A/N: This is for The Vacant Lot May rumble. There's a link on my profile, you should join! We're all very friendly people(:
Disclaimer: I don't own Two-Bit, just Mary Grace.
"Two-Bit, I gotta question," Mary Grace stated, with a serious expression on her face and her head bent over a drawing of a purple blob
"And I think I may have an answer, your majesty," I replied, looking up from my own drawing to meet her gaze/
"Does daddy not like me?" She asked, looking up from her mysterious picture finally and banging her purple crayon thoughtfully against the table.
What a question. The Lord knew what that man liked; about as predictable as a rattle snake. I couldn't blame her for asking that question, I mean if I was her I would've asked it a long time ago. Dad was real … moody lately and he would mostly blame it on Mary Grace. It really ticked me off when that happened because for Christ's sake, she's five! How in the hell could Mary Grace possibly misplace the electric bill, I will never know. While I had been expecting this question for a while it still hit me like a ton of bricks when she asked. I mean, what kind of kid deserves to wonder if her daddy loves her or not?
"What makes you ask that, lady?" I asked, leaning back in my chair and lacing my fingers behind my head.
"Well, he just … likes to yell lots. An' I dunno, he yells lots at me for stuff that I don't even 'member doin'," she replied, shrugging her shoulders with confusion. That girl was about as cute as they got. She had these wispy, dark brown curls pulled into pigtails with big bright green eyes. She was a doll, Mary Grace was.
"Well, ya see, Mary Grace, daddy just … sometimes, he gets mad at himself," I said, pausing for a minute thinking of how to put my thoughts into words. She put her crayon down now, and sat back in her chair, giving me her full attention.
"And … he … just, likes to blame it on other people," I continued, drumming my fingers absentmindedly against the table. Glory, how in the Sam heck am I supposed to explain this to a kid? I thought to myself.
"Ain't that lyin', Two-Bit? Is daddy a liar?" She asked her eyes wide with disbelief. I didn't exactly wanna throw my ole' man under the bus, he used to be different. He used to be great with Mary Grace. He used to love havin' a little girl. Now, when she was out he complained about how useless she was to my ma. But, my ma didn't put up with his shit. She told him that that was his child and she was a gift. She also said that if he didn't like his own damn kid that he was gonna have to suck it up and love her anyway. Tough as nails, my ma is. My ma is something original.
"Well, yeah … only he don't mean to, most of the time," I replied cautiously, careful to phrase my words just right.
"That don't make any sense, Two-Bit," she shot back with a grin. "Ya can't accidently lie! That's silly. Mama says that if you lie and blame things on others it's a sin. Sins are bad, Two-Bit, didja' know that?"
"I sure did, lady," I answered, nodding my head.
Her mouth fell open, "Mama says that people who do sins go to hell. Oh no, Two-Bit, is God gonna send daddy to hell?" I could have laughed at her shocked expression if this conversation hadn't been so serious. She was worried about her own dad going to hell when he didn't give a damn about her. Un-fucking-believable.
"No, Mary Grace, daddy ain't goin' no where. Lyin' is real bad, but, daddy just doesn't know what he's doin' sometimes, ya dig?" I explained. She nodded her head slowly and picked up her crayon again. It was quiet for a few more minutes with All Shook Up playing in the background.
"Two-Bit, I gots' one more question, then I'll be quiet. I promise," she stated, dropping her crayon once again to face me.
"Lady, you don't gotta be quiet, Lord knows I ain't ever quiet," I answered, smiling at her.
She looked up at me with her head bent low, "Does daddy not like me because he thinks I'm not a pretty girl?" I almost fell out of my chair. Did she really just ask that? I thought to myself. She's five. She shouldn't be saying shit like this already!
"What in the world's got you thinkin' that, Mary Grace? Did someone honest to God tell you that you weren't … ya know, pretty?" I said awkwardly.
"Well, sometimes when I wear my yellow dress and mama puts ribbons in my hair; the other girls think I'm showin' off. Chrissy Holden told me that I'll never be as pretty as the girls her brother goes with, no matter how much ribbons I put in my hair," she said, her voice wobbling and her head bent down low to hide her face. She looked so … wrecked. I wondered if I was ever that affected by something as she was. Probably. Just, who tells that to someone? Even a little kid. I knew girls were mean to each other but I didn't know shit like this went on, especially with my own kid sister.
"Mary Grace Mathews, don't you listen to that Holden girl. Next time she says somethin' like that to you you better tell her that if she knows what's good for her she'll back off. Warn her that you know Kung-Fu and that if she don't back off you're gonna summon a mean ninja to help kick her butt," I replied back, waving my hands around to get my point across.
That got her to smile, but it quickly turned into a frown, "But, wait, Two-Bit, ain't that lyin'? She asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
"No, ya see, there's simple exceptions with times like these," I explained, and her face slowly calmed down. "It's all in self defense. God knows that if you don't say something to Missy or whoever that she'll never learn her lesson. By saying this you're actually helping out everyone, so don't worry about God none."
"Are you sure, Two-Bit? That's not what mama told me…," she trailed off, putting her hands on her hips.
"I'm very, very sure. Your brother here spoke with God recently about the laws and rule breaking and he said it was cool sometimes. But only at times like these, other times it ain't okay. Get it?" I questioned, cocking up one eyebrow.
"Got it," she retorted quickly, smiling and picking up her crayon. Damn, that smile would break hearts one day, I thought to myself.
"Good."