Nine years ago.
"I love you Lucy!" I tell her. She and Cassie are sitting next with me on the couch in front of the TV, where Spongebob is getting overly excited about going to work.
I don't really understand why the two of them like this show so much, I prefer looking at Lucy. She's so much prettier than Spongebob.
Lucy giggles and ruffles my hair. "Oh, you're just the cutest."
"Can I have a kiss?" I ask her, feeling the heat rising to my cheeks.
"Fine!" She leans in and kisses my cheek. I feel my heart jumping with happiness.
"Can I have another?"
"Don't over do it Lucy. He's spoiled enough as it is." Cassie grunts, and puffs from the thicker type of cigarette that has a funnier smell.
"But he's so cute!" Lucy gives me a quick peck on the other cheek, then ruffles my hair again.
"One more!" I tell her, smiling from ear to ear.
"Don't worry sweetie. Soon all the girls will be wanting to kiss you." She smiles back at me.
"Really?" My eyes open with surprise. "Will they be pretty like you?"
"Probably not." Cassie replies, and Lucy shoves gently against her shoulder.
"Don't break his faith."
"What's faith?" I ask Lucy.
"It's when you believe in something so much that it happens."
"Really? Does that really work?" Excitement of endless possibilities rushes through me with the idea.
"It works in Lucy's head." Cassie grunts, passing her the smoking thingie.
I hear the lock click, and I run up to John as he comes through the door.
"Hey champ!" He calls, wrapping an arm around me as I jump on him, clinging to his shoulders.
"Hope you're hungry." He says, taking me with him to the kitchen.
"What did you bring?" I ask, looking at the plastic bag in his other hand.
"Yeah John, what's for dinner?" Lucy asks, crossing her legs up on the coffee table.
"Dragon meat." John gives me his secretive wink.
"Yes! I love eating dragons!"
I stand beside him and watch as he takes out the dragon meat and cuts it with a large gleaming knife.
"John, I have a question."
"Go on."
"How do I get a girl to kiss me?"
"You got it wrong, you gotta kiss the girl." He answers.
"Huh..." I ponder on it.
"But it's gotta be at the right time." He adds, making it a whole lot more confusing.
"What's the right time?"
"Well. The girl stands really close. She's looking at you, but you have no idea what she wants. That's a good time to kiss her."
"John stop corrupting our brother." Cassie says as she and Lucy come in the kitchen.
"He has a point though." Lucy says, and I nod to myself. Another good advice from John.
"Works for me." John shrugs. He doesn't notice, but I see Cassie and Lucy exchanging a look and shaking their head at him.
I start thinking when could I try this on Lucy while she and Cassie help John in the kitchen. It's fun to have the three of them cooking for me.
"What are you doing?" Mother's voice snaps my head around. Her hair is puffy and she's wearing her nightgown. So I already know she's come down to yell.
"Cassie what are you doing in my kitchen?" She walks towards Cassie with quick steps.
"Relax mom. I brought some meat for dinner." John answers for her.
"Do you not have a mother that feeds you? Why do you need to eat in the middle of the night?"
"It's ten o'clock on Friday mom..." Cassie frowns.
"Don't you talk back to me!" Mother screams in Cassie's face, and slaps the bowl out of her hands. It shatters against the floor, little cubes of vegetables in many colors scattering.
"Mom, what the fuck?" John gets between her and Cassie, and Father's voice calls from the stairs.
"Elizabeth... Elizabeth!" He rushes up to her when he sees the scene in the kitchen.
"My dear, you forgot to take your medicine..." His hand goes to her shoulder, and she smacks it away.
"No! The medicine makes me sleep! I have to be a mother for my children!" Mother screams again, and Father hugs her tight, arms squeezing around her shoulders.
"It's okay. You're their mother, darling. You're their mother." He repeats to her in a soothing voice.
"Yes... I'm their mother... " She calms in his embrace for a moment, then her eyes light up.
"We're all hungry, let's eat dinner!" Mother breaks free from Father's hands, and kneels to start collecting the cut vegetables spread on the floor. "Wow, what a wonderful salad our little Cassie made!"
Cassie comes and takes me up on her arm, Lucy and John walking beside us.
"Where are you going? Food's almost ready!" Mother stands up quick and tries to get to us, but Father puts his arm in her way.
"You're making them run away!" She starts screaming and hitting his chest, but he doesn't let her through. "It's all your fault! You made me crazy!"
I see John snatch the car-keys as Cassie opens the door.
"What about the dragon meat?" I ask him.
"Changed my mind. We're eating witchburgers."