TO THE STARS
Chapter Two
Jack was, for once, very unsure
of what to say.
Normally, he could make some
wisecrack about any situation whatsoever; a simple walk on the beach with his
oldest daughter shouldn’t be difficult. But it was. There had never been any
awkwardness between them before; for Pete’s sake, he had changed her diapers!
He had bathed her, dressed her, helped get her out of diapers, told her to
punch any guy who dared kiss her right in his kisser. Izzy still sat on his
lap, still called him Daddy and took off his shoes for him at the end of the
day and promised him that he would always take precedence over any other man in
her heart.
Izzy, for her part, was obviously
puzzled, but she kept quiet. She had prattled on for a little bit about her
friend Marjorie at school and how Ben Weinberg twisted his ankle playing
football and all about her teacher, Miss Lynch, who took great pleasure in
rapping her knuckles because Izzy was somewhat loquacious, somewhat being an
understatement. Jack had tried to listen, he really had, but the enormity of
what was about to happen was consuming his every thought.
She was getting older…soon the
other kids would be talking about…well…it, and he didn’t want her to be the
naïve girl who didn’t know anything and was laughed at. He remembered a girl
like that in his school in Chippewa Falls; her name had been Shirley Carlisle.
Shirley was small with precious brown curls and adorable little outfits. Not
that Jack had found them adorable then; at the time, he had thought her a
goody-goody. When the other kids started talking about…well…it, Shirley had
remained oblivious. He and his friends had laughed at her when she asked
something out loud and the teacher had punished her severely for daring to
utter such a thing.
Isadora Rose Calvert was not
going to turn into a Shirley Carlisle.
So, here Jack was, walking
aimlessly on a beach with his daughter. She had long ago removed her shoes and
was barefoot, her footwear dangling loosely in her hand.
"Um…Daddy?" she asked
after a long silence had stretched over them.
"Hmm?" he asked
absentmindedly.
"Um…did you want to talk to
me for any specific reason? Or…just to…see the sunset or something?" Izzy
asked, unsure of herself.
"Huh? Oh! Uh…yeah, actually,
hon, there is something I wanted to…er…talk to you…about." Jack cleared
his throat, feeling like a little kid who had to go to the front of the room
and wear the dunce cap.
"Well…what is it?" Izzy
asked after another silence had lapsed.
"Uh…Izzy…you’re, you
know…growing up." Jack could barely bring himself to say the words; he
simply couldn’t imagine his baby, his little Izzy, growing up. Before he knew
it, he would have to beat off the boys with a stick or a shotgun or something.
Well, maybe not a shotgun; maybe just a BB gun would suffice.
"Yeah," Izzy said slowly.
"Um…honey,
there’s…when…sometimes…uh…when a man and a woman are in close proximity to each
other, sometimes--well, most of the time, actually--they get…um…certain, you
know, feelings for each other. And sometimes they act on these…er…feelings, and
in very…er…interesting locations, like cars." This was definitely the most
awkward moment of Jack’s life. This was more awkward than trying to explain
that he was going to return the coat he had borrowed from that A.L. Ryerson
fellow. Much more awkward.
"Dad," Izzy cut in
quickly.
"No," Jack said,
holding up his hand. "No, let me finish. I…I kind of need to just…get this
off my chest. Um…well, this act is done in a very primitive and surprising way
that I’m sure you’ll find out from natural instinct. Er…when that day comes.
And that won’t be until after you’re married to a man who passes my very close
inspection. Because no offense to your mother or anything, but she’s a lot less
picky than I am."
"Daddy…"
"Izzy, please.
Anyway…um…there will probably be some…er…womanly changes in your body, which,
of course, signify that you are…becoming a woman. But not just yet, because
you’re still far too young to be a woman," Jack added this last part
sternly.
"Yes, Daddy, I know,
but…" Izzy tried again.
"It’s…well…your mother is
better at explaining this than I am, but anyway, there will be a sign that you
cannot miss, and when that happens…you will go straight to your mother and
leave me completely out of it. These changes will make you start thinking about
the…uh…the less-fair sex…in certain…ways." Jack did not want to be
tainting the pure mind of his princess, his angel, but it had to be done.
"Dad!" Izzy finally
said, raising her voice. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.
"Daddy, I know."
"You…what do you mean, you
know?" Jack asked, somewhat ruffled.
Izzy rolled her eyes.
"Daddy, I’m thirteen. I’ve already had that…womanly change you were
referring to."
Jack was affronted now.
"But…but your mother didn’t tell me about it!"
Izzy sighed, crossing her arms
over her chest. "Yeah, because she knew that you would never want to admit
that I’m not a little kid anymore. She said you would have a breakdown if you
found out that I was basically able to have children."
"You are not--"
"I know, Daddy. Don’t worry;
I’m not a tramp," Izzy said coolly. Her tone softened as she saw the
unease written all over her father’s face. "I know you don’t like thinking
about me growing up, Daddy, and I don’t like it either, but it’s happening.
I’ll still always be your baby. I still wanna sit on your lap and take off your
shoes and make sure you scare the living daylights out of any boy who comes to
call on me."
Jack’s face lit up. "You
want me to do that? Because that can definitely be arranged…"
"Daddy," Izzy said
playfully. rolling her eyes. She linked her arm through his and steered him
back to the summerhouse they rented every year in Santa Monica. She was
becoming more like her mother every day. That could bode ill for Jack; he
didn't need two women manipulating him. Not that Rose was manipulative;
just...decisive. "I know all about the birds and the bees and the flowers
and the trees and all that jazz."
As they came closer to the house,
Jack realized that Rose was going to laugh at him. He had said he would take
Izzy out for a special talk, and he had a feeling that Rose knew what would
transpire. She always did.
"You know…I need to at least
make it look like I’ve done something productive," Jack explained as they
came up to the back porch.
"Okay," Izzy agreed,
nodding.
Jack cleared his throat and
raised his voice so that Rose, who was giving baby Tommy a bath in the kitchen
sink, would hear him. "And so, Isadora, that is how babies come into this
world."
"I see, Father," Izzy
said, the sarcasm just barely minimized.
"Watch it," he warned
in a lower voice as Rose came out, perching a wet Tommy on her hip. The baby
cooed and clapped.
"How was your walk?"
Rose asked, ignoring her damp right side.
"It was great," Izzy
said truthfully. "We talked about…all kinds of things." The grin she
flashed her father was so smug that it should have been illegal.
"Yeah," Jack agreed.
"All kinds of things."
Josephine chose that moment to
poke her head out of the back door, peering around her mother’s summer dress.
She frowned a little. "Mama, he looks fine to me."
Jack furrowed his brow a little
bit. "What?"
Josephine sighed, already showing
signs of a dramatic. "Mama said you would have a breakdown on the walk.
You look normal."
Rose held a hand up to her mouth,
trying and failing to hide her laughter. Izzy quickly scooped up Tommy and
hurried into the house, ushering Josephine on her way.
"Oh, is that so, Mrs.
Calvert?" Jack asked in a dangerous sort of tone.
"Jack, no!" Rose
squealed, giggling like a seventeen-year-old again as she ran into the house.
Jack chased her around the table until she finally ran and tried to break free;
he threw his arms around her middle from behind and swung her into the air amid
their peals of laughter.
"Ugh; they can be such
children," Izzy said, rolling her eyes as her parents acted like some of
the kids at her school.