Hasty Resolution

by Mullens, Sam Taylor

  I set Maddy down in Jake’s room next to his dresser to gather some of his old T-shirts from his drawers for the girls to wear until their clothes dry. I hold three of the smallest T-shirts I can find. I leave one shirt for Ashley and take the other two upstairs to Emily and Hailey.

  Maddy found the washable markers. She is coloring on Jake’s hardwood floors.

  “Oopsy. Let’s clean that up.” I get a paper towel, dampen it, and clean the floor as Hailey and Emily romp down the stairs, drowning in Jake’s shirts. I have the girls watch Maddy so I can throw their clothes in the dryer.

  When the girls get out of the tub, their hair is sopping wet hair. It will make them shiver if we do not towel dry it and get it off their heads. I have the girls retrieve hair elastics. I towel dry each girl’s head the best I can and then braid their hair each into one long ponytail down their backs. When I tie off Hailey’s hair, I peer from the main window to find Doug and Jake pulling a tent to the grassy area.

  I yell at Jake to get his attention, but he can’t hear me, so I walk closer.

  “I don’t mean to seem bossy, but you can’t put up a tent for the girls so far away from the cabin.”

  “Why not?” Jake asks quizzically.

  “Little girls have to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Over here in the grass is too long of a trek for them at night, even if they have a flashlight.”

  Doug shrugs his shoulders. “It’s a girl thing.”

  “Actually, if you could figure out how to stake the tent out the back door or on the porch, it would probably be best,” I suggest as I run into the cabin so the girls aren’t left by themselves for too long.

  As I step inside, the girls seem to be handling themselves quite well as they watch a princess movie, color, skim through picture books, and play with the dolls they brought.

  I return to see if Jake needs help with the air mattresses or building the fire to cook the dinners. I offer my help, but he refuses so I stay inside with the girls. Their clothes have had time to dry and they dress themselves. I set Maddy on my lap as I feed her fruit snacks from my hand, one at a time.

  Doug enters to snatch the dinners to place on the hot coals in the fire pit.

  “Hey, girls, Uncle Jake is ready to take you for a ride on the ATV.”

  The girls’ energy revives at their dad’s announcement. They jump to their feet and run to the hum of the ATV. I follow their lead with Maddy on my hip.

  Ashley jumps on the machine and wraps her arms around Jake’s waist. “I’m the oldest, so I go first.”

  Jake lets the girls decide who will go first instead of getting in the middle of their argument. He revs up the engine to speed up their decision.

  “Jake, put one girl on the front and one girl on the back. These girls aren’t too big and there’s plenty of room,” I suggest.

  I lean down to whisper in Hailey’s ear, “Let Ashley and Emily go first, and then you can have an extra turn.”

  I wink at Ashley as she offers Emily the spot in front of Jake.

  When Jake releases the parking break, the two girls scream as he accelerates the machine to drive along the main road. Their cries trail off as they disappear with a cloud of dust in their path.

  Hailey tugs on the hem of my shirt. “I think I changed my mind. I don’t want a ride.”

  The screams of her sisters must have frightened Hailey.

  “I’ll tell Uncle Jake to take it really slow and not go over any bumps if you change your mind.”

  She whispers, “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

  When Jake returns, he pulls the ATV next to me. The two girls hop off.

  They both screech aloud, “That was totally awesome!”

  “Do you want to try it with Maddy?” I ask.

  I take the toddler and set her in front of Jake. Maddy looks up at Jake, her bottom lip quivers, and crocodile tears stream down her cheeks. She bawls. I lift Maddy off the ATV immediately.

  “Bad idea.”

  Maddy’s tears cease the second I place her back on my hip. Hailey wraps her arms tightly around my upper thigh and glues herself to the side of me.

  I point down. “I think she changed her mind.”

  Ashley clues into Hailey’s disposition.

  “Can we go for another ride?” she asks with pouty lips and puppy dog eyes.

  Jake unsaddles the ATV and keeps the machine running.

  “Let your dad have a turn. He can take you.”

