IRIRS Flashback: "Duck! Rabbit! Duck!" - A Love Story

Duck! Rabbit! Duck! – A Love Story

The heroine of this story, Kpau, is the drummer for the band It Really IS Rocket Science. As one of The Lost Girls, she also lost her parents at a young age. In her case, there was no trust fund. She was shuttled through a long series of foster parents, most of whom were more interested in the money than in helping an emotionally frozen traumatized child. This flashback story recalls the first time things began to change for Kpau Angela Williams. Flashback to around the year 1999 or shortly after.

* * *

Rick and Jamie sat in the conference room of the rehab facility reviewing their paperwork for the fourth time. It was their first time to be foster parents. Jamie nervously knitted, glancing from her work to the clock, then to the door, then back to her needlework. Rick kept rereading the pages in the folder describing the child’s history.

He stared at the summation as he spoke to his wife. “I know I keep saying this, but you would think these people would start us out with something less serious.”

“It’s a she, not a something, darling. Maybe the other children are worse off. I understand what you’re feeling though. Just reading that story makes me cry. I can’t imagine the grief she has been dealing with.”

The door opened and the facility administrator walked in, taking a seat at his desk. Dr. Barrons had been working with them for several months to prepare for their first ward.

“She’s almost ready. Still time to run away if you need to.”

“The little girl knows we’re here. I can only imagine that would be bad.”

“I was going for a little levity, but she really is resigned to that possibility. You are the third set of parents we’ve tried since the last ones brought her back. The others either balked at the description of her history or after meeting her.”

Rick flinched. “Ouch. That alone makes me want to stay.”

The monochromatic computer screen on the desk flickered with a message. Barrons did not bother opening it. “She’s on her way. Remember. You don’t have to FIX her, just take care of her until we figure out what to do with her.”

The door opened. An aide worker led a young girl into the room. The child quietly took a seat by the doctor. Rick’s first impression of the twelve-year-old, a small stocky darkly tanned girl with brilliant platinum hair. The contrast looked artificial, like a Polynesian with dyed hair. The image was marred by burn scars, including a large patch over one ear where her hair had grown back but mottling could still be seen on her scalp. Her brown eyes were vacant. She clutched a small stuffed dragon and a small daypack. Rick sat hypnotized by this real living person the couple was going to have to parent and keep safe. 

They had been informed her scars would fade, that the surgeries had been quite successful. That was physical. Her emotional condition was another matter. Here sat a little girl who had watched her parents and younger sister die violently in an automobile accident. She was alone. Her only living relative was a grandfather but he was in Southern California with an old criminal record. The man was trying to get custody of her but that might take years. In the meantime, the young lady needed care and place to live.

Dr. Barrens spoke quietly. “Kpau? This is Rick and Jamie Bloom. They want to be your— “

“Don’t call them my parents.”

Rick woke up from his trance of watching her exist. “We’re not going to try to be, Kpau. We just want to help you go to school, eat, have a safe place to sleep.”

She stared at him. Her eyes did not blink. “Nowhere is safe. Safe is an illusion.”

Rick was taken by her assertion. “You’re right. Most people pretend they’re safe. But that doesn’t mean you don’t try or take precautions.”

The youngster’s shiny eyebrows crinkled. Rick felt he was being deep scanned by those eyes. Her lips pursed while she rocked quietly. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Rick smirked.

“For not spouting bullshit, mister.”

Jamie’s eyebrow arched as she drew a sharp breath. Kpau’s eyes jerked in her direction. “Sorry, Mrs. Bloom. My parents cursed a lot when they fought. I’m still practicing to do it less.”

Jamie’s expression shifted to chagrin. “No, Kpau. I’m sorry I got flustered. You’ve had a lot happen. I’d be saying bad words myself.”

Dr. Barrens coughed. “So! Kpau? Are you okay with trying this out? It’s been a bit difficult as you know. We’d really like to get you on track.”

The young girl nodded. “These two stayed. I don’t get any bad vibes. I’m tired of being here. Besides, you need the bed for other kids. I’ll go.”

The words were humorous, but Rick wasn’t missing the monotone in her voice. She was still in a form of shock, emotionally shut down.

Using emotional walls in self-defense like a science fiction force field.

He glanced at his wife, then at the doctor. “Can Jamie and I talk alone a moment? Are there other things Kpau has to get?”

The young girl shrugged. Her eyes turned emptier if that were possible. “I understand. This is all I have left. My other stuff is gone. I’ll wait down the hall.”

The young girl got up with her things and silently left. Dr. Barrens sighed.

