Aphrodite

36

Kendall came rushing up to Deena and threw her arms around her. Despite all the homemade french fries she'd devoured over the past week, she was definitely glad to see her mother. Deena hugged the girl tightly and planted kisses all over her face until Kendall began to protest and squirm. When she finally escaped her mother's arms, she made her way over to Justin and, with a bit more decorum, kissed him on the cheek. He couldn't help himself-he grabbed her tightly too, and hugged her to him. The girl didn't squirm this time. She seemed instinctively to understand Justin's need to hold her.

"You're lucky," he said to Deena's daughter.

"I am?" she said. "Why? Because I got to stay here and go swimming every day?"

"No. Because you get to grow up and experience all these great things that life has in store for you."

"But there's a lot of bad things, too, Jay. I know there are 'cause I heard you telling my mom. It scared me."

Justin gave her a mock scowl. He chewed on the inside of his lip, wondering when and how kids got to be so smart. "You're right, as usual," he finally agreed. "There are a lot of bad things. But you can't let them scare you."

"But what if they're really scary?"

"Well, for one thing, your mom and I are here. And one of our jobs is to make sure the really scary things don't ever get to you."

"But what if you're not here? What if they do?"

"Then," Justin said, "you just have to realize that all those scary, bad things don't really matter. They're just a part of life. Once you know that, they're not so scary."

"I don't want them to be part of my life."

"I guess nobody does. But you know what? There are so many good things that are also part of life, they make up for all those scary things. They more than make up for them because they're so much more important."

"What kind of things?"

"You know what the good things are," he said. "You don't need me to tell you."

"You mean stuff like how much my mom loves me and all of that?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

"So you don't think I should worry?" the girl asked. "No, Kenny," Justin said. "I don't think you should worry one bit. Why don't you leave that part to me."

Kendall looked at him for a long time. Then she grinned and said, "Okay, Jay. I believe you. I won't be scared anymore and I won't worry, okay?"

"Okay," he said as his mother and father came out of the den and walked up to them.

"She was a pleasure," Lizbeth said, touching Kendall on the small of her back. "I'm going to miss her. We both are."

Jonathan Westwood nodded his agreement.

"I'm sure she's going to miss you, too," Deena said.

"Lizbeth said I can come back any time I want, Mom. I bet you could too, if you wanted to."

"You both can," Lizbeth said, smiling. "You're both welcome."

"Can you stay for a few days?" Jonathan Westwood asked.

"No," Justin told him. "There are some loose ends that need taking care of. We've got to get moving."

"Will we see you soon?"

"I hope so," Justin said. "I hope so too," his father told him.

Deena turned to both of Justin's parents. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter," she said.

Lizbeth reached over and, to Justin's astonishment, took his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you for bringing our son back home," she answered.