Page 50 of Despite It All
“Yeah, Little Bee, come on let’s go get some water.” Jett stands her up, and she grabs the blue bucket before heading to the shore.
As I watch her walk down, Jett comes up beside me and places his hand on my lower back as he passes, he says, “Like I said, superhero.”
I know, in reality, he only touched my back for a brief second, but I feel like every single one of his touches is branding. I want more of them even though I know it’s a bad idea. I need more.
I pull myself away from watching the duo together and force myself over to my parent’s umbrella.
I squat under it. “Hey, guys. Stevie is on her last leg… she needs a nap. If you guys want to stay longer, we can take—”
“We?” Dad clips.
“Dad, please don’t start.” Dad’s animosity for Jett is really starting to get on my nerves. I understood his hesitation in the beginning, and I still do—to an extent. I don’t know what we will decide moving past these two weeks. I’ve really tried to block the idea of that conversation out of my mind. That’s future Wyla’s problem for now. “Can’t you be a little nice? He’s here now. He wants to be a part of Stevie’s life.”
Dad rolls his eyes. “I think he wants a lot of things, Wyla.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t want to talk about this, Dad. I just want you to be civil. Can we agreeon civil? No grunting when he speaks and actually shake his hand.”
My stubborn father says nothing. I sigh all about to give up when Mom steps in. “I think that’s fair, sweetie. Griffin, don’t you?” Her tone is serious, hinting that she’s not actually asking… she’s telling.
My father is beyond hard-headed but something Mom does cracks it every time. “Fine. I’ll be civil.”
“You promise?”
Dad mocks a cross on his chest and rolls his eyes. Well, I’ll take it.
Mom reaches over to take Dad’s hand. “We’ll get loaded up and take the kids back to our house for a nap and some dinner. I think Georgie is about over it too. Wyla, why don’t you help me get the bags ready. Griffin, you can go get the kids.” She smiles as Dad stands up to do as she asks. “Maybe even say hi to Jett when you get Stevie.”
My mother, I think she could rule the world if she wanted to.
Chapter 14
Stevie and I make our way back to our sandcastle with some more water, her attitude having done a complete one-eighty. Now, I still think we’re on a very short fuse but for now she’s good.
When the tantrum started, I panicked but Wyla’s response was immediate. I know she didn’t need me to help her calm Stevie down but having her include me really meant a lot.
I help Stevie fix the parts of the sandcastle that crumbled. She hums to herself happily. I try to figure out the song but the more I listen I don’t think it’s a real song at all. Not that I care, I could still listen to it all day.
“That’s a really pretty sandcastle, Stevie,” Mr. Bennett says as he takes a seat in Wyla’s chair.
“Thank you.” Stevie beams. “Daddy helped me.”
To this, Mr. Bennett sighs. He doesn’t grunt or roll his eyes… he sighs. This ought to go well.
“Hey, Stevie, I was thinking we could head back to Papaw’s house and watch a movie. I happened to have made some homemade ice cream this morning.” Stevie’s eyes grow wide at his proposition. “What do you say?”
Stevie nods her head vigorously. “Yeah, yeah, can we go now?”
Mr. Bennett laughs. “Yeah, why don’t you go help your mom and Mamaw with the bags. I want to talk to your dad for a minute.”
I would like to think this could go well for me. An actual conversation. But this also has the potential to go very bad. Stevie races off without a second thought. There goes my wish for a tantrum so Wyla would come back over here.
I lean back in my chair. Unsure if I should speak first. If this is some fucking power move to let this tension become painfully thick, it’s working.
Mr. Bennett sighs again. “Some dads hate the idea of being girl dads, but not me. I knew from the moment I married their mother that I wanted girls who would grow up to be just as incredible as her. I think it’s safe to say I got that and more…
“The thing is, I raised my daughters to be strong and independent. As much as I’d like to think my wife needsme, I know she doesn’t, and my daughters don’tneedtheir men either. They are all perfectly capable of providing for themselves. I think Wyla, specifically, has proven that.”
Graham said Mr. Bennett is an actions man, and I’ll prove to him I can take care of his girls, but for now he’ll have to take my words.
