Grandma, Pa's ma, was holding his hand as they walked down the scary hallway. It was crowded and noisy and hospitals were scary, so Shermie stayed close to Grandma and held her hand tight tight tight.

Grandma laughed kinda funny and squeezed his hand a little to make him feel better. "Don't worry, Sherman, everything's okay."

But he wasn't listening. Sitting in a trenchcoat and fedora and reading a newspaper was the coolest guy in the world. Shermie let go of Grandma's hand and yelled, "UNCLE JACK!"

Uncle Jack immediately threw down his newspaper and grinned really really big. He got down on one knee and opened his arms so Shermie could run into him. The four-year-old hugged his uncle really really really tight and was so happy to have him here. "Hey there, sport, look at choo! So big! Right little champ choo are." And he gave Shermie a big old noogy on his head.

Shermie laughed and shoved his hand off of him. "Jack," He whined, but he knew that Uncle Jack still knew he liked it.

Grandma walked up to Uncle Jack and said, "It's good to finally meet you. You're Caryn's brother, right?"

"Yes, ma'am." And he gently shook her hand and then kissed it. "The pleasure's all mine. Detective Jack Chapman."

"It's wonderful to meet you. Congratulations on your latest case, I heard about it in the newspapers."

"Well, thank you, miss, but really they tend to over exaggerate a bit."

Shermie sat in a chair as the adults talked about stupid adult-stuff, but Uncle Jack wasn't stupid and what he was saying was kinda cool. Shermie looked over his uncle was so glad to have him here. He didn't leave work too much, but when he was around everyone had a good time. Uncle Jack always wore a super cool trenchcoat and fedora, but sometimes he would put them on Shermie and dub him a detective. He always had his magnifying glass, tons of little notebooks, and a pack of cigarettes in his pockets, as well as a bunch of other things. Once, when Uncle Jack threw him his trenchcoat and let him wear it, Shermie looked around it; it seemed to be made of pockets full of treasures! There was bubble gum, baseball cards, receipts, stickers, old wrappers, a subway passport, playing cards, and even a pair of handcuffs. Uncle Jack said it pays to be prepared, but then Ma asked how does keeping baseball cards handy make him prepared. Then Uncle Jack said they make great kindling.

Uncle Jack looked kinda like Shermie, who looked kinda like Ma. All three of them were kinda skinny and had darker hair, but Shermie had Pa's hazel eyes (Ma had brown eyes) and Uncle Jack had the lightest blue eyes Shermie had ever seen; they were like the beach back home. Uncle Jack also gave the best hugs, no contest. He would first hold you nicely, then give you a tight squeeze full of love, then let you go and ruffle your hair and squeeze your shoulder. He was the best hugger Shermie ever knew.

"So, Shermie, excited to be a big brother?" Uncle Jack suddenly asked him.

That's right! Ma was having a baby! The doctors said there was a baby in her tummy, which Shermie had no idea how it got there, but that didn't really matter. What mattered is that soon he would have a friend to play with and help take care of! Shermie grinned really big up at Uncle Jack. "Yeah! I wanna teach 'em all sorta stuff n' how ta throw a baseball n' how ta throw a football."

"Hey, that's my job." Uncle Jack said, and Shermie knew he was joking, and he ruffled his hair again. "I'm the uncle, I'll teach 'em how to throw stuff. Choo can teach 'em how to read or get on your ma's nerves."

"Oh, boys." Grandma said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"I hope it's a boy." Shermie said. "Girls are stupid."

"Imma tell your ma choo said that." Uncle Jack said.

"No!" Shermie laughed.

Uncle Jack laughed, too, and said, "Nah, but really, kid, girls ain't so bad. Remember, I got your ma for a sister, n' she's pretty cool."

That's right! They played together all the time as kids. "Who's older?" Shermie asked.

"Your ma. Only by a year, but boy did she hold it over my head, but it was kinda like havin' a twin we were so close."

"Whazza twin?"

"A twin's when two babies are born at the same time. They're the same age."

"Oh. So, you n' Ma had fun?"

"Lots o' fun." Uncle Jack promised. "We played outside our crummy little apartment all the time, pretendin' to be knights n' soldiers n' whatever we wanted to be. Caryn might've been a girl, but that didn't mean she wasn't fun."

Shermie shrugged. "I guess if it was a girl it wouldn't be so bad."

