“I remember. You showed me when we talked on the computer, remember?”
“Oh right.” She wiggled down. “Want to see my bike?”
“Yes.” Ben followed her to the bright blue bike on the patio.
“Right now it has extra wheels, but when I’m bigger, Baba can take them off and then I’ll be able to go really fast.” She looked over her shoulder. “Want to see?”
“Definitely.” Ben crouched down and watched her take off on the little bike.
“See how fast I can go!” She was panting. “And I can go even faster in the front when Zain moves all the cars.”
“Be careful, okay?”
“I will!”
Ben watched her pedal three large circles on the patio before she climbed off. He saw curtains twitching on the second floor and knew Giovanni and Beatrice had spotted them, but thankfully they held back from coming down to the garden.
“Want to see my trampoline?” She bounced on her toes. “We just got it, but I’m already really good.”
Ben picked her up. He knew she didn’t need to be held, but he couldn’t help himself. She was so delicate but so full of life. His emotions were all over the place. He was happy. Ecstatic. He was sad he’d missed so many years. He wanted Tenzin to be there. He hated that he would never see Sadia in the sunlight again.
“I saw your trampoline.” He swallowed his emotions and focused on her. “Do you know any tricks?” They walked toward the far corner of the garden where a blue-and-red trampoline rose in the shadows of oak trees. A large net surrounded it, presumably to catch any errant bounces.
“I know tricks like jumping really high and doing the splits—”
“Really?
“Kinda doing the splits. And… mmm… spinning in the air.” She held her fingers straight up and twisted them. “Like I kind of jump… and then I spin.”
“That’s amazing.”
She absently tapped his cheek. “Baba said you can fly now.”
He stopped in his tracks and forced himself to look at Sadia. “Uh… yeah. I can.”
Her eyes were wide but unafraid. “Can I see your teeth?”
Ben had avoided the request when she made it over video chat, but he couldn’t avoid it forever. Something about showing his fangs to Sadia made being a vampire even more real. That was who he would be from then on. A vampire to the world and to the smallest and most vulnerable member of his family.
“Do you really want to see them?” His voice was quiet.
She nodded forcefully. “Yes.”
“You’re not afraid?”
Sadia frowned like he’d spoken an unknown language. “Why?”
“Right.”
Why would Sadia be afraid? Her father and mother were vampires. Her aunts and uncles were vampires. She’d been surrounded by them for years. Ben took a breath and opened his mouth. Just thinking about the scent of blood was enough to make his fangs lengthen.
Sadia stared and stared. In the end, she looked a little unimpressed.
“What?”
She sighed. “You don’t have curvy fangs like Tenzin. Just the same ones like Baba and Mama.”
Even the mention of her name after two years felt like a spike driving into his chest. Ben swept the net back and placed Sadia on the trampoline. “Sorry. They’re just normal fangs.”
“That’s okay. They’re nice anyway.” Sadia began bouncing. “Where’s Tenzin?”
Sadia loved Tenzin, and she mentioned her at least once a call. Though he hadn’t seen or talked to his former partner in over two years, Sadia still linked the two of them in her mind, probably because Tenzin and Ben had been together when she was young.
Needless to say, he wasn’t surprised she was asking about her.
“I don’t know where she is, Sadi.”
“Maybe she’s at your house in New York. Look!” She jumped and spun in a circle. “See, I did a twist. Do you know you’re the only one who calls me Sadi?”
“Excellent twist.” He watched her. Watched the springs and the net. “I’m the only one who calls you Sadi because I’m your only big brother.”
She kept bouncing. “Why do you call Baba and Mama by their name and not baba and mama?”
It wasn’t the first time she’d asked. “Because when they adopted me, I was a lot older than you.”
“Oh.” She attempted a move that looked a little like the splits. “Is Tenzin” —bounce— “coming” —bounce— “soon?”
“I don’t think so.”
“When I grow up, I want my fangs to be curvy like Tenzin’s.”
Ben smiled. “You only get fangs if you become a vampire, silly.”
Sadia bounced over to him and rolled her eyes, letting her head fall back. “I know that.”
“So you’re saying you want to become a vampire?”
“Yeah!”
“Why?”
Bounce. “Because” —bounce— “my whole family” —bounce— “is vampires.” Bounce. “Silly.”
“Right.” She made it sound so simple. As if she was going to grow up and inherit the family restaurant or take over the farm. “Well, it’s a very grown-up decision. You know that, right?”
“I know.” She stopped bouncing and wove her fingers through the net, leaning to the side and letting her hair hang upside down. “Baba said I can only decide when I’m really old like you.”
“I’m old?” He poked her in the side and she giggled.
“Yes. Really old.”
“Well, you’re my sister, so if I’m old, you must be old. And short.”
She stood up straight and looked at him, her mouth hanging open in outrage. “I’m the second-tallest girl in my class!”
“Oh.” He turned around and patted his shoulders. Sadia got the message and jumped onto them. “My mistake.” He started walking back to the house with Sadia hanging on his back, swinging her legs and humming a song. “You must be very tall then.”
“Ben?”
“Yes?”
“Are you staying home for a while?”
He considered how to answer. “I may need to go away for work next week, but then when I finish with that, I promise I won’t stay away for so long again.”
“Ever again?” She leaned over his shoulder. “Promise?”
He bumped her forehead with his own. “I promise.”
“Good.” She put her chin on his shoulder. “I miss you when you’re gone.”
“I miss you
