Page 16 of Dare You to See Me
“Hey Mommy?” Dahlia sits at our little kitchen table, her feet swinging back and forth, eating a bowl of oatmeal as I rush around.
“Yes my little dove.” I slice cucumbers and place them inside of her little lunch kit along with a container of peanut butter for her to dip them into.
“Can we go to the beach on Saturday? I really wanna go. And can we ask Auntie Ky if she can come, too?” She heaps another spoonful of oatmeal and apples into her mouth and chews.
I look at the clock and see that we have fifteen minutes to get out of the house in order to not be late for school. After relaxing to a video of D_King and my trusty vibrator, it was past midnight before I finally fell asleep. It made for a tough morning when my alarm went off at six a.m.
“Sure. I’ll call Auntie Ky this afternoon and ask if she can join us. Now, I need you to hurry so you can get your teeth brushed and shoes on. We have to leave really soon.” She nods with a smile and shovels more oatmeal into her mouth.
I grab her lunch box and shove it into her backpack before rushing into the bathroom to check my face. My cheeks are flushed and my hair looks a little wild. With very little time left, I finger comb my hair, pulling up what I can into a bun while the short strands fall out, and swipe on some mascara. I don’t have any virtual meetings this morning, so the denim shorts and slightly cropped t-shirt is just fine. I’m not too concerned about what I look like.
“I’m done!” Dahlia shouts and I return to the kitchen, snatch up her bowl and rinse it out, leaving it in the sink to deal with later.
“Okay. Go brush your teeth and I’ll grab your shoes. Let’s see how fast we can do it. Ready?” I ask and she nods her head rapidly. “One, two, three, Go!”
Making it a race helps her not drag her feet and complain about having to brush her teeth. After she quickly brushes her teeth and slips on her shoes, we’re in the car and off, only a few minutes late. We sing songs and laugh and before too long, we’re pulling up to school. Instead of the normal drop off with the kindergarten assistants, I park and walk her in myself. If she goes with the assistant, she’ll dawdle and talk too much. With me, I can hurry her along.
She skips and I pull her towards her class, barely getting there before the bell rings and Malik closes the door.
“Give me a squeeze and a smooch,” I tell her and bend to wrap her in my arms.
When I stand back up, I find Malik watching me with hooded eyes. It’s not like the friendlyhellolook that he usually gives us parents. This one is darker and…hungry. I gulp and return a shaky smile.
“S-sorry we’re a little late. Rough start to the morning,” I explain.
His Adam's apple bobs in his throat and he croaks, “No problem. Just glad you made it. Dahlia, the class is working on their morning worksheets. Go ahead and hop to it, little miss.”
She chuckles and literally hops through the door and to her seat. Malik turns his attention back to me and I freeze.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Oh yeah. Fine. I just woke up late. I stayed up late…reading, and it was difficult dragging myself out of bed this morning.” He slowly nods his head and we continue to stare at one another until the bell rings and I startle. “Well. Have a good day.”
“You too, Soleil. You too.” His eyes scan up and down my body as he steps backwards into the class, pulling the door with him.
I stand there for another moment and see him take one last look back through the small window in the door and feel sweat bead on my forehead.
To quote my best friend Kyle,heaven helpthat man is fine.
NINE
SOLEIL
I slather moresunscreen on Dahlia’s face and legs for the second time since we've been at the beach. She wears a rash guard top, but her porcelain skin burns easily.
“Are you trying to make that child look like a vampire?” Kyle flips her glasses down, eyeing me over the top with judgement.
I place Dahlia’s hat back on her head and let her return to building a sand castle at the edge of our beach towels. “No. I’m trying to protect my precious daughter from skin cancer. Not everyone has tons of melanin and can look like we stepped off the beaches of Malibu like you.”
She smirks and pretends to throw her hair over her shoulder, moving into the glaring sun more. I, on the other hand, crawl further under the cover of the giant umbrella and my hat. You can never be too careful.
We grow silent, enjoying the crash of the waves and laughter as families enjoy the last few days of summer.
“Mommy. Can you come build with me?”
“Of course I can.” I push to my hands and knees and crawl over to where she sits.
I grab a shovel and bucket of my own and we work together to build her a castle fit for a princess. Well, we try to but the sand simply slips away every time we build a little higher.
