A Risk I'm Willing to Take

Ten

It's not like Logan didn't already know that. I thought I'd made it obvious that this trip was a trip to visit friends. We had joked about our collaboration but a part of me wished it'd been a serious offer.

Music meant a lot to me and my songs gave me a way to express my feelings. The lyrics gave me a way to let go of experiences that were dragging me down.

For me writing a song is a serious event. I would love to sit and think and discuss and create with them. I admired them a lot as artists but also as people. We were good friends and producing a song together would be a great bonding experience.

I don't know how much Logan's bandmates would like the fact I had adopted three kids on the fly.

I held Marigold's hand tightly as we walked into the store. I felt confident that I had leverage on the government in this situation, but what if I was wrong? What if they used our actions on the base as an example of anti-American sentiments in the progressive youth?

I shook my head. I was going to protect my children at all costs. They weren't going back to that prison.

Marigold's big brown eyes sparkled in the fluorescent lights.

"Wow..." He mouth hung open as she looked at the shelves and displays in front of us.

"I think the clothes are in the back." I started pushing the cart with Lavender in it forward.

Marigold trotted up to the cart and rested her hand on the side.

"What even is this stuff?"

I looked to our side. "Well that's the Halloween display so — I pointed at the orange glitter pumpkins — those are pumpkins covered in glitter."

"Pumpkin." She repeated softly. "What's glitter?"

"They sparkly stuff on the outside."

My heart was soft. It was so cute seeing her amazement in seeing what I considered very ordinary things. I had seen Halloween decorations every year of my life but for her, growing up in an eight by ten box, she'd never seen anything like this.

She was eight and just now truly experiencing the world. I smiled. I couldn't wait to show her other places.

I parked the red shopping cart next to the first of many racks of girl's clothes. Marigold was small even for an eight year old. One mind battle later and I decided she was probably a size 6. I mean she was a good foot shorter than me. There was no way she was big enough to fit a 7/8.

My first day a parent and I was questioning my problem solving capabilities.

"Ok, Marigold so we need to get you enough clothes to last at least the next three or four days." I guided the cart towards the center of the girl's clothing section. "That's at least three day outfits and three sets of pajamas."

She nodded.

We were walking when all of a sudden she squealed. "I like this." She yanked a powder blue ruffled top off of the rack next to us.

She held it up to me. "It's the same color as your hat."

It was. I hadn't even thought that she would notice something like the color of the hat I was wearing during the raid.

"It is, but it's a size 10/12." I took the shirt from her. "Let's see if there's one in your size."

I flipped through the shirts hanging hoping I'd find one in a size 6. Sure enough on the end of the rack there was a powder blue shirt in size six.