After I finish my workout and Peri has completed her homework, we all go to the Outdoor Recreation Complex that’s not too far from our house. A dip in the cool pool is exactly what we need in this desert heat. Q enters the pool with an effortless back flip…but I climb in the easy way – using the ladder. Peri doesn’t get in at all. She’s used to being in the ocean. A pool is something new for her.
Q coaxes her in…
Quincy: It’s okay Peri…it’s not much different than being in the ocean, except the water’s calmer.
Peri trusts her dad and slowly climbs in.
Quincy: That’s right…tread the water just like I taught you. And when you’re ready, kick your legs behind you and that’ll move you forward.
Peri pauses for a beat but eventually begins to do exactly what Q tells her to do. Soon, she’s able to propel herself forward.
Quincy: That’s it! You’re doing it.
Peri is proud of her progress. I’m proud of her too.
Prosperity: I did it, mommy!
Alida: I know…I saw you. That’s very good!
Q continues coaching Peri on how to swim. Before too long…they are both doing laps around the pool together.
It’s beginning to get late, so we all go over to the food stand before it closes for the day. Q and I order hamburgers and Peri gets a hot dog. We sit down at a nearby picnic bench.
Prosperity: Gran-Lea says she went to prison for killing a monster.
I’m glad I’m done eating my burger or I might have choked on it.
Alida: What! She told you that?
Prosperity: Yeah…I believe her too because she killed my monster and he hasn’t come back.
I’m shocked at what I’m hearing and very angry at mama for talking to Peri about that without speaking to me first.
Alida: What monster Peri?
Prosperity: There was a monster under my bed…when we came back from Sulani. I woke Gran-Lea and she used monster repellant to kill it. That’s when she told me that she killed a monster before. Will she go to prison again…you know – because she killed my monster?
Alida: First of all…Gran-Lea wasn’t talking about imaginary monsters.
Prosperity: *hurt* It wasn’t imaginary.
Alida: Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that –
Quincy: What your mom is trying to say is that the monster in your room and the one that your grandmother was talking about isn’t the same thing.
Prosperity: Why not? I don’t understand.
Alida: What your Gran-Lea did to go to prison was very serious…although it wasn’t her fault. A real person was hurt…a person like us. He tried to hurt her first. But no one believed that…so they sent her to prison.
Prosperity: Oh
Peri gets very quiet. I wonder what’s going on in her head. I suspect that what she just heard might be a lot for a little girl to process.
Alida: Do you have any more questions?
Peri shakes her head.
Alida: Well if you do…please ask daddy or mommy about it, okay?
Prosperity: Not Gran-Lea?
Alida: No…not Gran-lea.
I’ll definitely have to have a talk with mama about this.
Q makes a quick stop at the restroom, while I take Peri to the sand area to let her play for a bit. I grow even angrier at mama as I stand there watching Peri play so innocently. I was exposed to so much when I was her age that I can’t help but want to protect her and preserve her childhood for as long as I can.
Q returns from the restroom…
Quincy: It’s late…we’d better go.
We arrive home and send Peri straight to her bathroom to take a shower and change into her pajamas. Meanwhile, Q and I settle down in front of the TV to watch a movie.
Q leans over to check in on me…
Quincy: *gently bumps my shoulder with his* You okay?
Alida: Yeah…I was just thinking about mama – wondering why she’d tell Peri something like that.
Quincy: I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. It seems like she was just trying to help out her granddaughter – in the only way she knew how.
Alida: True…I can see that. I guess I can’t shield Peri from everything.
Quincy: The world definitely won’t care about shielding her.
I think about the things I went through on my journey to becoming a young adult…
Alida: Ain’t that the truth?
Peri comes up the stairs at that very moment.
Prosperity: I’m ready for bed now!
Quincy: *whispers to me* Dang it…I was just thinking about trying to steal a little kiss.
Alida: *giggles* Too late.
Quincy: Not too late…just postponed. Stay here…I’ll be right back.
Q gets up and follows Peri down the stairs.
(Generation 1a Chapter Summaries)
