“No Sir, I came to speak with you, man to man,” Jamal informed him. “If we can have the conversation on the porch, I would appreciate it. You know just in case you say no, I don’t want Karli to be hurt.”
“Karli... you came to speak with me about my 10-year-old daughter?” Raphael said adding bass to his voice.
“Sir, I am requesting your permission to be Karli’s book friend.”
“She’s too young for a boyfriend,” he said, wanting to kick the kid off the porch with his good foot. Jamal found his words funny. He even laughed showing off a wire retainer covering teeth that were entirely too perfect for a boy of 13 years old.
“I said book friend, Sir. It is my hopes that during this Summer, maybe two or three days a week, I can come by, sit on the couch or maybe at the table and talk books with Karli. Most of the kids on the island don’t read, and if they do, they don’t have the comprehension Karli does to see the nuances the author paints with broad strokes of the pen,” Jamal said.
“What?”
“Sir, once we complete the Potter Series, I would like to introduce her to Artemis Fowl. Although I’m a big fan of the Maze Runner series, I think those would be a bit too advanced for a fifth grader, but Karli is sharp,” Jamal said, smiling at him.
The only thing Raphael saw were those little muscled arms embracing his daughter. He started to sweat. He wanted to get angry, but Karli was right, the boy was swaggalicious, and he impressed Raphael.
“Sir, all of this is if you are comfortable with me being her friend. I know I’m going to the eighth grade but we’ll be in the eyesight of you and your wife at all times,” Jamal said, holding up the lunch bag. “Karli said you have no intention of feeding the neighborhood, so I brought my own snacks. We can alternate on snack days if that’s okay. My allowance ain’t that deep even for the son of a heart surgeon. A brother still has to cut the grass at the hizzy to keep bizzy even to purchase a can of fizzy.”
“What?”
“Sir, does my offer meet with your approval?”
“I don’t even know half of what you just said,” Raphael replied squinted at the boy.
“Sir, is it satisfactory for me come by a couple of times a week to do like a book club with Karli? I’ll bring food one day, Karli does the snacks on another,” Jamal said.
“Sure, why not?”
Jamal asked, “Is she home, and if so, may I see her and share the good news?”
“Yeah, she’s here. Come on in,” Raphael said, opening the front door. Jamal looked around the house at the bright colors, nodding his head in approval. “Karli, someone is here to see you.”
He heard the footsteps come down the stairs. Immediately, he noticed she wasn’t wearing the same clothes she had on when he went to answer the door. Karli had changed into a pair of jeans that came below her knees and a pink tank top. The braids in the back of her hair were removed allowing her hair to hang down to her shoulders.
“What?” Raphael said, looking at his little Pooh Bear. She had put on some of the lip glosser she’d bought at the Lodge gift shop.
“Oh, hey Jamal. How are you? This is a surprise. What’s up?” she said, sounding calm as if she hadn’t seen him on the security camera and ran at lightning speed to change clothes.
“Hey, Karli Girl. I just talked to your Daddy about us having like book club here. Just me and you. A couple of days a week, so we can talk books,” Jamal said, walking over to the table and setting down the lunch bag. “I brought snacks plus a couple of extra special things for you.”
“Oh, did you?” she said, providing a coy smile. “In the words of Hermione... let’s see then.”
“Karli Girl, you are clever,” Jamal said, opening the bag. Raphael found himself leaning to look inside of it as well. The bag held two bottles of water, two pears, and a large chocolate chip cookie. “My allowance was tight this week, had to get a haircut, but I had enough for one big cookie. We have to share.”
“I don’t mind sharing with you, Jamal,” she told the kid, giving him that same look she gave Raphael that made him buy that stupid $70 suitcase with a blue horned, one eyed, gay ass unicorn on it. “As soon as my allowance starts, I’ll buy some stuff for our book club as well. Wait. Did you say you brought a couple of extra special things? Was there anything else you brought for me, Jamal?”
Suddenly, he started feeling bad for the kid. Raphael stood to the side as the boy dug into his pocket and pulled out the most perfect sand dollar he’d ever seen. He held it in the palm of his hand and showed it to Karli. It was when she touched it that Raphael noticed the leather string.
“Jamal, what it is?”
“A sand dollar. When you left, after the kids made fun of you for having a crush on me, I wanted to give you something to show you I value your friendship,” Jamal told her. “I looked for three days, every day on the beach when the tide went out to find the perfect one. I found it, Karli. I found the perfect one.”
“Oh, Jamal. You gone make a girl fall hard for a boy like you,” she told him, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.
“Yeesh, for Chuck’s sake,” Raphael said, walking away and looking for the notebook where he kept his running list. He was a trained Navy SEAL. A well-paid assassin. A man of focus and determination. Three weeks ago, he had stopped to take a piss and picked up a child who changed his life. She was now in the other room putting her handful of pixie dust all over that poor kid who spent three flipping days on the beach looking for the perfect sand dollar.
“Shoot,” he said, looking down at the notebook, preparing to go over his list.
He sat quietly for a moment, but he was entirely too distrusting to leave Jamal alone with Karli for more than five minutes. A kiss or two the boy could steal in that time, but it would take more time than that to get closer. He found himself going over the list again.
Clean the gun.
Threaten teenage boy (girl) Jamal with gun acid (????)
Show daughter how a boy is supposed to hold her when they dance.
Dance lessons with teen daughter.
Clean bigger gun and knife to Threaten teenage boy girl. Jamal.
Movie night.
Set time with the girls on for Saturdays.
Write financial plan, include stocks, bonds, index funds and a few blue chips.
Talk to Willow about setting an allowance for the girls.
Talk to Willow about her monthly allowance for the house and personal accounts.
Debit card for Willow’s crafting. (Bank on Monday)
Swimsuits for the girls and Willow. Get those on the way.
Remind Willow to pack dresses for the girls. White gloves for tea? Straw hats?
A tablet for Karli.
Create online account with child parameters for Karli to buy 100 books.
Enroll the girls in a self-defense class
Who the hell is Jamal(?) Threaten Jamal with 1200 yard Daddy stare.
Plan for evening walks on the beach with Willow in search of sand dollars to make the perfect jewelry piece.
“Jesus, this takes a lot,” he said, taking a seat at the table across the room. He could see Jamal and Karli, but he wasn’t in the immediate vicinity. She’d crossed her little legs as she chatted with him, dissecting the world of the Potterverse, sharing insights and laughter.