Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Kara and Evander pace around the shore and argue over where to sit. He wants to be back on the rock, but she wants to be in the shade near us. She wins and they follow her to a willow tree.
“Ready for our snack,” Kara says to us.
Julia shakes her head, her voice low so the kids don’t hear. “She’s always in charge.”
Sugar smirks. “Her and Evander butt heads over everything.”
Julia sighs as she watches them spread out their towels. “They’re so cute. Looking at them now, you’d never know how hard it was getting them to agree to a movie last night. Kara wanted SpongeBob, but Evander insisted on Toy Story. Evander won with a majority vote.”
“Buzz Lightyear!” Nash calls out, ears perking up at the mention of the movie.
I hand out water, sliced grapes, and cheese sticks. Bending down next to Kelli, I pat her head. “This girl could pass for a seven-year-old. Plus, she’s one of the best skaters on the hockey team.”
Kurt grunts. “I’m the best!”
Kara rolls her eyes. “We’re all good, dummy.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “No name calling, Kara.”
“Sorry,” she says to her brother.
Kelli looks over at Julia who’s now digging through her bag for more sunscreen. “Mama, I wanna throw an axe.”
“Me too,” comes from the others at varying levels of excitement, except for Nash. He’s more interested in the ants trying to get on his towel.
Kurt nudges Evander. “Hey. I can putta apple on my head then you can throw the axe and knock it wayyyyyy off.”
Evander breaks into a wide grin. “Yeah!”
I start. “Wait, no, uh—"
“I wanna apple on my head!” Kara calls out then picks up a grape. “Or a grape!”
Z chimes in. “No apples or grapes, guys. The game is throwing the axe at a target and trying to get a bullseye. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Kurt frowns. “We throw axes at bulls? Is that a cow?”
Evander gives him a superior look. “Of course.”
Kelli tears off a piece of her cheese stick and chews it. “Is the cow in the bar?” Obviously, she’d been listening to our conversation on the shore. My little genius.
“Of course it’s in the bar,” Evander says. “They have to eat.”
Kelli cocks her head. “They eat grass. Why do people let it inside?”
Kara snorts. “They don’t. A cow is outside and we chase it with our axes till we get it. We pluck out its eyeballs.”
Kelli blinks. “I like cows! I don’t wanna throw axes anymore!”
“No one is chasing a bull or a cow outside. It’s not an animal. It’s a thing. A bullseye is the center of a round target that you throw at,” I say.
Nash forgets the ants on his towel and pouts, a serious look in his eyes. “Bad people hurt cows.”
Kara turns to him. “It’s a bull.”
“It’s not,” Kelli replies. “Daddy just said it’s not alive.”
“It’s dead?” Evander makes a yuck sound.
“Are there baby goats at the bar?” Kurt asks. “We petted baby goats this one time and one ate food from Kelli’s hands and she cried cause she was scared.” He chuckles and Evander joins him.
“They licked me too much,” Kelli says and punches her brother on the arm.
“No hitting,” I say sternly.
“Sorry,” she mutters.
“If the bull is dead, aren’t its eyes closed?” Evander asks with a serious expression.
A long breath comes from me. I look over at Z and shake my head. “We’ve completely lost the narrative, man.”
Julia clears her throat, a smile of amusement curling her lips. She and Sugar stand together, their arms crossed. “The mamas have decided. We get a fifty-one percent vote in all things associated with safety. No axe throwing, no bull petting, no knocking apples—or grapes— off of heads, and no bars for our children.”
I put up my hands, conceding defeat. “Alright, alright.”
“What about a place full of pinball machines?” Z asks. “I saw one online next to the axe throwing place. It’s a huge arcade with some cool machines from the eighties.”
“Is it a bar?” asks Sugar.
He lets out a resigned sigh. “Never mind.”
“How about an amusement park?” I suggest quietly to the mamas so the kids don’t hear and go ballistic. “I know it might rain, but I’d love to see those terrors driving some bumper cars. Me and Z will take them and you and Sugar can shop,” I add, sweetening the pot.
Julia gives me a knowing glance. “You’re the one who wants to drive a bumper car, aren’t you?”
“Definitely. I’m gonna ram Z in one. Oh, and they have a racetrack and batting cages.”
Sugar thinks. “Nash will want to ride the carousel, like, a hundred times, it’s his favorite. Last year he rode it so much, he barfed all over the unicorn he was on.”
Z joins our quiet convo. “I’ll ride it with him. I’ll clean him up if he pukes.”