  Doug’s eyes brighten at the chance to ride the ATV. Ashley and Emily don’t ask their dad, they just hop onto the seat. Emily sits in the front and Ashley returns to her spot on the back, sandwiching Doug in between.

  When Doug speeds along the main road, Jake turns to me, cupping my face in his hands. “Well, hello, stranger.”

  He kisses my forehead. I blush a brilliant pink.

  “I haven’t seen you all day.”

  “Yes, you have,” I say in a singsong voice.

  “You’re right; I have seen you running back and forth from the cabin, catering to these girls. How many trips you made so far?”

  “At least a hundred,” I say smugly.

  Jake nibbles on my ear and whispers, “Then I owe you about a hundred kisses.”

  Hailey yanks on Jake’s shirt. “Uncle Jake, I’m hungry. When’s dinner?” she asks in a sweet child-like voice.

  Jake pulls Hailey into his arms. “I don’t know; let’s go check on it.”

  He walks Hailey to the fire pit where the tin foil dinners are cooking over red coals. I follow and sit in one of the camping chairs with Maddy in my lap. Jake carefully lifts the foil to check the dinners.

  “Jake, these girls love you.”

  “I know. Luckily, I’m the guy they get to have fun with and then I can send them home,” he says, stoking the fire. “It’s nice to be around kids who don’t spit on you and throw rocks at you.”

  “Kids did that to you in the Middle East?” I ask.

  “Yeah, occasionally one would give you a high-five, but that was rare. I guess they got the idea from their parents, who don’t want us there.”

  Jake sets Hailey in his lap in the camping chair next to mine. “I was always meant to be the uncle, never the dad.”

  Hailey reaches for Jake’s cheek and gives him a strawberry kiss.

  When Doug returns from taking the girls on the ATV, he announces he is going to take Maddy home and bring the girls their pajamas.

  The girls eat all of their tin foil dinners before Jake pulls out the metal sticks to roast marshmallows for their s’mores, browning each one with precision. The girls never made s’mores. They pushed the melting marshmallow into their mouths and then ate the chocolate bars, leaving the graham crackers untouched.

  “My mom would never let us eat this much chocolate!” Hailey reveals.

  I gulp, “Jake, Jennifer is going to kill me. I let her daughter lick the raw cookie dough batter from the spoon.” I hold out one finger to keep track my wrong doings. “I let her girls swim in the lake with their clothes on.” A second finger springs from my palm. “I let the girls have a bubble party in the jetted tub upstairs.” A third finger pops. “Now it’s too much chocolate. That’s four wrongs.” A fourth finger springs from my palm. “One more thing, and I am going to get smacked upside the head when these girls are returned to their mother.”

  Jake scoffs, “No you won’t. They’ll survive. It’s only one day.”

  When Doug returns to the cabin, he has Maddy, a traveling crib, bags filled with the girls’ pajamas, and a change of clothes for tomorrow morning. He also pulls the baby boy, Carter, still harnessed in his car seat, from the back seat. It’s dark so I cannot decipher if Jennifer is occupying the front seat.

  “Jennifer needed a break. I’ll just crash on the couch. The baby can sleep in his carrier and I’ll set up the crib for Maddy next to me.”

  I help the girls into their pajamas while Jake pops the crib up for Maddy. The baby boy, Carter, lies conte
nt in his car seat. Doug places the bottles of breast milk in the fridge. The girls are exhausted as they crawl into their sleeping bags. Jake was able to stake the canvas tent upright on the back porch. The girls are off the ground and within two steps of the back door.

  I leave Ashley, Emily, and Hailey with flashlights. I dress Maddy for bed. She lies down in her traveling crib and goes right to sleep.

  I zip a hoodie before meeting Doug and Jake next to the fire outside.

  Doug opens a beer and offers me one.

  “I’ll pass,” I say.

  “Do you want me to take Carter for you?” I ask Doug.

  “Sure.”

  Doug hands over the baby, wrapped tightly like a papoose. Carter doesn’t smell like the fire yet, he still has the sweet smell of breast milk on his lips. I know I have interrupted Doug and Jake’s conversation with my presence. Jake stokes the fire as I excuse myself into the cabin with Carter in my arms. I wish I had the nerve to tell Jake to go easy on the beers, but it’s not my place. Even if I give him an evil eye and point to the beer, he can’t see my expression in the dark.

