His Mother’s Son

Journal of Haytham Lee, aged 11 and a half


Journal, I don’t like Doctor Davies’s son. He said that I shouldn’t call Daddy Daddy because that’s what little kids do. He said that if I don’t call Daddy Father, he’s going to tell everyone I’m a little baby.

And Daddy was there, but he just talked to Doctor Davies and didn’t even do anything.

I don’t like Doctor Davies’s son. He’s a jerk, but what if he’s right?

I don’t want everyone to think I’m a little baby.

I guess I’ll have to try to call Daddy Father now.

Does this mean I also have to call Mommy Mother?

But Mommy’s always been Mommy.

I hate Doctor Davies’s son.

And I don’t like Doctor Davies either. He kept looking at me like I was going to hit his stupid son.

But Daddy Father already gave me a telling off for hitting Mr. Edwards and I don’t want him to get mad at me again.

He’s mad all the time now. He’s always yelling at Mommy Mother. Mommy Mother says it’s because of the farmers and the other people who are mad because they don’t trust the money anymore and can’t buy anything.

I still haven’t asked Grandpa about this, but Grandpa’s been busy a lot too. Momm Mother says that Grandpa’s been having problems with the people in his state, too, and that the only states that are healthy right now are the ones where the plantations are.

Mother never looks happy when he says this, though. I don’t think he likes the plantations very much.

Mother also says that a lot of people are sick, and that’s why Doctor Davies is talking to Father so much.

It must be very hard to be king.

I asked Mother why Father doesn’t just make someone else King?

Mother says that it’s a job that can easily hurt a lot people and that Father doesn’t trust anyone else except Grandpa. But Grandpa’s too old, and he has his own thing to run.

Mother says that a king has a lot of power and makes a lot of decisions for the ordinary people, and that the ordinary people can get hurt if the king is bad.

But if one bad person can hurt the ordinary people, then shouldn’t the ordinary people just make their own decisions? They wouldn’t hurt themselves, right?

Mother looked very happy that I said that, but he told me never to tell Father this. He said that Father wouldn’t understand, and he doesn’t want me to get hurt.

...Father wouldn’t hurt me, though, right? Father loves me.

But, but Father hurt Mother. I still remember that. And Father loves Mother.

No! That was an accident. Father apologized and everything.

He didn’t mean it.

Mother knows best, though, so I won’t tell Father.

But maybe I can tell my baby brother or sister!

Journal, you won’t believe it! Mommy Mother’s gonna have a baby!

It’s still little right now, and Mother says the baby won’t be born for a very long time, but I can’t wait!

If it’s a baby brother, I’ll teach him how to hunt and climb trees and play with Mommy and the dogs and Yusuf, and he’ll come with me when we visit Uncle!

A baby sister is okay...Miss Deborah is weird, but really amazing too. A baby sister like her would be amazing!

Father doesn’t know yet, though. Mother said that he’ll tell him later, but that Father is too stressed right now.

I can’t wait.

I can’t wait for my little brother or little sister.

Mommy, hurry and give birth soon!