10. Chapter 10

For the third time that week, it was Lynn and Lacy that woke them up. Well, woke Lincoln and Lemy up. Lyra had just risen and was still sleepy. Lacy crashing loudly in the fortunately locked bathroom door had woken her up well though.

When she exited and found her sheepish cousin patting the new mark on her face, she overheard her uncle and aunt in the living room. "The pool doesn't even open for another three hours." He yawned.

"I thought we could all eat breakfast together." Lynn sounded upbeat.

"You mean you thought you guys could eat my breakfast." Her brother corrected.

"What, are you going to turn away your sister and niece?"

"No." He sighed. Lyra sniffed to herself and returned to the bedroom where Lemy was sitting up grumpily.

"What's the point of being here if they're still going to wake us up early?"

"This'll be the last day, hopefully." Lyra may have been an early riser, but she liked her mornings quiet. "Lacy's in there." She warned her brother when he got up and started making his way to the bathroom. He grumbled and sat back down on the bed. "Do you have your swimming clothes?" She asked. She'd gotten hers out yesterday.

"Yeah. All packed and ready." He didn't sound very happy, but she chalked that up to the early morning.

"Aunt Lynn and Lacy are joining us for breakfast." She warned him.

"Great." He muttered.

"We can still have fun today." Lyra said hopefully. "Don't let a bad morning dissuade you."

It didn't go bad at all- since the kitchen only had 3 chairs, the kids ate there while Lincoln and Lynn ate in the living room. Although they got to overhear the two adults doing their best to pick on and annoy each other.

"They're like kids." Lacy rolled her eyes. Lemy snorted. Their cousin was right in more ways than one. Since they had a few hours to pass, they did so with tv. They put on cartoons Lemy and Lacy would watch, and then the two adults sat there and watched it with them, equally engrossed. The time just flew by then.

Until it was evident Lynn and Lacy had lost track of time and only remembered when they had 30 minutes before the pool opened. By the way they'd reacted, one could think they'd missed something far more important. "C'mon!" Lacy urged. They each grabbed an arm and practically flung him from the couch.

"Oh, all right, all right." Lincoln caved in. Lyra and Lemy joined him in getting their things and getting ready to leave. Not fast enough for Lynn and Lacy's liking though. They stayed in the living room and eventually started chanting "Swimming, swimming!" Over and over again till even their uncle was urging the siblings to please hurry up. "Woo!" They raced down the stairs ahead of the three of them, letting them follow at a more leisurely pace.

They all climbed in Lincoln's car and buckled themselves in. They were ready to go, but instead Lincoln pulled his cell phone out and started tapping at the keypad.

"C'mon, c'mon, let's go." Lynn despaired.

"Yeah!" Lacy concurred.

"We still got 20 minutes till they open. I'm just texting Luan to make sure her and Liby are going to be there.

"Oh, you're a snail." Lynn pouted. Lincoln ignored her and Lacy even as the later bounced in her seat.

"Alright. Her and Liby have already left." He set his phone down and finally started the car.

"And they're probably going to get there before us." Lynn sighed dramatically as they pulled out.

"I'm just glad we actually have a pool we can go to."

"What do you mean?" Lacy asked. Their uncle laughed.

"The family had a bad habit of getting banned from pools in town and even the next few over." He looked over at his sister. "Some of us were too rowdy." She leaned over and shoved him.

"They wouldn't have noticed if you didn't scream like a little girl. Besides, Lisa and Lana got us banned most of the time."

"I guess you're right." He conceded. "The only reason we can go to this one is all the records got lost when the city rebuilt it."

Their uncle's phone rang, interrupting the conversation. Lynn reached for the center console to grab it before he hastily snagged it away at the last minute. Despite the fact he was driving, he held it up to his face.

"Who is it?" Their aunt asked. Lyra couldn't help but notice she sounded suspicious.

"Probably a telemarketer." Lincoln shrugged and pocketed the phone. His sister didn't stop staring at him, and he didn't stop staring directly at the road in front of him. This dragged on for several seconds, enough to make all of them in the backseat feel awkward.

And then suddenly the tense atmosphere disappeared and their aunt was her normal boisterous self.

"Did you guys know," Lynn turned around to look at Lemy and her, "that your mom almost got the family banned from this pool too?"

"Lynn." There was a warning tone in Lincoln's voice.

"What happened?" Lemy asked. Lyra's curiosity was cautious. She could imagine the kind of debauchery that might have that result. Her fear was well founded.

"Her and Sam broke in and nearly got caught skinny dipping here." Lynn laughed. Lincoln's grip on the wheel tightened and Lacy snickered. Lyra inhaled and stared at her aunt crossly, as if hoping her expression would make her stop. She had no interest in what her mom and her friend had done when they were her age, since it could be nothing good.

"Skinny dipping?" Lemy was confused.

"It's when you go swimming without any clothes on." Lynn explained. Lyra wanted to stop her there, but her aunt kept talking. "The cops showed up and they had to run away before they could get their clothes on!"

