Lemon Cake

Chapter Thirty-Three

"I look like a goalie," Sidney whined her big brown sad eyes on Tulip. Her arms were stretched out and her stance was wide as if the arm and knee pads kept the hinge joints from moving. The leafy branches of a massive tree shield them from the sun's blaze although Sidney's head was safe from the rays under the thick helmet.

"Don't you think you're going a little—" Jasper started then stopped from the sharp look Tulip gave him with her hands on her bare, taut waist. He looked back at the sulking state of the little girl and gestured to her protective gear. "Aren't these for riding bikes? She's not even on the street. We're in the park. Plus, it's in the mid-nineties. She's going to overheat in that helmet."

Sidney began fanning herself at his words and Tulip narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"This is staple beginner gear," Tulip said balancing herself like a pro on her peach roller skates with lavender laces. The tight spandex athletic shorts that gripped the top of her thighs and her plump ass like a glove attracted the eyes of several passersby but she didn't pay them any mind. She was focused on Jasper, suited up in Nike gear with a backward baseball cap. "Do you want her to have a scraped knee or bruised palms because if she falls that's what's going to happen."

"But I'm not going to fall." Sidney insisted, still standing rigidly. "I have good posture and excellent balance. I took gymnastics when I was little."

Tulip blinked at her wondering what the ten-year-old considered little since she was still little; five or six. "I love that you're confident but balancing on wheels isn't easy as you might think."

"It's not but..." Jasper set his hand on his chest. "I'm not going to let you fall." He undid Sidney's elbow pads and then her helmet. He left on the knee pads and didn't falter under the heated scowl Tulip seared at him. "Compromise?"

Tulip sighed as Sidney silently begged with praying hands. "Fine but if any part of her hits this concrete, Jasper Young, I'll cut you with a rock."

He laughed then said, "If you must. I'll find the rock for you."

Sidney glanced between the two of them slightly confused if they were being serious or not but she wasn't too concerned. The thing gobbling up most of her mind was on the baby blue stakes resting on the park bench. They watched her as she eagerly laced the roller skates up and tentatively stood to her feet. She wobbled as she tried to straighten her knees and Jasper quickly took hold of her arm stabilizing her. She stood frozen looking up at Tulip with unease as she was unsteady on her feet.

"Stand like this," Tulip said, standing in front of Sidney showing her how to point out her feet and slightly bend her knees. "And then take a little step." Tulip glided backward giving the girl space to move forward.

Sidney flattered backward as she tried to inch forward. Her free arm flailed but it was Jasper's firm, steady gripped to her other arm that kept her upright. A nervous smile curved on her face as she traveled a foot then a bike whizzed by spooking her and she skidded on the steps falling back. A scream rushed from her mouth anticipating the crash to the warm sidewalk but it never came. Jasper's reflexes kept her bottom from hitting the ground and her scream morphed to a goofy laugh. "Meme! I almost fell!"

"Yeah, I know." Tulip breathed out with her arms outstretched as if she was trying to catch the girl herself. She glanced over her shoulder to see the bike rider still barrelling ahead like a Tour de France reject. "Some jackasses think they own the sidewalk." She gave Jasper a look and gratitude as she took Sidney's other hand and he mouthed 'no need."

By the time they made it to the other side of Hermann Park, Sidney was skating without the assistance of her birth parents even though she wasn't going faster than the speedwalking elderly couple she was still happy she didn't need to hold anyone's hands to make it their resting spot.