“She thinks you’re going to leave.”

Both Jamie and Rick winced. Jamie answered. “Rick didn’t mean to give that impression. I think we are just overwhelmed in her presence. That’s a lot of pain in a little person. Of course we’ll have her.”

* * *

Rick drove their sport utility vehicle into the driveway and switched it off. Kpau had been quiet up until that moment but now she scanned her surroundings intensely.

“Wow. You have a front yard. That’s fresh. Is there a backyard?”

“Sure is! With a fence! And a nice bit of woods behind that. We take walks back that way a lot.”

Kpau unbuckled her seatbelt, showing obvious interest in the new surroundings. “We didn’t have a yard. But there was a park down the street. I use to take Babble­ my sis­ sis­….”

Rick and Jamie both jerked to look back. Kpau sat, clinched fists, furiously killing tears, her breath wheezing. She noticed them. Her face shifted back to that blank look. She locked all emotions down.

“Sorry. I’m okay. I need to use the bathroom, please.” Shields up.

* * *

“Oh, Rick! The poor thing is not okay! So much pain! I just want to hug her and make her monsters go away!” Jamie stared morosely at the bathroom door down the hall from the kitchen.

“She refuses therapy. Barrens said she just stares at them. Won’t talk about the accident or anything. He whispered to me as we were leaving that hearing that her parents fought was new information to him.”

Approaching soft footsteps silenced them.

“Thanks, mister.” Kpau carefully looked towards them without making eye contact.

He leaned against the counter. “Okay, little bug. Let’s move past formalities. I don’t want to be called ‘mister’ in my own house. You can call me Rick if you like.”

Kpau remained solemn but one eyebrow rose into an arch. Her eyes engaged with him. “Names are important. Even nicknames.” Her lips pursed. Her shiny eyebrows wiggled until she brightened up. “I don’t have any aunts or uncles. Can I call you Uncle Rick and Aunt Jamie?”

Jamie’s face burst into sunshine. She obviously adored the idea. “I’d love that! We don’t have any nieces! Rick? Show Kpau her room and the rest of the house while I fix us dinner?”

“Will you be okay, Jamie?”

“Yes, darling. I’m fine! You two take the tour.”

* * *

Rick listened to the quiet footsteps behind him. Kpau stayed closer to him now, evidently feeling better about living with strangers. “Laundry room by the garage under the stairs. You’ve already met the guest bathroom at the end of that hall.” He took the stairway quickly. She followed. “Up here we have two bedrooms. Each has its own bathroom. And we have this game room.”

Kpau’s face lit up slightly. Shields lowering maybe?

“Do you have games, mist­ uh, er, Uncle Rick?”

“As you can see, the room has a Ping-Pong table and darts. But I sense you mean these. We have a Nintendo and one of the new Playstation consoles. I bet you can tell us what cool games we are missing.”

Her eyes swept his gaming rig sets. “Cool. Do you play much?”

“Both Jamie and I do. She’s not much on computer games but she likes cooperative console games.”

Kpau’s eyes sparkled. More shields down. “You have a computer?”

“Actually, we each have a computer. Jamie writes and I do some of my programming work at home. And we got one for you, too!” Rick grinned. “Come see yours!”

Rick didn’t have to coax her, she beat him to the door of the bedroom. The bright-haired creature seemed to generate glitter in her wake. But then she stopped at the door. The light show shut down. Shields back up. Blank face. Rick decided to ignore the setback and press on.

“Your room, Kpau.”

The young woman surveyed the room. It was very pink. Rick grimaced at the decor. When Jamie found out their foster charge was a girl she had decorated. Kpau’s eyes zeroed in on the computer where it sat on a small desk. Then she smirked as she took in the entire view.

“It’s very pink. But I like pink. Maybe not so much pink. I may tone down the girly if that’s okay with you. I’ll have to think. It’s not my home after all.”

Rick decided she was mature enough for his philosophy on such things. “You’re right. The only true place you can call home is the body you are in, and whatever connections you make with people you love or trust. The rest are just things.”

Kpau stared at nothing momentarily, then seemed to make a decision. “Mist­ Unca Rick? Do you believe in a god?”

Rick began to spurt his usual noncommittal answer then realized she had said “a god”, not “God” with a capital “G”. Don’t lie with this little girl. Be straight with her.

“Um, no. My view is that the science doesn’t seem to require one. No miracles in sight.”

Kpau was not smiling but clearly some load vanished from her shoulders. “Good. That’s good. The first people who kept me after the accident tried to FIX me with theirs. They told me I was going to Hell and that was where my family went.”

