The Greatest Gift

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 3 × 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘵

A week after Mom and Dad told us about the twins, our whole family was standing in the back yard. Jaison, Shayne and I were standing in front of two cardboard boxes covered with blue and pink polka dots on them and black hearts with "Baby A" and "Baby B" on them.

Mom was holding up her phone, recording a video for family and friends.

"What do you think, boys?" she said. "Boys or girls, or both?"

"One boy and one girl," Jaison said with a smile.

"Aww, you want a sister?" Mom cooed.

Jaison looked down and blushed. "Yeah," he mumbled.

"I'm with Jaison," Shayne said. "A boy and a girl."

"What do you think, Ben?" Dad asked.

I took a few seconds to think, then shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you want them to be?" Jaison asked.

"I don't care."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Well, open the first box, boys!" Mom said.

Jaison, Shayne and I each took a corner of the box flaps.

"On three," Jaison said. "One, two, three!"

We opened the top of the box. Blue balloons floated out, and a blue onesie with "Little Brother" on it was attached to the underside of one of the box flaps.

"YES!" Jaison yelled. "Baby brother!"

He and Shayne cheered and hugged each other. They pulled me into the group hug, too. I laughed.

A little brother. That wasn't so bad. Maybe this whole being an older brother thing wouldn't be so tough as I thought.

"Are you going to open the second box or not?" Dad asked. He smiled. I could tell he was happy.

Jaison, Shayne and I went over to the second box and we each grabbed a flap.

"One, two, three!" Jaison said, and we opened the box.

All three of us gasped as pink balloons floated out. A pink onesie with flowers and "Little Sister" on it was attached to one flap.

"W-what?" Shayne gasped.

"It's a girl!" Mom cheered. Of course she was excited.

Before I knew what had happened, Jaison was crying. He roughly wiped his eyes and let out a couple of sobs. Shayne's eyes were watery, too.

Mom handed the phone to Dad and pulled all 3 of us into a big hug.

"Are these happy tears?" she asked nervously.

Jaison and Shayne nodded.

"Mom, I always wanted a little sister," Shayne said.

I understood why. Little sisters weren't like brothers. Little sisters were sweet and loving; they gave you hugs and kisses and always wanted to play with you. Little sisters were joyful, glittery bundles of sunshine.

"Wait—does that mean you wanted me to be a girl?!" I exclaimed.

The entire family burst into laughter. Dad stopped recording the video, then ran up to us and joined the family group hug.

"Are you excited, Bennet?" he asked.

I fell silent and thought for a few seconds.

A little brother and a little sister.

Having a little brother wouldn't be so hard, since I used to be one myself. I had it figured out. Having a little sister wouldn't be so hard, either. Little girls are so easy.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah," I said finally. "I am. I'm excited."