My Story Part 5

Part 5 ~ Cleveland

We moved into a duplex somewhere in Cleveland. We had the downstairs unit and we had some upstairs neighbors that loved to beat the hell out of each other. Im my parents room they had deep red shag carpet that would make a loud crunchy sound with every step.
My brother Mike and I would play fun games like, God Wants Me to Have ______________ Fill in the blank here. Anytime I wanted something my brother had, I would just tell him that God wanted him to give it to me. We weren’t even religious so how he even knew who god was is mysterious to me. I cheated that kid out of all kinds of treats, but mostly popsicles. Sorry Mike.
Before we knew what was happening my mom was pregnant again. She had a baby shower at our house and I remember that all my dads brothers and sisters came over and then started this game of throwing my plastic eggs from my kiddie fridge at each other. This apparently was great fun to adults. The day we went to pick up my mom from the hospital and bring her and my new brother Frank home I remember riding up the elevator and having no idea what I was in for. We put Frank in the carseat and he held my finger all the way home. Turns out Frank had the colic and was an asshole.
I would hate when my mom would take a shower and make me entertain Frank. I would have to sit with him and all he would do was cry and be a rotten little man. The entire family called him Cranky Frankie.
In between watching one brother, I was torturing another. Once I told my brother Mike that hot peppers were carrots so that he would eat them. He did and then flipped his wig and cried and I got in trouble. Another time I made him eat play doh and my mom later found it in his diaper.
I started kindergarten in Cleveland and I was in the afternoon class. I remember my mom walking me there once and I’m telling you all now she had on socks and flip flops. I had a best friend named Beth and a little boyfriend named Jose. I knew he was my boyfriend because once when we were watching a movie he put his arm around me.
I moved a few months into my kindergarten year and lost touch with them but I feel fairly certain Beth and Jose have a few kids together and have probably been married and divorced.