Chapter 6: Brandy

It’s an early morning in Brisbane. The sun is just coming out and shining into the small house of a red heeler named Brandy—Bluey and Bingo’s aunt—Chilli’s sister.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Yawnnn “ughhh, where am I…” Brandy sat on the side of her bed and cracked her back. Sleep has been rough for her lately. “That sleep wasn’t too bad… OH- Well, I guess the early bird gets the worm…” She silenced the alarm clock. “Alright, let's gooo do… whatever.” She got up and slowly walked to the bathroom to get cleaned up. She ran the water and splashed it on her face, drying it off with a towel. “Man, I’m a mess… Isn’t that right, Ruthie?...” She put her hands under her stomach while smiling in the mirror. Her smile quickly faded, though. “Heh, you should probably stop talking to yourself, Brandy.”

She walked over to her closet to switch into proper clothes. There were dress suits on hangers along with some T-shirts. “Heh, well, there’s one good thing you’ve done for me, Ruth.” She reached past her work clothes and grabbed oversized painter overalls.

“Time to get to work.”

Brandy was turning the guest room into a nursery, starting with the walls. She grabbed a roller and dipped it into a paint tray. At first, the whole process was stressful for her, but now she just puts on music and tries to relax. “Hm. You might be able to finish this today! Just gotta get that corner, and around that wall, and… sigh.”

The rest of her house was a mess; she had to remove all the furniture from the guest room to start painting. She didn’t mind, though; it’s not like anybody was coming over. However, she would like the walking space back in the living room.

…

“Huh, well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. I thought that corner would be a nightmare- I guess I can start on… this.” She placed her hand on an old crib that her dad gave her. It was beat up, missing pieces of wood, and needed a new paint job. “Hooray.”

She grabbed some simple tools she found around the house.

…

She was sitting on the floor now. “Ok, I thought I cut this wood to 6 meters. WHY is it 4? Ok. That’s fine. Just…” Brandy laid on her back. Sighhhh “Do you need a bed? Couldn’t you just do this?” She chuckled at herself, holding her stomach. She turned her head and saw her phone sitting next to her… “No… I’m fine. They’re probably busy anyway.” She sat back up. “Come on, Brandy.” She grabbed her hammer. She raised it above a nail, confident in herself.  “I’m an independent woman anyway. Who needs- OW.” She accidentally crushed her thumb. “Ow ow ow- DAMN- oh- sorry-” She quickly stood up, holding her hand. Holding an ice pack on her thumb, she stood in the doorway and looked at her phone lying on the ground…

…

Sigh

She slowly walked over and was about to pick up her phone when- DING. “Oh!- Wonder who… who…” She tapped the notification and read the message, slightly confused. “What… happened?...”

SLAM. Her phone slipped out of her hand, cracking the corner of the screen. She was frozen. Her eyes darted around, and she fell to her knees. “N-no-” Tears started to form. She thought about their past: going fishing with Dad, going to the skating rink, and Chilli’s marriage. She slammed her hand on the floor. “NOOOOOOOOO.”

-A few hours later-

Rushing water could be heard throughout the house. Steam fogged up the bathroom mirror. Brandy leaned against the shower wall with one arm. Her head hung low. She wasn’t worried about getting clean. All she could think about was her sister.

“I don’t know what happened! I think the doctors messed up the operation or something… They’re looking at her now, but she’s not breathing…”

His message to the family group chat replayed in her head… over… and over… and over again.

“I don’t know if you saw what happened yet. But if you’d like to come over sometime, I’d really appreciate the company, Brandy...”

“...if you’d like to come over sometime…”

“...come over sometime…”

“...get out of that house you're cooped up in all the time. Interact with your family for once. You showed up for the wedding, but where have you been since then? Where were you before? What are you doing? How do you expect to be a…”

Brandy put her head directly under the shower head for a second.

