Oakland: A Tour Diary

When I woke up the next morning, I was happy it was Saturday, and Mom wasn't waking us up. I hung over the edge of my mattress to see if Therese was awake, and she was sitting up in bed, reading something. I hung there for a second since she didn't noticed me, and then said, "Hi."

She jumped. "Cady, don't do that!" she whined.

I laughed and sat up off the edge of my bed, then swung my feet over and jumped down, landing with a small thud on the floor. Therese hadn't taken her eyes off me. "Mommy says you're not supposed to do that," she said.

I had fallen backwards onto my butt and was laughing quietly. I stood up onto my knees and crawled over to the edge of Therese's bed. "Yeah, well, Mommy isn't here right now, so I can do that."

"I'll tell her," Therese said, laying the book face-up in her lap.

I gave her a fake hurt look and said, "You wouldn't."

She stuck out her tongue at me. "I would."

"But then I wouldn't like you anymore," I said, leaning forward on my elbows.

Therese's eyebrows knit together and she frowned at me. "I bet you that Mommy heard you jump off your bed, and she's gonna come in here and tell you not to do it anymore," she said.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Oh, please, Therese. After last night, I think we could only wake up Mom and Dad if we dumped a bucket of cold water on them," I said. Therese gave me a confused look. "And we don't have a bucket," I added, standing up and rubbing my knees. I looked down at them and they had carpet marks. "Poop," I muttered.

Therese picked up her bookmark from beside her and closed her book, looking at me standing in the middle of the room. "What took you so long to come to bed last night?" she asked.

I looked straight at her. "You noticed I didn't come to bed right away?"

"Yeah," she answered. I heard the door open and felt you climb into bed, but it had been a really long time since you had left."

"Oh, I just..." I debated telling Therese about what I overheard Mom and Dad talking about for a second, then decided I would and sat down on the edge of Therese' bed because my knees hurt from kneeling on the carpet. "I heard Mom and Dad talking last night."

Therese looked at me with much interest, then placed her closed book next to her and shifted closer to me. With wide eyes, she asked, "What were they talking about?"

"Having another baby."

Therese's eyebrows knit together again, this time in confusion. "What?"

"They were talking about giving us a little brother!" I exclaimed.

Therese's face didn't exactly light up, but she didn't look as confused. "Really?" she asked after a moment of what was probably pondering.

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Dad was saying how he's always wanted a boy, and Mom was like 'Yeah, having a boy would be nice' and then they were just talking about when they were gonna have a little brother and stuff, and then Mom said that they were gonna start to try or something."

Therese's face broke out into a wide smile. "Cool! I think it would be cool to have a little brother," she said.

I smiled back at her. "Yeah, me too." I heard some faint shuffling and squeaking through the walls and quickly turned back to Therese. "Let's not tell Mom or Dad that we know this, okay? Mom usually doesn't like when I figure out surprises she and Dad have for us."

"But you're good at that, though," she said.

"Just don't tell Mom or Dad that you know, okay?" I repeated.

"Okay," Therese said, almost like she didn't know what she was agreeing to.

I smiled at her again. "Good, because I hear Mom coming down the hall."

A few seconds later, Mom opened the door and smiled at the two of us sitting on Therese's bed. "Morning, girls!" she said cheerily.

"Hi, Mommy," Therese said, grinning at her upside down.

"Hey, Mom," I said, smiling at her.

"What are you two talking about?" Mom asked.

"Just the book Therese is reading," I said before Therese could say anything that would get us in trouble.

"How lovely," Mom said, her smile still on her face. "I was thinking of making you girls waffles this morning," she said.

"Thanks, Mommy!" Therese chirped.

I smiled at her. "Yeah, thanks, Mom! We'll come help!" I said, springing off Therese's bed, with Therese close behind.

Mom giggled. "Oh, alright, just try not to make too much of a mess, okay? Or you both will be cleaning it up," she said.

We nodded. "Yes, Mommy," we said in unison.

She smiled again. "Let's go!"



"Could I have another?" Therese asked.

"Sweetheart, you have to save some for Daddy," Mom said, taking her empty plate and dirty silverware from the table.

I finished mine shortly afterward and Mom took my plate when she came back to the table. "Morning, girls," we heard Dad say as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, Daddy," Therese said, smiling at him. He smiled back, tired, and kissed the top of her head.

"Morning, Dad," I said, and he smiled at me as well and kissed the top of my head before walking over to Mom.

"And good morning to you," he said, kissing her. I stuck out my tongue at them as I always do, and made sure one of them saw it. My mom did and smiled at me, pecking Dad on the cheek before he walked over to the coffee machine.

"Would you like the waffles I saved you, babe?" she asked, pulling a plate down from the cabinet.

"Waffles? What's the occasion?" Dad asked.

"Well, I didn't have time to make a special breakfast for Therese yesterday, since it was a school day, so I figured I would do it today," Mom answered.

With his cup in hand, he stepped over to Mom and kissed her on the cheek. "How sweet of you. Especially to save a few for me."

"I always save things for you, love," she said, smiling as she set down a plate in front of him. She pecked him on the cheek and walked back to the sink.

"My tongue is gonna go dry!" I piped up.

"I thought you only stuck your tongue out when we kissed," Dad said.

I looked over at him. "Yeah, well you are making it nessery."

Dad chuckled. "You mean necessary?"

I thought for a moment. "Yeah, that," I said.

Dad reached across the table and tweaked my nose, making me scrunch it up. "You two are so cute."

"Dad...," I groaned.

"I'm allowed to say things like that," he said, stabbing a piece of waffle. "I'm your dad."

I rolled my eyes and hopped out of the chair. "Mom, can Therese and I watch cartoons?"

"Sure, sweetheart, but just for a little bit. You and Therese can't stay in your pajamas all day."