“Wow, that is a complete load of shi—err, really bad!”

Kpau’s eyes sparkled. She nearly grinned. Just a little. “Yeah. It didn’t upset me like they thought it would. But I was done with them. I ran away. Dr. Barrens didn’t make me go back after I told him what they said. I think he took them off his list altogether.”

“You seem very mature for a twelve year old. Here’s my pitch. I’ll treat you as grownup as you act. Sound good? It may drive Jamie crazy. She wants a child girl to play dolls with, little bug.”

“That would be a nice change from the way most grownups treat me. But I am still a kid. I guess. I’m not totally done with dolls.” After a flash of a smirk, she walked into the room and purposely lay her daypack on the bed. After a quick look out her window, she turned to face him.

“Just so you know? I like you calling me Little Bug. I know I'm not really skinny or anything like that. I kind of got fat after the... ­ afterwards.”

Rick silently counted that as a win. He showed Kpau how to start her computer up and pointed out the manuals. Then Jamie’s voice drifted up from downstairs that dinner was ready. They both turned to go after shutting the system down.

“Hey, mister, err, Unca Rick?” He turned to look down into a pair of earnest brown eyes. “Is Aunt Jamie all right? You seemed funny about leaving her alone to work on dinner.”

Wow, she is a sharp observant little bug.

“Jamie has been wonky lately. No big deal, just something we have to keep an eye on.”

Kpau seemed to shrink again. All the lights went out in her expression. “Oh.”

Shields back up. Damn. This is complicated.

* * *

Jamie’s eyes flicked open. Night. Some minor thunder in the distance. Rick snoring. She could not decide why she was awake, then heard it. Sobs. Wheezing. Then a series of terrified noises that got louder.

“Rick! Rick! Something’s wrong!”

He sat up, an alarmed expression at Jamie. “Oh, I thought you were having a … what the hell?”

Jamie threw off her covers. “I’m going to check on her. Sounds like a nightmare.”

She jogged down the hall, pushed Kpau’s door open, and flicked on the light. The young girl was sitting up, crushing the life out of her pillow and having a full asthmatic attack. Her eyes were unfocused.

“No! No! Don’t leave! Oh gods, they’ll come soon! Please! Don’t leave!!” She screamed.

Jamie nearly hurled herself into Kpau’s bed, throwing her arms around the shrieking girl.

“Little darling! I have you! I won’t let go! Shh! It’s a dream, a really bad dream but just a dream!” 

She rocked Kpau and stroked her hair. The wheezing faded and Jamie realized she had never really been awake. A little while later, Jamie arranged her in the bed, then returned to their bedroom where Rick waited.

“Oh God, Rick! That was awful! She was absolutely terrified but asleep. What do they call those? Waking dreams? That’s a pathetic name!”

“I guess that’s what they meant by night terrors in the paperwork. I checked on y’all a few minutes ago. You seemed to do her a lot of good holding her. I’m okay if you want to stay the rest of the night with her when she has those. Maybe that’ll help? Make them less bad?”

“I will do that, darling. We’ll see how it goes. Heading back now. See you in the morning.”

“I’d offer to stay with the little bug so you could sleep better … but that’s a really Bad Idea if the case worker found out. Dammit, I’m jittery I’m doing something that might be misconstrued even if I just hug her. All those damned THOU SHALT NOT rules for the foster-dad. I suppose there are good reasons. But crap! How do I help when they freak out if I touch her?”

“I’m fine with it, Rick. It lets me be the Mommy but my Lord it tore me up to see her so … so utterly lost and terrified! She’s just a child having to process such horrible things. I’m off to stay with her. G’night, darling.”

 * * *

Torrents of rain blasted the roof of the house. Texas thunderstorm in all its glory. Jamie glared at the clock hands racing around the dial. She was going to be late getting Kpau to school. She knew that was a really bad idea for the first week. She had heard the other mothers talk about how rigid and punishing the school could be.

“Come on, Kpau! Now!” Jamie tried to avoid stressing out but she was frazzled. She felt her head pounding and her chest tightening up. Relax. Deep breath. Not a good time for an attack.

“Snot! I am going as fast as I can! I couldn’t find the right shoes!” Kpau flew down the stairs. She wore open-toed sandals.

Jamie lost her temper. “Oh my God! Kpau, you can’t wear those in this storm! Get your boots!”

“Don’t need to! I’m fine with this! Let’s go!” Those brown eyes stared defiantly at Jamie.

