OVER A YEAR passed before Kevin returned to babysit us for the second, and last time. By then, mom had gotten comfortable leaving us alone with me in charge for short periods. But this was an overnight work trip and she felt we needed supervision in case of an emergency. I don’t think she intended to ever call Kevin again, but she couldn’t find anyone willing to stay overnight for her meager rate, and once she started scraping the bottom of her contact barrel, his number came up.

A lot had changed in the past year. For one, I started puberty and had grown a full head taller. I remembered fondly the last time Kevin had watched us and how he had somehow maneuvered my sister out of her clothes by the end of the night.

Her coming to my room naked the next morning to serve me breakfast was kind of a blur. But I thought back on that scene many times. I recall picturing the cute girls in my class transposed over my sister in that role. That was an early fantasy of mine.

Kevin hadn’t changed much since. When he arrived, he sized me up and made some humorous crack about how much I had grown. But it was Lucy’s entrance that really staggered him. She had gone through a growth spurt in the past 18 months and was looking less and less childish every day.

She had shot up a good 7 inches and was proud to tell him that, in certain shoes, she was over 5 feet tall. At 10 3/4, she still had a lot of childish mannerisms. But her gangly legs were better described as coltish now. And there was even a little bit of curve to her bottom, not that I would ever notice or care.

She couldn’t seem to stop talking around him – telling him all about school and her recent haircut. He was very complimentary. Her striking blue eyes beamed with every compliment which made me realize she had a girlish crush on him.

She was braiding her hair to show him that it was still long enough for twin tails when she blurted out “It’s my birthday tomorrow. I already had my party because mom has to go on her trip. I’ll be 11!” Then she curiously added “How old are you?”

“Older than that, Lucy.” Kevin replied. It was a very diplomatic response because even though I knew their age gap was much too high, he didn’t belittle her or make her feel like he was talking down to her and it sort of left the door open in her mind. “But I can tell you 11 is a very important year and I’m sorry I missed your party. If I had known, I would have brought you a present.” Then he added mischievously “I suppose there’s always room for a few more birthday spankings, eh?”

Lucy’s eyes went wide at that. Her mouth dropped into an “O” shape and a blush formed on her cheeks. To me, it was obviously a joke. But based on her face, it looked like she was picturing it and considered it a real possibility.

Mom was half-way out the door with her suitcase but stopped short when she heard what Kevin had said. She appeared to be second-guessing her decision to go with this particular babysitter. She had already picked up some creepy vibes from him. Now he was flirting with and talking about spanking her tween daughter?

“Ha, ha, Kevin. Knock it off.” I interjected, in an attempt to diffuse the situation and assert that I was now old enough to keep Kevin under control. Then to change the subject, I added “Come on, mom, aren’t you going to be late?”

Mom was still hesitant to leave, but I assured her everything would be fine. For some reason my assurances were enough to convince her to go. Over time, I eventually realized how much influence I had over my mom’s decisions and I learned to use that influence to my frequent advantage.

As soon as she was gone, Lucy couldn’t resist asking the question that had been bothering her.

“Were you really going to give me a birthday spanking?”

“Spank-ings” he corrected her, “One for each year you’ve lived and one to grow on.” He let the number sink in, then ponderously added “I haven’t decided, yet. We’ll see how well behaved you are. But I guess…one to start couldn’t hurt!”

He suddenly swung his hand in her direction. Lucy shrieked and twisted away, managing to keep her bottom just beyond his swat. Then she dove behind me for protection in a fit of hysterical giggling. It was the first time I recall her ever turning to her big brother to protect her, and I took the honor seriously. It’s probably why she trusted me so much in all her future predicaments. She knew I would always be there no matter how vulnerable her situation became.

Kevin set the evening schedule. We could play some games while waiting for the pizza to arrive. But after dinner it would be time to settle down. Since it was a weekend, we could watch a movie together after baths and before bed.

It was late autumn, and the days were getting shorter. There was also supposed to be a cold front moving in that evening. So, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood while it was still light out. I should say, Kevin and I walked. Lucy spent most of the time riding on Kevin’s back. But he was a good sport.

As we walked, Lucy finally summoned the courage to ask what we both must have been wondering.

“So, are we going to play another outdoor game? Like…’Pajama Hide and Seek’?” We both got quiet and waited for Kevin’s answer.

He pondered a moment then said “Well, I do know a few fun games. Have you ever played ‘Blind Squirrel’?” He asked, kicking an acorn down the sidewalk.

We both shook our heads. I had heard the saying ‘Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while’ but I didn’t know what it meant and had certainly never heard of a game about it.

Our neighborhood was older with lots of big oak trees and there were at least a dozen squirrels within sight gathering up the acorns for winter. Kevin studied the sky and reckoned the sun wasn’t quite ready to set yet. He must have decided it was still too bright for what he was planning.

“Tell you what, let’s wait to order the pizza until later. That will give us something to eat during the movie. We can move bath time up and fit in a quick game after. How does that sound?”

Lucy smiled and nodded her agreement. I swallowed hard and nodded as well. Kevin’s last game had left my sister naked and this one likely had the same potential. I wouldn’t mind seeing how she had grown in the last year and a half.

By the time we got back to the house, a cool breeze had picked up and clouds were forming off to the west. Lucy went to take the first bath while Kevin stayed outside walking around the front yard. I should have known, but only realized much later that Kevin was making up these games on the spot.

As soon as she was done, I rushed to take my shower. I was so excited, in more ways than one. My little stiffy refused to go down the whole time. I stuffed it into my underwear and dressed in some pajama pants and a white t-shirt then hurried downstairs. Lucy still wasn’t ready. She seemed to take longer and longer to get ready the older she got.

When she finally came down, I couldn’t believe what she was wearing. She must have been reminiscing about last year because she had picked out a nightgown. She almost never wore nightgowns anymore and this one looked a little small for her. It was threadbare and barely reached past her panties which made her legs look even longer. She had dried her hair and wore it down with her sparkliest hairband. I also suspected she had snuck some of mom’s lipstick, although the blush on her cheeks looked self-produced.

She stood waiting for Kevin to approve. So, she was caught completely off guard when he frowned instead.

“Hmm” he said, “I thought tomorrow was your birthday, Lucy.”

“It is” she replied in bewilderment. “Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that most people wear their birthday suit to bed on their birthday. You know, to celebrate.” he explained.

Lucy looked crestfallen as she mentally scanned through her wardrobe catalog. “But…I don’t have a birthday suit.”

“Sure, you do, kiddo. Everybody does.” Kevin lifted her face to show that he wasn’t mad at her. “It’s the suit God gives you when you’re born.”

He paused just long enough to watch his words register on her face. She went from fear at letting her new crush down, to confusion, to shock, then embarrassment at what he was suggesting. It actually bothered her that she had disappointed him because she failed to come downstairs in her birthday suit.

She fiddled with the hem of her nightgown as if she hated that she had ever put the accursed thing on. But Kevin didn’t take the bait. He knew how to play the long game. He had planted the seed, the idea that Lucy should celebrate tonight in her birthday suit. Now he just had to wait for it to come to fruition.