Page 44 of Despite It All
“I can do that.” I will do that. Even if Wyla stands firm on the no relationship front, I’ll still take care of them any way I can.
“Good, we’re rooting for you, so don’t fuck it up,” Graham says, and before I can respond Stevie is barreling her way back to us.
“Mommy says we can go in the water now!” Stevie grabs my hand to pull me out of the chair. “Oh, and Mommy says don’t forget my life jacket.”
I go back under the umbrella to grab the small pink life jacket. “Sorry, kid, small problem. We don’t have your life jacket.”
Stevie laughs. “Silly, Daddy. It’s in your hands.”
I hold it out. “Oh, I thought this pink rainbow life jacket was mine.”
Stevie giggles. “No, you silly goose. It’s too small for you!” She snags the life jacket out of my hands to put it on.
While she works on fastening the buckles, I pull my shirt over my head and feel the sun beat down on my back. Shit, I should probably put some sunscreen on too. Wyla makes her way back and tries to help Stevie tighten her straps.
“Hey, Wy, you got any sunscreen I can borrow?”
Wyla glances up at me and before she can hide it I catch her eyes widening. “Um, yeah,” she says, turning back to Stevie. “It’s in my bag.”
I riffle through the bags until I find a smaller bag that has some sunscreen in it. The first few I pull out are all for kids, but finally land on one for adults. I apply it where I can but it seems like I’m going to need help with my back. “Wy, can you get my back?”
“Me?” Wyla snaps up from kneeling in front of Stevie.
“Yeah, you.” I laugh.
“Your back will be fine.” Wyla tries to brush it off.
“Mommy, you always say we have to wear sunscreen,” our smarty-pants daughter says.
“Yeah, always, Wy.” I toss her the sunscreen bottle.
She studies it in her hands then something dawns on her. “Oh, I’ll get the spray.”
Well that didn’t go exactly as planned. Wyla replaces the bottle she has for the spray kind. “Was there a problem with the sunscreen I used first?” I ask over my shoulder.
“Um, no, I just like the spray better,” Wyla says, not nearly as convincing as she thinks she sounds.
“Seems like you just want to avoid touching me.”
Wyla huffs. “He’s good, Stevie. Y’all have fun in the water.”
“Yay! Come on, come on!” Stevie pulls me away from Wyla, who is now smirking. When we reach the water, Stevie freezes. “Can you carry me past the waves?”
“Yeah, Stevie, of course.” I move to her other side so I can carry her on my stronger side. My left shoulder feels better ninety percent of the time, but I’d rather have a confident grip on her while walking through the waves.
“Why did you switch sides, Daddy?” Stevie asks and wraps her little arms around my neck. “Is it because of the booboo on your arm?” Her little finger reaches over and points at the small incision scar.
“A little bit, but don’t worry, I got you, Stevie.” I start to walk in the water. While it’s a pretty hot day for late April, the water is still pretty fucking cold. I keep going when Stevie doesn’t even flinch when the water touches her feet.
Once the water seems calmer and we’re starting to get close to Annabelle, Stevie wiggles out my arms.
“Belley!” Stevie yells, and starts to swim her way.
Annabelle meets her half way. “Evie! Look at you, swimming so good.”
“I practiced a lot last time,” Stevie says, so proud of herself. I think she means last summer but no one dares to correct her.
“Hey there, booger.” Owen scoops her up from behind, and she squeals.