“What is WRONG with you this morning?! You’re going to get drenched and sick! You’re—“ She burst into a coughing spasm. Kpau swung her fists wildly at nothing in anger. She accidently nicked a pickle jar Jamie had left out from making lunch. It flew, shattering on the floor. The young girl glared furiously at it, a cauldron of unfocused anger.

Jamie struggled with her coughing, chest pain, and anger. She slumped into a bar stool. 

“Little darling, I am TRYING to work with you! I know it is tough for you! I want you to like me! I want— “

“I AM AFRAID! AFRAID TO LIKE YOU! EVERYONE I LIKE DIES!” A terrible wheeze now ripped out of Kpau’s own throat, followed by horrible asthmatic sounds and horrid sobs. Jamie jumped out of the chair and caught the little girl as she stumbled. Both went down.

They sat on the floor in the pickle juice. Jamie hugged Kpau while scrabbling in the girl’s purse for a mist inhaler. She was still fighting her own lungs but managed to fire two shots of mist in Kpau’s mouth. As the young girl’s breathing settled, Kpau suddenly grabbed the inhaler from Jamie. She held the older woman’s face and popped a shot of mist into Jamie’s mouth. They sat hugging as each calmed down.

“Those aren’t for me, little darling, but thank you.”

“I can get through my asthma attacks without them. Don’t like using them. You sound like you need it more. Like now.”

“I just have these lung problems. The doctor is treating it, child.”

Kpau sat, her own lungs still rattling. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Aunt Jamie. I just feel crazy today! I don’t know why! But! I AM afraid to like anyone. It’s like I might be a bad hex on them.”

Jamie’s attention was jerked away by a new problem. “Oh God! Kpau! Are you hurt?!”

“NO! I’M JUST FINE! WHAT THE F­! Oh hell, what is that?! Am I cut?!”

“I think … I think you’re having your first period, little darling.” She hugged the wide-eyed girl. “Hey. Let’s just stay home today. I guess no one covered this with you. Little girl is grown up.”

* * *

“You like autumn, Little Bug?” Rick watched as her brilliant plume of hair form a jet trail behind her. Kpau tore through the piles of leaves in the woods behind their house.

“Yup! I like ALL the seasons! I like seeing each one come every year! Unca Rick? Leaf fight!” A cloud of leaves enveloped Rick. He smiled. Some of her shields are down. For me.

“You Little Bug! I’m after you!” Kpau shrieked happily, weaving in and out of the trees with Rick in hot pursuit. As he closed in for the capture, he heard an ominous crack above their heads. Her eyes jerked up. In a flash she threw herself to the right and rolled. Rick instinctively rolled left but was buried in branches, leaves, and a few limbs big enough to hurt.

Rick sat up. It was quiet. “Kpau?! Oh shit! Kpau are you­?”

“I’m okay, Unca Rick! But … not by much. That one is really big. Ducked it.” She was sitting next to a rather large limb that would have shattered her body if she had moved even slightly differently. Rick knew she had quick reflexes but that dodge and tumble had been impressive. Kpau did not appear frightened. She had a goofy look as she gazed at him.

“Unca Rick?! It must be Duck Season.”

Rick responded without thinking. “No. It’s Rabbit Season.”

Kpau blinked. Then she winked at him with both eyes and blurted, “It’s Duck season!”

“Rabbit Season!”

“Duck Season!”

“No, it’s Duck Season!”

“You know very well it is Rabbit Season!”

They finished the dialog together. “I say it’s Duck Season! Shoot him now! Shoot him now!”

Kpau rolled in the near disaster of leaves and tree limbs. Throaty laughter, the first Rick had ever heard from the young woman. She sat back up and flashed him a victory sign.

“You know the lines! Hardly anyone gets my gags!”

“I have the VHS tapes buried in a closet. Want to watch LooneyToon cartoons tonight? Bugs? Daffy? Martin Martian? Foghorn?”

Kpau stopped laughing. Solemn face. “I used to watch those cartoons with my family.”

Rick grimaced but pressed on. “Will it upset you to watch them?”

“No. But … I might cry. Just warning you.”

* * *

One week left before Christmas. Kpau leaped from one branch to the next high in the large oak trees common to southeast Texas. The thick branches were wet but she had becme adept at tree climbing. The exercise had trimmed her down but mostly she was replacing fat with muscle. Jamie kept telling her just to be active and not worry about her body but Kpau obsessed about it anyway. No escaping comparisons at school from the other girls.

