Rewritten Past

I did love my parents. I understood them too. More, now than ever. Not only that, I was technically older than they were right now. Wiser too because of it.

So I would never blame them. They did the best they could in a situation where they lacked the cards to win.

It just so happened that this time around, another player bought into the game to bring me out and to a place I could be properly supported and cared for: Mama Yue.

...Well, technically *I* had also bought into the game by arranging the whole situation with Mama Yue too, but that was a separate thing.

Mama Yue looked at me.

I looked back at her.

Mama Yue bit her lips, as if mulling over what to say to resolve this situation. But she couldn't resolve it. By all measures, she was the final straw that shattered the already dysfunctional family between me and my parents.

If anything, it fell to me.

So since it got to this point...

I looked at my mom and said, "Have you named my baby sister yet?"

Mom froze, looking up at me with shock. "Wh-What?"

I calmly spoke and said, "My sister. Did you and Dad name her yet?"

Mom's lips trembled. Then she slowly shook her head and said, "N-No. We were... going to talk about it after telling you..."

I nodded. "Ai is a nice name. It's fitting, since we'll all love her. Right?"

An olive branch laid out clear on the table. So that there weren't any misunderstandings that I still cared about them, even if I wasn't going to ignore what they did.

Dad slowly rubbed my mom's arm. As he did, he looked at me and said, "Ai... Love, hm? It's a good name."

I nodded. "Isn't it? Traditional too. Unlike mine."

Mama Yue snorted. Then she blushed, realizing her reaction was out of place.

Mom noticed and then pouted. "You don't get to laugh, Yue! You were saying Brandon was a good name!"

I immediately snapped my head to Mama Yue.

Mama Yue's blush turned a deeper shade of red and she said, "What?! It's the name of Bruce Lee's son! It's a good name! And since Brother-in-law was insisting on an American name..."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? I did not. I just said that it would be easier for people to say if he had an American name."

Mom laughed and said, "Liar!" She gently swatted Dad's arm and said, "You said it would help him fit in. I wanted to call him Lei so we could call him A-Lei. But you decided to make it American and turn it into Alex."

...Huh?

Dad's ears turned red and he cleared his throat. "A-And I was correct about it. Lei would just make people pronounce it as Lee. Then he would be called Lee Li."

Mama Yue snorted. "THAT'S why you went with Alex?"

April sniffled. Then she giggled and said, "So Alex's name could have been A-lay-lee? Like in ukulele?"

Miss Serena smiled. "It sounds cute."

After that, the atmosphere in the kitchen warmed up, turning into idle banter and small talk.

I let out an internal sigh of relief.

One major hurdle passed.

...This issue DEFINITELY wasn't sorted yet. But it looked like we made it past the breaking point at least.

So for now...

"Can I feel her? My baby sister."

...Let's turn the conversation to something safer.

Mom blinked, turning to look at me with glimmering eyes. But then she wiped her tears away and let out a watery smile. "Of course, Sweetie. Here." She scooted back in her chair and waited for me.

I walked over and held out my hand.

Mom gently moved it to her belly and said, "It's still early, so your baby sister can't move or anything yet. But she's right here, Sweetie. Say hi."

I knelt down until I was eye-level with my mom's belly and said, "Hi, Little Ai. It's your big brother." I gently massaged Mom's belly and said, "Don't worry. I'm really amazing, you know? No one will ever hurt you, and you'll grow up never lacking for anything. Oh, and I'll be calling our Auntie 'Mom.' But Mommy is amazing too. So treat her well, okay? No fussing too much. Let her sleep. She works hard."

Mom's breath hitched.

Mama Yue looked away, hiding her glimmering eyes.

Miss Serena looked touched.

Dad hid his eyes with his right hand, but it didn't hide the tears streaming down, or his relieved smile.

And April...

"That's right!"

April let out a bright smile and hopped over, kneeling right by my side. "And you have me too! I'm April! I'll be like your big sister! I'll make sure you have lots of fun! We can go shopping, wear dresses... Ooh! I can teach you to make microwave cookies like Alex did! Oh, and I'm going to marry your big brother one day, so we can be real sisters! And, and-!"

Mom laughed and looked at me, amusement clear in her eyes. "My, my. Marriage already, Sweetie?"

Dad covertly wiped his tears away, leaving behind just reddened eyes. Looking at me, his lips twitched into a faint smile and he said, "Do you even have money prepared for that, Son? Or permission?"

Miss Serena played along and clapped her hands together. "Oh, he has all the permission! I'd love to call Alex my son too!"

Mama Yue chimed in and said, "And I'd love to call April my daughter too."

I was fine with everyone else, but I couldn't let that comment by Mama Yue slide. Especially since everyone was dogpiling on me already.

So I turned to Mama Yue and smiled. "That's easy, Mom. Just marry Miss Serena. You already slept together, right?"

Miss Serena flinched.

Mama Yue choked.

Mom gasped.

Dad raised an eyebrow. But at the same time, his eyes had the look of someone who finally had a long-time question answered in his head.

Said question was probably why someone as pretty as Mama Yue had never brought home a boy ever.

And when he looked at Miss Serena and Mama Yue's reactions, he nodded to himself.

Mama Yue noticed and pointed a finger at him. "What's with that reaction, Brother-in-law?!"

Dad smiled and said, "Nothing. Just happy that you're finally honest. I was beginning to get worried you didn't believe in love, but clearly it was just because you hadn't met the right person... or rather, woman."

Mama Yue turned a bright red.

Miss Serena turned an even darker shade of red than her. And one that darkened more when April spoke up.

"Mommy? When did you sleep with Miss Yue? And why?" April tilted her head, innocent confusion clear in her blue eyes.

"Ah... That's... Well, Sweetie..." Miss Serena started tripping over her words. "I... Um, Yue and I..."

Mama Yue slammed her hand on the table and said, "It was one night! We were drunk! And I wanted to experiment, okay?!"

I took a bite of a brownie and innocently said, "It looked like you were wrestling though?"

"YOU BRAT! WHY WERE YOU AWAKE TO SEE THAT?!"

Dad choked mid-sip of tea. "P-Pardon?!"

Mom let out a scandalized but delighted gasp. "YUE!"

April tilted her head. "Wrestling? Ooh, like what Mommy used to do with bad men for money?"

Everyone froze.

I sighed.

...Kids and their bombshell questions...

Well.

I guess unilateral emotional damage and trauma bonding was one way to fix shaky relationships...