Page 31 of The Associate

“Tag!” he calls as he taps my shoulder.

I let out a squeal, laughing. “Noooo! That’s not fair.” I pout. “You’re faster than me.”

He crouches down in front of me, a finger covering his mouth. “Shhh, I’ll help you sneak up on Rico or one of the other boys and you can tag them.”

Smiling from ear to ear, I nod. “Okay! Let’s get them.”

Jumping to my feet, I run off around the corner again, searching for the others. I only know who Rico is because he is always hanging around with Mason. He is tall and I don’t think he ever smiles. The corner of his mouth lifts up so it looks like he is half smiling but he doesn’t smile like Mason does. Mason is friendly, I like spending time with him, and Mum always lets me play with him. After his own Dad died, my Mum said that he is my new brother and that we would look after him until he is old enough to take care of himself.

I don’t have any real brothers or sisters. She always says that it is because I am enough. I am their Princess who will one day rule this kingdom.

I don’t think I have seen Mum and Dad together when no one is around though. He says he loves us, but when they think I am in bed asleep, I can hear them yelling at each other.

I think Dad lost his temper the other night because the next morning, when Mum came into my room, she had a blue-and-purple-coloured mark on her face. All she told me is “It’s ok Sweetie, Mum just fell.”

“You ready Princess?” Mason is behind me, his voice a whisper in my ear.

I nod, smiling. “I’m ready.”

“I’ll sneak up on Sean over there, and you come in and tag him, okay?” He holds out a fist, waiting for me to bump mine against his.

“Let’s do this!” I whisper as he runs over to where the other boys are standing.

Watching as he stops next to them, he is distracting them by talking to them. He glances over to me and winks before turning his head back to the boy he called Sean. I am light on my feet and we are playing on the grass, so I am able to sneak up on him.

Three… Two… One…

“TAG!” I scream as I slap the boy’s arm. “You’re it!”

I run away from them, giggling. No sounds are coming from behind me, so I think they were caught off guard. “Genevieve!” I hear Mum call from the stairs I am running towards. “Time to come inside now, Sweetie.”

“But Mum, I’m not ready to come in. I wanna stay out here and keep playing!” I stop at the bottom of the stairs. “Please.”

“No Sweetie, you need to get ready for dinner. The boys over there will be ok and you can play with them again tomorrow. We cannot be late for your father’s dinner.” She holds her hand out towards me. Stomping up the stairs, I take hold of it before she starts pulling me down the hallway into the bedroom.

“What’s so special about this dinner anyway?” I ask as she walks me into the bathroom, removing my dirty clothes and telling me to climb into the already full bathtub.

“It just is Sweetie, please don’t ask any more questions.” I can tell she is worrying. Her voice is shaky when she speaks.

“But why, Mum?” I just want to be back outside playing with the boys.

“Because I say so Genevieve.” Her voice rises before she inhales deeply and then lets the air out through her mouth slowly. “We cannot make your father mad.”

The rest of the time getting ready went by quickly. Mum told me to wash my hair and not to play in the bubbles.

“Time to dry off Sweetie,” Mum says, knocking on the door. “Out you hop.”

I don’t want to make her upset again, I don’t like when she yells at me, so I climb out of the bathtub, standing quietly on the mat as I wrap a soft towel around myself. Mum walks in and pulls me close to her, holding me tight. “It will all be ok, Sweetie,” she whispers before she turns and walks back out to the bedroom.

After drying off, I walk into the bedroom, making my way over to the seat and flopping down into it. She is moving quickly around the room, gathering my hairbrush, clothes, and shoes before she rushes over to me. She moves so fast that I just sit on the bed until she finishes helping me get ready for tonight.

“There, you look beautiful,” she says, lifting me off the chair and standing me on the ground in front of her.

The doors to the bedroom fly open and Dad walks through them. “Dad! Don’t I look beautiful, Mum says I look beautiful.” I run towards him but he just holds his hand up.

“Yes, yes, you look lovely,” he says, not even looking down at me. “Marie, are you ready? Our guests are waiting.”

“Yes, Salvatore. We are both ready,” she says, walking over to me, taking my hand in hers.

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