Dear Cousin, Take My Parents

Mom was alarmed by Izzy's outburst, but her heart ached as well. She pulled Izzy into a hug and said, "It's my fault, Izzy. I didn't consider your feelings. Don't worry. We'll get your name changed tomorrow!"

Dad chimed in, "You'll always come first to me, Izzy!"

Mom's eyes flashed with disdain as she glanced at the bathroom door. Gritting her teeth, she declared, "I never expected a girl your age to be this cruel, Melanie. Izzy has had such a hard time fitting into our family, and yet you say such harsh things to her! How did I end up with a child like you?"

Dad also snorted before raising his voice to say, "Since she likes taking baths so much, let her stay in there for as long as she wants. Come, Izzy. We'll take you out for some fried chicken."

Mom and Dad instinctively looked at the bathroom, as if waiting for a response. Normally, whenever they talked about having fried chicken, I would eagerly plead for them to take me with them.

But now, I couldn't eat anymore.

Izzy tearfully tugged on Dad's hand and said, "I'm hungry, Uncle James. Let's go and have fried chicken now. Izzy secretly ate a huge piece of the strawberry cake anyway. I'm sure she's not hungry now."

"What did you say?" Mom's voice shot up sharply. "Didn't your teacher give you that strawberry cake as a reward? Melanie stole your food again?"

Izzy nodded at first before hastily shaking her head. She bit her lip and pretended to be very gracious with me.

"Don't be upset with Mellie, Aunt Louise. I told her she could have the cake."

I shook my head. Had Mom and Dad forgotten that I was allergic to strawberries?

The apartment door slammed shut, and all was silent again.

I smiled ruefully. It was probably better for everyone if Izzy were the only child in the family, might?

…

It was midnight when Mom and Dad came home with Izzy, who looked like she was still thinking about the meal they had. I saw the bit of strawberry-flavored cotton candy still stuck to the corner of her lips.

It'd been so long since I last had cotton candy.

Ever since Izzy moved in with us, everything went to her first.

At first, I made a fuss about it, crying and arguing with them.

At the time, Mom would still hold me in her arms and rest her chin on my forehead while explaining softly to me, "Izzy's parents have left her to join the stars in the sky. Since they're no longer with her, we're the only family she has left. That's why we need to give her what she wants, okay?"

I nodded obediently.

After that, Mom and Dad deliberately bought everything in doubles, but Izzy always cried when she saw that.

"Uncle James, Aunt Louise, I'm sorry you have to spend so much money because of me. If not for me, you could've saved half your money."

Mom and Dad tried to gently tell her not to feel that way, but she refused to listen.

"I just know that you guys don't consider me part of the family at all. If you did, why would you have to get two of everything instead of just one? Does Mellie despise me? Is she unwilling to share her things with me?"

When I heard that, I dropped my half-eaten popsicle onto the floor and quickly cried out, "I'm willing to share everything with you, Izzy!"

From then on, Mom and Dad only bought one of everything—and to keep Izzy happy, I could only watch longingly while she enjoyed all of it.

But whenever Mom and Dad came home, Izzy would run up to them, fishing for praise. "Uncle James! Aunt Louise! I only had a small mouthful of the juice you got. I left the rest for Mellie to have. I'm such a good girl, aren't I?"

Mom and Dad would gently stroke her hair and buy her a large bottle of juice.

As for me, I could only smack my lips in secret, savoring the one tiny sip of juice I got to have. I didn't even get to clarify that what Izzy said wasn't true.