Plans start forming in my mind—I’m going to give them self-defense classes, get them on the treadmill to build their stamina, fill their bellies until they fear they’ll burst from being so stuffed, and teach them about the wonders of this world.
Hitting my key fob, I unlock my truck and yank open the glove box. In my line of work, I keep several pairs stored here because more often than not, while on a chase or wrestling with one of my perps, I’ve lost a few sets. Like Two, my eyes are sensitive to the sunlight and I end up with a migraine if I don’t protect them behind tinted lenses. I set the evidence I found in the back seat and head back to the house. The entire time I stride up the sidewalk, I use my meditative breathing exercises to stop myself from plucking them off their feet, tossing them over myshoulder, and running. The need to get them as far away from their father’s house is the only thought thrumming through my mind.
“Make them safe,”my mind demands, repeating the mantra until I walk over the threshold and see them standing there, still shielding their eyes.
“Have you ever worn sunglasses before?” I ask them.
“No,” One answers. “But we’ve seen them on television.”
I blow out a breath and say, “So you know the concept. Line the earpieces up to your ears and slide them on your faces until the lenses cover your eyes.”
Watching them struggle to do as I directed is hard on a man like me who’d like nothing more than to do it for them the correct way, but I know it’s crucial to their psyche to do this for themselves. They won’t grow and expand their horizons if I do everything for them and keep them from experiencing things personally.
My lips tilt upward with humor when Two’s sit at an angle but the proud smile on her face keeps me from saying anything. “Like this?” she asks.
“Close,” I say, praising her. I reach out and straighten them for her, One watching my every move and copying what I’ve done on Two’s with hers. “Now you should be able to stand the sun’s rays. Don’t look directly into the sun, even with these shielding your sight from the brightness, your eyes will water if you do.”
They nod their heads but don’t say anything in response. As we venture outside, the girls’ mouths open wide as they take in their surroundings. We slowly make our way to my truck and I teachthem how to get inside and buckle their seatbelts. When I start the engine, One gasps and Two squeaks causing me to chuckle. I can’t wait until they hear my bike start up for the first time.
Two sits between us and as I shift gears, her hand grips my thigh in wonder. One has her hands and nose glued to the window, watching the landscape pass us by.
“We’re going so fast,” Two exclaims. “It’s making my tummy flip.”
I look down at the speedometer and internally laugh. We’re only going thirty-five miles per hour since we’re on one of the side roads. I’m taking the back way to my house, and it’s a damn good thing I chose this route for travel because I’m not sure she could handle the highway.
“The more time you spend in a vehicle, the more you’ll get used to it,” I pledge. “It’s a new experience, but soon, it’ll be old and boring.”
“I don’t think this will ever get boring,” One announces. “Everything is so bright and cheery. I want to live outdoors.”
I release a chuckle and tell her, “You don’t. Trust me on that. You don’t want mosquitoes or horse flies to bite you, they itch like a motherfucker and can get infected if not treated. Not to mention, snakes as well as other reptiles, amphibians, and spiders that roam around outside waiting to snack on you. Their bites can be deadly.” I snap my teeth at them to lighten the topic. They gigglewhich is music to my ears since most of the sounds they’ve made have been fear filled.
“We watched something about that on a National Geographic documentary. Some snakes are good though, right?” One asks, showing her inquisitive nature.
“That’s true, but you have to learn how to tell the difference,” I warn her.
“I think I’ll be staying inside from now on. I don’t like any of this,” Two says, waving her hands toward the windshield. “How much longer, Nova?”
“We’ll be at my place in another fifteen minutes,” I respond.
“Not soon enough,” Two mumbles underneath her breath. One hums, but it’s not in favor of her sister’s words, it’s more sad-like, as if she’s not ready to be sitting behind enclosed walls.
“I have a large backyard and my neighbors are acres away. I have a table and chairs out there you can sit at and watch the squirrels play, One.”
“We don’t have to stay inside all of the time?” One asks me.
“No, you don’t. I’ll barbecue tonight so we can all sit outside and you two can get used to breathing in fresh air. How does that sound?” I propose.
“You’re going to feed us?” One asks, whipping her head around and facing me with wide, pleading eyes.
“But we haven’t earned it,” Two mumbles. “Food is earned, not given. Do you have laundry we can do, or something that needs cleaning? We’ll earn it, we’re good cleaners.”
I slam on my brakes in the middle of the road and twist in my seat, facing them. “I want you both to listen to me. You do not have to clean the house, do my laundry, or any other list of things to earn food. Inmyhouse, food is given, not earned. If you’re hungry, you eat. You don’t ask for permission, if it’s there it’s yours.”
“That’s not how it goes, Nova,” One states. “Food is a privilege, just like our clothes and baths. Wewillearn our way. We know how expensive things are and how hard food and clothing is to come by.”
“What do you mean how hard it is to come by? All you do is go to a grocery store to buy food and a clothing shop to pick out clothes. They aren’t hard to come by unless you’re a lazy ass who doesn’t like to go shopping,” I press.
“What?” Two gasps, clutching her chest as tears begin flowing down her cheeks. “But Father says you have to fight for those things, that’s why he always comes home with bruises and scratches.”
