Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful—E.E. Cummings
David
The next day they left the river and headed into the forest, and David couldn’t help but think of how Sadie had hit the nail on the head when she’d named this session.
As his ARK campers exchanged canoes for hiking boots and paddles for walking sticks, their excitement for the next part of their journey was contagious.
David had camped for most of his life but discovered that doing so with a group of Littles was far more “awesome” than he’d ever believed it could be.
Thinking of names had his eyes drifting to find Tula ahead of him on the trail and recalling a conversation they’d had.
She’d told him how members of the Crow clan gave names to their babies at birth, but that those names often changed as they grew older and took on various traits or displayed skills.
“Does that mean your uncle hasn’t always been named Moses?” he asked.
“No and yes.”
“Well, that certainly clears that up.”
Tula giggled. “I mean, he’s always been Uncle Moses to me, but when they married, Aunt Jayne gave him the name Speaks with his Hands.”
David instantly pictured Moses’ hands dancing in the air and he nodded. “I can’t think of a more fitting name.”
Unless it’s Spears Men with a Single Glance.
He wasn’t about to share that so instead, he asked, “Does your aunt have a special name. Well, other than Nanny J?”
Tula laughed. “She definitely fits the persona of a stern nanny doesn’t she?”
“Perfectly,” he agreed.
“Uncle Moses gave her the name, Hears with her Heart.”
“I stand corrected. That fits her even better. She might appear stern, but every single Little knows that beneath that bun and uniform, Nanny J is a softie.”
Tula smiled and looked up at him. “Hmmm, I wonder why that sounds familiar.”
David forced himself to appear completely ignorant of her using those same words to describe her uncle. Instead, he asked, “And you? Do you have another name?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve not yet ever felt any other name suited me better than the one my parents gave me from the beginning.
Tallulah is ‘one who has a connection to the beauty and movement of water’.
Growing up, I thought it hadn’t taken much imagination seeing as our last name is Rivers, but one of my first memories was floating in a river and I’ve always loved to play in the water, so I think they were more creative than I gave them credit for. ”
He smiled at the memory of the first day he’d seen her when she’d been walking into the river.
No, that didn’t cover what he’d witnessed.
He looked down at her where she lay with her head in his lap.
“I think your parents were very insightful people. The day I first saw you, you weren’t just in the water; I watched you become one with the river. ”
Looking at her now, he couldn’t imagine any other name suiting her any better.
I can think of one that’s better.
He shook his head. No, she was absolutely perfect just the way she was.
Granted, his inner voice wasn’t completely wrong.
David would be honored if she’d take his name but it would never fit her “better,” it would simply signify the beginning of a new chapter in her life’s story.
A story that he felt incredibly blessed to witness, much less play a part in.
His ARK campers had been hiking all morning, their enthusiasm not the least bit dampened when it had begun to rain.
The denseness of the forest played the role of a giant umbrella, allowing only the most determined raindrops to find them as they snaked their way along barely discernible trails, climbed over or crawled under logs and across stones in creek beds.
The game of “froggies” had only lasted until Elise had jumped a bit too enthusiastically and instead of landing securely on a stone, had leapt over it to splash into the water.
Tula had hauled her out and declared her no longer a tadpole but a full-grown toad.
Now, each time a foot was far more carefully placed, it was done so with a chorus of “ribbit-ribbit” by her fellow campers.
They’d broken from the forest to meet the river again.
The rain had ended but it seemed they missed the water as they all voted to take a swim.
Shorts and t-shirts had been exchanged for swimsuits.
Before they entered the water, though, Tula had offered to tell them a story which is what she was in the process of doing now as he stood at a distance, just watching.
“She’s pretty fabulous, isn’t she?”
David looked over to find Travis had joined him.
“She is,” David said and then added, “Tula told me about the importance of names in her culture and I admit it makes me wonder if I’ll ever be worthy of the title Daddy or if I should surrender my Daddy card.”
“You’re not alone in that. It doesn’t seem to matter if you’ve been a Daddy for years or have just taken on the role, but if worthiness is a requirement, not a soul on the Ranch would have our names on one. Believe me, I’ve asked myself that very question a million times.”
David glanced at him again. “In other words, I’ll never be sure?”
Travis chuckled. “Though they say never say never, in this case, I’d have to question that.
The good thing is that while not perfect by any means, I’ve learned that whenever I look at my Little girl and she tells me she loves her Daddy, that’s the only thing I need to prove my worthiness of carrying that Daddy card.
” He tilted his head to where Tula stood at the center of the campers.
“Just know that there is no doubt in my mind that Little girl looks at you as her Daddy.”
David felt a warmth spread through him. He knew, like his fellow Daddies, he’d spend the rest of his life assuring his Little girl didn’t ever regret looking at him and saying those same words, “I love you, Daddy.”