"Lynn." Lincoln said again warningly.

"They got all the way to the house and tried to sneak in. They didn't realize we-" She motioned to herself and her brother. "-were practicing in the backyard and we caught them." She started cracking up. "Lincoln fainted when he saw them!" She kept laughing. Lincoln leaned forward other the steering wheel, red in the face. Lyra was read in the face too, although more out of anger than embarrassment. Compared to their expressions though and Lacy and her mother's cackling, Lemy only looked thoughtful.

"Was this before or after mom had Lyra?" He asked.

"Oh, this was before. After she had her, Luna did NOT look good enough go swimming naked or otherwise." Lyra remembered that picture of her and her mom at the beach and realized her sporty aunt was making a jab at her mother's fitness after she'd had her. That, she decided, was unnecessarily cruel.

"That's enough Lynn." Clearly Lincoln had the same idea.

"It was just a joke." She tried to insist with optimism in her voice, but Lincoln clearly didn't buy it. Still, Lynn didn't continue. Lyra glanced over and couldn't help but notice Lemy seemed to be thinking deeply, not weirded out like she hoped. But at the very least, there was no more story telling for the rest of the drive.

At the pool

Their company was already waiting for them to arrive. Luan looked pretty good for a woman approaching her 30th birthday. A life on stage did necessitate a good beauty plan, after all. Although taller than most 13-year-olds, Liby had yet to acquire the good looks her mother had. Lanky, flat, an acne ridden face- the prominent dental head brace she had to wear was almost unneeded to cement her unattractiveness.

She wasn't often self-conscious about this fact. She didn't talk to other people a lot, really.

"There they are." Her mother told her, and Liby looked up to see her uncle's old sedan, much older then the one they had, pulling into the parking lot.

This whole outing had been sudden for her. Just yesterday her mom had told her last night her brother had called and invited them to go swimming with him and Liby's aunt and a few of her cousins, so they would be going shopping that day.

Nearly gave her a panic attack.

It wasn't like she didn't want to go though. Her and mom didn't do stuff together all that often- differing interests. Her mom was too energetic for most of the things Liby enjoyed, like board and card games. It was hard to even have a conversation with her mother- she seemed unable to talk for long without making a joke or pun.

That wasn't an exaggeration. Liby had literally seen her go red in the face or clamp her hands over her mouth trying to stop herself. But at least they could do this. Luan was even more excited than her daughter.

Her uncle was the only person Liby could get to reliably play games with her. Lemy had tried, but he wasn't any good at them. Lyra wasn't interested and Lacy- Liby saw her more often then the other two, but they couldn't be more different from each other. It made it all the more odd she was the only one other than their uncle who could get her out of her comfort zone.

"Hey sis!" Lynn and Lacy ran up to them while the others walked more slowly. "Hey, Liby." Lynn was a very physical person, although Liby had learned to stop flinching when her aunt gave her hard pats on the shoulder. "You guys ready to get wet?"

"Yep! I'm sure this day will go swimmingly. Get it?" Liby groaned at her mom's pun while her aunt and cousin rolled their eyes. "Hey, Lincoln!" Compared to the greeting she'd given her sister, Luan went up to hug her brother. Liby went up to give her uncle a hug too.

"Hey guys." When he was done hugging Liby, he stood back up and put a hand on his chin. "Have you gotten taller?" He asked.

"Maybe." She blushed. She turned to Lyra and Lemy. "Hi guys." She moved in to give her older cousin a hug.

"It's great to see you again." Lyra greeted.

"Hey." Lemy waved.

"Alright, alright, that's enough greetings." Lynn declared impatiently. "Let's go! There's already a bunch of people here and we're not going to be able to get a poolside spot!" Liby gulped nervously.

"Why don't you guys go save us one?" Lincoln suggested, and the pair bolted. Liby had seen Lacy interacting with their uncle before. She was rough and a lot more energetic. He looked like the kind of man who'd fall over if the wind blew too hard. She had no idea how he managed.

"You guys are looking good." Her mom said to Lemy and Lyra as they walked towards the entrance at a much slower pace. "How's your mom doing?"

"Booked for another tour." Lemy answered.

"I hope you guys aren't too bored at Lincoln's. I can always drop by and help liven things up." Luan offered, and suddenly Lincoln looked scared.

"No, we're enjoying ourselves." Lyra answered.

"He's cool enough." Lemy shrugged. Luan winked and elbowed her brother. They kept talking, but Liby started to tune it out of it as they approached the gate. She could already see a mass of people beyond it at the pool, and her hands started to turn clammy.

Then she felt her mom and uncle get on either side of her and each grab a hand, and suddenly the worry and unease lifted from her shoulders.

Liby did not like crowds. A silly thing for a teenager to be scared of, but she was. She wasn't exactly terrified of them, but they made her nervous. They always had. It wasn't a crippling phobia. School was tolerable to her. But out in public? She was eager to avoid if possible and quick to leave if unavoidable.

