Gradually, Ben changed too.
He stopped watching every person who picked Brenda up.
He stopped appearing anxiously whenever someone entered the nursery.
Most importantly, he stopped behaving like her guard.
He finally got to simply be her brother again.
At Brenda’s first birthday party, Ben proudly helped us place one candle on her cake.
My sister smiled at him.
“Do you remember what you wished for when your mom was pregnant?”
Ben grinned.
“I already got it.”
For a second, my heart felt so full that I thought I might cry.
Then Brenda plunged her tiny hand directly into the cake, grabbed a fistful of frosting, and smeared it all over Ben’s shirt.
Everyone went silent.
Ben looked down at the mess.
Then he looked at Brenda.
Slowly, he dipped one finger into the frosting and gently dabbed it onto the tip of her nose.
Brenda stared at him.