Uncle Jack just laughed and put an arm around his shoulders. "Still want a brother, huh? That's okay. I never had one, but I used to beg Mama n' Papa for one, but then the Depression hit n' reality slapped me in the face n' told me I wasn't ever gettin' one. Gotta learn to appreciate whatcha got."

A long, long time passed and Shermie was almost bored. Uncle Jack sat on the floor with Shermie and played Go Fish with his cards, and even tried to teach Shermie how to shuffle. His hands were too small, but he liked to watch Uncle Jack do it. They played I Spy and Uncle Jack even let Shermie play with his magnifying glass. They were just about to unwrap some bubblegum to snack on when Pa came down the hall.

"PA!" Shermie yelled and ran up to him. Pa didn't get down on his knee and open his arms like Uncle Jack did, but when Shermie hugged his leg Pa did pat his back, which was still good.

"Ain't causin' trouble, Sherman?"

"Oh, leave the boy be, Filbrick." Grandma said as she and Uncle Jack stood up. "He's been a perfect little angel."

"So, how'd it go?" Uncle Jack asked, his voice suddenly a little deeper and kinda scary. "Is my sister okay?"

"Caryn's fine." Pa said. "They're all fine. Everyone's healthy."

"Oh, thank the Lord." Grandma sighed with a hand over her heart.

"I wanna see 'em." Shermie pleaded as he tugged on Pa's pants.

"Alright, quit pullin' n' be a good kid n' you can c'min." Pa said and led the way.

Shermie walked behind Pa, but was suddenly picked up. He giggled as Uncle Jack carried him, even though he was a big boy and could walk, and Shermie hugged him around the neck as they walked through more scary hallways and passed scary rooms. Pa opened one of the doors and let everyone else walk in first. Grandma walked in first, then Uncle Jack and Shermie.

The room was a little bit dark, but not very dark. There was a lot of scary equipment and stuff everywhere, but there was also a bed and on that bed was Ma, and Ma wasn't scary. Shermie grinned at seeing his ma, but then Grandma gasped and Uncle Jack looked kinda scared.

"Sweet Lord!" Uncle Jack cried out and let Shermie down nicely. "No way! Are choo kiddin' me?!"

"Shh, Jack." Ma scolded, but she was grinning.

Uncle Jack silently punched the air and did a funny dance. Shermie looked at Grandma and found her looking ready to cry. Shermie had no idea why. Adults were confusing sometimes.

"C'mere, Shermie baby." Ma said nicely.

Shermie smiled and went up to her. He climbed up on the bed and sat on his knees next to her, but then he noticed something. Ma was holding her arms kinda funny. There were blankets in her arms. He looked down and didn't see one baby; he saw two babies. Shermie stared; he was confused and happy and scared and also happy and a little sad and still happy. There was a big word Ma sometimes used, but he couldn't remember it.

"Whatcha think, sweetie?" Ma asked quietly.

Shermie didn't know what to say. He licked his lips to try to make it easier to talk. "There's two o' 'em."

Ma just laughed kinda quiet-like and said, "That's right, baby. They're twins."

Oh. Right. Uncle Jack just taught him that word. Twins. Shermie wanted to get a closer look, but he didn't know if he was allowed. Pa told him to be a good kid and he didn't wanna break a rule and have to go home. But then Ma said, "C'mon, sweetie, it's okay," and Shermie knew it was okay to get a closer look. He scooted closer and looked down at the little babies' faces poking out of the blankets.

They had round cheeks and button noses. They didn't have any hair and their eyes were closed. Shermie didn't know what to call them, but they were kinda cute. He smiled and looked up at his ma. "What are they?"

Ma smiled, understanding, and said, "They're both boys."

Shermie smiled really really big at that. Not only did he get a brother, like he wanted, but he got two brothers. That meant two friends and two babies to help take care of. "Cool." He admired quietly.

"Oh, they're absolutely beautiful." Grandma said, standing next to the bed and looking down at the babies.

"Good Lord, they're tough little squirts." Uncle Jack said. "Choo did a great job, sis. Good luck tryin' to tell 'em apart." He laughed a little at his own joke.

Then Ma and Pa looked at each other kinda funny, like they were reading each other's minds or something. "Actually, it might not be as hard as we think." Ma said and she loosened one of the baby's blankets to show his little fists up by his chin.

Again, the adults acted weird. Grandma gasped and looked ready to cry again, but this time not because she was happy. Uncle Jack just stared at the baby, but he was smiling, like he was liking what he was seeing. Shermie looked down at the baby and was confused about what everyone was talking about.

