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“Belts are for around yourwaist.” I wagged my finger at Becka.
“Right, Miss Engineer over there, Miss Physics. You two probably do awidevariety ofexperiments. I just argue my case and dominate the room.”
“I’m standing right here,” Mom caroled over all of us.
We looked at her.
She gave us her best sweet southern lady smile. The one she gave us when we’d been bad in public and she was going to murder us later.
Becka changed the subject. “I told Auryn he was a golden puckered asshole and I hate him.”
“Nice. Feel better?”
“There was a certain degree of satisfaction to it. You ever get the story on why he left?”
“I did, and it’s a long story.”
“What do the others think?”
“That he was next-level dirtbag, but probably not for the reason you think.”
Akoni got out of the pool (much to the disappointment of the kids) and was re-braiding his long hair. One of the kids crawled out after him and said, “How’d you get those scars?”
“Scars?” Akoni asked.
“On your neck!”
Akoni slapped his hand over his neck. I froze. Had Auryn’s magic faded and his gill slits had emerged? I looked around for Auryn as Akoni rubbed his neck. Keon came over, peered at Akoni’s neck and said, “Ohthose?”
“Yeah!”
“It was a boat propeller!” Keon declared with a big gesture.
“Oh no. Campfire story time.” I put my face over my hands to play along with whatever Keon’s story would be.
“No way!”
“Gnarly!”
“Did it hurt!”
“DID YOU DIE!”
“And then,” Keon said, “there was all thisbloodand you know what likesblood?”
“SHARKS!”
“NOM NOM NOM!” Keon lunged towards the nearest cousin, who shrieked and they collectively ran away.
“Oh my God, Helena,” Becka said over trying not to snicker. “What the fuck even is your life right now.”
“This. All day.Allday.” I couldn’t help smiling. “And Keon is convinced that this has given Akoni baby rabies.”
“It’s totally incubating.” Becka saluted me with her beer bottle.
“Fuck, donotsay that. I am not ready.”
“You’re twenty-seven. Gotta get started if you still want five.”