Texas Winter was being its normal state of ambiguity. Not cold enough for a heavy coat but a murky mess of drippy, dreary, and dark. Rick was at his workplace. Jamie was in her home office writing. Kpau had been reading in her room but had realized she absolutely needed to move around. She sat on a branch and gazed at the house she slept in. A squirrel warily eyed her from another branch.

“Welcome to Sherwood Forest, Friar Nut-rat! Holy Frito-Lay, that doesn’t work. You live here.”

The platinum blonde glanced back at the house. “They’re trying really hard, Friar Nut-rat. I just can’t take the chance. If I were older, I might even be flirting with Unca Rick. He’s such a cool guy. Makes me warm. Jamie needs him. Don’t know what kind of sick she’s got but they’re even tighter-lipped than me on that matter. Hey! I’m talking to you, villain! Don’t wander off!”

Kpau moved towards the next branch towards the scampering creature. The branch snapped, leaving her in open air and hurtling in free fall. She balled up and rolled as she hit the ground.

“HAHA! My ninja skills are … ow!” She went back down, clutching her knee. “What the fucking hell?”

Blood blossomed around her knee, soaking through her now torn jeans. She spotted a broken whiskey bottle. “God damned litterbugs! Shit! This is bad. Really bad! Okay, do the first aid. Like Unca Rick taught me.”

She undid her scarf and fashioned a tourniquet. So much blood. Nausea rose in her throat.

“NO! NOT NOW! IT’S MY OWN BLOOD, STUPID GUT! GET HOME! THROW UP LATER! I NEED TO STAY­.” She threw up anyway.

“Okay. Faboo! Limp on it. Move. Move. Move. Get up! Move Faster! Oh, crud bunnies!” She threw up again. Head spinning. Still nauseated. Still bleeding.

“Great. I smell wondrous now. Just a little farther. Come on! I can crawl.”

Two Technicolor barfs later, she dragged herself into the kitchen, covered in vomit, mud, leaves, and blood. She left a trail on the tile floor as she curled up by the doorway.

“MOM!! MOMMY!!” Her face froze in shock. “Shit! It’s not her! Mommy isn’t here! No one. None of them … all gone.” Kpau burst into tears.

“OH MY GOD! KPAU!” Jamie rushed out of her office towards the young woman. “What happened?! Oh, Lordy! You’re bleeding! Ah! You are a mess! Come get in the shower! I can’t even see how you’re hurt! No, don’t stand on that leg! Lean on me!”

* * *

Two hours later, Kpau sat in the recovery room, staring at her new stitches on her knee. Jamie sat next to her as they waited to be released. They held hands.

“Aunt Jamie?”

“Yes, little darling?”

“I’m sorry about the way I am. You try really hard. But my shields keep me safe. I’m just afraid to like anyone. They all die. Every single one.”

Jamie’s heart hurt for Kpau.

“I heard you call for your mommy, little darling. Tore me up inside.”

Kpau made eye contact. It felt good to Jamie.

“I’m glad you came for me, Aunt Jamie. Made me realize. Maybe one day I might feel safe enough. Maybe build a family of some kind. It might not be regular normal. I’ll have to think about it.”

“That would be a lovely way to cope with what life threw at you, little darling.”

“I’ve screwed up a little, though. I messed up. I kind of like you both.”

“We’ll yell at you more. Will that help?”

Kpau chuckled then turned serious. “I see why Rick married you. I should tell you. I kind of have a crush on Rick. If I were older, I wouldn’t mind marrying him. Be good to him, okay?”

“You have good taste in men, darling. I will do my best.”

* * *

“Hey! What’s this, Unca Rick?”

Kpau and Rick were sorting and organizing the game room closet. She held up a thick cardboard box marked “Bloom County”.

“Oh! I had forgotten I had those. It was a comic strip I grew up with in the ‘80s. Very funny. Lots of political humor. They’re even signed by the author.”

Kpau had it open already. “Oh! I recognize the penguin and the cat! There was a funny TV show, a Christmas special they were in. I thought I was going to wet myself it was so funny! Can I read these?”

“Why don’t we read them together? They’re collectible, rather expensive. I’d feel safer.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. Riot! I’ll be careful! Wait! Are you going to bedtime story me? I’m thirteen years old!”

“I won’t tell your school buddies.”

“Sounds a bit lecherous to me …” Kpau stopped abruptly at Rick’s expression. “Whoa! That was a joke! Not serious! I feel nothing but safe with you!”

“Do me a favor and don’t make those jokes around Jamie or your case worker. Jamie would just get a little insecure but the case worker would snatch you out of here so fast we’d have to mail you your stuff before they took us away to jail.

