Chapter Four
Sydney walked right up to the edge of the pond but there were no frogs in sight, not in the weeds, not on the rocks, and not in the water. Maybe they were hiding under the water like Uncle Merle had said. She leaned over to look and immediately felt a tug at the back of her shirt.
"Oh no you don't, Squirrel. You get yourself covered in pond water and come back soakin' wet and your ole man'll chew me a new one."
She looked up at her uncle with furrowed brow. He said a lot of crazy things sometimes. "Chew you a new what?"
He chuckled. "Never you mind. That's one of them 'Uncle Merle Rules' y'all went on about. Just know I aint in the mood so step back a little from the edge and don't even think about takin' a dip to try and stir them frogs up."
"Well, then how are we gonna find the frogs if we can't go into the water a little?"
This time, Uncle Merle laughed real loud. She liked it when he made that sound, especially when she made him laugh like that. "Whoo, look at you, trouble maker. You sure like to stir the pot, just like your Mama."
That made Sydney smile since she didn't mind being like her mom. "Papa says I'm more like him when I'm gettin' in trouble 'cause Dixons like trouble."
"Boy's got the right idea. You got plenty 'a Dixon blood in ya to prove the point, that's for sure. Your sister, she's the sweet part of my little brother, and you," he said fluffing her curly hair. "You take after the wild side of 'em." Both a ya are good, strong Dixon gals.
"What about Dre? Does he get to be a Dixon even though he's got another dad?"
Uncle Merle didn't answer right away as he thought about it, frowning as they stepped back on the trail. "'Suppose you don't need blood to keep folks close like family. So maybe a bit 'a Dixon seeped into him too. That's why he's so good fixin' up stuff like me and your pa."
Sydney looked up at him and then nodded, satisfied. She wouldn't want Dre to feel left out. Already she worried about her mom because Etta was always hanging out with their Papa learning the crossbow and then planning this trip and fishing and stuff. And Andre would come out here with Papa to the garage and he went over to his other dad's house too. She didn't want Mama thinking no one wanted to hang out with her so the last few weeks she'd made it her mission to go wherever her Mama went so they could hang out too. Her Papa was the best and gave her the nicest hugs and kisses. But her Mama talked to her like a grown up, like she talked to Etta and Andre. Everyone else treated her like a baby a lot. Mama let her be as adventurous and as curious as she wanted, and answered all her questions. She never got scared if she knew her Mama was there. And her Mama could make her laugh so hard that she'd snort sometimes and that would make everyone laugh harder.
Walking around the pond, she spotted a long stick over by her favorite tree and ran to pick it up. "What if we just swirled this in the water to let the frogs know to come up?"
Uncle Merle thought about it for a second. "Yeah, that sounds good. Let's give it a try, Squirrel." She smiled and jogged back over to him as he led her to the edge of the pond again.
"Now reach out into there with the stick and give it a swish." She did as Uncle Merle said and watched the ripples spread out into the middle of the little pond. A bird that had been on a rock drinking from it turned to look at them and then hopped farther away. But other than that, nothing made a peep. She tried it again and the same thing. Looking up at her uncle for answers, she frowned at seeing him shrug.
"Well, give it some more time. Let's see what else is goin' on around here, let good ole Uncle Merle stretch his legs a little."
They walked side by side along the trail that went around the pond, Uncle Merle at a stroll and she running around looking for interesting insects or lizards and periodically checking for frog activity. If she got too far ahead, he'd whistle and she'd come back closer to him. Her Uncle Merle was the best part about coming with Papa to the garage because he never minded playing with her and he'd get silly all the time too. And when she'd get in trouble, he'd sometimes sneak her snacks or let her out of time out early.
She also really liked going on walks with him and Etta and he'd tell them stories of his trips around the world and teach them about tracking and hunting. Their Papa taught them those things too but with Uncle Merle, it always felt like an adventure. And sometimes Papa came too and they'd spend all day exploring the woods or going fishing and getting dirty.
Mama got so silly when they'd come back and would fuss about having to check all of them for fleas, especially Papa. Uncle Merle would tell her to hush and then they'd get to saying stuff to each other that they meant to sound mean but just sounded funny to everybody else because they didn't really mean it.
Sydney stopped in the middle of the path and crouched down. When her uncle caught up, she pointed at the thing on the ground. "What's that, Uncle Merle?"
He bent over and looked at it real good and then picked it up. "That there is a nut from this here tree." He pointed a few feet away to a big tree that looked a little different than the other ones. "Don't know what it's doing out now since it aint the season for it. Who the hell knows?" He handed it to her and she stuck it in her pocket to check out later. They kept walking and circled around towards the direction they'd come from.
A rustling in the tall grass got her attention and she stopped cold, raising her stick up. Before she could even think to breathe, Uncle Merle stood behind her. She didn't know he could even move that quick.
"Just stand there, little one. Don't go disturbing nothin' you can't see." Sydney nodded. She'd heard the rules of being outdoors many times from her Papa and her uncle to keep her from getting attacked or bitten by something nasty. Uncle Merle took the stick from her and stepped towards the rustling. He also, unclipped the knife he always kept at his belt just in case. Leaning over the area where they'd heard the sound, his serious face turned to a grinning one. The smiles made way to laughter and, finally, he motioned her closer.