“...come over sometime…”

She took a deep breath. “Ok…”

-The Heeler House, the following day-

Brandy was carrying her bag over her shoulder. She remembered the first time she came over a few months ago. She was nervous both times, but this time was different. The Heelers met her at the door.

“Aunty Brandy!” The girls ran up to her and hugged her. “Hiya girls!” “Hey, Brandy.” She looked up from the girls at Bandit. He looked more nervous than her. She smiled. “Hi Bandit...” “Uh- come on in! We’re about to have dinner.” “No! You said we were going to    play Fishes and Sharks.” Bluey pulled Bandit's hand. “What. I said we would eat first and then play after. “Well, I don’t remember that,” Bluey replied. Bandit rolled his eyes. “Uh, you guys can go ahead and play,” Brandy injected. “I don’t want to interrupt anything.” She smiled at Bandit again. “And maybeee I could join!”

“Yayyy!” Bingo and Bluey said together, returning inside to grab their hand-made fish costumes. “Thanks for that,” Bandit said with a sarcastic tone. “Of course,” Brandy replied smugly before laughing. “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to do what I can given what happened…” Bandit started sweating. “...but they seem… really happy. What did you-”

“I haven’t told them yet.” Bandit let out a long sigh. Brandy was shocked for a second, but her look quickly softened. “Ok. Let’s… worry about that after dinner… yeah?” Bandit looked relieved. “Yeah…” They both smiled.

“What is… um.” “Fish and Sharks? I have no clue.” Bandit and Brandy walked inside. “I’m just hoping it’s not too embarrassing.” He laughed, closing the door behind brandy.

-The Kitchen, after the most embarrassing game known to man-

“Everyone, give me your plates, please!” Bandit was standing by the kitchen sink. Brandy got up from her seat. “Let me get those girls” “Thanks, Aunty!” Bingo said. Brandy joined Bandit next to the sink.

“Thank youuu, Brandy.” Bandit grabbed the plates out of her hand. “Thank you,” she replied. The two were silent for a moment. Brandy looked around to make sure the kids left the room.

“Hey… thank you for inviting me over…” “Oh. Of course. It’s nice seeing you… Heh. It’s been a little bit since I’ve cleaned the dishes… OH. It’s not like I don’t do the dishes! It’s just…”

“I know…”

…

“Any idea of how you want to tell them?”

He stopped cleaning. “I mean… there’s really only one way to do it… I just don’t know if I can do it. You know?”

“Well, whenever you want to tell them. I can be there with you…” Brandy put her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t turn around. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’re dealing with your own stuff and… I don’t want you to go through that-” Brandy was slightly annoyed. “Bandit, this affects all of us. And… we’re a family. Ok?” “But…” “No buts! I have been alone for a few months now… and you need me… and I need you…”

Brandy smiled slightly, “And how are you supposed to help me put a crib together if you’re moping all the time?”

Bandit chuckled a tiny bit. “Ok, I’ll-”

“Aunty Brandy!” Bingo ran over to her, holding her picture. “Did you see my drawing?” “No, I didn’t! Let me see!” “Oh, Bingo- Maybe you shouldn’t-” Bandit tried to stop her. Bingo held up her drawing anyway.

“Wowwww! Look at that! Did you make that?” Bingo lit up. “You like it?” “Of course I do! I mean, just look at the stars and the pretty earth you made down here. That’s lovely!” “Hehehe, I’m glad you like it!” Bingo ran away, still giggling. She even forgot to grab her drawing.

“Wait! You forgot your…” Bingo ran away to join Bluey, who was sitting in the next room. They started playing once Bingo sat down. Brandy looked down in her hands.

sniff… sniff… “I’m so sorry, Brandy…” Bandit put his hand on her shoulder.

Brandy wiped away a tear. “Don’t be.” sniff “It is… a really good drawing…”

-End of Chapter 6-

Note: Sorry about the long wait. I want to make time to work gradually when I can. It’s just hard between college, animating, and streaming. Hopefully, the next chapters won’t take as long. Thank you again for all the support btw! We know a lot of you were waiting for this!