“Speaking of Littles, what on earth are they doing now?”
Travis’ question had David chuckling. The campers who’d just been standing and listening to Tula were now spread out along the river and were digging in its banks. He watched as Chloe stood and smeared the mud in her hands over Elise’s arms. “They’re painting each other with mud.”
“I can see that, but why are they singing?” Travis asked.
“Tula was telling them the story of a revered woman named Pretty Shield. She was a famous Crow medicine woman who taught the children that if they wanted to swim in one of earth’s rivers, they needed to sing the red clay song and paint themselves with the clay and ask all the creatures living in the water to protect them from harm. ”
Travis nodded. “Fascinating what we can learn even at our age, isn’t it?”
“I’ve found that I can learn something new every day from simply living through it.” David gestured to the right side of the line. “For example, while Chloe and Elise seem determined to become mud mummies, look at Blake and Payne.”
The men watched as the Little boys were far more delicate and far more precise with their ornamentation of each other.
They were using their fingers as brushes to paint swirls and designs of recognizable river animals on each other’s face, arms and chests.
David saw Tula watching them and his heart swelled.
The question of her physical beauty was easy to answer as she was stunning.
Her long hair swirled around her as she stood in her one-piece black swimsuit that fit her like an otter’s skin.
Her eyes shone with a light that wasn’t from her sense of self.
It was born of the pride she had in the people she’d come from.
Offering knowledge passed down from woman to woman in her clan was a gift.
Sharing that gift with all of them felt far more like a blessing in that it didn’t just encompass Tula, but embraced generations of her clan that came before her.
As if feeling his presence, she turned to look at him. When their gazes met, her lips curled into a smile that had his breath catching in his throat. She gestured toward him and he slapped his palm against Travis’ back.
“How do you feel about learning what it feels like to be covered in clay?”
“I say take me to school,” Travis said with a chuckle.
A few minutes later, David was questioning the choice of attending this particular class.
Not because it wasn’t more fun than any other he’d ever taken, it was just that he’d never had any class where the students were not only covered in mud but were shrieking with laughter with every new smear of clay.
But when that clay was applied to his skin by his Little girl, he discovered he had a problem.
“Daddy, I said don’t move,” Tula complained when he shifted his position. “Now I have to start over.”
David shook his head. “I think that’s enough clay, otter. Let’s swim.”
“But you moved and messed up the fishie’s tail.” She pointed to his wrist where the tail had become more of a snake when he’d twisted to the side.
“Fishie is perfect,” David countered. Lowering his voice he said, “Touch me one more time, otter, and no river creature is going to be able to protect you.”
At her questioning look, he pulled her to him, dropped a hand to her ass and pressed her even closer until her eyes widened.
“Oh.”
“Oh is right. Daddy doesn’t need more paint. He needs a cold shower.”
“I don’t know, Daddy,” she said as she smiled. “We could swim and cool you off, or we could take a little hike and set each other on fi—”
“Tula, can we swim now? I’m starting to crack.”
David and Tula both looked over to where Sadie stood. Tula started to giggle as David just stared. The Little looked as if she’d not been painted but, instead, had been rolling in a vat of clay. She was completely covered from head to toe.
“I’d say you could go swimming with Jaws and be totally safe,” Tula said.
Though his cock had shown his choice by swelling when she’d lifted her left hand, David didn’t begrudge Tula when she took his with her right and called out, “To the river!”
Shrieks competed with the sound of splashing as campers launched themselves into the river. David watched Travis, who wore a huge smile, scoop up Wren and carry his Little girl into the water.
“Daddy, don’t drop me in the volcano!”
Wren’s plea was lost in Sadie’s shout of, “Sacrifice her!” which was instantly taken up by her fellow campers.
Tula’s laugh joined the others as Travis raised her over his head, lifting and lowering her as if she were a barbell in the Ranch’s gym. After performing a set of a half-dozen lifts, his arms straightened and he looked around. “Now?”
“Now!”
The group’s shout was joined by Wren’s shriek, the sounds not those of fear but of pure joy as everyone followed Wren’s trajectory when she flew through the air and then landed with a huge splash. Her Daddy immediately dove beneath the surface to join her.
“Even though we are a little dirty, we could make a break for the woods,” Tula said.
David realized they were the only ones still standing beside the river rather than swimming in it.
“Babygirl, I’m going to make it my job to teach you that there are far more ways to be dirty than just from a little dab of clay, but for now, it’s time to play with our fishie friends.
” At her smile and beautiful flush of color painting her cheeks, he knew he’d spoken truthfully to Travis.
Every single day with this woman was going to teach him something.
He grinned and knew those classes were going to be even more fun than this one.
“To the river!” he called, squeezing her fingers in his as they went to join the others.