(no subject)

[thewordofweb]

At around the age of two, I'd abandoned the thought of figuring out how to keep Sophie from sprinting away. Usually, she liked to lay claim to something. Other than building locked cabinets, that was about the only thing we learned and besides that, I tend to carry her more. "Now remember, kiddo, no stealing Uncle Skinny's things," I lecture as we stand by his door and I shift her in my arms, letting her play with my hair and idly agree.

"Skinny, you ready yet?" I call out, shifting the bag of things in my other arm while tugging on the ruffles of Soph's swimsuit.

"Uncle Skinny!" Sophie whines in addition. "Hurry up!"

"She'll mutiny. I believe her," I warn teasingly.

"What's mut'ny?" Sophie whispers against my ear and I busy myself fixing her hair (gaining control as she grows, some of Joe's consistency and style in the strands), whispering back the definition to her.

Comments

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"No mutiny, just a second!" A good deal of hopping and shuffling ensues behind the door before it swings open and Skinny shines a thousand-watt smile at them both. "Had to get my sunscreen together. Okay, I'm ready!"

And ready he is: trunks, flip-flops, sunglasses, unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and all. He's even got a plastic bucket with turrets on the bottom in hand (it's got sandcastle-building supplies in it; highly necessary).

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Sophie is already trying to lean right out of my arms for the bucket. "Mine," she insists seriously. This is yet another phase we have to get through.

"Not everything is yours, sweetie," I patiently remind her, hitching her higher so she can't just grab at the bucket. I grin right back at Skinny while Sophie finally delights in crying his name and reaching out to him for a hug. Well, or to distract him while she nicks the bucket. Who knows, anymore?

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"Some things are definitely yours," he sighs. "Including me. C'mere, squirt." He reaches out and slings the toddler up in his arms, surreptitiously holding out the bucket to Webster. "What's the plan for today, huh?"

He's totally talking to Sophie, given that she makes the rules around here.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

I trade him easily enough, clasping the bucket like it's my own while Sophie lights up smugly and proudly. "We're gonna go swimming and then build sandcastles and then you're gonna take pictures and Daddy said he'd get cookies from Papa and then you're gonna carry me all the way home."

And none of it seems to be a question.

"C'mon, Uncle Skinny, faster," she whines, tugging at his hair. "Go horsey, go!"

"I might have said if there's a pony, she could ride it," I manage apologetically. "It's part of her new obsession."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"What! Sweetpea, this isn't how you ride a horse." He winks at Webster and slings her suddenly up over his shoulders. "Now granted, I know nothing about horses, but I sure as heck know that."

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Sophie let out a delighted squeal as she settled on his shoulders, grabbing hold of his hair with both hands. "Skinny-horse!" she said with glee, bouncing up and down. I'm there behind, just in case she falls and I press a hand to her back lightly.

"Calm, lieb," I gently remind her, brushing my thumb against her back. It does a slight trick in that she lightens her grip and stops bouncing, but still holds tight to Skinny. "Sorry about that. She's more Joe than mine, is what I say."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I was always my father's boy whenever I was a bother. I know how it is." He grins, and peers up in the direction of his pulled hair. "Lucky you got a whole company of uncles ready to take you on when you're just too much, isn't that right."

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"Daddy says I'm about twenty handfuls cuz of the Liebgott in me," she announces proudly and I manage a slightly humiliated laugh.

"She likes to repeat things far too much," I explain, shifting the bag's worth of towels and take the lead, letting Skinny and Sophie catch up when they please. "Also, she is that way because of Joe Liebgott," I add with a nod of my head. "When she's ornery, pedantic, and her social skills are slightly damaged, then she's my kid."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"You're the perfect storm, baby girl," Skinny says amicably. "I don't know how we'll all make it."

He chuckles. "True and true again. Still, long as she doesn't say 'Heigh ho, Silver!' she can stay just where she is. I'm bucking you off if you do that," he adds warningly, with a wag of his eyebrows at Web.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"I'll catch her in the event you suffer a convulsion thanks to the memory of Sobel," I deadpan and shake my head, a smile playing around at my lips. One glance back at Sophie shows she's settling, most of her energy spike dying out. Now, she just curls up with her arms around Skinny's head, resting her chin atop his hair.