"Look what we got here?" Sydney looked down into the grass and there sat a little frog just hanging out on a rock. She giggled and stooped down to get a closer look. "Now don't scare it off, Squirrel. Keep your movements real slow like when you're tracking a deer."
Sydney did as she was told and reached out towards the animal with a long blade of grass she'd pulled at. The frog blinked and looked at her but didn't hop away. She waved the grass at the frog but the frog ignored it and her. Feeling a little put out, she scooted slightly closer and whispered instructions to the frog in a sing-song voice.
When Sydney got to the part about him coming out to play, it turned its head and licked at the grass. She yelped in surprise and fell back against her uncle who let out a loud guffaw at her reaction. The frog whipped out its tongue a few times and then hopped off the rock and back towards the water.
Sydney scowled at the frog and scrambled back up to her feet. She growled, "You come back here, frog!" and scurried further into the grass towards the direction of the frog's escape. She'd gotten almost to the pond's edge when she again felt a familiar pressure around her collar: her Uncle Merle with a fist hooked around her shirt.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, girlie. What I just tell you 'bout runnin' off."
"I wasn't runnin' off, I was chasin' that frog! I'm gonna get it and take it back to Papa."
"Not if he done gone back in that water you aint. You gotta be careful out here, little one. Your Papa don't want you slippin' into that water and gettin' caught up like he did. Ole Uncle Merle aint always gon' be around to look out for y'all."
Sydney turned and looked up at the older man. "I thought you said you threw Papa into that creek. And then you laughed at him when the frogs tried to get him." She put her hands on her hips and stared him down, looking every bit the spitting image of her mother.
Just the mention of it made Uncle Merle start chuckling again. "I guess I did say it went down that way," he replied scratching at his whiskers. "Anyway, looks like you and your Papa are cut from the same cloth after all." Sydney grinned, thinking again of his story. She didn't feel so bad getting a little surprised and scared of that frog at first, knowing that her dad hadn't liked the animals either.
Glancing again at the pond to see if she could spot the frog, she dusted herself off and threw down the grass she pulled up. "Let's go tell Papa." She shuffled back onto the trail and then grabbed her uncle's hand to get him to move along.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'. Aint gotta rush me. I'm an old man and can't keep up with your quick little legs, Squirrel."
Sydney sighed dramatically. "Fine." She let go of him and returned to his side, grabbing her stick back and skipping along at his pace. It only took a few minutes until the garage was back in sight.
Her Papa and Andre were standing outside the garage looking into a car. She didn't see Etta but her sister had probably stayed inside to write or read something. Sometimes if her sister didn't feel like running around with her, she would tell Sydney her stories about giant robots or fairy tales with real fairies; and she'd make them extra exciting. The best ones were when she'd put Mama and Papa and Andre in them and then make them do all kinds of crazy things.
When they got closer to her Papa and brother, she saw another lady hanging around there too. The lady stood next to Papa and kept smiling at him and stuff. Maybe she was one of his friends or something. The lady's outfit looked really cute and she had fun looking hair. Sydney thought her pretty, although not as pretty as her Mama; nobody was prettier than Mama. Even Papa thought so—well, with an exception for her and Etta, he said.
"Who's that lady, Uncle Merle?" He had a grin on his face as he looked at the lady so maybe he knew her too.
"Oh she's probably a customer. Daryl said he had somebody comin' in. Didn't tell me it'd be somebody like her." He glanced down at her. "You better hope your Mama don't come back while she's here."
"Why?"
'Ohhh, just 'cause, little Squirrel. Just 'cause." Sydney shrugged. Grownups were so weird sometimes.
The rule was that if Papa was with a customer, she had to be a good girl and not bother him unless it was important. So she took her Uncle Merle's hand and put her fingers to her lips to indicate that he should follow the rule too.
Her uncle raised his eyebrows at her as they approached the group. "What you shushin' me for. This is my da— my dang garage too. I talk to who I wanna talk to."
"But I can't so you gotta stick with me." She dragged her uncle past the group, waving as she went. Her Papa smiled at her and winked and the lady smiled too, both at her and at Uncle Merle. But then she turned back to Papa and smiled at him even bigger and started talking to him again. Andre ignored her since he had his head stuck under the hood looking at the engine.
"You need any help there, Little Brother?" Uncle Merle asked. It didn't seem like he wanted to help Papa because he didn't stop walking back inside with her. When she turned back, she could tell Papa was annoyed. That made Uncle Merle laugh. "Naw, I suppose you're good. Real good."
Uncle Merle kept on chuckling as they got to the office. "Oh yeah, Michonne's gonna love that one. Can't wait to see them fireworks."
Sydney still didn't understand why her uncle kept mentioning her mom. Mama liked when Papa got customers and the lady seemed to really like Papa too. She'd never understand grownups and how confusing they could be.
Spotting Etta watching her dad too from the office, Sydney rushed inside to fill her sister in on her adventure.
TBC...