Page 24 of Dallas

“I don’t like animals,” I say.

“Why?” Kaylee is looking at me without judgment, which I know I don’t deserve.

“They’re pointless.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Animals are important. Even if you don’t like them as pets, don’t tell me you’ve never eaten a steak. In which case, you definitely appreciate animals in one way at least.”

“I don’t understand pets,” I say.

“There’s nothing to understand. They keep you company. They love you. You love them.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“Okay. Show me where the stupid dogs are.”

“I don’t have any stupid dogs,” she says, still not angry, not taking my bait.

“Really?”

“They’re good dogs, Dallas.”

I smile as I think about that, about her. About how my family has changed my life in so many ways. I was little more than a feral animal when I came here; it took making me a bit more human for me to be able to appreciate the pets.

I look up and notice the door is still standing wide open. “Come on in,” I say. “Door’s open.”

Right as we walk in, Mom comes out of the kitchen, herstrawberry blonde hair up in a bun, her smile warm. If she’s surprised to see Sarah standing there, she doesn’t really show it.

Oh God. She thinks that I’ve brought a woman home. In that way. I’ve never done that before. And it’s so far off my radar right now that it didn’t occur to me that she might think this is me making some kind of announcement.

“Bennett,” she says. “The prodigal has returned.”

“Hey, small fries,” I say. Lucy has red hair just like Kaylee, Cara has brown hair like our dad. Both are filled to the brim with energy in ways that make me feel old, honestly.

“Dallas Dallas Dallas Dallas Dallas.” They run my name together all in one shriek with no breath in between.

“Children children children children, I say back.

Which is when my dad comes into the room, surveying the situation. From the girls, back up to me.

My dad looks too young to be my dad, mostly because he is. He and Kaylee are in their early forties. That’s what happens when you become a teen parent. Sometimes it feels a little bit strange to be in this house. Even though they’ve never made me feel like I’m not exactly the same as the other kids, I don’t fit in the same way. Lucy and Cara are the kids he meant to have. Kaylee is the woman he chose to have children with, to spend his life with. My mom was some early fling, and early heartbreak that faded into the background, and never would’ve come up again if not for me.

Even though I know they love me, and I don’t question that, it doesn’t mean I’m not different. It doesn’t mean I don’t occupy a whole different space in the family. One that’s unique to me.

“This is Sarah,” I say.

I know there are a lot of Sarahs. But still, they know who Sarah is. I told them all about her. It’s Kaylee who realizes first. Kaylee who gasps, hand going to her chest as she walks right to Sarah and pulls her in for a hug. “Oh. You’re Sarah.” She steps away from her. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have just hugged you like that.”

Sarah looks shocked. “Oh. It’s okay.”

“You’rehisSarah.”

Sarah’s cheeks turn pink. “I’m… I was in foster care with him.”

“He told us all about you,” Bennett says, looking grave. “How did you two find each other?”

“She came to the event this weekend.” I give them a quick summary of everything that’s happening. I don’t need to go into details about what happened with Chris; all they need to know is he went to jail for abusing her. That he’s out now and menacing her.

“You’ll be safe here,” my dad says, his voice definitive. “You’re part of our family now.”

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