She's watching the path ahead and I'm watching her, always careful of harm coming to her. "Gonna come swimming, Uncle Skinny?" she asks. "Daddy brought snorkels, so we can see the fishes!"

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

Skinny huffs. "And I'll just fall and crack my head and spasm for a while. I see how it is."

No way the ire keeps up, though. He smiles at Sophie's question. "I am absolutely going swimming with you, chickadee. You still have to introduce me to all those friends you made out there last time, remember? I been waiting for this all week!"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"And the sharks?" she asks with a giddy grin, almost manic.

I've told her to say that, hoping to get a decent reaction out of Skinny. Or, at least, one that's vaguely amusing. I hide my smile by turning beachwards and try to look very, very serious.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

He takes a deep breath. "Well, Sophie, that depends. Are they the man-eating kind? Or are we just talking your average garden-variety harmless tigers, hammerheads and Great Whites?"

Webster's watching. No doubt of that. Which is why Skinny feels totally justified sticking his tongue out at him.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"I've taught you well," I announce from where I'm walking ahead, grinning away, and yes, having seen the tongue-sticking out. Sophie goes blank, though, peering at me. "It's okay, liebling, I'll answer for you. She means the nurse sharks, Skinny. We found a little bed of them around the reefs and we've been studying them."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

His mouth twists wryly. "If your daddy says it's okay, then I guess it must be. This gonna be before or after our sandcastling?"

He catches up with Webster and glances at him, curious. "When'd you find these things?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"You know I do twice a week scans," I say without much worry in my voice at all, glancing sideways to catch his look, reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind Sophie's ear and smiling at her, tweaking that distinctly Liebgott nose of hers. "They were just lying dormant. Actually, they're fairly fattened up, so they've been enjoying the marine life too much."

Sophie turns her head, cheek resting atop Skinny's hair now. "After sandcastles," she says determinedly. "For the Prince and the Princess."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"How about that." He pokes Sophie in the side, and keeps his tickles erratic enough to elicit shrieks of giggles as soon as they die down. "I don't mind fat, lazy sharks. That's a civilized fish that's learned to live and let live, particularly when the letting live applies to me."

His fingers drum all along Sophie's plump belly. "Oh please please please tell me I get to be the Prince," he begs her.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"Only maybe," she responds in the serious way that isn't exactly mocking and once again, I'm glad that I've learned that children really do have a world of their own working up in their minds. She's stopped shrieking happily, but she curls up with Skinny when she stops.

I grin, watching the both of them, proud as ever of her and beaming away. "Skinny, if I got near a man-eating shark, do you really think Joe would ever forgive me?"

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"I imagine you'd hope the man-eating shark got you before Joe did, you want my honest opinion, but that's just me." Skinny goes silent for a moment. "Web, I think I got a starfish clinging to my head. I don't know if I'll be able to get it off."

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"I've had limits imposed ever since the boat," I quietly assure Skinny, as if that's a guarantee I'm not about to do anything mad or stupid or both. My smile turns even more distant and fond as I reach up to ruffle Sophie's hair back from her sunscreened neck. "I'd never leave them alone. I couldn't."

Not after I did it to three other children, somewhere else.

"I hear starfish are good for you," I offer cheerfully. "Good luck."

"Daddy, I changed my mind," she said, confiding. "Uncle Skinny has to be the Princess, kay! And you can be the Prince!"

"I know a lot of people who won't like that, sweetie," I tease with a grin. "Most of them who know how bad your Uncle Skinny looks in pink taffeta."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"It's true, sweetpea," he sighs, pulling a long face. "Plus your pops cuts my hair too short for ribbons. But I tell you something else, I look positively fetching in blue. You hook me up with something in a good navy or even a decent pastel and we'll talk, all right? For now, I think we got some beach-combing to get done."

