"So, Kicks, is it okay if we go to the mudflats tomorrow after lunch?" I ask, switching on the dishwasher and turning to face her when she joins me at the counter. "If we go before lunch, we'll have to hurry back, and I'll get hungry, and you know what that will be like."
"Yup," she says, grinning at me, and I know she's about to tease me. I wonder if Kira realises how much she loves teasing me. She thinks I'm the one always messing with her (and she's right), but she gives me some serious competition in that regard. "You turn into a whiny baby when you're hungry."
"Hey!" I exclaim, snapping a tea towel at her, but she expertly evades it and dances away to fetch two mugs from a cabinet. So, she's not having coffee with us. Yeah, I'm disappointed but not surprised, I saw her suppressing yawns during most of dinner, and she grew quieter and quieter as time passed. Kicks is tired. "Well... exactly," I admit, adding water to the coffee maker. "I'm no fun when I'm hungry."
"I'm helping your mom make lunch anyway," she shrugs, handing me the bag of ground coffee. "Look, Ethy, if you'd rather not, you don't have to go to the mud fl-."
"What?!"
Is she saying that because she thinks I don't want to go, or does she not want me with her and is trying to call off our deal? After adding coffee to the machine, I close the bag and turn to frown at her, where she's leaning up against the counter near me, chewing on her bottom lip, looking uncertain. She seriously shouldn't do things that draw my attention to her lips; my brain instantly stops working, and memories of our first kiss try to murder me. How am I supposed to remember what I'm talking about under such cruel circumstances?
"I really want to..." My voice broke when I was about 13 years old; I have no idea what it is trying to do now, going all hoarse and high like that. I clear my throat in the most manly way I can manage and try again, forcing it a couple of registers lower, ignoring the amused giggle bubbling from Kira, making my ears very happy, and the soft snorting sound coming from her father. "I'm looking forward to going with you. It will be fun."
"No, it won't," she assures me, and I give her a look because she deserves one. Isn't our outing tomorrow supposed to be fun?
"It won't?"
"Nope, no fun allowed at all," she assures me with eyes narrowed in warning, making me chuckle. Just what is it she thinks I'll try to get up to? Oh, wait... she knows me... "It's going to be purely educational, Ethy."
"Sure, I could educate you on some fun things... like how to take cool pictures of mud and water," I hurry to add when Kira huffs and Uncle Joe pauses in cleaning the table to cock his head, blinking at me. "Will you people get your minds out of the gutter? I am an upstanding member of society!"
"Society of primates, yes," Kira agrees, crossing her arms and pulling a face at me while her father chuckles, happy to hear his feisty daughter put me in my place. I cannot think of even one comeback that will not land me in some kind of trouble and have Uncle Joe giving me his version of the castration speech, and he has some gnarly equipment with which he could perform the procedure himself if he wants to. For safety reasons, I just let my responses run freely in my mind, silently grinning at Kira.
Are you inviting me for some monkey business, Kicks?
I'll monkey around with you anytime.
And my all-time favourite!
"How about I be Tarzan to your Jane and sweep you off to my tree house? Together we can rule over the jungle.
"Oh, shush," Kira says, making me wonder if I said any of those aloud. I quickly glance at Uncle Joe to see if he heard it too, but he is calmly hanging up the cloth he'd used to wipe the kitchen table. Kira does sometimes have a weird way of reading my mind, and right now, she is blushing prettily, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"I'll be right back, Ethe. I just want to pop upstairs for a sweater," Uncle Joe says, leaving the kitchen, and I cannot help but grin. A sweater? On a hot night like tonight? I know my body heat runs a bit higher than most people's, but Uncle Joe also seldom needs a sweater. On the other hand, Kicks always needs one... she could just wear me from now on.
I watch Uncle Joe run up the stairs, leaving us alone in the kitchen. Very subtle! He's always been a considerate man; it's kind of him to give us a minute. I guess he is fully present tonight and noticed that things between Kira and me are different from usual. Well, he would really have to be completely blind not to see it.
"Let's go set up the console," I suggest when Kicks and I are standing in the kitchen, staring at each other like rabbits caught in headlights. Neither of us seems to know what to say or do now.
