Package Deal(40)
“You asked me to, didn’t you?” He smiled back at her. “Are you ready for our ghost story?”
She giggled. “Here. Hold this.” She tossed him her jacket as she wriggled into her sleeping bag.”
“Is that an Iowa shirt I see?”
“Uh-huh. Mom has one, too—only it’s longer than mine, more like a dress. We could get you one. I can ask my friend Francie from Iowa City to send us one.”
“No way, José! If I’d known you were going to wear that, I would have brought my shirt from Illinois.” He chuckled and handed back her jacket.
Marcus climbed into his sleeping bag, and Cecelia settled in the middle, her mother on the other side. When Marcus started telling the ghost story, Cece insisted the three of them hold hands.
“So we’re all together—like a family,” she said. “And if we hold hands, it will keep us safe, so the ghosts and monsters won’t get us.”
Marcus eyed her mother over the top of her head, a funny look on his face. She grinned and her face got red. Marcus was so much fun. She decided she would ask him what he thought about those things she’d talked about with her mother. Tomorrow.Before they went home.
The next morning, as Amanda headed toward the river to rinse the dishes before repacking them for the car ride home, Marcus took down the tent.
“Will you show me how to skip rocks before we go home?” Cecelia asked, as he was putting the tent into the car.
Marcus nodded and called to Amanda. “Cecelia and I are going to walk to the lake. We’ll be back in a little while.”
“Have fun, you two.”
When they had walked into the woods on the way to the lake, Cecelia said, “Can I ask yousomething?”
He placed his hand on the top of Cecelia’s head. “Sure. What do you want to talk to me about, kid?”
“You like my mom, right?” Her blue eyes sparkled at him.
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you kiss her when you go on dates?”
Uh oh. Here it comes. He looked down at the child’s earnest face. “Yes.” Is this the third degree? “Is that okay with you?”
“I guess. That means you like her a lot, you know, more than just—you know, a friend.”
“I like her lot, and we are friends.”
“You’re my friend, too, but you don’t kiss me good night.”
“That’s because we don’t go on dates. And, I’m not sure your mom wants me giving you a kiss. That’s for your boyfriend to do.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“When you are older, I’m sure you will.” He looked over at her. Her face was serious.
“Sam says when she gets married to her uncle, when she is older, they will kiss. Do you think that’s right?” Her blue eyes were lasers as she looked up at him.
“That she marries her uncle or that they kiss?”
“Both.” Cecelia kicked at a stone that lay in their path as they approached the lake.
“I think Sam likes her uncle a lot, but when the time comes, I have a feeling she’ll marry somebody else.And that person is who she will kiss.” What brought all this serious talk on?
“Have you talked to your mom about this?”
Cecelia’s curls bounced as she nodded. “But I wanted to ask what you thought about it.”
“Well, now you know what I think. Come on, let’s skip some rocks. And if you have other questions, you can ask your mom.”
She stopped walking and scuffed the ground with her foot, looking away from him. She sighed. Then, her voice soft, wistful, she added, “I would have asked my dad, but I don’t have one.”
He leaned down and looked into her eyes, his heart going out to her. Keeping his voice quiet, he said, “You do, too, have a dad. He just isn’t here for you to talk to.”
She looked back at him, her face at first serious before the corners of her mouth began to turn up. “I know that. Well, anyway.I guess that means you won’t marry me, either, when I get older.”
“Marry you?” Oh Sheesh. Is that what this was all about? His heart began to thud against his ribs.
“Uh-huh. I told Sam I was going to marry you, like she’s going to marry her uncle. But maybe I’ll marry someone else, like Sam won’t marry her uncle.”
He looked down at her as she walked by his side, waiting for his answer. I’ve got to do this right. He took a big breath before replying. “I think when you’re older, maybe when you’re in college or after, some nice boy is going to come along who is your very best friend. You will love him and he will love you and you’ll want to marry each other.” He skipped a stone along the surface of the lake before looking back at Cecelia. Like I love your mother.