“Beh loves Ehd,” I say. I hold Lee up a little as Ehd turns toward the sound of my voice. “Beh loves Lee.”
“Luffs Beh! Lee luffs!” Ehd grins and I can’t help but laugh.
Lee startles as my body shakes and then lets out a wail. Ehd sits up and leans in close, stroking the baby’s cheek until he settles back down and begins to suckle again. Ehd shuffles around behind me, and I lean back against his chest.
“You’re a good daddy,” I tell him.
The sun warms me, and I feel sleepy. I close my eyes for a moment, dozing off. In my barely awake state, I think I hear the white noise machine Mom would sometimes use when she was having trouble sleeping, but the sound is too loud.
With a start, I open my eyes and sit up straighter. Lee slips from my nipple but doesn’t wake from his nap. I look out into the field near our cave and see a whirling sphere of blue and green light. In the middle, amidst sparks of static discharge, the image of my father begins to appear.
Before I have a chance to react, Ehd jumps to his feet and hauls me up with him. I tighten my grip on Lee and try to step away from Ehd and toward my father, but Ehd screams and tightens his grip on my arm.
“It’s my dad!” I yell out as I try to wrestle away from Ehd’s grasp, but I can’t get away. I can see the terror in his eyes as he reaches toward the cave entrance and grabs his flint-tipped spear. He holds it menacingly. “No, Ehd!”
Ehd shoves me behind him and brandishes the spear as he tries to push me and Lee into the cave entrance. I can see the fear in his eyes, and I know he will not hesitate to attack if he feels we are threatened. I push back as I look out to my father, noticing immediately that he’s holding a small bundle wrapped in the unmistakable pink and blue striped blanket used for infants in hospitals.
Lah.
“Ehd…Ehd…” I stroke his arm, trying to calm him. “Relax. He has Lah with him. He has our daughter.”
Ehd lets out a loud growl, baring his teeth as he holds the spear in front of him.
“Ehd!” I scream at him. “Look! It’s Lah!”
I watch my father take a few steps closer to us, and the bundle in his arm moves slightly, then lets out a long, heathy cry. I feel Ehd’s arm tense.
“Lah,” I say again. I point at my father and the bundle in his arms.
My father inches closer, coming into full view. He holds the baby up so that we can see her pink face wrapped snugly in the striped blanket.
“Lah,” Ehd whispers back.
I shove at Ehd’s back, trying again to get around him, but he won’t let me. He growls again as he glances quickly from me to my father.
“Stay back, Dad! He doesn’t understand! He probably thinks you’re coming to take our baby!”
“You have another one?” My father shakes his head. “How long has it been for you?”
“Please, Dad!” I say, ignoring his question as I place a still sleeping Lee on the grass. “You can’t come any closer! Lay her down in the grass! If you put her down and walk back away from her, he’ll know you aren’t a threat!”
“I’m not just going to—”
“Please, Dad! I don’t want him to hurt you!”
My father complies, laying Lah down in the warm grass just a dozen yards from us. She continues to cry, and my heart aches to hold her in my arms, but Ehd is still afraid.
“Let me go get her, Ehd,” I say softly. “It’s okay. We have her back now. She’s okay.”
Ehd holds the spear behind him, blocking my path as he approaches the bundle in the field. When he arrives at her side, he crouches and brushes a finger over her cheek. He moves the blanket to the side, carefully evaluating her condition before he takes her in his arms and stands again. Lah lets out another long, fierce wail.
Ehd lets out a sharp breath, and when I look at his face, I see tears on his cheeks. He leans in close to the baby, pressing the side of his face to hers and inhaling deeply.
I glance up and see my father approaching quickly.
“No!” I cry out, but it’s too late.
Ehd freezes in place as I grab for Lah, and Dad steps forward. My father slams a needle into Ehd’s arm, and Ehd drops to the ground.