Once they reached the steps, Bee grabbed my arm. "Joe says you used to go skinny dipping in a pond nearby! Can we go, please? It's hot out, and we've been working in the sun all morning! Will you show us?
I looked at Pa. So he had known about that, all this time. Ya, of course he had. He was looking at me and grinning. "Don't look at me son, I'm too old to be goin' skinny dippin', and I still got some work to do, supervising the drones and such. But there ain't no reason you can't take the girls over there."
"But I... I mean..." I stuttered.
"TERRA! Come on! Morgan's taking us skinny dipping at the pond!" Spitfire threw open the back door and ran into the house.
"Pa..." I started.
"Oh, go on boy! Show the girls your old swimmin' hole. I'm sure Terra would like to see where it is, and go for a swim too!". He slapped me on the shoulder, and went into the house, heading for his "office". Seconds later, Spitfire burst out of the back door with a slightly dishevelled Terra in tow. She latched onto me with her other hand, and proceeded to pull both of us down the path into the jungle.
Once we came in within sight of the swimming hole, Spitfire broke into a run. Shedding boots, tool-belt, shorts, and top, without even breaking stride. Then, with a running jump and girlish squeal, she hit the water with a splash. Terra laughed, and with a decidedly evil smirk aimed at me, took off her sandals, and pulled her sun dress off over her head. With an exaggerated swing to her hips, she walked naked to the waters edge, and gracefully dove in.
Which left me standing on the little beach, fully clothed, and my mouth catching flies.
"Come on Morgan! Stop being so stuffy! Come swimming with us!" called Bee, sending a spray of water at me.
"Yes Morgan, get out of those clothes, and come swimming. Unless, of course, you're waiting for Bee and I to come help you undress?" threatened Terra. Spitfire giggled and started climbing out of the water.
"Uhh.. No. Fine! Fine. I'm coming already!." Oh what the hell! I stripped and blushed, while the girls laughed and giggled. Then I took a running dive over their heads, into the water. Before coming up for air, I grabbed one ankle each and yanked down, dunking them both under the water at the same time. From that point on, it was a free-for-all of dunking, tickling, and splashing. The girls would gang up and try to dunk me, then Terra and I would chase Spitfire, then it was Spitfire and I after Terra. I showed them the path up the rocks to the top of a small cliff, and we took turns diving and jumping into the pond. After a few hours, we dragged ourselves out of the water, onto the sandy beach where we sat and lay in the sun, and let the warm breeze dry us off. Bee told us stories about life on the station. I told a few about growing up here on the farm, in the middle of a jungle. And Terra, about her childhood, spent doing many of the same things I had done.
"You see..?" asked Terra.
"See what?" I replied.
"All three of us are sitting here, talking, laughing, and completely naked. And you had forgotten all about it.
I immediately felt the blush shooting up my neck to my face. "I umm... I..." Both girls rolled in the sand with laughter. I grinned. Then, before they knew what I was up to, I stood up and grabbed them, tossing each one over a shoulder, I walked to the waters edge, and threw them in. This, of course, brought on another round of dunking, squealing, and splashing.
Until finally, "I'm getting hungry!" said Bee.
Terra and I both laughed. Then we helped one another rinse off the sand, got dressed, and headed back to the house.
That night, after dinner, I sat at the table and watched Pa and Terra cleaning up together. They had their routine down, and exchanged a never ending stream of banter and teasing. It was a somewhat bitter-sweet moment. After the dishes had been done and put away, Terra said she needed to head back to her place and finish some paperwork. Bee had found an old, derelict, hover-trac in one of the barns. She was currently as happy as could be, covered in dirt and grease, and hip deep in engine parts, trying to get it to run again.
Pa sat down at the table with a sigh. "That's one hell of a little girl you found there, son."
I grinned. "Ya, she's pretty amazing at that Pa. And that's one hell of a woman you got there, Pa!"
"Uhh.. Son, I uh..." Now Pa was blushing and fidgeting.
"Oh hush Pa, it's okay."
"But son, I never meant t..."
"Pa! I said hush now, and listen to me. Terra and me, we had us a long talk last night, and what it comes down to, is this here. I'm gonna be heading back out into space. That's where my life is, now. Terra's life is here, with her farm, and you! Now I love you Pa, and I love Terra too. So it's only fittin' that you two get together. She loves you, Pa. Watchin' you two putter around here tonight showed me that! And you love her too, don't you even try to deny it! You follow her around like a moon eyed calf."
"But I'm an old man, son, She don.."
"Now don't you try to sell me none of that "old man" hooey! I know better. There ain't a man in this district, young or old, that you couldn't whup if you was a mind to! Now, you take this here." I handed him a cred-chip I had been carrying. "Aria and Spitfire and me done real good on our way here, and that there chip has five hundred credits on it..."
"Five hundred! But boy..."
"What did I tell you, Pa? Don't make me wrastle you right here in this kitchen. Terra don't give a wooden hoot, how old you are. But if it's really a concern of yours, then I want you to take that cred-chip, and go get one of them there rejuv-treatments they advertise on the vidscreen. They say they can give a person thirty to forty years of their life back! 'Course, I don't know if Terra could keep up with you then..."
Pa's eyes was turning red, and his voice was a little shaky. "I don't know what to say, son."
"You say, you'll take care of her for as long as you two can stand each other."
Pa's big ol' paw reached out and took my hand in a steel firm grip. "I will, son. I do love her, and I will take care of her as long as she will let me."
"I know Pa. Ain't nobody else in the universe I could depend on more!"
We sat there, quiet like, for a few minutes. Then I said. "Now Pa, I got another favor I need to ask you."
"Anything you want son, you just name it."
"Don't be so quick now. This here might be a powerful big favor to ask."
"That don't matter none, boy. If it's within my power to give it to you, I will."
"Well, it's like this. Something you said earlier today, when you and Bee come back from fixin' the drone?"
"Ya, go on, son."
"Well, you said something about Bee coming to live here with you... And well, for the past two days, she's been so happy, and she adores you and all..."
"Are you asking me to take her in, son?
"Well, it's just that, it's almighty dangerous out there Pa, and she's had such a rough life so far, and this would be the perfect place for her. And I know you'd take care of her and all..."
"Son, son... Time for you to listen to your old Pa now. Tomorrow, you ask her if she would like to stay here. If she says yes, then I would consider it a high honor, and a great privilege, to have her live with me. However," Pa smiled as he looked me hard in the eye. "She's gonna say no. Least ways, not unless you stay here too. She loves you, son. Terra and I both seen it, plain as day. Now, I ain't sayin' what kind of love it is, maybe it's the same kinda love she had for her Pa, maybe it's the same kinda love you have for Terra, maybe it's somethin' different altogether. But no matter what kind it is boy, it's there. And she ain't gonna be separated from you. Not voluntarily, anyhow." Pa stood up and stretched his back. I stood too, and he pulled me into a hug. My back popped again. Then he held me out at arms length. "I love you son, and I just ain't got the words, to say how proud I am of you." Just then, the back door squeaked open, and in came what I can only assume was Bee. She was so covered in grease and grime, it was hard to tell.
"I think I can get that grav-trac running again, but I'm going to need a new gyro-transducer, and a couple of plasma couplings. Oh, and a new set of spark plugs... I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."
Pa laughed. "Well, we will have to look into that tomorrow! You go on now and get cleaned up." He yawned, patted me on the back and tousled Bee's hair and said, "Goodnight son, goodnight Miss Bee. I will see ya'all in the morning." And he headed off to bed, with Bee close on his heels.
I made up the couch and turned out the light.
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