Her and her mother always theorized it had to do with an incident when she was little. She'd just been about to start kindergarten. And what do kindergarteners need? School supplies. So her mom had taken her to the mall to get some. And at some point they'd gotten separated from each other because of the crowd. For over an hour.

Liby didn't remember it all that well- she'd been little. But according to her mom it had been a very traumatizing experience for both of them. Maybe it'd had a lasting effect?

She didn't need therapy or anything. She was fine as long as she had someone with her: her mom, her aunt, even her cousins. Every since he'd come into her life 4 years ago, he uncle had been an especially reassuring presence. That's what them grabbing her hand had been- reminding her they were there. And that made everything fine.

They got to the gate and paid the entrance fee. Lincoln volunteered to pay for all of them, but Liby's mom insisted she'd pay for her and Liby. It wasn't the first time Liby had seen them do that back and forth either; they did it nearly every time the three of them were together. Last time it had been over ice cream.

Either way, they got in. The pool wasn't as crowded as Lynn and Lacy had said and Liby had imagined, relative to its size at least. Most of the pool goers were adults with little kids, who were hanging around the shallow end. Lynn and Lacy were waving at them from the deep end, where they'd already gathered five chairs.

"You welcome." Lynn said proudly.

"Yeah, thanks." Lincoln tossed his bag onto one of them.

"Now we just need to make sure someone guards them at all times."

"Sounds like your specialty." Lincoln mused.

"Yeah, but we gotta change. So you boys got guard duty. C'mon Lacy." Mother and daughter made their way over to the locker rooms.

"Of course." Liby watched her uncle role his eyes before her mother bid her to follow. Lyra came too, although Lemy stayed with their uncle.

Picking out a bathing suit had been a taxing mental challenge to Liby. When you didn't like crowds, obviously you didn't want to give them a reason to stare at you. Her mom's insistence to her to find something to 'maybe get a cute boy to notice you' hadn't helped. Socializing wasn't something Liby handled well either. With only four girls she knew at her school ( a little unofficial 'nerd club') who had the same interest in board and card games, she had a pretty small social circle. Despite being 13, boys were not something that was on the agenda.

She'd picked out a yellow and orange one piece. Ugly colors, but she liked them. Her mother seemed to think it was because yellow was a favorite color of hers too. The real reason was slightly more embarrassing- Liby thought the colors expressed who she was. They were colors of caution.

Like she said, it was a one piece. Full fitting although she was a little uncomfortable showing of so much of her legs. Lyra was wearing a one piece too, just without all the frills at the edges. Her mom, her aunt, and her younger cousin all had two pieces. Lynn and Lacy clearly wanted to show off, although it was their fitness rather than any feminine qualities they wanted to present.

Everyone in her family knew she was a shy girl, and they had different ways of responding. Her mother would give her gentle nudges every now in then, like the boys comment when they'd been shopping. Her uncle, and Lemy and Lyra, accommodated it and just avoided going out and doing stuff. Her sporty aunt and cousin though? They were pushy.

They'd tried, and still occasionally tried to this day, to get Liby into an intensive workout program. They thought it was a confidence issue rather than a deep-seated fear, or instead that deep-seated fear could be defeated with confidence. 'Prove you're a match for it!' or 'Make the world fear YOU'. Liby deeply respected her aunt Lynn- she was a strong woman. And she loved Lacy because she really did want someone her own age to hang around with no matter how different they were. But really, some things just weren't for her.

The sporty duo were changed before any of them and charged out of the locker room with whoops and hollers towards the pool, which Liby was sure was a rule violation. They weren't going to get banned for that, were they?

"Do I look okay?" She asked her mom and cousin.

"Oh, I think next to the other girls here you'll knock them out of the water. Ha!" Her mom laughed at her own wit. Even though that wasn't the intention, Liby still smiled.

"You look lovely." Lyra said. Despite being only two years older than Liby, talking to Lyra felt like talking to an adult. Not that that was a bad thing, it just explained why Liby admittedly got along better with Lacy despite seeing her less often; she was another kid.

When they emerged back into the sunlight, Lynn and Lacy had already dived in. The boys were no where to be seen, probably changing. Her mom decided she wasn't ready to go swimming just yet and went to sit in one of the pool chairs. Lyra got near the edge like she was about to dive in and Liby started inching her way to the shallow end, where most of the little kids were.

"Where are you going?" Her older cousin noticed.

"I don't know how to swim." Liby admitted quietly.

"What now?" Her cousin hadn't heard her. Liby took a few steps closer.

"I can't swim." She whispered again. She'd never learned. She could only think of a few instances she was at a pool in her life, and she'd always stayed in the shallow end. Lyra gave a nod of comprehension. And without missing a beat, she responded.

"Do you want me to teach you?" She offered.