He grunts and hefts Sophie higher up on his shoulders. "I think she's surpassed machine gun by now. She wasn't born but a blink of an eye ago: how is it she's being allowed to grow like a weed?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Fondly, I reach over to fix a little stray piece of her hair, trying to banish the notion of Skinny in taffeta, crinoline, pink or navy blue. None of those images lead to a happy place. "We imbued her with super-growth," I deadpan, smirking at Skinny and tweaking that pointy nose Sophie's got. "Just to burden you."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"God Almighty, it's like I'm living a hymn." He turns his eyes skyward, feigning despair. "Hey, little thing," he says to Sophie. "You feel like switching steeds and giving your dad a crooked back for a while? Or maybe you'd like to run ahead?" He winks at Webster. "I've carried sacks of potatoes, but at least you got to eat those at the end."

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"Daddy!" Sophie says with delight when Skinny suggests it and I don't want to ask the present question of whether she actually wants to see me or if she just wants to do it because her favorite Uncle Skinny suggested it. I reach over and grasp hold of her, settling her against my hip and fixing the ruffles of her swimsuit. "Uncle Skinny says he wants to eat you like a baked potato casserole."

"I'm not that tasty," she mutters in shy reply, rubbing at her eyes and peering up at him. "M'not a potato," she spits out with a giggle and a grin at him.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

Skinny's eyes go wide, and he claps one hand to his cheek, all agape. "My mistake! I just get so confused when there's something that delicious in the neighborhood."

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Sophie leans out, trying to clutch to his hair again, though I corral her back into my arms. "This is so completely taking a curve in a disturbing direction," I say with a fraught look of 'please, let's stop' on my face as I shift Sophie closer to me and she grabs hold of my hair to hold on.

I wince, slightly, wondering how much is getting pulled up, this time.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

One eyebrow crooks up. "If I got a free pass every time that came up..." he mutters, and then notices the fistful of curls Sophie's yanking. "Aw, sweetpea, you don't want to be doing that. You'll want to leave some left for when your daddy has to meet your own dates. Isn't that right?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"I'm not going bald, it's just not as thick as before," I protest with a glare in Skinny's direction, reaching up to gently pry Sophie's hand loose and to hold her little fingers instead, letting her lean her cheek in against mine, her other hand now rubbing at the stubble like it's interesting.

The beach has approached faster than I considered and now I level Skinny with a dubious look. "She's not dating until she's eighteen."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"'Course not," Skinny says blithely. "And I will help with that too."

Whether he means keeping her under lock and key or subterfuge and advice isn't entirely clear from either his tone or his expression.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Sophie's simply peering out at the world now with curious eyes the likes of which I can't look away from and I curl her up tighter, one hand pressed to her back while laying an affectionate kiss to her head. "Daddy, why can't I date t'il I'm eighteen?" she wonders, mostly echoing our own words.

"Because men are scumbags and will not respect you in the manner you deserve," I say surely.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"You listen to your daddy and Uncle Skinny," he says sagely. "We know from experience."

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"Uncle Skinny knows no such thing," I playfully promise, shifting Sophie as I bounce her. "He, unlike Daddy, has never had to romantically deal with a man in his whole, whole, entire life."

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"That's not strictly true!" He bows his head a moment and backpedals. "Not with a man I haven't, but I have a long and storied history of being romantically dealt with, and as someone who has known many women over the course of his lifetime, in addition to actually being a guy, I think I'm an excellent candidate to educate Sophie on the dangers and delights of the male species." He smirks. "Anyway, I know how to talk to girls. You really want her to learn about romantic interaction from you and Joe, of all people?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"We're better," I protest softly, considering Sophie's only three and she's listening to each and every word with rapt attention (no doubt so she can repeat it later to Joe). "She doesn't know us as anything but her parents who love each other very much, okay?" And I don't want to shatter that fantasy for her.

Sophie clings on a bit tighter, reaching down for the bucket in my free hand and playing with it while we talk. "Boys are icky, anyway," she announces, sticking out her tongue.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"Calm down, I meant nothing by that," he says, equally quiet. "Except perhaps an over-reliance on baked goods."

He flicks a finger at Sophie's hair. "You got that right, chickadee! You'll be much better off sticking with mudpies and swimming and other girls and of course your Uncle Skinny. We'll look out for each other, all right?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"Joe's developed a Pavlovian response to baking cookies when things get stressful," I admit with a bemused sound, considering that I definitely benefit (even if it has cost me more swimming hours to make sure I haven't gained the weight).