"Oh, Caryn…"

"Whatcha actin' like that for?" Uncle Jack asked gently, but he did raise an eyebrow at Grandma. "There's nothin' wrong with bein' a little different."

"I ain't worried 'bout that, I'm worried if it hurts him."

"From what we can tell he's fine." Pa said, his arms crossed over his chest. "They're both tough. Doc says it's just as natural for him as five fingers."

"Oh. Well then, that's good." Grandma sighed, but still looked at the baby kinda sad-like.

Shermie was getting a little mad that everyone knew something that he didn't. "What's wrong with him? What's goin' on?" The boy asked.

"Nothin' sweetie," Ma said softly. "Your brother was just born a little different, that's all."

Shermie, still frustrated, took a closer look at the baby. He looked fine, nothing looked wrong to Shermie. He then looked at the baby's hands and he counted his fingers. His little fists looked normal to him, but when Shermie counted the fingers he finally realized what the stupid adults were freaking out over. "So, who cares if he's got six fingers?" Shermie asked. "He's super cool now! Betcha he can do cool tricks!"

Ma beamed with pride at her son. Uncle Jack ruffled his hair again. "You got that right, sport."

"Well, what are their names?" Grandma asked.

Ma raised the arm holding the six-fingered baby a little bit. "This is Stanford," And then she lifted the other arm a little bit. "N' this is Stanley."

"Oh, my! How adorable!"

Shermie giggled. "That's funny." He liked that their names sorta matched.

"Wanna hold one o' your brothers, baby?" Ma asked.

Shermie nodded excitedly and held out his arms. The adults had him sit criss-cross so a baby could lay on his lap and Shermie could hold him. Pa gave him Stanley and Shermie looked down at his little brother. Stanley was still sleeping. He kinda snored a little, a quiet baby snore. Shermie giggled at that and looked down at him. There wasn't much to look at, he's just a baby, but it was still cool to look at him a little bit and to think of what he could do with him when he gets older.

"Alright, lemme see my grandson…"

"Now hold on, who said choo getta go first? I wanna hold my nephew." Uncle Jack teased.

"Haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first'?"

"Nope! Besides, I'm Caryn's favorite. I getta hold him first."

"You'll have more time with him than I will. I getta hold him first."

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." Ma said and rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Pines, why don't you sit down n' hold Stanford?"

Grandma smirked at Uncle Jack before sitting down in the chair next to the bed and letting Ma give her Stanford to hold. Shermie looked back down at Stanley and saw him start to wake up. He smiled really really big at his little brother waking up to see him. But then the minute Stanley saw Shermie his lip wiggled funny and then he cried really loud.

Shermie jumped. He didn't like that noise at all! He quickly pushed Stanley back on the bed and he scooted away from Ma and the crying baby. Uncle Jack, Grandma, and Ma laughed really loud. Shermie could feel his face getting hot. Ma picked up Stanley and rocked him and made him feel better and the baby started to stop crying. "Shermie, it's okay. Babies just cry."

"I don't like it." Shermie mumbled.

"Tough." Pa sneered. "Get used to it, kid, you'll be hearin' it a lot these days."

Shermie could feel his face get even hotter. Uncle Jack patted his back and said, "Don't worry 'bout it, sport. Choo did a good job."

"There, all better?" Ma asked the baby and then asked Uncle Jack, "Wanna hold a nephew?"

"Do I wanna hold a nephew?" Uncle Jack repeated and sat on the edge of the bed, between Shermie and Ma. "Yes!" And he held his arms out excitedly.

Stanley was placed in his hold and Uncle Jack smiled really really big down at the baby. Shermie peeked over Uncle Jack's shoulder and down at the baby. Stanley wasn't crying anymore; he was looking at them kinda funny, like he was deciding if he liked them or not. Shermie had no idea why Stanley was looking at them like that, but Uncle Jack laughed and tickled under his chin, even though the baby didn't laugh. "Yup, he's a tough little guy. Mark my words, this one'll be nothin' but trouble."

"Worse than you?" Ma asked, joking with him. "Impossible."

"Nah, but he'll give me a run for my money. I can tell, look at that gleam in his eye."

"That's just the reflection from the lights, Jack."

"You're no fun, choo know that, Fil?"

Shermie looked down at Stanley to try to see what Uncle Jack saw. He couldn't tell why, but Uncle Jack was right. Shermie could tell by looking at Stanley that he was a lot of fun, or at least going to be a lot of fun some day.