I’m a little teapot,
Short and stout.
Here is my handle.
Here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up
Hear me shout.
Tip me over and pour me out!

Joey Guerin was bored. He stared at Emma as she chattered on about dolls and invitations.

He hated tea parties. Tea parties were for girls, not big six year old boys like him. He was only here because Grandma always made really good cakes for Emma’s tea parties. Well, that, and Mama made him come. He had asked Daddy for help, but Daddy just told him to “do what Mama says so we both stay out of trouble.” That was a lot of help.

Missy Valenti and Katie Whitman were there too, giggling like fiends with Emma, even though they were both over a year younger than him and Emma.

That was another thing he didn’t like about Emma. She stole his birthday. He had been born first, almost two hours before she had. Then she had to come along and spoil it.

It was bad enough that his Grandma was her Mama. That made his Mama Emma’s big sister, and it made him Emma’s nephew. He didn’t like that at all. It was confusing.

But it was fun to see the looks on people’s faces when he told them that Emma was his aunt. Their teacher hadn’t believed them at first, and had sent notes home with both of them for lying. Then Mama and Grandma stormed in the middle of class, waving the notes around and yelling at the teacher. He had laughed for days. Not where Mama could hear him though, then he’d get yelled at too. The teacher still avoided sending notes home with them anymore, even when he had accidentally-on-purpose dunked another boy in the fish tank.

It was bad enough that he was related to Emma, she had to be in his class this year too. He saw her all the time anyway, with Mama and Grandma visiting back and forth all the time. You would think they never saw each other the way they acted.

Missy and Katie were telling Emma all about the new dolls they had gotten a few days ago. Joey rolled his eyes. Dolls were stupid.

“Ow!” Emma was glaring at him from across the table. He gave her a dirty look and rubbed his shin. Stupid girlie boots.  And she was wearing the look that Mama gave Daddy when he said something really stupid.

Uh-oh.

Emma was fuming. He was the only boy she had ever asked to a tea party, and he was being obnoxious. Well, her Mama and her sister had warned her that he might not like her tea party, but she thought they were crazy. Tea parties were wonderful! And she had spent a lot of time planning this one because he was coming. He was her birthday twin, and her nephew too, that made him special, so she was doing something special for him. How could he not like it? She had even asked Mama to make his favorite kind of pie. And now he was ruining it!

Stupid boy!

To her surprise, she felt tears start to well up in her eyes. She sniffed as she tuned away from the table and walked with  all the dignity she could muster to the corner. She then promptly sat down and cried.

Joey had made a face when Emma first got up from the table. But then he saw her eyes. She looked just like his Mama when she was about to cry.

He watched her walk away and sit down in the corner. He could see her shoulders shaking from his chair.

Missy and Katie glared at him.

He looked around desperately for a way to keep from getting killed by any of them.

He made a split second decision. He grabbed the tray the tea stuff was on and made his way over to the corner. He sat down carefully next to her so he wouldn’t spill anything from the tray.

Balancing it on his knees, he completely ignored the crying girl next to him. He reached out and poured some of the tea, which looked remarkably like water, into a cup. He then turned to the girl sitting beside him.

In his politest grown up voice he said, “Would you like one lump or two, madam?”

Emma stared at him in astonishment. He did know how to play tea party!

“Excuse me. Madam?” Joey was waiting expectantly for her answer.

She just beamed at him.

Mentally, he rolled his eyes. The things he went through to keep this girl happy.

And he still didn’t like tea parties. No matter what the older boys said. It wasn’t his fault all the family close to his age were girls.

And everybody knew girls had cooties.