"Uhh…" Liby thought about it. She kind of did, but she was worried about being seen. Especially next to little kids who by the looks of it could swim just fine. "I guess." She mumbled. Lyra nodded and dived into the pool before resurfacing and swimming up to the edge.

"Hold on to the edge and lower yourself into the water." She told her. "You won't go under and you can get right back out if you want." Wait, did she mean let her feet hang in deep water? That sounded terrifying. Her cousin noticed and swam further down to a shallower part of the pool where the effect would be the same but there wouldn't be as much distance between Liby's suspended feet and the bottom of the pool. The difference may not have made it less unnerving, but it gave her the confidence to actually do it.

"I'm right here and there's a lifeguard over there." Lyra went on as Liby lowered herself down. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Right." Liby said quietly as her hands gripped the concrete. She tried to press her feet against the smooth surface of the poolside below the water, but they kept sliding. While she was trying, she noticed her uncle and Lemy coming back, both now wearing swim trunks. She watched was cousin run and jump in just like the others and how Lincoln decided he'd sit with his sister a while before getting in. Once Lynn noticed the two, she even climbed out and went to join them.

"Are you comfortable?" Lyra asked.

"I think." Liby was sure she wasn't going to sink, but her arms were quickly getting tired. Lyra nodded and dived under the water. Liby yelped when she felt someone grabbed her legs and start pulling them up. Lyra's head came back up a moment later. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to help you float." She explained. "If you just relax, you can float on the surface no problem." With a bit of effort she got the entirety of Liby's body to the surface. "Just stretch and try not to move." She told her. And that's what the younger girl did, despite her instincts screaming at her to do the exact opposite. She was shocked to discover it was actually true! She even felt confident enough to slacken her grip on the edge. "See? It's easy."

"Yeah." She agreed with the most confidence thus far. Lyra swam up to the edge. Liby let her body sink beneath the surface again and joined her, although with a softer grip on the edge this time. "That was kind of fun."

"It's not that hard. Lemy was five and he learned in only a few days."

"Did you teach him too?"

"Our mom mostly taught him, but I helped." There was something in her tone that clearly sad 'don't ask anymore' and Liby didn't. "So how was school?" She changed the subject. That was part of the reason she seemed like an adult; like the adults, she always seemed interested in if she was doing well.

"Honor roll." The younger teen admitted. She didn't really try, but it was easy enough.

"That's nice."

"What about you guys?" Liby asked. She knew they lived on the road with their mom, but that was it. Her mom picked up some of those celebrity magazines sometimes to see how her sister was doing. Liby would look at them too but her cousins had never been alluded to. They seemed to like a quiet life too.

"We're doing good." Lyra looked over to the poolside where the adults were. "This is the first time we've met Uncle Lincoln. He's a very nice man."

"He always was." Liby agreed. She could remember the day she first met him back when she was nine. Her mom had told her to come out and meet her uncle, someone who'd never been mentioned to her up to that point. A lot shyer than she was now, Liby had instead run back into her room and closed the door. It was silly to think about today.

There used to be a lot of early bedtimes, since her mom wanted Liby in bed before she left to do her shows. After that though, they got pushed back while her uncle came to watch her at night. It'd been a lot of silence at first, but they'd warmed up to each other eventually. He'd been a lot like her back then, shy. They probably played Clue and Guess Who over a hundred times then. Liby remembered one distinctive time they gotten caught up enough in the game that they were still up when her mom got home well after midnight.

It was hard to say who'd been more afraid of her just then: Liby or her uncle. But over the years it was more than just babysitting and board games. He was like her mom, understood how she was and helped her stay confident.

Both teens turned around when they heard some frantic splashing. Lemy and Lacy had drifted down towards them and were aggressively splashing water against each other. Lyra's eyes narrowed, and she left the edge to swim out a little towards them.

"Is something wrong?" Liby asked.

"I'm just watching." Her cousin didn't take her eyes off them. "They like to roughhouse a lot."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Liby said. "Lacy's not that bad." She never rough housed with her, anyway.

A high pitched but still clearly masculine scream draw all four youth's attention to the poolside where the adults were. Lynn had lifted her brother out of his chair and over her shoulder in a firemen's carry. "Lynn!" He flailed, trying to escape. She began walking towards the deeper end of the pool, and it was clear what was about to happen.

"Uh oh." Liby felt bad for him.

"THE WEAK SHOULD FEAR THE STRONG!" Lacy roared approvingly.

"And he tried to tell me he was strong." Lemy was amused at seeing his tiny aunt carry their much bigger uncle.

Lincoln gave one last scream before his sister stepped off the edge and they both went under. They came back up a moment later, Lynn laughing and Lincoln gasping and flailing till he could get his bearings. This wasn't helped by Lacy swimming over and propelling herself up onto his shoulders.

"Yeah!" Mother and daughter high fived.

"You two are going to kill me." Lincoln smiled wearily once he could finally keep him and his niece afloat.

