In A Matter Of Time

Chapter 1

It was 1965 when my youngest brother was born. He had golden eyes and sun-kissed hair. All of us had had that too. We took the gold from my mother's heart, and the sun from my father's gentle soul. And our faces were mixtures of the both of theirs. All except my oldest brother, Michael. We called him Mikey though. And the difference between all of us was that Mikey had brown hair and blue eyes. And one more thing. Mikey was a hippie. He also had the best personality you'd ever see. He knew you weren't supposed to pick a favorite sibling, but he always said it was me. Anyway, when my youngest brother Scotty was born, we weren't surprised he looked like us. I was 7 years old that day. The darn little guy was born on my birthday. I remember what my mother said to me. "Now Michelle, you will need to be the best big sister you can be. Do you understand?" I nodded my head to her, but I cried inside. That was my birthday. And now I had to share it with some whiny baby. Why did I have to be happy about that? You'd think I'd ask myself this but I asked Mikey. He sat me on his lap and held me tight. "Blue, my baby, those people don't understand what it's like to be friends with the moon." What he meant was, "Michelle, they don't know why we're so strange." People always asked me why I'm called blue. Well it's not embarrassing to me, but it is to my mother. I have always been that little girl to fight with every little boy in our neighborhood. I came home all the time with a swollen black and blue eye. Since the names "Black" and "Swollen" didn't sound so well, they started to call me Blue. And well, I guess it sorta stuck. It's been 7 years today and I'm finally 14 years old. But does anyone care about it? No. They care about the adorable little 7 year old that can finally cut his own cake. I didn't bother to come to breakfast, cause I knew I wouldn't be acknowledged. Mikey moved out 2 months ago, and I still can't get over it. My older sister Lisa tells me it's stupid to be so attached to your brother but look at her. Her only admirers are...well everyone. My point hasn't been made. She's a mean sister. She's 18 and she'll be leaving soon too. I'll miss her I guess. But only cause I'll be the only girl and no one can live with my other older brother Willy. He's 16 and a star baseball player. And I mean a star. He can play every position, but as the pitcher, people would pay tons to see him play. He's not the nicest though. He's nothing like Mikey. But Mikey always comes home for my birthday. Always. I felt myself start to drift away from the others. Kind of how Mikey did. I don't know but I guess I'll find out. I put my hair up as loose as possible, and put on a dress I made myself. I looked at myself in the mirror and blinked. "Who cares." And it wasn't a question. I finally brought myself downstairs, after long minutes of self debating. My father, Roger, stood at the stairwell in his work clothes. Or a suit and tie if you wanna get detailed. His hair was brown, but he said his soul carried the sun. And no one ever second guessed him. "Hey Blue. Aren't you 9 today? Or is that Lisa?" He hugged me tight to his side. "Dad I'm 14." I laughed and kissed his freshly shaved face. "Oh no that can't be. Mikey turned 14 two months ago!" He picked me up and spun me around like he'd done every morning for as long as my memory stretches. "You don't think I'd actually forget my baby's age?" He stopped and looked at my coming-of-age eyes. I shrugged but only as a joke because I knew how funny my father was. "Well you're right Blue." He winked and picked up his briefcase. "I've got plans for you my dear. Just wait and see." Then he kissed me and he went out the door. My dad was almost as cool as Mikey. Almost. He tells me Mikey is a lot like him and when I didn't believe it, he told me stories. Like when he was a rebel to his parents, and wasn't like his siblings. He says I'm like Mikey though, and I take that as a compliment. I swung my feet into the kitchen where everyone was eating. Early risers. All of us. They all just stared at me without a word. My mother didn't even say good morning. I sat next to Scotty who had pancakes on his favorite plate. My mother had light hair like us. Her name was Diane. And she didn't have much humor in her life compared to dad. She was an only child and now she had 5 of her own. I still loved her though. And she of course loved me. She set down a plate of sausage for me. "Uh, mom why did you give me this. I don't like it." I pushed my plate away and gulped hard. "You're so ungrateful." Lisa scoffed at me and continued to eat hers. Willy grabbed my plate and started eating them. "Maybe, just for