Papa and Dad took Echo out to dinner, just the three of them, that night.
She was wearing the music charm bracelet they had given her for her birthday last year, the cute skull earrings (that held not-so-cute magic) that she had gotten for Christmas, and the sun pendant that she'd had for who-knows-how-long. She had dressed up her blue shirt with a burgundy scarf and her nice gray jeans. She had let Ana put her hair up in a cute bun.
The restaurant was nice, had the same relaxed feel she had noticed all throughout Hawaii. But it was also one of the nice restaurants. She could tell just from the fact that Papa had freshly shaved for this outing.
Dad had flirted outright with Papa, teasing him about shaving especially for him. "You looked cute with some facial hair. You should consider growing it back." He had kissed Papa's eyebrow.
Papa had pushed him away, "Hey, we're taking Echo out, not going on a date."
Echo had smiled at the interaction. Now as she looked between her fathers, the handsomest men she knew, she couldn't help but wonder why they were taking her out to dinner. It wasn't unusual for them to take just her, or her sisters out, it just didn't happen often.
Dad tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You look lovely, little Lark."
"Why are we out to dinner?" Echo asked, "Especially without the twins?"
Papa took her hand, "Because we're starting realize that you're not…you're growing up. Quickly, faster than you should have what with recent events. We know that we said you would go to camp after you turned twelve. It's hard to let go, Echo. You're still our baby girl."
"I know, Papa, I will always be your baby girl to you and Dad." She smiled at her Papa.
Dad nodded, "But, we also want you to know that we do see you growing up. How responsible you've become. We are very proud of you, Echo. That's why we wanted to take you out tonight. We wanted to talk to you about…the future."
Suddenly Echo felt like she should never have agreed to this dinner. This was going to get awkward, she just knew it. They weren't good at the "you're growing up" talks.
Papa chuckled, "We've scared her."
"Oh man," Dad rubbed his neck, "It's not going to be one of those kinds of talks."
"Then what sort of talk is this?" She asked hesitantly.
Papa fixed his gaze on her, "It's one where we talk about when you start dating."
Echo chewed on her lower lip, "That sounds like one of those kinds of talks."
Dad shook his head, "We just want to talk to you about how proud we are. How we want you to be able to talk to us, no matter what. And that we will be here for you through everything. You're at the age when all of the half-blood stuff really comes crashing down."
"And we wanted give you this, as promise that no matter what we fight about—because I'm sure that's coming—we'll always love you and be here for you." Papa handed her a small box.
She opened the box to a ring, a very pretty one. It had a blue stone, with white gems on either side. Gold, and very simple but very pretty. She took it out, and examined it. There was an inscription in the margin, "Our love forever." She read aloud.
Dad nodded, "We didn't have good family lives. You've met my mom, you kids barely know her."
"And when you end up running all the way across the country and back because of monsters and prophecies…we want you to know that we're always with you. Plus, if you need money then you have the ring to get you home." Papa said, completely serious. "For emergencies."
Echo's breath caught, "These are real diamonds…"
Dad nodded, "And blue topaz, 18-karat rose gold. That ring was worth about $1,600. If you pawn it, you should be able to get a good price for it if you really are in an emergency situation."
Echo shook her head, "I'll remember that…"
"But most of all, it's so that wherever you go you know we love you." Papa squeezed her hand.
"And we do love you, baby girl, and we want you to be safe. But we know that we can't keep you safe. Not all the time." Dad smiled softly at her.
She slid it onto her right ring finger, "I love it. Thank you Papa, thank you Daddy."
Daddy pulled her over so he could kiss her cheek.
Papa kissed her hand, "You're our light, and we promise that you'll go to camp…just…"
"Not this year. I know, Papa. You need me to help with Ana, and Aurora now that she's…getting a little shady." She gestured.
Dad nodded, "Not just that, we…just…need our family together right now."
"We're not quite ready for our little Lark to leave the nest. We love you, and we're proud of you, and we will let you go…just…"
Echo laughed a bit, "Not yet, I get it Daddy."
Dad smiled brightly at her.
Papa looked more serious, "I have a feeling we're going to have to let you go before we're ready."
"I'll always fly home." She smiled at him.