Again, Liby had to wonder just how her uncle survived.

"How about we get back to our swimming lesson?" Lyra suggested after the spectacle was over.

"Uh…sure." Liby agreed quietly. She felt a lot more confident now that any attention from the shallow end had been diverted onto her uncle, aunt, and cousin.

"Come over to me." She beckoned. Liby did so. "Put your arms around my neck." She instructed. Liby wasn't used to be so close to another person, but she did so anyway. The face rig made it difficult, but she managed.

"Now what?" She asked. She yelped in alarm when her older cousin started swimming backwards, pulling her over to the deep end of the pool.

"Don't panic." Lyra told her. "Just hold on and try and keep your body level on the water." Liby tried to do just that, although he heart hammered in her chest as the water lapped at her chin. "Now let your legs sink slightly and kick." Liby tried. It was harder to move her legs then the thought so she tried harder. "Slow kicks. You can swim just with your feet if you can find the right rhythm."

Their uncle was leaving the pool despite Lynn and Lacy's best efforts to keep him, so Lacy decided to swim over to them. "What are you guys doing?" She asked.

"I'm teaching Liby how to swim." Lyra explained. Liby blushed but nodded that it was true.

"Ooh, I can help!" Lacy volunteered. "Mom wanted me to try for the swimming team so she had me doing swim sprints all summer once."

"Hmm." Lyra thought about it. "Okay." She decided. She reached behind her and grabbed one of Liby's arms. "Give you other arm to Lacy." She told her, and Liby did. "We'll stay on your side and hold your arms. I want you try and kick your feet to stay up." Both of them swam away from her, keeping her arms held up. Liby felt herself start to sink and started kicking frantically. "Slow kicks." Her cousin reminded her.

Liby realized that their grips meant she wasn't going to actually sink, so she started experimenting in speed and movement. It was hard to miss how the pressure in her arms eased as she did so. She eventually found a rhythm where there wasn't any pressure at all. "I think I got it." She said quietly. Lacy immediately dropped the arm she was holding. Liby couldn't help but panic and quickly grabbed onto Lyra.

"What are you girls up to?" It was Aunt Lynn.

"Liby doesn't know how to swim." Her daughter explained. Lynn's eyes widened comically.

"You don't know how to swim? She sounded aghast.

"Uhh…"

"We can fix that right now!" She declared.

"Maybe," Lyra hadn't looked pleased at being latched onto but still subtly paddled away with Liby still hanging on, "We should stick with basics a little longer."

"Actually…" Liby spoke up. "I think I'll give it a try." Her cousins looked surprised and her aunt elated. Yeah, the whole fitness thing wasn't for her, but it was just learning to swim. She respected her enough to believe this could be manageable.

"Hmm. If you say so. I'll be glad to help again if you want it." Lyra offered.

"Thanks." Before Liby could say anything else, her eager aunt had pulled her away and towards the the deep end.

"Trust me, you're not going to regret this." Her aunt assured her.

Liby regretted it. Well, at first she regretted it. Her aunt's first 'technique' was to tell her niece to hold on tight before diving below the surface, taking her all the way to the very bottom of the deep end before coming back up. "That was just to get you comfortable." She told her quivering niece.

The next hour was arm numbing. Her aunt taught her different swimming strokes and kept her alternating between them. She remembered what Lyra had taught her and kept working on her legs, making them eventually sore too. But she kept at it.

Eventually, probably out of worry, her uncle came over to check on her and make sure she wasn't being pushed too far. Once he got to the edge though Lynn grabbed his arm and, for the second time that day, pulled her unwilling brother into the pool.

"Take a bench break kiddo." Her aunt told her. She was holding onto the edge of the pool when her uncle appeared beside her.

"Are you okay?" Liby asked as he resurfaced.

"Yeah." He panted and took a moment to catch his breath. "You know," he chuckled, "this entire time I've been watching your mother. I should be watching Lynn instead."

"Maybe you should." She agreed. The puns were expected, but she was surprised her mom hadn't pulled a prank or even gotten into the pool yet.

"You having fun?" He asked.

"Yeah, a lot." Liby nodded enthusiastically. She looked over at her cousins doing their own thing. "It's great seeing everyone again." Normally she only saw Lyra and Lemy when they visited and Lacy on occasions like Christmas or birthdays. "I wish we could do stuff like this together more."

"Me too, Liby." Her uncle sighed. "Me too." He realized how glum he sounded and cheered up. "Your aunt isn't be too hard on you, right?"

"So, she's fine." She assured him. "It's actually a lot of fun." She could actually tread water for close to a minute now. It was amazing.

"Well…don't be afraid to ask for a break if you want one." He told her.

"I won't." Liby promised. She caught sight of Aunt Lynn coming back towards the pool. "You should probably get out before she comes back in." She pointed. Her uncle caught sight and she thought she saw his eyes bulge slightly.

