean, they would argue sometimes, but I guess that’s normal. It must’ve been stressful on them.

Liam: But they would never yell at you, right?

Eric: Oh, they would yell at me all the time. (Laughs) It was my own fault most of the time though.

Liam: But they never scared you, right?

Eric: Well, not really. They weren’t too strict or anything, they were just tired of the crap I would pull.

Liam: So they always cared about you?

Eric: Yeah, they were pretty good when I think about it.

Liam: Ahh, that’s nice. I bet they must’ve been pretty caring, especially when you were a little kid. I bet they used to make you milk and cookies, and tuck you into bed at night.

Eric: Uhh, I think they would do that stuff sometimes.

Liam: I bet they would read bedtime stories, too.

[Liam lifts himself up and looks into Eric’s eyes]

Liam: They would read you stories, right?

Eric: Uhh, yeah, they would read stories.

[Liam lays back down]

Liam: What kind?

Eric: Uhh, just some kids’ books that we had. Stuff like Hungry Caterpillar.

Liam: What was that one about?

Eric: It’s kinda hard to remember, but I think it’s about a caterpillar who keeps eating stuff until he turns into a butterfly.

Liam: What else would they read? What was your favorite?

Eric: Well, I really liked this one called Where the Wild Things Are.

[Liam holds Eric tightly]

Liam: How did that one go?