I blink and give Skinny a wary look. "Other girls, Skinny?"

"Uncle Skinny, you're not a girl, are you?" Sophie asks, one thumb lodged in her mouth as she idly sucks on it.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"I think we're all in for a very big surprise if I am," he says solemnly, before a smile cracks his face. "Hey, walk's over! Time for the beach, baby girl. You ready to get down? Got your sunscreen, your shovel, your buckets, your lasso?"

What? A girl never knows when she'll need to rope someone. Or something.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

I set her down on the ground and off she goes like a bolt, running with speed I'm sure is inherited from Joe and not myself. "Last one is rotten!" she dares Skinny and I gesture idly.

"Oh, don't you worry. I've been rotten for three years, now," I say in a deadpan, carrying the bag's worth of supplies and food, making sure to set everything up for us in the shade of a tree by the sand.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

Skinny wags his eyebrows at Web as he drops his own things right onto the beach. "Been a rotten shot for lots longer," he teases, and tears off after Sophie to go make an idiot of himself in the surf.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Not for the first time, it comes to mind to make a joke about Skinny's role as the affectionate puppy in our life, but I keep myself from saying it, setting my things down and prying off my shirt (thanks to my once-every-year chest shaving that Joe's allowed me to have).

It doesn't take long to run to join them, scooping Sophie up in my arms and dangling her upside-down right before Skinny.

"Hiya," she greets him with a big grin, as stupid as it gets. She sways, slightly, trying to reach out and grab for him. "Uncle Skinny, take me deeper," she whines.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"Deeper?" He pulls a concerned face. "I don't know, there might be things out deeper you don't want to be messing with." He grips both her arms and starts swinging her back and forth. "What am I talking about? I don't think I want to be messing with anything scary in the water. I could throw you in first to see if it's dangerous, what do you think?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Sophie latched onto him like a leech, crawling over into his arms again with a little help from my hands. She was giggling almost incontrollably, squirming to hug tightly to Skinny. "Okay!" she agreed brightly. "But make it so there's a big splash. Daddy says that will scare away the fishes. I don't like it when they're swimming around me. They bite."

"They do not bite," I patiently remind her. "That's just your father trying to be cute." Liebgott has taken to that little game. With me, too.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

"Bless him, he tries and tries and tries," sighs Skinny. Then he grins and swings Sophie closer. "All right, you ready for this? 'Cause I'm good at baseball, and I'm good at chucking people into water, and you know what? I'm also good at scaring fishes. It's one of my specialties. Your daddy's seen it for himself, isn't that right?"

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

"I have seen the throwing," I agree, choosing not to comment on the times when I've worried Skinny will be so angry with us that he pitches me over the side of the boat.

She clasped on tightly, biting her lip eagerly. "Ready!" she announced happily, plugging her nose with one hand and squeezing her eyes shut.

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

Only if they're asking for it, Web. Only if they're asking for it.

A mighty arc.

"One!"

A second.

"Two!"

He pulls back for the third--

"Oh! Off she goes!"

And for a moment, Sophie achieves flight.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

She squeals as she's in the air and tucks into a little ball before she splashes in the water and I tense. I know she can capably swim, but as her father, I can't help but constantly worry, even as she doggy-paddles her way back after making a big splash, attaching herself to my side.

I hitch her up and brush wet hair away from her face. "That was fun?"

"Great!" she pipes up at Skinny. I let her go and she swims to his side. "Uncle Skinny, can I ride on your back like a turtle?"

[aintthatbad.livejournal.com]

He lifts both eyebrows and glances at Web.

"Do turtles give good rides? Hey, since when am I a turtle?"

He's playing, of course, but he might be gearing up for another toss, is all we're saying.

[thewordofweb.livejournal.com]

Sophie has begun to poke at his midsection furiously, fingers grabbing and holding tight. "Or dolphin! Or whale! Or something that gives me rides," she said stubbornly. "Or I'll scream!"

"No you will not," I sternly reprimand, a glare her way.

"...or not, Daddy."