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“But Uncle Shaaaane!” Buck Riley Jr groaned.
“No buts.” Schofield replied, hands on his hips. “This is the last and final time I am telling you this, I am NOT taking you to Seaworld.”
He was down to his last spoon taking care of Buck Jr, and he hoped to hell the little devil wouldn’t test him any further.
“Fine.” the boy sulked. “My dad’s better than you anyway.”
Fuck , Shane swore to himself. He was only a 5 year old; he could not, and was not, meant to understand how the realities of international politics resulted in his father being live-fed to orcas like a circus show. Still, it was a knife in the gut, and he felt himself move to lay hands on the boy against his will.
“Shane.” Libby grabbed Schofield by his shoulder. Not a forceful grab, but an assertive one, the kind that said she meant business.
“Shane, snap out of it.”
Schofield paused, finally registering Libby’s words. He looked down to see his clenched fist, white and trembling, before he took a deep breath and unclenched. Blinking, he turned to Libby, who placed her other hand on his left shoulder. Meanwhile, Buck Jr sat in the corner watching this exchange slack-jawed, playing with his toy ambulance.
“I...I’m sorry, Libby.”
“It’s not your fault, Shane. Go outside and take five- no, take as long as you need. I’ll handle him.”
Shane paused again, and then gently moved in to hug her.
“I miss him.” he lamented.
“Yeah, I miss him too, but he misses him most of all and he has no one to express it to. Don’t you ever forget that, please.”
Shane nodded sagely, regretfully.
“I’ll be on the verandah.” he said quietly, grabbing a Coke from the refrigerator before heading outside.
Libby shook her head, letting out a sigh.
“What’s wrong with Uncle Shane, Aunt Libby?” Buck Jr tugged at her hand.
“Uncle Shane…” she replied with some wistfulness “He doesn’t know where your dad’s gone either, and he really wants to find him.”
“Oh…” the boy cast his eyes downwards, before perking up again. “So will you take me to Seaworld?”
“Hmm…” Libby pretended to look at her watch as if checking her schedule. In the back of her mind, she too saw the blood-filled waters of Wilkes Ice Station, the screams of Frenchmen and her Marine squadmates. She had just as many qualms as Schofield had about visiting Seaworld, but she knew better than to turn a child away.
“I won’t be free to drive you all the way down, but I think Aunt Gena can.”
“Really?” he grinned.
“Yes, really. She might even teach you a thing or two about sea creatures.”
“Oh boy, I can’t wait to visit her!”
“You’re going to like her a lot.” she chuckled.