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I take her hand and we head in the direction of the pond. I don’t have to look back to know if Ice is behind us. Dad and David drive off as we head in the opposite direction.

“Isn’t it amazing that your dad knew my mom? Who would have thought? Such a crazy small world,” she says. I detect a cautionary tone underneath.

“Yes, it is,” I answer, but our reality saddens me a bit.

Our walk is quiet. I need not ask to know there’s tension between us. And we are both scared to ask the question we know might ruin us.

“Did he know my dad too?” she asks quietly. I turn to her and I see her glassy eyes.

“Yes, he told me.” I pause for a moment, our steps slow. I know this will rock us; I can almost see it in her eyes. “You are A J Lloyd.” And the tears drop; she stops walking. I move closer to her. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Jonah told me you would hate me and would not protect me once you find out my real name.”

I pull her into my arms; she’s trembling. “Are you going to call Jonah and send me back?” she asks, her voice shaking.

“No, Sprinkles. I would never send you back,” I say in her ear. “I don’t care that your last name is Lloyd.”

“Jonah said I must make sure you didn’t find out, and I’ve failed at that,” she says, shaking in my arms.

“Sprinkles,” I pull her out of my arms and cradle her face, using my thumb to wipe her tears. “Open your eyes,” she does and looks up at the blue sky. “Look at me, Sprinkles.” Her teary eyes look my way with a sniff. I smile. “I’m not sending you back to Jonah,” I confirm to her. “I’ll never send you back,” I succinctly confess, and I know within me that I’m never letting her go. Ice was right, I was fighting it. You are mine, Onitemi.

“Promise?”

“I promise,” I answer with a smile to reassure her. She wants to stay with me, that’s fucking amazing.

“Is it okay if I don’t tell Jonah you know I’m his sister?”

“Sure, if you prefer it that way.”

“Yes, for now. He will come and remove me from here if he finds out that you know.”

“Well then, let’s keep this between us.” She smiles.

“Thank you.” I take her hand and kiss the back.

“Come on, the pond is still a bit far out.”

We continue our walk toward the pond. My dad’s words about Jonah’s mom being behind her deadly attacks surface in my mind, and I wonder if Jonah knows.

“Have you always used your mom’s last name?”

“Yes, it was weird growing up, especially when I traveled alone with Dad. His Black daughter with a different last name. Trust me, we got a few frowns. Dad didn’t mind the frown; it was the mean looks or disgust that upset him. I wanted to change it to Lloyd, but he said it was best I stayed Doherty till I was older. I didn’t like it, but he and Mom said it was for my safety. Much as what they wanted was me using my real last name, they needed me staying as Doherty. Looking back, I guess they were right,” she says. I nod and discern what Dad said about Eni and Andrew. They loved their daughter and did everything for her good.

“Why a look of disgust?” I ask.

“I’m a daddy’s girl, and I always cling tight to him or rest my head on his shoulder. Some thought he was a pervert dating a young girl, and others just didn’t like seeing him with a young Black girl. The year I fell sick with some kind of bacterial infection, I was hospitalized in London. Dad arrived late at night. Mom had just left and they wouldn’t let him see me because Mom had forgotten to add his name to my visitors list and he had a different last name. I could hear him, but I wasn’t strong enough to get up. So I kept shouting, ‘he’s my dad.’”

“Did they let him in?”

“Yes, I was ready to wake the entire building up.”

I laugh. “They called Mom to confirm, but she came back instead.”

“Did you ever travel with Jonah?” I ask, trying to understand how close they are.

“Lots of times. We met when I was fifteen and he started joining Dad and I for our summer trips. It was always nice, just the three of us, though most of the time they would conduct business while making sure I didn’t run off with boys,” she laughs. “We didn’t miss any year until Dad fell sick. Jonah and I then took turns staying with him.”

“I bet your dad liked that you guys stayed with him.”