"Ethy," Kira grabs my arm when I step into the hallway, ready to head to the living room where one of Uncle Joe's favourite Kenny G songs is playing. He loves listening to peaceful music like this when he's at home. Sometimes he even likes playing wild, guts and gore games with it in the background, which is just weird, but I like it.
"What's up?" I want to know a little breathlessly, turning back to look at Kicks, surprised to find her standing so close to me I can smell her subtle fragrance. I'm drowning in the dark pools of her eyes, their pupils dilated in the dusky light, and when she nervously licks her lips, I try to force myself to take a step back, but my legs won't work. I can hear my heartbeat... I'm pretty sure my mother's sister in Palm Grove can hear it too.
"N-nothing, I just... well..."
Why is she so shy now? Ten minutes ago, she called me a half-baked pecan pie because I teased her about how cute she looked as an anime schoolgirl this morning. I told her that ponytails suit her and she should just always dress like that. Yeah, I still cannot get over it. No, I have no idea how that was supposed to be an insult; all it did was make Uncle Joe and me crave some pecan pie... and ice cream.
"We didn't really cover this in our list," she finally says in a nervous huff, completely confusing me and also freaking me out a bit. As much as I love Kira and hanging out with her, I don't want to work on spreadsheets now; I want to play games and have fun with Uncle Joe.
"Huh? We're gonna work on the list now?" I frown, really hoping I'm misunderstanding her.
"No," she shakes her head, waving her hands in front of her before I can offer to do it tomorrow, before or after the mud. "I just mean... we talked about PDAs in front of our parents and friends and so on... that is pretty clear..."
"Yeah, you said it's not gonna happen." I'm feeling a little depressed now; why is she bringing that up? I didn't do anything PDA-like in front of her dad at all. I hope she doesn't see teasing and banter as PDAs because then I'm screwed... I live on those.
"You agreed..."
"Yeah, let's say I did," I grumble. For the record, I did not agree at all. "What's bugging you now?" I feel bad when she moves her feet around nervously; I didn't mean to sound so irritated. I genuinely want to know.
"Nothing, I'm just wondering, what is the protocol here?" she says, tucking her hair behind her ear and peeking up at me in that cute way that always makes me want to hug her. I am really tempted above and beyond my abilities to just have to stand here and watch her be all adorable and not even try to touch her. "Do I sit and watch you and Daddy play? Do I run around carrying snacks and drinks like a good hostess or-"
"The protocol?" I laugh, shaking my head. "Kicks, seriously, turn off that brain of yours for five seconds, okay? Stop thinking so much." She seriously needs to relax.
I can see her sucking her lips in, getting the glint in her eyes that almost always results in me being in at least some pain, and I hastily move my legs out of her way in case she kicks me. The nickname I gave her is not just a play on her name; Kira likes to attack my shins with her feet if she's wearing shoes.
"Look," I hurry to say before she injures herself, trying to launch me to the moon. "I'll never turn down a good hostess bringing me snacks and stuff, but what do you normally do when your dad and I have some game time?"
She folds her arms over her chest, giving me a cheeky look while she thinks about it, and now I'm battling again not to squash her in a bear hug. The girl is just too cruel!
"I tell you you're a noisy idiot and not to cover the entire living room in popcorn again while trying to shoot my father or whatever you're playing..." Yup, that sounds about right. "And then I go to bed."
"Okay," I nod my head, frowning in concentration. "Do that... or whatever you want. Or you could cuddle me and cheer me on," I grin, really liking that idea, but she doesn't say a word; she just blinks her eyes in a rather threatening way, making me laugh. "Or not..." I shrug, but I'm disappointed now.
"Are you ready, Ethe?" Uncle Joe asks, running down the stairs and I might be blind, but I do not see a sweater anywhere near the guy. "You joining us, Pumpkin?"
"Actually, Daddy, I've been awake for far too many hours today," Kira smiles; that is true; she sacrificed her Saturday morning lie-in for me. That is huge. True love right there... No, seriously, it is! "I'm going to bed."
