Lil' Inez moved her full bottom lip back and forth between her sharp white teeth. Her knees were pulled to her chest with her chin resting against her knees. The sun was beginning to set in the sky turning it a brilliant shade of pink mixed with the soft glow of orange. There was a gentle breeze that ruffled the bottom of her flounced skirts and tickled the exposed patches of her dark legs.
"You look deep in thought there, little lady," she heard Corny's velvet voice say, shaking her out of her deep thoughts.
"Yeah, I was," she whispered softly, not ready to look up at him just yet.
Ever since the show had integrated, he had moved in with Maybelle. It was a little bit safer for their relationship to grow more and more public now. She remembered when the older white male would come down in the safe haven of the night and spend it dancing with Maybelle gathered tightly in his arms. She was supposed to be in bed, but sometimes she would open the door slightly and watch as he would whisper sweet nothings into her mother's ear. She would feel her heart swell with both happiness and jealously. She had a secret little school girl crush on the suave television show host, but she couldn't help but be happy for her mother as she watched the smile on her face grow and grow.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you then, but your mother would like you to come in and wash up for dinner," he told her kindly as he leaned against the door frame, letting the cool breeze caress his skin.
"Ok, I'll be right in," she replied, but made no movement to get up.
Corny frowned slightly. Inez was usually bubbly and usually did what her Mama asked of her right away. She was off tonight and something serious seemed to be tugging at her mind. He dragged the free lawn chair next to her own and sat down.
"Care to share?" he prodded gently.
Inez let out a heavy sigh and shook her head, pressing her face further into her knees. He watched her small body start to tremble and he knew she was now crying. He had plenty of experience with crying girls, having worked on a TV show with teenaged girls. He'd just give them an award winning smile, a friendly pat on their shoulder and pull their chin up until they were eye to eye. Don't fret, darling, you did your best, you're one in a million, you wouldn't be on the show if you didn't have talent, he would tell them and that seemed to calm their nerves.
It was different with Inez. He had come to think of the young girl as his own daughter. He loved to spend time with her and show her some new dance steps while she showed him some ways to spice up his own moves. The girl was a dear with a beautiful smile and couldn't help but charm her way into your heart. She was a precious jewel to him now and he felt a twinge of pain in his heart when he saw the girl break down into tears. He did what came naturally and lifted the little girl up with ease out of her chair and placed her tenderly into his own lap, embracing her warmly.
She stiffened for a moment before relaxing in his arms and letting him comfort her like a father would. She vaguely remembered her father before he passed on, but she had loved him. Now there was a new man in her life, a new father perhaps, and those worries began to set in that he would leave them too. Maybe he wouldn't die, but it was still taboo for a white to be with a black and perhaps that pressure would get to him and he would leave them. He would leave and she would be left without a daddy again.
She loved having Corny around. She loved how he could make her and her mother smile. She loved watching her mother's eyes light up when he would walk through the door and flash his brightest smile. He would bring Maybelle flowers every evening to place on the table with dinner. They didn't know that Inez watched them so much and how her heart would swell when she watched Corny wrap his arms around Maybelle's deliciously curved hips and place soft kisses against her smooth mocha neck. They didn't know that she longed to throw her arms around Corny's neck, kiss his cheek and say welcome home, daddy, every time he would come home from work. They didn't know how much the little girl loved him and how much she was frightened he would leave.
He felt the little girl snuggle her tear stained face into his well defined chest. Her body trembled and her voice shook as she struggled to speak.
"Don't…ll…lllea…leave," she managed to push out.
Corny raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Why on earth would I leave?" he asked, sliding his finger under her chin and lifting her face up.
More tears spilled out of those warm brown eyes before she answered.
"Well…my first daddy, he died a…and and and you might die too, o…or or you could decide that…that…Mama isn't worth all the dirty looks a…and leave us," she said with a shaky voice as her slender fingers gripped his forearm.
He let her words settle over him. He had no idea how worried the little girl had been and it broke his heart to know that she thought he might up and leave.
"Listen to me, Miss Inez Stubbs, I love your mother with my whole heart, not only that, but I love you and Seaweed too, so much that it hurts sometimes. I like to think of you as my own children, not that I except you two to think of my as your father just yet. I have loved your mother for a long time and I was with her way before we were even allowed to be on the show at the same time together. No dirty look would ever make me want to leave my new family. Love can overcome a lot of things, little girl and I can assure you that I would never leave you, not for anything in the world," he told her kindly, yet seriously.
Inez let out the softest of whimpers and gripped him even tighter, pressing her body against his into a tight hug. She knew that he meant every word he had said. He was a good man; her mother had been telling her that from the beginning. Corny smiled and gathered the girl closer to him. He let his chin rest against her sweet smelling hair as he held her close.
"Corny?" she asked.
"Yes, Lil' Inez?" he replied.
"Would it be alright if I called you daddy?" she asked softly and Corny felt his heart grow bigger.
"I would love nothing more than that, princess," he replied honestly.