  I take the baby into Jake’s room and set him on the bed before unwrapping him from his soft blanket. When Carter’s arms and legs extend in his pale blue sleeper, I realize how much he is growing. He is trying desperately with all his might to roll over onto his tummy. His eyes are no longer a baby blue; they are turning vivid green. I am in awe of how precious this newborn is. I rewrap Carter in his receiving blanket to carry him in my arms as I check on the girls in the tent.

  The flashlights have turned off, but I can still hear the girl’s whispers and their giggles through the canvas. I let them enjoy their camping adventure instead of telling them to go to sleep; after all, their mother probably wouldn’t let them stay up this late as I am allowing.

  I change Carter's diaper so his is completely dry. I don't want him to be agitated when he goes to fall asleep for the night. I take a bottle from the fridge to fill Carter’s tummy one last time before laying him down for the night. He takes to the bottle well for a nursing baby and lets out a cute burp when I pat him over my shoulder.

  I peek over the traveling crib to check on Maddy one last time. She is sound asleep under a pink blanket. The fire is still aglow outside with Doug and Jake attending to it when I take Carter to Jake’s bed.

  I gently place Carter on the mattress and I lie next to him. I touch his tiny hand and he wraps his tiny fingers around my index finger. I rub his belly with my free hand. I don’t know who falls asleep first, the baby or me.

  I wake an hour later to Jake sliding beside me, Carter still asleep on the bed. Jake pulls a quilt over the two of us and I pull the soft, blue blanket back onto Carter. Jake snuggles in close and kisses me on the neck.

  “You are amazing. I couldn’t have done all this without you. I’m so glad the girls are able to come up here again,” Jake whispers before drifting off to sleep.

  I hear Carter fuss in the middle of the night. Doug whisks into the room and snatches him before I can raise my head. Carter is probably ready for a feeding. Doug has him as a dutiful father would, so I cuddle back into Jake’s arms and fall back asleep.

  I feel as though I barely closed my eyes when three girls charge into the room and jump on the bed to wake us. The girls giggle and bounce around the bed.

  Hailey snarls in a playful gruff voice, “We’re Marines. You are now our prisoner.”

  The girls have their hands clasped and their index fingers pointed at Jake as if they are holding guns.

  In a sweet voice, Hailey leans in and says, “Uncle Jake, this is just pretend. We’re not really going to kill you.”

  Jake scoops all three into his arms and they scream, “Daddy, help us!”

  He releases his brace and they run out of the room, screaming into the kitchen where Doug is cooking breakfast.

  As we get out of bed, Jake says, “Have you ever heard so much high-pitched screaming as we have heard in the last twenty-four hours?”

  He sticks his pinky in his left ear to shake the irritation from his ear canal.

  I laugh. “No, I really haven’t. Doug definitely has some squealers on his hands.”

  Doug makes a hot breakfast, his signature omelet. The girls dress quickly as we eat. Doug packed up his SUV before we had a chance to offer our help. He collapsed the tent, tightly rolled sleeping bags, and deflated the air mattresses. Did we oversleep or is Doug just as efficient as Jake is? Probably both.

  “Girls, tell Uncle Jake thank you,” Doug tells the girls before they climb into the SUV.

  Each girl runs to Jake, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. They all give me a hug in turn before climbing into their respective seats. We wave goodbye as they drive away on the main road.

  Jake kisses the top of my head. “That’s it, no more Special Ops. I don’t want anything to happen to Doug and be left with all those girls, unless they come with their own nannies.”

  I wrap my arms around Jake’s waist. “You need to let Jennifer know that if you are serious.”

  “I know, I should,” Jake says.

  “I’m ready for a bubble party myself upstairs in the jetted tub.” I flash a grin. “Well…. you’re definitely invited to my bubble party anytime.” I wink at him as I playfully slap his backside before sauntering into the cabin.