"Okay, sleep tight, Honey," her father smiles, closing the gap between them to kiss the top of her head. I love how gentle the relationship between Kira and her father is. He might call her Pumpkin, as though she's a little girl, but he doesn't treat her like one. He always asks for and respects her opinions, and there is nothing he loves more than doing weird crap in his section of the garage while Kira is reading or taking care of her critters in her area. They love being together, even when neither says a word.
Sometimes it's like Kicks and Uncle Joe are in a closed-off cocoon of their own, and yet, I've never felt excluded, even when I don't force my way in by disrupting their peace with noise and fun. I always feel welcome and at home in their company... even when Kira growls at me and tells me to stick to her dad's space.
Kira devotedly takes excellent care of her father. She is always highly aware of his needs, even though he does not expect it from her. I suppose that losing Aunt Trudy changed their relationship to cause both of them to be very conscious of each other and focussed on not losing one another too. Kira has said a few times that she does not want her father to grow old alone and would be happy if he could find love again, but he is not interested at all.
If my family weren't in his life, Uncle Joe would've been a hermit by now, with Kira right there with him. My parents often drag him out of the house on outings.
In contrast, Delia's relationship with my dad is more the kind where she wraps him around her little finger and always gets her way, which is beneficial when I want something, and she gets it for me. Sometimes, it frustrates my mother that Deli can play our father so well. Whenever there's a war in our house, it's usually Deli and my dad against me and my mom, but when we step outside our family circle, it's Deli and me against the world.
When Uncle Joe walks along the short hallway to the living room, leaving us alone again, I move closer to Kira. "Thanks for dinner, Kicks; it was really good," I say, running a hand through her hair. It's like silk falling through my fingers, making me feel breathless.
"I a-added extra ja-jalapeños and ch-cheese," Kira mutters, nervous again. Why am I making her so nervous? I just want her to be herself with me, act the way she always does, just nicer... like a girlfriend who actually likes me and not the girl next door who says she hates me.
"I noticed; thanks for that." The cottage pie was seriously awesome, and I knew the large amount of jalapeños in there was for me. Uncle Joe likes them, but not as much as I do.
"Okay, sweet dreams," I smile, closing the gap between us, but I stop when Kira hurries to take a step away from me. For a second, I'm uncertain about what I should do. I don't want to cause her to run away, freak out, or decide that this situation is too weird for her. Still, I also want her to remember that we're dating and are supposed to love each other or something similar, so I grab her hand and pull her close enough for me to drop a kiss on the top of her head like her dad did.
I can't allow all our interactions to just be business as usual, or we'll make no progress at all, but it will have to do for tonight. One mind-blowing kiss per day is pretty good. I let her hand go and watch her run up the stairs as if she's afraid I'll chase her, and rugby tackle her to the ground so I can kiss her some more.
Am I allowed to do that? No? Probably not.
I watch her until she disappears before I walk down the hallway to join Uncle Joe in the living room. He's already signing into one of our favourite let's-try-to-kill-each-other games when I grab my game controller from the coffee table and drop into the recliner next to his.
We play a couple of rounds, laughing as we chase each other through alleyways and buildings, and when we've won a game each, I call a time-out to fetch our coffee, make some microwave popcorn, and grab the biscuit tin, chips... and the tub of M&Ms Kira for some mysterious reason, always claims belongs to her. It does, but that doesn't make it her M&Ms...
Playing games with Uncle Joe can be pretty challenging; I swear the guy does mathematical calculations in his head to predict outcomes, and he is usually right... so annoying. He is always where I least want him to be and tends to outmanoeuvre me all the time. The only reason I still manage to beat him often is because I get a lot more practice than he does.
He is lying back in his recliner, playing with Scamp, when I return to the living room with a tray carrying everything we need for good coffee and to keep us in snacks for a few years... or minutes.
"Look who came to find you," Uncle Joe grins, scratching the kitten's ears. If the cat came to find me, he is not doing a very good job of it; I'm right here, and he is curled up, sleeping on Uncle Joe's chest, only waking up long enough to transfer to his lap when the man adjusts his chair to raise his upper body a bit more.
