Fatherhood 101

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“Now, now, ladies. There’s no need to fight over me when you can take turns instead,” Joiner teased as he closed the door behind him and then walked the perimeter of the pool before stepping up onto the diving board. “I have enough energy for several rounds of competition, if you’re up to it.”

“Make a big splash!” Hope screamed, delighted with the new development.

Joiner bounced twice, the board bending beneath his weight as he balanced on the balls of his feet. Finally he took a high leap and gracefully folded at the waist in the classic jackknife position. But instead of stretching his body to make a clean entry, he tucked into a tight ball and slammed into the water cannonball style, the impact sending sprays arching in every direction.

The girls shrieked and shielded their faces from the unexpected soaking.

“Was that splash big enough for you?” Joiner asked after he surfaced next to Hope.

Her playful response was to kick water in his face.

When he karate-chopped the surface with the edge of his hand in reply, the battle began in earnest―three sisters against Cullen’s brother in a contest for who could launch the strongest torrent in the other’s direction. The girls held their own quite well.

Sarah jumped to her feet and retreated to the table just out of reach of the wet madness.

The glass patio door slid wide once more and Cullen stepped through carrying a tray of plastic cups, a tall pitcher and a bowl overflowing with snack mix.

“Let me guess.” He settled the tray on the tabletop. “Joiner did his special dive for them?”

“It was extremely impressive.” Sarah filled the cups of ice with the tart drink she’d seen Alma lovingly squeeze from fresh lemons.

“And extremely effective—if your intention is to empty half the pool in one motion. There goes my water bill.”

Rocket wandered over to retrieve a bit of pretzel that had found its way to the grass.

“Ladies, how about taking a break?” she called.

Hope climbed the steps, deposited her Pretty Princess vest beside the pool and dripped her way to the table.

“Look, Mama.” She held her palm outward. “My fingers are all raisiny.”

“That happens when they get waterlogged. Catch your breath and have a snack and they’ll plump up again in no time.”

Meg and Carrie joined the table while Joiner began to swim laps, his body slicing through the water in sure, confident motions.

“If you hadn’t noticed, Joiner’s the swimmer in the family.”

“Did you have a pool when you were a kid?” Meg asked over a mouthful of the salty snack mix.

“No, but we had a membership to the YMCA. We all had lessons, but Joiner was the only one who really took to the water. Hunt and I prefer the baseball diamond, and for Mac it’s the golf course.”

“My mom says golf is a waste of time and money invented for the purpose of keeping a husband away from his wife’s honey-do list,” Sarah shared.

“I continue to be impressed with your mother’s wisdom.” Cullen smiled and raised his red Solo cup in salute.

“Do you cover up because your skin burns really badly?” Meg pointed to Cullen’s lightweight khakis and long sleeve T-shirt on such a perfect summer day.

“He fries worse than bacon on a hot skillet and he’s really hairy and gross underneath his clothes,” Joiner answered as he approached the table. He stood next to Hope and, to her delight, shook like a dog, flinging drops of water in every direction.

“You wanna learn to swim without that floatie thing?”

“Can I?” Hope turned wide eyes to her mother for permission.

“Joiner, you’re kind to offer but we can’t trouble two Temple men this weekend.”

“Let him do it, Sarah. Joiner’s very patient with kids and animals, which is why he’s going to teach Rocket to swim, too.”

“Are you sure?”

“We’re here and we’re wet,” Joiner pointed out the obvious to Sarah. “I can teach her a lot in a half hour, as long as her sisters don’t mind giving us the pool for a bit.”

In response, Carrie and Meg tossed beach towels over a couple of lounge chairs, poked their earbuds into place and stretched out to sun and enjoy their music.

“Carrie, turn your iPod down. I can hear Def Leppard all the way over here,” Sarah insisted.

“She’s right.” Meg thumped her sister to get her attention. “You’ll blow your eardrums out.”

“Do that again and I’ll break your fingers,” Carrie threatened.

“Let’s go, kiddo.” Joiner invited Hope with a wave of his hand and the two made a beeline for the pool.

Cullen cast a curious glance toward her surly daughter and then settled into a chair beside Sarah.

“I apologize for my oldest. She seems determined to make the awkward middle school years as tough as possible for all of us.”

“No worries, Joiner used to speak to me the same way. It lasted a couple of years but he eventually grew some respect for me and cut the crap talk.”

“Was there something in particular that made him change?”

“I shot up about six inches one summer and learned to swing a mean baseball bat.”

They shared a laugh.

“I can’t thank you enough for this break from the apartment today.”

“No thanks necessary. It’s nice to have some company besides my brothers. And Alma loves somebody to fuss over. She’s in there right now singing away while she makes chicken salad. There haven’t been any kids in this house since the previous owners moved out.”

“How come such a handsome guy doesn’t have a family of his own by now?”

“The Temple boys get asked that a lot. Not that handsome part, since the others are somewhat toady, but the marriage part because we’re all still single. I expect it’s because we witnessed an extraordinary relationship between our parents and none of us will be happy with anything less. When that kind of love comes along, we’ll recognize it.”

“I understand what you mean.” Sarah glanced toward her older daughters, who drowsed in the sun a few feet away. “I’m grateful that my girls have my parents as role models of marriage, since they’re growing up without a man in the house.”

“Do you think you’ll ever remarry?”

“Eventually, but I have the girls to concentrate on so that’s not even on my radar. I enjoyed marriage and partnership, so I do hope that blessing comes around again.”

“You have a nice outlook after the loss your family has experienced.”

“Having my daughters makes all the difference, to me and my parents. They started hinting for babies at my wedding reception.”

“I get that, too. Hunt’s engaged now so that takes the pressure off the rest of us to give Alma and Felix grandchildren before they’re too old to enjoy them, as if people in their fifties are old these days.”

“Mom keeps telling me fifty is the new thirty.”

“Yeah, well, Miss Nancy says seventy is the same drag it’s always been.”

“What’s it like to have gone to college for so many years that you know everybody on campus?”

“It’s the same as any other job after a dozen years or so, it’s just that I pay them instead of them paying me. When I wouldn’t go away after my first Ph.D., they started asking me to be a guest lecturer, and then to stand in when the history department needed short-term coverage. Doing those two things built my dubious reputation as a subject matter expert and allowed me to build a résumé. Now I can shop myself out to other universities when they have to fill some empty space in the curriculum and I want a free trip to visit a new city. I’ve got everybody fooled into thinking I know what I’m doing.”

“Cullen, why do you sell yourself short by making light of your talent?”

“It’s just easier to make a joke than to be one. I think it’s the birth-order curse of being born number three of four.”

“Well, kindly leave the doubts at home when you come to class, because the students believe you’re number one.”

“Including you?”

“Including me.” Sarah touched his sleeve lightly, to ensure he took her seriously.