"I should." He agreed and scrambled out, giving his sister a wide birth before she dived back in and came up to Liby.

"Alright, let's get back at it!" She pounded a fist into her palm.

Later that day

They stayed at the pool into the afternoon. Lynn's abilities to teach were astounding, at least to Lyra. When she'd started with her cousin earlier that day, Liby didn't even want to let go of the edge. In just a few hours Aunt Lynn had changed that. By two that afternoon, Liby was swimming from one side of the pool to the other, a distance was about 20 feet, slowly but competently.

When they all took a break from swimming to enjoy some snacks the adults had pooled money together to buy, she was absolutely giddy. "Did you see?" She was excitedly asking.

"Yep, quite a stroke of good luck we came here with your aunt, huh?" Her mom punned. Beside Liby, Lacy made a 'pfft' sound.

"I think that's the fastest anyone in our family has learned." Her uncle remarked.

"Just wait." Aunt Lynn seemed to be frothing with excitement. "By the end of the day, I'll make sure she can put an Olympic swimmer to shame!"

"I think that's enough progress for the day." Lincoln suggested. "Let her have some fun."

"Yeah." Liby quickly jumped on the suggestion. "Thanks a lot for teaching me, but I think I'm good enough now."

"Don't sell yourself short, Liby. You're more than good enough." Her aunt insisted. Liby nodded at the pep talk.

"C'mon, let's go!" Lacy grabbed her cousins' hand.

"Uhh, you need to wait half an-" Her uncle started to object before Lynn and Luan put a hand over his mouth. The two got a running start and leaped from the edge, Lacy with a war cry. It was hardly like the Liby Lyra knew. The two hit the water and came back up laughing. Lemy charged in after them, splashing both of them with water.

"Hey!" Lacy protester, flinging water at him. Liby joined in too and soon all three were flinging water at everyone.

"Not too rough, you guys!" Lyra called from the poolside. She got water thrown at her for her troubles. Behind her, the adults laughed.

"Liby's enjoying herself." Lincoln observed as Lyra took one of the chairs next to them.

"I'm surprised how much energy she had." Lynn remarked.

"My daughter's not frail you guys." Luan rolled her eyes. "She's just not a people person."

"…Sorry." Lincoln's face was red.

A girlish scream dragged all four of their eyes back to the pool. "Woo!" Lacy was waving a pair of swimming trunks in the air- Lemy's swim trunks. The boy was swimming a few feet away, looking extremely flustered, although not nearly as much as Liby.

"Ha!" Lynn gave her daughter a thumbs up. Lyra gasped in shock and dived into pool. Lacy saw retribution coming and tossed the trunks back to that original owner. That didn't save her from getting grabbed by the ear and hauled out of the pool.

And for her crime? Her mother dismissively told her to stay out of the pool for half an hour. Lyra was furious.

After that, she decided she'd stay in the pool as long as the others were.

It got a little less enjoyable around midday as even more people showed up to take advantage of the admission discount. The pool got so crowded the only practical thing to do was soak. But that was refreshing in its own way. Liby decided about then to get out though and spend her time with the adults. A couple of other kids had even brought a giant inflatable ball with him and started an impromptu game with all the other kids. Lemy and Lacy jumped at the chance.

All good things have to come to an end though. The pool closed at five and people were leaving half an hour before that. They decided they should wrap things up too.

Goodbyes were exchanged in the parking lot. The adults hugged each other and talked about getting all together again in the future is they could manage. Even though their aunt had done most of the work, Liby thanked Lyra earnestly for teaching her. She said she looked forward to the next time her and Lemy could come over and visit. Lyra told her the feeling was mutual.

Finally, the group split and returned to their cars. The day had been fun, but it was over now and time to go home.

Well, almost over. Lincoln and Lynn were the last ones to get into the car, and as soon as Lincoln did…

PBBBBBBBBRRT. Everyone jumped.

"What the heck?" Lincoln reached under him and pulled out a whoopy cushion. Lacy started howling with laughter, and Lemy and Aunt Lynn snickered.

"So THAT'S what she did when she said she left something in the car and had to get it. Oh man, she got you good."

"Yeah." Their uncle watched Luan and Liby's car pull out of the parking lot. Inside it, both of them were looking and laughing. "I should've seen that one coming. I knew my keys were in a different pocket than I'd left them."

"Yeah, too bad you're going soft." His sister teased. Lincoln didn't follow the subject further. He just tossed the joke object to the side before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

The five of decided to stop at Burping Burger for dinner before going their own separate ways. Like they'd done at the apartment, Lincoln and Lynn spent the meal trying to annoy each other- snagging food off each other's' tray, flicking things, childish shenanigans in general. Lyra had heard her mom say something once that, at the time, sounded completely foolish but she remembered with more fondness just now: "Getting old is necessary. Growing up is a choice."

"So." Her aunt did turn serious as their meal wrapped up. "Any chance Lacy could drop by again?"

