Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero -- August 1985

I was relieved that Bill was able to come up with a story.  And I was going to definitely stick to it.  I was definitely just going to nod and smile with whatever it was that Bill said happened.  I was not a very good liar... but I will say I was just trying to skip rocks.  And that I lost my footing.  That really happened.  When we walked into the house Mummy was in the kitchen and we all knew when she realized I had a scratch on my forehead.

I turned around to see who had walked in from having fun in the nice weather and I saw Bill and Ron. I saw that Ron's hair was slightly matted with blood and a little trickle of blood down the side of his face. "Ron!" I yelled rushing towards my son. I looked at my eldest and asked, "What on earth happened?" I pulled Ron to sit down on a chair while I summoned the first aid kit. When it appeared I started to clean the wound. When neither of the boys started talking I poured some peroxide on Ron's wound and when he squirmed and yelled out a little bit, I just stopped and stared at them waiting for an answer.

I flinched a little bit because I knew Mum was just adding extra peroxide to get us to talk.  I was not intentionally ignoring her.  "Well, we were out in the creek skipping rocks.  Ron lost his footing and fell... I grabbed him and I brought him straight up to the house to get checked out by Dr. Mum," I said, trying to lighten the mood with a little bit of a joke.  Mum did not find it entertaining.

I almost thought that what Bill said was the complete truth, but I knew my boys better. Nothing was ever as it seemed. I pursed my lips and finished bandaging up the wound and stood up. "Make sure you eat something," I told them, setting some snacks in front of them. "And perhaps stay away from the creek for a little while." I wanted to know the complete truth, but I guess when it comes to my boys, the fact that they were both alive and healthy and only had a minor injury, I should be genuinely happy about that fact.

I caught Ron's eye as I grabbed some of the crackers and cheese that Mum set out for us and winked at him while Mum's back was turned.  "Yeah, we shall definitely stay away from the creek," I assured her, popping the little snack sandwich I made into my mouth and clapping Ron on the shoulder.  "Should probably get you upstairs into some dry clothes," I added.  We didn't need him beneath Mum's piercing gaze to get the whole truth for longer than necessary.

I nodded, stopping quickly because it hurt my new injury.  I stood up with my big brother keeping his hand on my shoulder.  "Yeah... I don't want to drip all over the floor," I said, knowing that would drive Mum crazy if the carpet got all wet.  Without waiting to hear Mum's response, Bill steered me toward the stairs and we went up to my room.  "That was close," I whispered as he helped me change since I did not want to accidentally take the bandage off of my head.