Page 36 of When The Rain Falls

My fists clench. I look back to Ruby. Her chin is jutted out defiantly. "Go upstairs and put on some real clothes," I bark at her. Ruby doesn't move. But Julie takes a step backward, taking cover behind Ruby's protesting body.

"It's the style, Dad," Ruby declares.

"It's true," Aimee retorts.

I look to Ruby, and Julie, and then back to Aimee. They're ganging up on me. Time to divide and conquer.

"You." I point to Aimee. "In the kitchen." I turn and stalk down the hallway, expecting her to follow.

"If I don't come back in five minutes, someone call the cops," I hear Aimee whisper. "Or maybe Jack.”Jack?Whothe fuckis Jack?

I round the corner in front of the pantry and run a shaking hand through my hair. I can be calm about this. I think. When I turn to lean against the kitchen counter, Aimee is standing in front of me. She's bouncy and light. Like she's standing in line for an amusement park ride, not like she's about to be lectured. The corners of her mouth turn up slightly. She still thinks this is some kind of fucking joke. I take a step closer to her, aiming my eyes directly into hers.

I prepare to unleash only half of hell on her. "Don’t undermine me in front of my kids," I command. But she’s staring at my chest. Which I forgot was still bare. And the woman does not look ok. Her eyes are a bit glazed. I lean to the left and her eyes track my chest. I lean to the right, with the same result. I sigh but she only seems to enjoy the way my chest rises. Fucking hell. I snap a finger in front of her face.

She blinks. “Did you say something?”

I slip my shirt over my head and Aimee’s eyes return to normal. "I said, don’t undermine me in front of my kids.”

"You're being too rigid," she responds dismissively.

I open my mouth but she continues. "Ruby is a teenager. She can decide what she feels comfortable wearing. It will teach her to respect herself." I can't believe my fucking ears. She's trying to teach me about parenting? I exhale a hot breath in her direction. I must be breathing more heavily than I thought because little wisps of her hair flutter around her face in response.

"And wearing half a shirt is supposed to teach her to respect herself?" I ask. "I can tell you that no guy is going to be thinking about how respectful she looks."

"You're just shocked your daughter looks so grown up," Aimee says. "Men have no right to tell women what they can wear." No right? I'm her father, for fuck’s sake.

"Aimee, I know you're trying to help." I try to lighten my tone, but I’m not sure it’s working. "But you're not a parent."

"But I was a teenager," she says. "I know that when the rules are too rigid, kids just sneak around and break them. You want her to start hiding things from you?" I imagine that Aimee knows this from experience.

"What's the point of rules then?" I snap. What would Laurel say if she saw her wide-eyed, goofy-grinned daughter dressed like that?

"I don't know. But there has to be some common ground. Give and take."

"Well, I didn't ask for your opinion." I cross my arms. "You need to butt the hell out."

Aimee pauses for a moment. Her voice loses a bit of its defiance. "Yes, Daddy,” she says seductively.

"Don't call me that," I growl at her.

“Papa bear?”

I growl again. I can’t be sure, but teeth may have been bared.

“Ok then,bearit is.” She laughs.

And then she grows serious. Her smile softens and she puts a hand on my shoulder. The gesture catches me by surprise and I flinch.

Aimee tilts her head up to look me straight in the eyes. The eye contact grows heavy. Too heavy. I look down at my feet. Because my feet don’t have rich chocolatey irises that threaten to pull me under.

"Ruby is going to be eighteen in three years,” she says softly. “You want to send her out into the world without any experience navigating it?" She gives me a gentle squeeze.

I sigh. I don’t want to think about things like that. I just want things to be simple. Like they used to be. When Ruby wanted to be a fairy princess and not the object of the high school football team's desires.

“I’m trying my goddamn hardest with them,” I confess. “It’s not easy.”

"You're doing great," she says. "I just spent all afternoon with Ruby. She's an awesome kid. Funny. Smart. Everything will be ok."

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