"So soon?" He asked in surprise. The three youths were surprised too, even Lacy until it was replaced by excitement.

"Why not, it'd be good for all three of you." She glanced over briefly to Lemy and Lyra.

"Uhhh…" Their uncle was clearly caught off guard by the suggestion and Lacy's hopeful eyes. "Yeah…I kind of promised Luan that Liby could come stay over in a few days…" He trailed off awkwardly. "Sorry." He added when Lacy looked crestfallen.

"Of course." Lynn sighed with a roll of her eyes. "We almost done here? I gotta go take a dump first."

"Mom, gross!" Her daughter was quick to call her out. Her niece and nephew looked disgusted too.

"Heh heh." Lynn seemed satisfied with the reaction she'd gotten out of the table and got up. Only her brother was unphased as he started loading everyone's trash onto a single tray to toss away.

"Sorry, Lacy." He said again. "I wouldn't mind having all of you over, I just really can't."

"It's fine." She didn't look that bothered by it. "I wouldn't want to be surrounded by that many people anyway. I don't know how you and mom did it." Her uncle shrugged.

"Well, we tried to kill each other a few times… often enough… once a week." Lacy snorted in amusement. "Maybe in a few weeks though, yeah?" He smiled at her.

"Deal!" Lacy agreed. He went to throw away and trash and once his sister came back they all left. It wasn't a very far drive from there to the apartment Lynn and Lacy lived in.

"See you around bro." Lynn gave her brother a hard punch on the shoulder before climbing out. Once Lacy got out of the backseat, she ran all the way around the car just so she could climb into the passenger seat and lean over to give her uncle a hug.

"See you around, kiddo." He patted her on the back. He sat there and watched the pair enter the apartment. Once they were out of sight, he yawned despite the summer sun still being high in the sky.

"Fun day, huh?" He remarked to his niece and nephew.

"It was pretty cool." Lemy tried to sound casual.

"It was." Lyra nodded.

"Question." Their uncle spoke to the two of them after close to a minute of silent driving. "Do you guys want to see Lucy and Lupa?"

"Is that an option?" Lyra asked. Lemy didn't looked like he cared about the prospect.

"Well, she called earlier." He told them. "There's usually a firework show on the edge of town every year for the 4th." He explained. "Their house is pretty close by and one of the balconies has a great view. She invited us to come watch."

"That's very nice of her." Lyra observed, although part of her was tempted to ask if it had been the call their uncle had declined earlier that day. True, he could've received it at any point in the day, but that instance had been suspicious. "I would like that."

"I guess." Lemy didn't sound excited.

"Odds are we'll be spending the night, too." He mentioned. Lemy seemed kind of annoyed at that.

"That's fine." Lyra answered.

"Great." Lincoln seemed pleased. "I'll tell her tomorrow." It was a good note to end the day on.

It was only six o clock when they got home, but all of them were tired. "I think we'll make this an early night." Lyra suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Lemy didn't argue.

"Alright then." Their uncle seemed relieved they wouldn't spend time taking space on the couch. "I think I'll hit the hay too." They went their separate ways. By the time Lyra and Lemy were done brushing their teeth, the light in the living room was already shut off.

Lyra said her nightly prayer, but noticed that instead of laying down Lemy was sitting up in the bed, seemingly waiting for her. "Yes?" She inquired as she sat down and swung her legs under the blanket.

"Can I ask you something?" He looked serious. She nodded and he continued. "You talked about people having to be committed to one person." Lyra raised an eyebrow but inside her stomach dropped. This still wasn't a subject she wanted to discuss with him. "And I was thinking about that story Aunt Lynn was telling us earlier." Lyra grew even more apprehensive. "Was mom not committed to Sam because she had you?" He asked.

Lyra was stunned. Of all the things she'd expected, it certainly wasn't that. Like the father subject, relationships weren't a subject Lemy showed any interest in understanding. He was too young, obviously. They didn't even see Sam that often.

She guessed this must've been a progression of thought process from what they'd discussed beforehand, as much as she'd wished he'd just forget about all of that. He was just thinking about those subjects and comparing them to what examples he'd had in his short life, which wasn't much.

But making wrong assumptions about things was part of growing up, Lyra knew. She just had to correct him. And while she was at it, hopefully steer him away from these subjects again.

"They're not together, Lemy." She tried to explain. "Mom and Sam are just really good friends. They have been since they were my age. Girls who are friends that long can be close and do things that a boy and girl who are friends can't."

"Really?"

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Stuff like holding hands and sleeping in the same bed?"

"Yes."

"Hugging all the time and calling each other girlfriend?" His tone was different now- skeptical.

"Some friends do that. That word can mean two things." She was still intent on removing the idea from his mind.

"Do some friends kiss and touch each other's butts?" He asked.

"Ye- What?" Suddenly more awake, Lyra sat up and looked over at her brother. "What did you just say?"

"Do friends kiss and touch each other's butts?" He repeated, and Lyra paled a little.