  Chapter 36: Jake

  Liz draws the water in the jetted tub. I cannot concentrate as I straighten the cabin. I wipe up the sticky fingerprints, clean scribbles off the coffee table, and throw away the excess mess in the kitchen left behind; I know Liz is upstairs and I was given an invitation to join. I agonize with myself. Have I gone too far with Liz? Have we done too much? The water turns off. I can hear the soft splashing of water above my head. Liz must have already slipped out of her clothes and climbed into the tub. I wonder if the door is locked. Maybe the little girls left a disaster upstairs that I should clean.

  I climb the stairs gingerly. My heart is racing. The door is ajar. All I see are bubbles atop the tub filled with water. I step in further, calling for Liz. When I look closer, I understand why she cannot hear me. Liz is under the water. I see the outline of her face with her eyes closed. Her breasts are like floating peaches with her soft pink nipples pointing upward. What man refuses an invitation of this nature? I would be insane to turn around and go downstairs.

  I strip off my clothes, hoping Liz does not see I am already saluting her. I slide opposite her in the tub by her feet. When my legs touch hers, Liz sits upright and gasps for air, wiping the water from her face.

  “Jake, you scared me. I thought you weren’t going to join me,” she says breathlessly.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you Liz,” I say with a smirk.

  “You know I’ve never been in this tub before,” I say, swaying the bubbles back and forth.

  Liz has a surprised look on her face.

  “How did the girls make a tower of bubbles yesterday?” I ask out of curiosity.

  Liz doesn’t take her beautiful eyes from me as she pushes a button below the faucet. The jets ignite froths foaming into a plethora of bubbles.

  “They put a lot of shampoo in the tub and kept the jets high for a long time.”

  Liz doesn’t let the bubbles accumulate into a mountain as the girls did. She pushes the same button to turn off the jets after a few inches of bubbles form.

  “Come here and I’ll wash your hair,” Liz says as she motions me to move closer.

  I turn and lean my back toward her bare breasts. Liz gently pours water on my scalp, keeping a hand cupped on my forehead to keep the already sudsy water from rolling down my face. Liz squirts a generous amount of shampoo in her hands, rubs her hands together to form lather. She gently massages the shampoo into my scalp. My scalp tingles from her touch. Her fingers slowly caress my hair. I am on fire under the water. Liz carefully rinses the bubbles from my hair, then massages conditioner into my scalp.

  “Oops! I’m sorry, Jake. This is my ritual
with conditioner. Oh well, at least now your long hair will easily untangle when you get out.”

  I don’t mind what Liz puts in my hair. If it means her tiny fingers will be massaging my scalp, she can rinse and repeat a thousand times and I will not bark about any of it. I would stay in this tub all day if it meant I could press against her the way I am.

  Liz pours body wash into her hands, smoothing the lather over my shoulders, down my arms, and then to my chest. She must know what this is doing to me under the water. Liz wraps her legs over mine and I rub them as she kisses my neck. I shiver with delight as her lips touch my skin.

  Her fingers trace the details of the ink on my left bicep. When her delicate fingers trace every aspect of the tattoo, it’s as if the serpents are no longer circling beneath it. She outlines the scars where bullets were plucked from my skin and kisses them. No one has really ever touched those scars the way she is. Normally, I would immediately break away, but with Liz, it’s as if she is finally healing the pinkish frail tissue that does not match the rest of my skin with her touch.

  “Doug told me,” I say, trying to look over my shoulder.

  “Told you what?”

  “That abducting you and bringing you to the cabin was all your idea, not any of my doing.”

  I pull away from Liz and turn around in the tub. Liz pulls her knees to her chest, wraps her arms around herself, and hugs her legs tightly.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I say. “I took you away from your family. There are consequences for what I have done and I’m not afraid to face them. Disappearances have explanations.”

  She cuts me off. “Jake, you took me away from a husband who has given up on me. I know I don’t need to jog your memory on that critical fact. You’re providing me with a sanctuary.”

  The idea of Liz’s husband stopping the search still stings her to the core.

  “I know I don’t have to, but it’s what I want to do. It’s what I’ve decided. I should have told you myself and not let Doug beat me to it. I’m not going to argue or debate the matter with you. I’ve already made up my mind,” she says definitely.