“Tuck and Bug”
Tuck sat down on his thinking rock to reflect on his day with his little brother Bug (Tuck called him that because he was always bugging you with his questions). The day was a pretty darn beautiful one considering he had to help his brother Bug, with just about everything. When they got up this morning Bug, started asked the same old tired questions again. The same ones Tuck had answered a bazillion times already. Before they left for school, he’d helped him get his shirt on right instead of backwards. Then, right as the bus came to pick them up for school, he had to punch Woody Benson in the nose for picking on Bug. After they got to school, Tuck had to remind Bug which class he was supposed to be in, because he forgot again today. Then as if that weren’t enough, he had to help Bug get his chores done when they got home from school. Boy, sometimes being an older brother was the pits.
From time to time Tuck thought he’d rather have not had a brother, but, Bug could be a great kid to have around. He did love him but didn’t want anyone to know that. Bug was funny, always saying things that cracked Tuck and his friends up, and he would help out in a jam if he thought you needed it, like the time ol’ Woody Benson’s big brother tried to steal Tuck’s bike. They beat the crap out of him but that didn’t stop him from trying to save Tuck’s bike. That’s why Tuck hit Woody this morning, because he was bragging about how he and his brother beat Bug up. Woody was saying Bug couldn’t hit, well Bug couldn’t’ hit a bug. Then all the other guys were standing around laughing about it, like it was so funny or something. Tuck couldn’t stand it when the guys did that. Bug couldn’t help being the way he was. He was born that way and that’s just the way it was.
It was getting dark, so Tuck decided to go back towards his house. He knew his mom would be worried about him and he didn’t want her to. Tuck’s mom was working late this week to get some kinda report out for her boss. So supper was late…again. Tuck started running as the darkness of night fall began surrounding him. He wouldn’t admit it, even to himself, but he was afraid. Bug wasn’t. He wasn’t afraid of anything. That was another reason Tuck thought he was good to have around.
When Tuck got home, his mom had dinner on the table. She asked him if he’d done his homework, which he’d done right after school, so he told her he’d done it. Tuck’s mom, Reva, was washing the dishes when he got out of the bathtub after supper. So he went into the kitchen with her because Bug had already gone to bed. She asked, “Tuck, is there something bothering you tonight?” Tuck wasn’t sure how to answer. He’d been thinking about Bug out on his thinking rock most of the afternoon, especially, since Jenny Blackman had asked him why Bug was different. He hadn’t known how to answer Jenny’s question either. He sat there near his mom for a few minutes before answering.
”Mommy,” he asked, “why does Bug act like he don’t know some things and then can do other things better than grown ups?” Reva stopped what she was doing and looked at Tuck. He’d never really questioned her about Bug before. She knew Tuck was a brooder, so he’d obviously been thinking about this for a while.
She took Tuck’s hand and they moved into the den where she could sit beside him. She wanted to explain to him what was wrong but she wasn’t sure if she could do it where Tuck would understand, so she just held him for a few minutes. Then, when she had gathered her thoughts, she began telling Tuck about Bug’s problem.
”Tuck,” she said, “when Bug was born we kind of knew something was wrong with him, but we weren’t sure what it was. So, after a while we took him to the doctor and he sent us to another doctor, a special kind of doctor”. Tuck interrupted, “You mean when you and Dad went on that trip to that big, big, boy school, where they had that fancy hospital.” Reva gave a little laugh, “Yeah, that’s where we went to see the special doctor. Well, anyway, this special doctor ran tests on Bug and found out he has a genetic condition called Fragile X syndrome.” Tuck thought about that for a moment. “Mommy, what’s that?” Tuck asked.
Reva then told Tuck about Fragile X syndrome and how it can make some boys and men slower thinkers than others, and how it can affect other parts of their everyday lives. Sometimes, Reva told Tuck, “Bug wants to know and do things just like you, but he can’t. Sometimes he gets stuck in a rut, sort of like the time your bike got stuck in that mud hole, and he can’t get out of that rut. That’s why he asks so many questions and why he forgets things, like how to put on his shirt the right way. By the way, thanks for helping him with that this morning. You are a GREAT Big Brother”. Tuck’s mommy gave him a big hug.
Tuck kissed his mommy and went on to bed. Now he understood Bug a little better and that would make it easier in the morning when he got up to answer all of Bug’s questions again.