“Roger, roger, Unca Rick. Yeah, Ms. Official Person is a real thorny one. No comedy there. Niiiiiice Lady! Oh, Lady! Bleagh! Gives me the shivers.”

"Well, it's easy to see why they worry, those swimming lessons are making you look nice and sleek. Svelte even."

"Svelte? Haha! Thanks but I'll never be a Barbie. My waist refuses. I think I have another plan." She rummaged in her school pack. "See this fitness magazine for women I found? Someone makes fun of me, I can just beat them up."

Rick laughed as he thumbed her magazine. "You probably won't have to ... you really want to look like this? I don't mean that the way it sounded. Oh, look! What about this woman?"

"Yeah! Yeah! That's it. Not all weird looking, just kind of super hero lady looking but the kickass kind! Whoa! I didn't mean to say a bad word there, I just meant ­.”

"I don't care if you use curse words if they make the point better, Little Bug. Jamie is the one who frets about language. Just let me know what you need to reach your goal. I'll support you."

* * *

Kpau lay in her bed curled up in laughter, her eyes tearing up. Rick lay next to her. He had been reading the comic strips out loud to her and was utterly baffled.

“Wait?! How do you even GET that joke? It’s late ‘70s political humor! Over thirty years ago!”

“Oh! I read your entire encyclopedia set when I first moved in. All about Nixon, Vietnam, Watergate, Soviets, Cold War! They don’t teach anything like that in school. Actually, I’m bored to tears in school most of the time.”

“Ah, yeah. Jamie reports she and the principal have regular talks. You’re never in deep trouble, just treading the edges. Right. On that note, it’s a school night. Time for bed, Little Bug.”

“Night, Unca Rick.” Kpau stared up at her ceiling. “Thanks.”

“Eh? For what?”

“Just … thanks.”

* * *

Kpau dropped her books and bag in the hallway after school. She scrambled for the kitchen and leaped at the refrigerator.

“Hah! Pizza still here! Yum!” She tore into a slice. “Hey, Aunt Jamie! I’m home! Hey! Oh. A note from her.” The note said Jamie had to make a quick trip to the doctor, no worries, pizza in the fridge.

“Righteous. Sounds like she’s okay. Her writing isn’t weak looking like it is sometimes. That’s good. Small clues add up.”

Kpau headed up to her room and sat at her computer, spinning in her chair.

“What to do? Hmmm? Nah, not that. Maybe? Meh, boring.”

Her mind flipped through a dozen projects and hobbies in a flash. Nothing grabbed her vibrating attention. It was quiet. She turned on her desk radio. Loud.

“I could read?” Her mind drifted to Opus and Bill. Bloom County.

“Not supposed to touch those. Faboo, I’ll be careful.”

A few minutes later she was sitting in front of the closet in the game room deeply engrossed and laughing as she read each strip in the book. The phone rang downstairs. Shejumped up with the intention of answering it. 

There was a ripping sound.

Kpau stared white-faced at the half-page of comic she held in her hand. “Oh my god! No! I didn’t pull that hard! Freaking old paper! Oh gods, he’s gonna kill me! Worse, he’s gonna cry! Augh!”

She frantically put the rest of the books up and closed the closet. Kpau held the damaged book and the shred of paper in her hands. Total panic.

A few minutes later, she was outside, deep in the forest curled up next to a large oak.

“What do I do? Oh gods, what do I do? I like these people! I don’t want to go back!” Tears ran down her cheeks as she gazed at the damaged book. “I don’t know … what to do. I don’t– “

“Little Bug! Are you okay?! God! I got home and was frantic! You were gone, the patio door was open! I was going to call the police!”

“Augh! Unca Rick! I’m sorry! Don’t send me back! I don’t know how to fix it! I tore … I want … I need …”

A pair of large arms swooped her up into a big hug. Nice hands stroking the back of her head, patting her back. Being rocked. Kissed on the forehead.

“It is okay, Little Bug. It’s just a piece of paper. You’re more important than anything.”

“But … but … it’s one of your special books!” Her face was sticky from tears and snot.

“And you’re my Little Bug. Come back. We’ll fix it. It won’t be pristine but it’ll be fine.”

An hour later they sat looking at the results. Rick had shown her how to use a special paper glue for restoration. They had carefully re-assembled the page and set up it with a support rig so the page could dry without touching the other pages. She gazed at it skeptically.

“It won’t be perfect.”

“It’ll be a memory I have of you.”