"We have to make a plan; Scamp is finding ways into the garage now; Kira will be very upset if he eats her... uhm... clients?"
"Oh! Okay, I'll take a look," I say, mixing the coffee, milk and sugar ratio he likes. I can think of a few places where the little monster might be able to sneak in. "One solution would be to use the garage for cars, like normal people. The rolling doors cannot even open... just saying."
"The roll door on my side can open; that's how I get my equipment in and out," Uncle Joe shrugs. "Besides, the car is very happy under the canopy we built for it."
That is true; my dad, Uncle Joe, Burlap, and I built a pretty decent carport for the ancient Ford Cortina to which Uncle Joe is so attached. Still, the Crofts have a double garage, but it really cannot be called that anymore. It has a rug, bookcases, and beanbags in Kira's section, while Uncle Joe's half looks like some psy-fi, hi-tech laboratory.
"Ah, thanks, Ethe!" he smiles, taking the coffee I offer him and a couple of biscuits. "You're the best son-in-law ever."
I chuckle, flopping down on my seat again before I pick up my own mug and some cookies. "Please keep that in mind later when you want to castrate me," I mutter, dunking one of my biscuits.
"Castrate you?" he frowns, thinking it over. "Why? What are you planning?"
"Not planning anything," I chuckle, almost choking on the biscuit I took a bite of.
"Well, to be honest," Uncle Joe says, placing his biscuits on his chest - a move that is only possible since Scamp is fast asleep - and pushes his glasses higher up his nose. "I would prefer it if you and Kira adopted some children one day. Pregnancy and childbirth are pretty brutal."
"Uhm," I say, kind of freaked out about the turn of this conversation. Is this his weird-ass scary version of my dad's speech? I don't know if Kicks told him about our deal or even that we're dating, but he has definitely noticed that something is different. Uncle Joe tends to fly among the stars, doing maths with the angels most of the time, but he is finely tuned to the people he loves. "Huh?"
He turns his head to look at me, taking his time, eating all his biscuits before he shrugs. "I see your future plans have levelled up nicely. Pumpkin told me this morning that you're dating now; I thought she already knew that..."
I feel as though I've taken an off-ramp and am on a trip through the stars myself now, and I'm not even high or anything. That often happens when I'm hanging out with Uncle Joe. What is he talking about?
"Yeah, we started dating yesterday."
"Yup, that's what she said too..."
So, she just told him we're dating; she didn't tell him about our deal?
"I... she's just doing me a favour," I opt for honesty. I could never hide anything from Uncle Joe. He's way too perceptive when it comes to my shenanigans, and I want him to trust me. " She doesn't actually want to date me..." I stop talking when Uncle Joe bursts into laughter, almost spilling his coffee.
"Of course she does, Ethe," he chortles as if I've just told him a funny joke. "She loves you, but you already know that."
"I do?" I really don't!
"Ethan, you've been telling me for years now all about your long-term plans for the future."
That's true; I've told him lots of things over the years. Some true goals and desires, and some just garbage that flows out when I put my brain in neutral and my voice in drive.
"You want to enrol for that new degree at Silverview that combines architectural design with civil and construction engineering, and then you want to join your father's company."
"He doesn't want me to do that anymore," I mutter, dunking the last biscuit I've taken from the tin.
"Oh, he does, Buddy; just give him some time," Uncle Joe assures me, and I hope he's right. "You also plan on helping Kira create her own nature conservation centre here in Egret's Rest."
Kicks is always talking about creating a centre to rehabilitate marine and land animals; she wants to either expand the turtle sanctuary or start her own thing, and she wants to do it right here in her home town. She believes in making a difference where she is rather than running off and making that difference in some other part of the world.
Besides, she loves Summerfields and never wants to leave here. After storms, there are plenty of animals in need of help. There is enough for someone passionate about animals, insects and aliens to do right here.
"Then you're going to get married and live in this house with me so that both of you can take care of me as if I'm a friggin' old man who needs frailty care," Uncle Joe scoffs, but I know he secretly likes the idea. "You also want to have a bunch of children. That will require some expansion to the house, by the way."
