“You know what I’ve heard?” Neil said. “I heard if you get a girl young enough, if you’re the first guy to fuck her, it’ll make her pussy so—”
We never got to find out what he heard, because I went across that poker table and grabbed the son of a bitch by the throat. Then I squeezed his windpipe hard enough to give him a taste of what going without air for the rest of his short life would be like.
Butch, who usually made peace, didn’t say boo.
I liked seeing the ring on Wavy’s finger. It gave me an excuse to kiss her hand and when I did, she always smiled. That’s what I was doing while we watched TV, kissing her hand and petting her hair the way she liked, when I heard footsteps creeping up the stairs. My first thought was to get off the bed and quick, before the nurse got to the top of the stairs. Except I wasn’t doing nothing wrong. We were just watching TV. If Patty wanted to spy on us, that’s what she’d see.
It was only Donal, coming to crow about how good he was at sneaking around now that he had the cast off his arm.
“I came up the meadow all in the fog and snuck in here. The nurse didn’t even hear me.”
“You keep talking like that and she will,” I said.
“You didn’t hear me either, creeping up the stairs.”
“Did,” Wavy said.
“What are you guys watching?” Donal leaned over the foot of the bed, looking at the TV upside down.
“Lawrence Welk,” I said.
“Let’s go swimming.”
Wavy sat up and nodded. Donal and her went down first, as quiet as they could. I stomped down after them, calling out, “Val, Patty, I’m going. Have a good night.” Then all three of us went out the door, across the porch and into the meadow.
Even with Donal’s flashlight, we could hardly see through the fog. The windmill snuck up on us: a creaking, rusted tower coming out of a wall of white.
Donal stripped down and went into the stock tank, yelling, “It’s cold!”
“What’d you expect?”
“Get in, Kellen!”
“No, I didn’t bring any shorts to swim in.” Beside me in the fog, Wavy was getting out of her boots and dress.
“I didn’t bring any shorts either!” Donal was as loud as Wavy was quiet. He splashed over to the edge of the tank and said, “I’m totally buck naked.”
“Well, I’m not getting buck naked.”
“Why not?”
“Because Wavy’s not my sister,” I said.
“She doesn’t care.”
“I don’t.” Wavy tossed her dress over my shoulder and stepped into my arms.
“I do.”
“Up,” she said.
I put my hands on her waist and lifted her up to the lip of the tank, where she balanced on the balls of her feet like a tightrope walker. Holding onto her hand, I walked her around the tank’s edge. Then she let go of my hand and tumbled backwards into the tank with a splash that made Donal hoot.
“Do me next!” So I balanced him on the tank edge and let him fall in.
They had so much fun, I sometimes wished I wasn’t scared of water. Anyway, it was my job to keep track of Wavy’s dress and Donal’s flashlight, so I leaned against the tank and watched them laugh and splash around. After a while, Wavy circled back to me and held out her hand. I took it, thinking she wanted me to help her out, but she slung her other arm around my neck and tried to pull me in. There was no way she could do it, and after a second she let go and fell back in.
She hauled herself halfway out of the water, her hips against the tank edge.
“What the hell was that?” I said. Damn, she cracked me up, thinking she could pull me off my feet.
“Mermaid.”
“I didn’t know mermaids attacked people and tried to drown them. You’re like something outta that Friday the 13th movie.”
She grinned, and before she sank back under the water, I saw something I wished I hadn’t. With her undershirt plastered to her, there was no way to avoid knowing she had tits now. I felt like an idiot for being shocked, because she was growing up and not just taller.
I figured I’d tell one of Liam’s girls to take Wavy shopping and get her some bras. Except if I did, would Dee or Sandy think I was a pervert for noticing? Anyway, I got over being bothered by buying Maxi Pads for Val. For all I knew I was buying them for Wavy, too. When she wrote them on the shopping list, I didn’t ask who they were for.
It couldn’t be that hard to take her into a store and say, “She needs a bra.” Except Wavy might think I was a pervert for noticing.
I was still worrying it over in my head, when she swam back to the edge and held out her hands.
“You can get yourself out. I’m not falling for that mermaid shit again,” I said.
I guess I sounded more pissed off than worried, because she gave me a sad look and crossed her heart. Drew an X over her little tit, where her nipple stood out hard under the wet undershirt. Wasn’t gonna be able to forget that either.
“Yeah, yeah, you promise.” When I turned my back to her, she touched my arm.