Patricija watches me carefully as I chew a tasty bite of dinner:
\n\u201cMom,\u201d she finally speaks, \u201cdid you chew it properly?\u201d<\/p>\n
The last bite in my mouth seems to pause, confused by the unexpected question, before sliding down into the depths of my belly.
\n\u201cI think so\u2026\u201d I shrug.
\n\u201cYou said that the brother lives in your belly without teeth,\u201d Pa explains, \u201cso if you swallow big bites, it might be too hard for him to handle these pieces of cutlet\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I lift my eyes, full of admiration, though it seems I\u2019m still chewing that cutlet long since swallowed into my belly.<\/p>\n
They are waiting for their brother like it\u2019s Christmas.
\nDominykas, as always, is reserved. Seeing that I intend to clean the stairs, he grabs the broom from me; noticing that I\u2019m about to carry a heavier bag, he hurries to take it first. And in general, if he notices I\u2019ve stopped in the wrong place or at the wrong time, he always lifts his concerned eyes with the question: is everything okay?<\/p>\n
Pa isn\u2019t exactly reserved. Her mind is full of questions about the future brother, which she sprinkles like peas. And if I remind her that she already asked this question yesterday, she just shrugs her tiny shoulders:
\n\u201cYou can ask, can\u2019t you? Maybe something changed overnight\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s big question is:
\n\u201cMom, can\u2019t you let the brother out of your belly sooner? While it\u2019s still summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again, I patiently explain that he still needs to grow a little, so that when he\u2019s born bigger, he\u2019ll be stronger. She eyes my belly suspiciously:
\n\u201cBut it seems to me that he\u2019s already pretty big\u2026\u201d \u2014 and rushing to hug me, she clearly shows that her arms only just barely meet around me.<\/p>\n
I savor the \u201cChristmas-like\u201d anticipation of the brother filling our home.
\nThose four wide eyes picking out the stroller and the need for both of them to push it and personally make sure it will be very comfortable and not pinch the sides.
\nI watch her kneeling, checking the clothes daily and looking over the things we\u2019ve already bought. I \u201csweeten\u201d myself over the drawings for the brother and the little heart-shaped notes.<\/p>\n
And the sentence that touches my heart the most:
\n\u201cI really want to be in first grade already.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lift my eyes and happily praise her for wanting to learn.
\nThen she adds:
\n\u201cI want to go to school because you said that when I start going, you\u2019ll finally let the brother out of your belly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mua,
\nV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-17618","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/17618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istorija"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}