today, since it's Scotty's birthday, you could act your age." His mouth was full and my fist was clenched. I wanted to scream "It was my birthday first!" But I didn't. I just grabbed a banana. I walked over to the stove and stood next to Mom. "When's Mikey coming?" I threw away my banana peel while she started to clean the dishes. "11:00. And I don't appreciate you not eating my sausage." She gave me a stern look and I just about broke into tears. "And I need you to be extra helpful for Scotty's birthday." She patted my head and shooed me out of the kitchen. I ran upstairs and shut my door. I'm a pretty emotional person so I have to cry once in awhile. I fell asleep too. And I always had dreams full of adventures and romance and everything. I never remember them enough to describe it to someone. As I dreamed, a song replayed in my head. Like on a record player. It was familiar too. It went like this,
"Little Blue
She'd sail away one day
We knew
She always had an eye for
Little boys too
Oh our sweet and tough
Little Blue"
And when I opened my eyes, Mikey sat by me singing the song he sang years ago. "Hey little Blue. Happy birthday." He kissed my cheek and rubbed my back. "Not like it matters Mikey. Nobody cares about it. They only care that Scotty is 7. They gave me sausage! Sausage. And no one said happy birthday." I started to cry again as I sat up, but he held me in his arms and he wouldn't let go until I did. "Don't worry about them. They don't deserve to know that the grooviest cat has a birthday at all." He wiped my tears away with his dancing fingers. "Do you like my dress? I made it myself." I stood up and twirled it around to show him the full affect. "You read my mind Blue. I love it." He twisted his peace sign necklace in his hand. "Your hair has gotten long, Mikey." I opened my curtains to let the light come in. "Yeah I've been letting it grow. Listen..." But I ignored him. "Come on! Let's go down to the diner! You used to always love it there!" I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the stairs. "Blue wait." He stopped me since he was stronger. "I need to say something to you." He sat down on the sofa, in the spot he did every time. "Can't you tell me later?" I opened the door and my dog Sunny rubbed against my leg. I insisted we get him when I was only 8. I found him while I was walking home from school one day. His paw was sore and he was skinnier than a raindrop. He was cute though and I loved him. They finally gave in after weeks of begging. He always loved to sit out in the sun, so I called him Sunny. "Blue it's important. Please come on over here." He patted the spot next to him. My spot. I gave in and sat next to him. "What is it?" I couldn't stop thinking about where Mikey was gonna take me. I knew it would be special. "Uhh well..." He got this nervous look on his face. "Where do you want me to take you?" He laughed. I was confused. What was so important about that? "That's what you wanted to ask?" I laughed and got up. "Now come on! Let's go!" I ran out the door and he followed. He walked everywhere, considering he was a hippie guy. And he would walk barefoot but it was spring and it was starting to get hot. It just gets that way in Chicago. We made it to the diner in one piece, well at least I did. Mikey's old friends saw us walking and they made fun of him. They thought his hair was too long and his clothes were too ugly. I felt bad for him. But the really bad one was when we got into the diner. A guy that Mikey never got along with was there drinking a beer. "Well if it isn't the peace maker. What'd you do now, turn your little sister into one of you?" He laughed and held Mikey's necklace. "Excuse me. But Mikey happens to be 10 times better than you. So you can just back off!" I pushed him away and stood by my brother. "Oh Mikey. Miss Blue has gotten so nice since she beat up my little brother last week." He smirked at me and walked away. Boy did I really hate the Bennett's. Especially the boys. "Blue I thought you were over that." We sat down and ordered 2 cokes. "I was, Mikey. But Richey Bennett ruined my painting and pulled me hair! I wasn't gonna just sit there like a sissy." And I realized that Mikey does sit there and he doesn't fight back. And I shut my mouth. Time passed. Silent time. We'd never not talked before for so long. "So are you liking the free life?" I didn't want it to be so awkward. "It's good. You'd like it. Ya know, not having to be told what to do, not needing a job, crashing at anyone's place. It's great Blue." He smiled and grabbed my hand. "One day I'll take you with me." I smiled back and sipped my coke. "Promise?" I swallowed and hopped off my stool. "Cross my heart and hope to die."