Chapter 8 #2
“No.” He shook his head and reached out to pet the stuffed animal she had placed on his thigh. “It’s an armadillo.”
“Arm-a-dillo.” Ciela repeated the word. “Armadillo.” She nodded. “I like my armadillo. Thanks, Mister King.”
She leaned against him grinning and then half-walked, half-skipped to her grandmother to show off her stuffed animal.
“Armadillo, Abuelita.”
“Yes, that’s what it is, sweetheart. I’m sorry you had to hear what they said in the video.”
Ciela shrugged and looked over at the playground equipment. “Can I take my softy on the slide?”
“Sure, honey. Go ahead.” Noelle nodded. “Just stay where we can see you.”
“Okay!” She skipped off a few steps and then stopped.
She turned around and Duval waited to see what she had to say.
She hugged the stuffed armadillo to her chest. “Come on, Mister King!”
Duval felt like he was standing on a cliff, with his toes over the edge.
He didn’t know what to do. Just because Ciela hadn’t remembered what part he played in her tears, he wasn’t sure how far he could push that envelope.
Duval turned his head and looked at Noelle, hoping she could tell him what to do.
She waved her hand in Ciela’s direction. “Go ahead if you want to, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s-”
He stood up and turned toward Ciela. “What do you like to play?”
Hugging the stuffed animal to her chest, Ciela looked up at him with a bright grin. “Everything!”
Smiling, he reached out a hand like he used to do with his sister when she was right about that size.
Before he could think twice about it, Ciela tucked her armadillo under her arm and put her other hand in his.
He knew they weren’t home free.
Just because Ciela was fine now, There was a chance that something could trigger her again.
It happened to adults all the time.
And it happened with children.
He helped her walk up the rope ladder to the top of the platform and when she got up there, he asked her if she wanted him to hold the stuffed animal so she could go down the slide.
She looked at him as if he’d asked her the silliest question in the world. “NO! He goes with me!”
Then she hugged the stuffed animal to her chest with one arm while she sat down at the top of the slide.
A moment later, “Wheee!” She went down the slide one arm up the other wrapped tightly around the stuffed animal.
As soon as she got down to the bottom, she stood up and moved right back to the rope ladder to climb.
He kept his hands nearby in case she slipped or missed a step, but she was sure footed and made it back up in seconds. “Let’s go again, Softy!”
He watched her slide down and movement by his truck turned his head.
He saw another F-150 pull up and a suburban.
Duval shook his head.
He didn’t know exactly who’d shown up but he knew who it was in general.
Jack or Dally had probably told the others that he was coming to the park and now a couple of his team had come to the park.
Two doors closed in quick succession and he didn’t bother looking in that direction.
His gaze was fixed on Noelle’s little girl who wanted one more slide with him standing by.
Ciela’s foot slipped on the platform and he whipped his arm out, putting his hand between her head at the plastic tunnel at the top of the slide.
She giggled and slid down again, laughing out loud.
He let out a shaky exhale.
That was close.
“Quick reflexes, Duval. Nice.”
He resisted the urge to slam an elbow into Dally’s middle.
Barely.
He wasn’t about to do something like that in front of Ciela, but he was going to do it… some time.
Ciela came off of the slide and skidded to a stop, looking at Dally with slightly widened eyes.
Duval looked his teammate over and saw that he’d removed his badge.
He blew out a breath and reached out, clapping a hand on Dally’s shoulder. “This is my friend, Dally.”
“Dally?” Ciela frowned in confusion and Duval was struck by how much her expression reminded him over her mother. “What’s a Dally?”
Duval gave Dally a little shake. “He is.”
“Okay.” She grinned up at Duval and pointed off to the side. “Who are they?”
He looked in that direction and barely managed to hold back a groan. “That’s Jack and Blue.”
“Jack and Blue.” Ciela repeated. She looked at one and then the other and finally announced. "Blue’s the guy, right?”
Blue looked a little taken aback by her identification. “Yeah.”
Ciela giggled. “Your eyes are pretty.”
“She’s got you pegged.” Jack laughed and gave Blue a smack on the arm. “Your eyes are pretty.”
Duval shook his head. “Y’all better watch out. She’ll be after your jobs soon.”
Ciela stopped a few steps from the swings and turned her head up to look at him. “What kind of job?”
He felt his heart stop in his chest.
He’d opened his damn mouth and shoved his big damn boots in.
Fuck.
How was he going to get out of this predicament.
“Us?” Jack moved closer and tousled Ciela’s hair. “We help people.”
“Help?”
Jack nodded and Duval could tell she was picking her words carefully. “Yeah, we protect people.”
Ciela beamed up at Jack. “I want to protect people, too!”
Then her beaming face relaxed a little and her cheeks warmed up with color.
“After swings?”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “After swings.”
By the time night had fallen and the park lights had come on, Duval could see the warm look in Noelle’s eyes. They’d come a long way from the terrified tears of the other night, but he knew it wasn’t ‘fixed.’
Emotions and trauma weren’t like a light controlled by a switch.
This was a good first step, but there was a journey ahead.
And he wanted to walk it with this woman and her child.