"Have you seen them doing that?" She asked quietly.

"A few times. That means they're together, doesn't it?" He asked again. Lyra inhaled sharply through her nose. She didn't think he'd lie about that.

She never thought they were together. Yeah, it looked like her mom pined after Sam, but Lyra had no idea the woman returned the feelings. She'd never see anything to imply it. But according to Lemy were. According to him, they were indecent in front of him, and that made her just a little bit angry.

"Yes." She admitted begrudgingly. "But they shouldn't be."

"Why not?" He asked. Lyra wasn't going to say 'Because it's a sin'. She'd had plenty of time in her life to think about things around her, including that particular trait of her mom. She thought she resented it more for the fact that, as far as she'd always known, her mother only took that path after not being able to deal successfully with men. Blaming something else and lying to herself after the fact. Like a few other things Lyra thought, that wasn't exactly fair.

Although tonight's revelation had only thrown her into confusion. If things really went back that far between the two, she realized her mom probably…'wasn't picky'… when it came to romance. Then again, maybe her interest wasn't real considering the two of them were around. Such deep pondering were not something she intended to discuss with her little brother though.

Fortunately, she didn't have to; Lemy got bored of that question and went back to his original one.

"So mom wasn't faithful to Sam?" He asked.

"…Yes." Lyra admitted. If they had been together way back then, her being born would've torn it completely asunder. She'd say permanently, but apparently not. She didn't know Sam enough to judge the woman's mind set, but Lyra recognized she couldn't be very smart if she was still with her mom after not one but two kids.

Lemy turned to down for a moment before turning back to her. For the second time that night, he stunned her with another unexpected question.

"What's a dyke?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" Lyra blustered, going red in the face.

"Me and Uncle Lincoln walked down to that store to get snacks while you were at church the other day." He told her. "The owner was there. He seemed surprised I was mom's kid and he called her a dyke. "If she'd been peeved before, she was bordering on furious. Her angry was as much for someone speaking like that in front of a child as it was her mom being insulted unfairly.

"That's a very mean word you should never say again. I mean it." She warned with a pointed finger, and he actually flinched. But she figured she should tell him anyway. "Some people don't think girls should…like other girls. That word's an insult to girls who do." Now that the revelation his mom had been insulted dawned on him, Lemy looked angry too.

"You need to go to sleep." She'd answered enough of his questions to hopefully sate him. It was time to put an end to this talk. While he sat in silent anger, she used the moment to lay down and pull the covers up to her neck. He closed her eye and turned her back to her brother to further stifle any conversation. She eventually heard him do the same, and although it'd take a while for her to simmer down enough to get to sleep, she thought it was over.

How wrong she was.

"It takes a boy and girl to have a kid, doesn't it?" He asked. Lyra stiffened.

"Yes. Now go to sleep." She told him.

"Two girls can't do that, can they? Do you think that's why he was surprised?"

"No, they can't, so probably yes. Go to sleep." She repeated. Curt answers were usually enough to get him to realize he should drop a conversation. Lyra didn't always like using that tactic, but it worked. Usually.

"How come?"

"You'll know when you're older." She told him.

"How much older?" He asked.

"Much older." Lyra told him, although she stopped to consider it for a moment.

She'd learned about it when she was one 10, a year older than he was now. The Bible wasn't a crass book, but it did mention procreation, not that Lyra had understood it then. So she'd asked her mom, and Luna had decided this was the opportune moment to give her daughter the talk about sex, dating, and 'the women's curse' she'd soon face.

Quite a lot to drop on a 10-year-old girl. But she had a reason to know that stuff. Lemy didn't and was unaware, as he should be. She may have been wrong before, but Lyra was 100% certain he didn't have any knowledge about the subject of procreation. At worst, since there'd been a few 'incidents' over the years, he knew what a girl looked like naked. But that was it. And she intended to keep it that way. "Go to sleep." Silence for a few seconds.

"Why do-" Lyra rolled over and pulled him close to her.

"Shh." She had a trick for nights like this- a night when he wouldn't go to sleep. Sure, it had worked better when he was six or seven, but she was sure it was still viable. She hooked a leg over his and used a free hand to pull the blanket tight against them. The trick was to literally cuddle him to sleep by making it so warm and comfortable he couldn't fight it.

As she'd expected, the trick used to stop a little boy trying to stay up waiting for his mom worked just as well stopping him from trying to ask awkward questions. He struggled for a moment but quickly realized how comfortable it was. He did narrow his eyes at her, a 'I know what you're doing' expression. But he still gave in and closed them after that. It was still a few minutes before she heard the steady breathing of him sleeping though.

One day, she knew she'd have to really would have to explain these things to him in more detail. She didn't want him going through the same struggle she had when she had to figure it all out and understand for herself all the messed-up elements in their lives. That sort of mental crisis.

One day, but not today. For today, and hopefully many more days after today, he was still her innocent and naïve baby brother.