Baby Sister

I got to stay home alone when dad went to pick them up from the hospital. I had Cracker Jacks and popcorn for breakfast and flipped through the channels hoping to catch a glimpse of a dirty movie before they got back. Before I knew it, the door swung open and dad walked in with an armload of flowers and balloons and a diaper bag. Mom walked slowly behind him as if she were in pain, and the thing in her arms screamed in disapproval. "Come and see her, buddy, she's so beautiful," dad said in a voice I'd never heard before. Mom swayed back and forth and leaned towards me so I could see my sister. She looked like a wrinkly old man to me, but I didn't want to burst their bubble.