Kpau broke into sobs and hugged him. She stifled her emotions down quickly and stared at their work. “I liked building the rig. It was kind of like writing and fixing software. But touchable.”

“You like making things I think. Maybe we could do some projects together. Some fun stuff. Help me around the house. The sink needs a new faucet. Gutters. Maybe some yard sprinklers?”

“Yeah! I’d like that. I admit it. School bores the crap out of me. I get all my homework done before I get home. I pretend upstairs so Jamie is happy. Doing stuff with you sounds more fun.”

* * *

“Okay, Boss Rick! Can I turn the faucet now?” Kpau had her hand on the new valve connected to the outdoor faucet in the backyard. 

Rick knelt on the other end of the long set of trenches tightening the last of the new sprinkler heads they were installing. He looked up. For a brief instant he saw a gorgeous muscular young woman with brilliant white blonde hair and a magnificent tan, sexy in her knotted up shirt, bare midriff, and tight jean shorts. Then his brain adjusted the image to the young woman he called Little Bug. So much change in such a short time. Less than two years.

“Wait! Wait! Not quite­!” She drenched him. He could hear her giggling as he wiped his face.

“Sorry, Unca Rick! I couldn’t resist! I just—!” Rick’s turn. He had the hose they had run from the other side of the house. He sprayed her with a huge dose of water. Very satisfying girlish shrieks. 

Then he regretted his horseplay. Kpau’s knotted blouse was now transparent. She was laughing her head off as she ran up for a bear hug. A tight bear hug.

 “Uhhhh, Little Bug? Probably ought to go change shirts!”

“What? Omigod! Holy Frito-Lay! You ARE a naughty man! I … oh, no, won’t do that joke. The secret microphones might catch it. Haha!” She winked. “Right, Unca Rick!” She crossed her arms over her young breasts visible through the soaked cotton. “Covering myself to protect your eyes. Be right back!” A string of delightful giggles trailed in her wake. 

Crap. This is giving me grey hairs. Growing up so fast, Little Bug.

* * *

“I think I like it with you two. I wish I could stay.”

“My heart aches, Little Bug. But my company says I have to go to Florida and I have no other place to work here in Texas. The economy is busted. I can’t take you. Damn state agency won’t let me. If I stay I lose my job and I lose you anyway. God, this hurts my gut.”

“Yeah. It’ll be okay. Make do. Nothing is forever, Unca Rick. I just wish it was a little longer.”

“Your grandpa is trying to get you to him but— “

“I’m paying attention.” She smirked. “Gramps screwed up a long time ago. Some stupid ‘Nice Lady’ thinks he’s bad for me. He’s not a bad guy. Just a little too creative for his own good.”

“I’ll try to help you get to him. Maybe a lawyer?”

“That might help. He can’t afford one.”

“Do you want to go to California?”

Kpau stared at her coffee. “I’ve never been to California. But then maybe I wouldn’t have to keep changing families. College is in just a few years anyway. Don’t care which high school.”

Rick looked at Kpau in some despair as they sat in the hospital café. Jamie was booked for several days of testing after she had collapsed while she and Kpau had been bike riding.

“I’ll get that lawyer. We’ll get you to your Gramps.”

* * *

“I wish they’d let us go to the gate together.” Rick stared angrily at the new TSA checkpoints.

“It will be okay, Unca Rick. I can do it.”

Rick appraised the beautiful young woman with bright shiny blonde hair next to him.

Fourteen, going on twenty.

“Little Bug? I’ve never seen you really smile. Ever. You laugh. Giggle. Not a real smile.”

“I smile!”

“They’re fake. You wear them like a mask.”

Kpau winked at him with both eyes. “You’re good. That’s why I like you, Unca Rick. I’m going to miss you and Jamie. Just like everyone else. The way it goes. Eventually everyone vanishes.”

“We’ll keep in touch. If you want?”

“That’s okay. You take care of Jamie. I’ll find you if I need to talk. Internet after all.”

Rick pulled a folder out of his day pack. “I want you to have this.”

Kpau’s mouth dropped when she peered inside. “Your signed Bloom County book! From your collection! The one I ripped! But! But­ !”

“That way you won’t forget me.”

Kpau’s shields crumbled. Tears, dripping nose, snot, drool. He hugged her, stroking her back gently. Like a real daughter instead of a girl buried under rules about not touching.

She recomposed herself, wiping her face on his jacket. “I can never ever forget you, Unca Rick. Thank you. Apologize to Aunt Jamie for me. I was never really very nice to her no matter how hard she tried.” She inhaled sharply to clear her nose and stifled more tears.

