Page 78 of I Think He Knows
“I threw his lunch on the floor, too.”
Man, I love this kid.
I try my best to keep a grave, fatherly expression. “Did you get in trouble for that?”
“Yes!” Legs squawks. “Both Zeke and I got clean-up duty from the lunch monitor. She’s a big meanie. It was no fair, I was just helping Kayden. He’s nice.”
I sling an arm around Allegra. “I bet she told you that the right thing to do was tell a grown-up and ask for help instead of throwing Zeke’s lunch on the floor.”
“Yeah.” Allegra pouts.
“And, you know, Legs, getting a grown-up probably would have been the right thing to do.” I pause. “But were you secretly kinda glad that you threw his lunch on the floor because you were defending someone who needed help?”
Legs’s big dark eyes widen. “Yes! Exactly!”
I smile. “Well, that’s what happened when I got in a fight. Sometimes, we do the wrong thing for complicated reasons. That doesn’t make it right, by any stretch, but when we care about people, sometimes we can be a bit blinded when it comes to protecting or defending them.”
“So… you got in a fight because you were defending someone? Were they hurt?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Well, the person who needed defending wasn’t actually there. Basically, I heard someone being really mean and unkind about someone I really, really care about. They were being a bully. I wanted to stand up and defend the person, but I got so mad in the end, I wasn’t kind either. And I got in trouble for it.”
Legs smiles back at me. “But you were still secretly kinda glad you did the wrong thing because the bully kinda deserved it?”
“Hel—heckyeah, I was.”
“Well, I guess that’s okay that you got in one fight, then. Ella’s mom is wrong.” The little girl leans against me, snuggling up to my side. “I like you, Carter. I’m having fun with you pretending to marry my mom.”
Me too, kid.
“You know I love you and your mom so much, no matter what, right?”
Legs’s little brow puckers. “And Harry Styles?”
I laugh. “That cat is my ride or die. I love him more than I do the person.”
We reach the field and our conversation is seemingly over as Legs shrieks, “Ahhhh, there’s Keisha! HEY KEISHA!” This is quickly followed by, “Oh my gosh, this is even better in real life than it was in my head!”
It’s a sentiment I’ve been relating to often, lately. I smile at her quickly retreating back fondly as she sprints ahead to catch who I presume to be Keisha.
The kid isn’t exaggerating about the set-up this evening: the back field of the school has been transformed into the ultimate sleepover. Fairy lights hang in the trees, a row of tents ring one side of the field, and a batch of extra chipper-looking dads man a line of grills at the other end. Lawn games are spread out in the middle, and there’s even a huge outdoor movie screen, along with cotton candy, slushie and popcorn machines.
I catch up to Legs in a few long strides and find her chatting to a cute kid with box braids and chubby cheeks. She’s standing next to a man who already looks very, very tired. He raises a wry brow at me. “You think there’s going to be a bar at this thing?”
I decide on the spot that this dad is going to be my buddy for the night. “Carter.” I stick out a hand. “And sadly not.”
He shakes my hand firmly. “Jared.” Then, a grin. “I’m a big fan of theSwitchbladefranchise, so I’m pumped to be meeting Agent Jackson Palmer in the flesh.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t be too excited. I’m nowhere near as handy in hostage situations in real life.”
He gives a big laugh and shakes his head. “Well, I’m very sad to hear that because this sleepover kind of feels like one.” I laugh along with him, and he continues, “Anyhow, I’m sure you hate that kinda movie fan talk, but I really am pleased to meet you. My wife, Imani, works with Lana Mae, and Keisha and Allegra are great buds. I hear congratulations are in order?”
“Thanks, man. First time being a husband and a dad, so I’m on a steep learning curve. Starting with this campout.”
At that moment, Allegra and Keisha utter matching ear-splitting shrieks as they dart off towards another friend of theirs who is rapidly approaching from the far end of the field. Jared and I don’t follow, and it’s probably best for our ears and our sanity that we kept our distance because, when the girls reunite, there’s an actual racket of excited screams.
I tilt my head towards the tent village. “Shall we grab some Dr. Peppers we can pretend are Coors Lights and set up our unicorn tents?” I wrinkle my nose. “Wow, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.”
Jared shakes his head and smiles. “Welcome to being a girl dad, dude.”