True... but I'm feeling uncertain about all those babies after what he said about how brutal that will be. I don't want to hurt Kicks. We'll adopt... which is cool because then we can have a whole tribe of kids right away. We won't have to wait nine months, having one or two at a time.
Adoption is such a good plan!
"You're always saying that you just need to get her to see how great your long-term plans are. I rather like them, and they sound pretty similar to Kira's, so why are you doubting yourself now?"
Did he really take all of my babbling seriously? Yeah, I meant it, but I was just dreaming out loud.
"I was just talking out of my ear," I grunt, putting down my mug and grabbing a handful of M&Ms from the tub. I love this bucket; it has every kind of M&M in existence in it. Whenever it runs low, or I come across a new special edition or something, I buy some packs to top it up.
"I know Kicks wants to stay with you and run a conservation centre in Egret's Rest," I say, lying back against the comfy chair stuffing. "And I know she wants to be a mother one day. I just don't think I'm in her version of that future. I don't think she wants any of those things with me. She's always telling me she hates me."
"She loves you," he states without hesitation, as certain of it as Deli was.
"Well... I'm not so sure about that..."
"She's your girlfriend now," he points out matter-of-factly, putting his empty cup on the small table next to his seat and gratefully accepting a handful of M&Ms when I offer him the tub before helping myself to more.
"Right," I grin, happy to hear that in actual words from a voice that is not mine. "If... if she decides to make this dating thing real and lasting... well... are you okay with me dating her?"
"What?" he is frowning at me now, looking confused. Uncle Joe is really good at looking confused, but I doubt that he ever really is. Well, okay, he probably is when it comes to real-life scenarios and not scientific theories... who knows? I'm always at least a little bit confused about everything.
"I guess I should've asked you first..."
"Dude, you've been asking me and telling me on and off for at least eight years now."
"Oh... and... did you answer?" Sometimes Uncle Joe's mind is a complete mystery to me. It's as if he sees the small parts things are made up of in extremely clear detail but can zoom out at a moment's notice to see the whole picture in perfect perspective while the rest of us are still bogged down in the complicated details, trying to make sense of what those small parts are supposed to look like.
"Ethe, I've known you for about 12 years now," he smiles, popping a couple of M&Ms into his mouth and crunching them before he continues. "Through all those years, I've seen you tease my daughter, do annoying things to get under her skin, play games with her and torture her in subtle ways, which are often impressively creative, by the way," he grins. "I've also seen you take care of her when she's injured and protect her from people and animals that might harm her. Whenever you look at her, it is with such pure love that it humbles me a bit."
I knew I was terrible at hiding my feelings from my parents, Deli, Uncle Joe and Burlap, but I didn't know it was that obvious. Almost everybody can see it clearly, except Kira. Why is that?
"My little girl is lucky to have you in her life, Ethe. You and I have a strong bond of trust between us," he says, giving me that patient, direct look he always gives me when he explains important things to me, like why it's not a good idea to put a small bottle of soda in the microwave, even if you accidentally froze it. That look always makes me listen with care because it comes with some vital advice, which prevents me from pissing off my dad, and it almost always goes along with a fun experiment to demonstrate his point. "I know you'll honour it, and I, in turn, am happy to have you and nobody else dating my Kira."
I sit for a while, digesting his words and listening to the gentle sounds of a saxophone vibrating in the air between us. I don't know the song, but it clashes with the jarring music of the game waiting screen. As the pause in our conversation stretches, and his words sink in, I start to laugh.
"You know, Uncle Joe, your speech is so much more effective than the one about castration," I finally grin, giving the sneaky bastard a hand signal of respect and the bowl of popcorn. He's earned it. "Calling me honourable and dumping a truckload of trust on me is worse than neutering me because I cannot even get mad and rebel against that."
Laughing, happy that his message came across loudly and clearly, Uncle Joe puts the popcorn on the small table between our chairs, picks up his game controller, and shifts himself into a comfortable position under the cat, taking over his lap.
"Ready for me to annihilate you, Ethe?"
"I think you've already done that, Uncle Joe."
♂♀