“As a born and raised Californian, I approve of your business ventures there.” I declare, and he lets out a hearty chuckle.
“No more business talk at the table!” Kiri furrows her brows, pursing her lips.
“What else is there to talk about, melculum? He’s passionate!!” Rome pats his hand on the table drastically.
“Oh! I wonder where he gets that from!” She sarcastically chides backs with a mischievous grin. Vince is still scowling at me like I just shot his dog or something, and I have to consciously look away, so he doesn’t continue to make me feel like a villain for being here.
I get this isn’t the day he imagined for his business meeting, but if it gets Rome to at least speak with him about his proposal, then surely it’s worth it. So, I ignore him and continue talking to Dom about his passions and mine. I tell him about my ideal scenario to run a business one day, and he’s intrigued by it. The rest of the conversation among the group drowns out ours but, we continue to chat the entire time, and I’m enjoying myself.
After a while, Vince and Rome stand up, excusing themselves from the table and thanking everyone for the meal. They disappear around the staircase, and I hear a door shut behind them over the chatter of the children. Kiri comes to sit next to Dom and me as the littlest ones begin to carry plates to the kitchen for clean-up.
“You two seem to be enjoying yourselves.” She rests her hand on her chin, looking between us, and I blush at her overtness.
“Yes, she’s wonderful company,” Dom speaks for us.
“You have a very ambitious son, Kiri,” I remark, taking another sip of wine. He laughs as she nods.
“I know. He used to make the smaller kids pay to play with him when he started working in the fields at thirteen.” I raise my brows and chuckle.
“Mom.” He scolds, shaking his head with embarrassment.
“Honey, there’s no need to be embarrassed. It was the first sign to your father and me that you had an understanding of equity and a passion for the connection of time and money.” She’s speaking with her hands now, and he’s rolling his eyes with a smile, about to say something before we’re interrupted by one of the littlest children.
“Um, Jess?” He is fighting with his clothes and swaying from one bare foot to the other.
“Yes, Micah?” His mother leans to him.
“Can Jess play with us?” Kiri looks at me, and I look at Dom.
“Jess and I would love to play with you, Micah.” He laughs, his eyes widening with an apology as we stand to our feet, but I just press my lips into a grin that says I don’t mind, and I take Micah's hand.
He leads us outside, down the steps, and to the big white barn. There’s giggling from inside, and I’m sure the rest of the children are already waiting for me.
The door creaks open, and a child swings through the air from a rope, letting go at the highest point. Before I can freak out, she falls through a stream of light and drops to a large pile of hay.
“Atent, Julia!!” By Dom’s scolding tone, I figure he asked them to stop, but when he runs over to the ladder and climbs to the second level, I realize he was probably just cautioning her. One of the boys throws the rope to him, and he catches it. The children giggle as he swings through the air, watching him pretend to be scared, hollering nervously before giving me a wink and dropping to the haystack.
“Jessica! Jessica! Jessica!” They all begin to chant, exaggerating the syllables of my name, and I grimace with a nervous frown. Micah pulls on my hand, leading me to the ladder, and I take a deep breath, looking at Dom as he leaps off the hay bail to be by my side.
“Micah, femare, stop!” He commands, taking his hand, so he’ll stop leading me.
“Do you want to do this?” I look up to the rope, and I glance at the many children around the barn, hay in their hair and expectation in their eyes. I click my tongue and look back at Dom with a nervous grin.
“Sure, why not?” And the children chant as I climb the latter. Dom climbs after me, and we stand at the edge of the platform together. He catches the rope for me, holding my hips so I’m steady. I appreciate it because the height of this barn seems increasingly higher than I initially anticipated.
Just as I take the rope from him, his hands still secure on my hips, the barn doors burst open, grabbing our attention. Every head snaps in its direction, where Rome and Vince now stand.
Vince looks around wildly until his eyes are on me, then to my hips, still secured by Dom’s strong hands. His jaw shifts.
“Time to go, Ms. Lee.” He calls flatly, and Dom whispers in my ear.
“You got this.” And I nod, hugging the rope while looking into Vince’s shocked eyes. I whip through the air with a shriek, and I feel like I'm falling out of my body, but I love it. It's a head rush as I soar over the top of Vince’s rigid figure, a look on his face I can’t be bothered to pinpoint from up here. When I’m right above the hay, I let go, dropping to it quicker than I thought gravity worked. It’s a stomach-turning rush, and I roll off the hay, laughing to myself as the children cheer again. Dom is already down on the ground, ready to help me over to Vince.
“It was a pleasure meeting you.” He smiles over at me when we’re right in front of Vince, who now has dagger eyes pointed at Dom.
“Yes, I should give you my number!” I smile, and his eyes widen as he nods.
“I would be honored.” He takes out his phone from his pocket, and I do the same. We switch phones, adding each other as contacts before switching back. I can feel Vince burning with rage, and I think it’s because his business deal went south.