Page 97 of Turning Back
“You come from a family of twelve kids?”
“Didn’t I ever tell you that? We could have our own TV show. You know, like those baby people do? The ones who never seem to stop fucking?”
She laughs loudly. It’s so nice to see her happy all the time. Smith is good for her. They are good for each other. “No, you never told me that. Where the hell are these people? Here?” Chella looks around like I might be hiding my family in the kitchen.
“Not here, you dingbat. They live up in Montana.”
“I… I’m… floored by this. I had no idea.”
“Well, the point is, I love lots of people. I grew up on a huge ranch. We have, like, our own town going on up there. It’s crazy. Twelve kids total. Abrem, Benjamin, Candace, Delilah, Elias—me.” I laugh, counting us up on my fingers, so I don’t forget anyone. “Then Felix, Gaius, Hannah, Isaac, Jason, Keren, and Luc is the baby. And every one of them is married but me. My baby sister, Keren, she already has three kids and she’s twenty-four. So—you’re wrong.”
“Your parents have an ABC theme for naming?” Chella is astounded. This is why I never tell people about myself. It’s weird. “And are those all Old Testament names? Are you like… Amish?”
I laugh again. “Jesus Christ, no. My parents were just… happily married, you know? And yeah, they go to church, but town is so far away. It’s not a big deal to miss. It’s just…” I sigh. There is no easy way to explain my family. “It’s just weird.”
“I have no words right now. Like seriously, you just floored me. Knocked me down. What the hell happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You own a sex club! Do your parents know that?”
“Do you think they know?” I laugh.
“Don’t they come see you? Don’t they like… look you up on the internet?”
“Turning Point isn’t on the internet. And no, they’re happy with my yearly end-of-summer visits. When you have twelve kids you don’t pay too close attention, you know?”
“But Smith is on the internet. You’re his partner.”
I shrug.
“And you hate kids.”
“I do hate kids. When I go home, it’s torture, man. I’m telling you. I have so many nieces and nephews, I can’t count them. They hang all over me. Uncle Elias, play with me. Uncle Elias, take me somewhere. Every year there’s like two new ones. I can’t keep up with it. It’s so complicated. I like simple, Chella. This life I have is simple. I am quite capable of love. I hand it out all over the place when I’m home. But when I come back here, to my own space, I like… peace. I want to be left alone.”
She takes a few moments to think about all this new information. “Is this why you like to share? It’s something you’re used to—growing up with all those siblings.”
I shrug. “I guess. I never thought about it much.”
“You’re practically a psychiatrist, Bric. You cannot tell me you’ve never psychoanalyzed yourself.”
“I have, but not about the sharing. The game is fun, that’s all. And I can walk away if I want. I can’t really walk away from my family, can I? They’re always there. There’s always drama. Kids are sick, parents are arguing, dishes are everywhere. It’s chaos, is what it is.”
“So you came down here to Denver to get away from them?”
“Maybe. I dunno. I didn’t think of it that way. I just didn’t want to get stuck out there on that ranch. It’s like sixty degrees below zero with wind chill in the winter, Chella. Have you ever birthed a cow at four AM in the dead of winter in Montana? It’s not fun. Not even close. Denver is nice. The climate is pretty mild. I have mountains here. I have everything I had there, except the stress.”
“I need to go up there and meet them.”
“Never.” I laugh. “Ever. That’s so not happening. Bric’s life and Elias’ life shall never meet. You don’t cross proton-pack streams, Chella. First rule of Ghostbusters. Bad things will happen.”
She ponders this, her eyes on mine, darting back and forth from one to the other. “So you’re never getting married?”
“Why do I need to get married? I have Quin, Rochelle, and Adley. That’s all I need.”
Her mouth is hanging open again.
“What?” I growl.