“She understands. She wanted to come but the hospital wouldn’t let her out. Jamie thinks you’re very resourceful and resilient. She admires the way you cope with life. She hopes you finally feel safe enough to let people you trust inside those shields of yours one day.”

“Time to go. B’bye, Unca Rick. Take care of Aunt Jamie.”

“Bye, Little Bug. Gonna miss you.”

* * *

Kpau sat in the living room of the condo she and her band lived in. She stretched, giving each muscle rippling on her back some attention, then began opening a box she and Tsika had retrieved from Los Angeles on a recent deep storage expedition to get the last of their things. 

The big moose dude Blar was off shopping with the little vampire princess Tsika. Her tall surreal spacey buddy Glycerin was doing god-knows-what in the kitchen that smelled heavenly.

The darkly tanned blonde stared into the dusty box. This was really old stuff. A bit of color caught her eye. In a plastic bag was a very old edition of a Bloom County collection, comic strips from an older decade in time. Kpau’s breath caught as she unsealed the zip lock. On the first page, under the author’s signature was another note. “For my Little Bug, Uncle Rick.”

Kpau’s cheeks were wet before she even got to the repaired page, ripped a decade before. She carefully replaced the book and resealed the bag. She grabbed her tablet. A few minutes of tracking and she had what she thought might be a good phone number. She stopped at the kitchen by the apartment's entry way to make sure her guitarist band mate was safe and okay.

Protect the Glyc. Keep her safe. She’s our statuesque batty treasure from outer space.

“Hey, Glycster? I’m going up to the roof for a while. You going to be okay alone?”

“Yes, little dove! Thanks f-for asking. Today is a good day for us. Enjoy the sun. We’ll have s-some snacks ready in a little while! I'm trying a n-n-new recipe.”

A few minutes later, Kpau sat on the rooftop of the condo building, listening to a dial tone ring on her smartphone. She kept her eyes on the sparkling river that bisected the city, watching the jet skiers carving turns in the ripples.

The voice circuit crackled successful completion. “Hello? Who is this?”

“It’s … it’s me, Unca Rick. Do you remember me?”

Silence.

“Unca Rick?”

“I can never ever forget you, Little Bug. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine! I graduated from high school! I got into USC, and majored in music, and I play drums like crazy, and I have some great friends, and we formed a band, and then we moved to Portland, Oregon, and we found a great guy to jump start our band with, and we all live together, and I’m doing good! Really really good!!”

“Wow, that’s … a lot. Great! Will I— “

“How’s Aunt Jamie, Unca Rick?”

Silence.

“Ah, Little Bug. She finally … she died five years ago. Just after you entered college.”

Tears. Kpau tried to talk but her voice was broken by her ragged breath. Rick interrupted with a soothing voice.

“Don’t cry, Little Bug. She really felt awful towards the end. It’s all good.”

“But I wanted! I wanted to tell … her how I was doing! She … she vanished. Like the others!”

“We knew you were doing great. Your grandfather kept us posted, though he stopped after we heard you been accepted into USC. The college wouldn’t tell us anything. All that privacy stuff.”

“Gramps, Gramps died at the end of my freshman year. I think he hung on just long enough to get me launched. He vanished, too.”

Kpau took more ragged breaths, then snorted through her nose. “Okay. Stabilizing. Shields.”

“Ah. Ouch. Still have shields, Little Bug?”

“Yup. But … they’re different. I have a family now, Unca Rick. People I love. They’re inside my shields. I got a whole lot better recently. No more bad dreams. Our band is lots of fun. They’re really good to me. They all understand.”

Kpau gazed to the east at Mt. Hood as it lay a hundred miles away peeking out of a cloud bank.

“Can I come see you, Unca Rick? You’re back in Texas now I see.”

“I’m not living in the same town. Too many memories. But how about this? I’m headed your way in a couple of weeks. Up to Seattle for a project. Got time for me to stop on the way back for a visit? Show me the town?”

“Fuck, yeah! I want to see you! I want you to meet my family! They’re weird, but I think you could kind of guess they would be. You’ll like them though. They’re good. Like you are. Ohana and stuff. Let me give you all the Internet links on us and you can study up before you get here! You can watch our music videos and interviews!”

Kpau rattled off the domain names and addresses. She listened to Rick read them back.

“Okay, Little Bug. I’m at work so I’ll sign off now. So what triggered this?”

“I … I … I love you, Unca Rick. I never said that. The whole time. Never said it.”

“Thank you, Kpau. I know that was hard. I love you, too.”

* * *