Karli fell back on the blanket, giggling. The sound of her laughter hit him hard in the middle of his gut. It was the first time he’d heard it coming from the small body, a melodic sound that made him want to slay every dragon in the universe to protect her from the Theodores, Kindreds, and Hymns of the world.
“I love the sound of your laughter,” he said, feeling squishy on the inside. His eyes raised, looking out at the water and searching the beach for Dusty, who was riding like a champ. In the basket was Pierce, his tongue wagging and enjoying the wind in the wide-open doggy mouth. The little fella barked on occasion to let her know he too thought it was grand. “Great, next she’s probably going to make him a mini doggy cape.”
“She made the pajamas, which I told her was too much, but hey, it’s better than having all them kids over to the house playing that Devil music,” Karli said, pursing her lips.
“Devil music? Seriously, you sound like a 60-year-old woman. What is up with you?” he asked looking at her.
“Jamal said it was trap music, Daddy. And that’s exactly how I felt, trapped like the Devil was trying to dig into my soul,” she said, crinkling her little nose. “Hymn called it Devil music because he said it made men want to touch themselves and diddle with his wives. That music was like a worm digging into my ear drum. The man rapping in the trap, I couldn’t understand half of what he was saying, kept repeating himself over and over again. Jamal and Marcella sat bobbing their heads up and down as if their souls had been taken and all that was left were two shells responding to the man who kept repeating himself. Devil music Daddy.”
“Well, when you explain like that...,” he said, watching Dusty ride up. Her cheeks were red and flushed. The salt air mixed with her sweat, crystallized the droplets on her face. “Ready to head home?”
“Yes, I am so thirsty and so is Pierce,” she said, climbing off the bike. “Wow, this feels amazing. So free. Thank you for all of this. You can’t even start to imagine how happy this makes me.”
“Glad to hear it,” he said, getting to his feet and brushing away the sand. “There’s a foot wash station ahead where Pierce can grab some water. Next time we come out, we know to bring some water bottles.”
“Oh, I have one,” Karli said, pulling a bottle of water from her bag and passing it to Dusty. “Pierce is going to have to wait. He can’t drink from my bottle.”
“I’m not going to let Pierce drink from your bottle, Karli,” she said, giving attitude to her little sister.
He wanted to broach several subjects with them, away from their mother’s ears, and now was a good time. At least he hoped that it was. Raphael wanted to give it a try.
“Girls, next week, I have a meeting in North Carolina and have to leave on Tuesday morning,” he said, being met with a few frowns. “I’m planning to take you all with me for a little mini vacation.”
“A family vacation – for real?” Dusty asked surprised.
“Yes, but I only have one big room at the place where we are staying,” he said. “It has two bedrooms.”
“Ah, you want to share a bed with Mommy,” Dusty said, looking at Karli and waggling her eyebrows.
“Are you talking about the sex?” Karli asked. “Daddy, having the sex with Mommy is not a bad thing.”
Raphael’s eyes were wide. His mouth dropped open and his hands flew up in defense. He took a few steps backwards as well, hoping to halt the conversation where they stood.
“Wait, this is not going as I had hoped, so just slow down there, girls,” he said.
“It’s fine. We know about sex,” Dusty said, “and if Mommy is ready to share your bed, I’m okay with it.”
He stood there blinking, unable to comprehend how a child who couldn’t ride a bike spoke so frankly about such adult matters. It unnerved him. Raphael started to sweat.
“Daddy, at the compound where we lived, all those people ever did was have sex,” Karli said. “In the morning, the middle if the day, and in the evening, but the evenings were worse. At night, the noise carried and it sounded like a bunch of wild animals getting loose. I just hope you and Mommy don’t getting going and sound like the beasts of the field. I wouldn’t like to hear that. I don’t want to hear that at all. I would rather listen to the trap music.”
“I should have known better. I should have known,” he mumbled, running his hand across his forehead.
“There was no way you can know, Daddy, how much we’ve been exposed to,” Dusty said, pushing the bike as they walked towards the water showers. “It’s weird. We’ve never seen television, barely know how to operate a microwave, or know the different types of music, but we know how life is created.”
“The creation of life,” he repeated.
“Yes, and Karli and I talked about it some yesterday, after you gave us all the cool gifts,” Dusty said, looking at him. “We love calling you Daddy and for once feeling like we actually have a male figure to protect us and make sure we grow up right, but we aren’t yours. You can love us as if we are, but you need to have a kid of your own. It’s time for Mommy to move into your room.”
“Yeah, you need to put a baby in her belly,” Karli said, nodding as if she’d just spoken a universal truth.
“What?” he said, feeling totally uncomfortable and ready to bolt.
“She’s just like you, Daddy. Mommy loves us, but we aren’t her own babies. She needs to have her own. That way, even if you get tired of us, you won’t get rid of your own kid,” Dusty told him, “and it would make us a real family. You need a son.”
“I need to get the hell away from you two, that’s what I need,” he replied. He looked around to see if anyone had overheard what the girls were saying.
“Daddy, stop playing shy,” Dusty said. “Had we stayed at the compound, on my 15th birthday, Hymn would have paired me with a husband. More than likely, he would have broken me himself. Kindred tricked Theodore into taking Karli out for date night for some beer-bellied man to ruin her. Our lives are different. We see life different. We are happy and hope you are as well, but men need sex.”
“Dear Jesus, make this conversation stop,” Raphael said, walking ahead of the girls. “Okay, we can put this topic to rest.”
“No, we have to make sure we are in one accord,” Dusty said.
“In one accord? What are you talking about, Dusty?”
“Our home is here with you,” she said. “We want to stay, but in order for it to work out, there has to be something in this for everybody. You’re a man. Mommy is a woman. Karli can move into my room or her own room, and Mommy can move into yours to take care of your needs.”
“My needs center around you ceasing this topic right now,” he said, shaking his head. “This conversation is over.”
“Are we in one accord?” Dusty asked.
“Hell no, we haven’t even opened the doors on the Hyundai,” he exclaimed.
“I don’t know what that is,” Dusty said, shrugging. “When we get back, we’ll tell Mommy that Karli is ready to move into her own room, which frees her up to move into yours. You get to make animal noises and create the life of your son, and we get to be one big happy family. Agreed?”