Notes: Huge thanks again to Mari and Sammy for brainstorming and for their endless support.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for the birthday wishes! Between those and the eclipse, what more could I want? :-)
Hope you enjoy!
Before You Know It (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Happy bi'fday again, Ann Caf!" Joan cried as soon as the videocall connected and she saw Catherine's smiling face.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Catherine said.
"Whewr's Baby Angie?"
"Hah," Mary said with a laugh. "That took all of four seconds."
Catherine chuckled. "No doubt about her priorities." She turned to take Angie out of the carrier beside her and angled her so she was facing the screen. "She's right here. Wide awake and excited to see her cousin and her aunt."
"Dat's me!" Joan exclaimed. "I'm hewr cousin!"
"That's right, you're her cousin," Mary repeated.
"Hi, Baby Angie!" Joan waved energetically, leaning close to the screen.
Angie wriggled in Catherine's arms, happy to be out of her carrier.
"Hi, Joanie! Hi, Aunt Mary!" Catherine said as she waved Angie's hand in their direction. "Look, I've got my Little Cousin outfit on."
Joan's eyes widened. "I want to wear my Cousin shirwt wike Baby Angie! You wait wight dere!" She took off at a run in the direction of her bedroom.
"Joan!" Mary called after her. "You're supposed to be talking to Aunt Cath and Angie."
"I want my Cousin shirwt on!" Joan called back, out of sight.
Mary sighed. "That'll be a nice pile of t-shirts strewn about the room as she digs for her Big Cousin one." She shook her head ruefully. "I miss the days when she had no opinion on what she wore. Cherish them," she advised. "They'll be gone before you know it."
Catherine grinned. "I guess that means she finally stopped wearing it every day."
"Yeah, after about a week," Mary said with a laugh. "It was a great conversation starter for her. She told everyone she met she had a new cousin and pointed at her shirt as proof."
"I love that," Catherine said, smiling.
"Now she can't stop asking when you're coming here. Or, more accurately, when 'Baby Angie' is coming."
"Awwww."
"Did I tell you she's put her doll's bed next to hers and covered it with pillows and blankets 'for Baby Angie'?"
Catherine smiled delightedly. "You didn't!"
"This was after we finally convinced her Angie couldn't sleep in her big girl bed with her," Mary continued. "That she would need her own bed."
Joan reappeared wearing her pink-lettered I'm the Big Cousin shirt, blonde pigtails now askew.
"I'm hewe!" she announced. "I have my shirwt! See!"
"I see," Catherine said, smiling. "Now you and Angie match."
"We match!"
"Hey peanut, where do you think Baby Angie should sleep when she comes with Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine for the wedding?" Mary asked.
"Baby Angie sweep in my woom," Joan answered matter-of-factly. "I have a widdle bed fo' hewr." She shook her head and repeated what she had been told. "She can't sweep in my big giwl bed yet. She's too widdle."
"I think Uncle Steve might have something to say about that."
"Careful, this is Steve and Joanie we're talking about," Catherine said. "He may set up her bassinet in Joan's room and sleep on the floor in there with them."
Mary laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised. He can't say no to his niece," she said with a fond smile, tightening her daughter's limp pigtail.
"Unca Steve?" Joan asked, peering closer at the screen.
"He's not here, honey," Catherine said. "He's sorry he couldn't be here to talk to you. He was looking forward to it."
"Whewr is he?"
"He's working."
Joan nodded knowingly. "My daddy is wo'king, too."
"We'll have to arrange another call when they're both home," Catherine said, shifting Angie slightly in her arms. "But I have a very special reason I wanted to talk to you today, Miss Joan." She smiled and asked, "How was preschool yesterday?"
Joan's face lit up instantly. "I go to pweschoo' wif my fwiends! I have a Awiel backpack!"
"Ariel? Wow!" Catherine enthused. "And did you like your teacher?"
"I have two teachews. Miz Maria an' Miz Tianna, but not Pwincess Tiana."
Mary snorted at that. "In case there was any confusion."
Catherine flashed an amused smile and asked, "What did you do at preschool?"
"Pwayed wif my fwiends."
"You played with your friends?"
Joan nodded excitedly. "Dere's a big pwaygwound at my schoo'!"
"Yeah, you couldn't stop talking about that playground," Mary said.
Joan looked up at her. "When do I go 'gain, Mama?"
"Tomorrow. You have preschool on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."
Catherine sighed, smiling. "I can't believe you're already in preschool, Joan."
"I know," Mary agreed, shaking her head in amazement. "It goes so fast."
Catherine snuggled Angie closer as the baby's tiny fingers latched onto the front of her shirt and tugged. "Ohh, don't say that."
"It's the truth. Angie will be in preschool before you know it."
Joan looked at her mother, scrunching her nose up. "Baby Angie's not in pweschoo', Mama. She's a baby."
Mary snorted, rubbing her daughter's head affectionately. "I know, peanut. I just meant time seems to go fast. It doesn't seem that long ago that you were a baby."
Joan blinked at her, her forehead crinkling in confusion.
"But now you're my big girl."
Joan grinned. "I'm a big giwl. I go to pweschoo'."
"Ohh, look at that little yawn!" Mary said, catching sight of Angie yawning.
"Baby Angie is sweepy?" Joan asked, her attention back on the screen.
"She's getting a little sleepy," Catherine said and smiled down at her daughter. "We've had a big day. We went to Mommy's work and met lots of people, then we stopped by to see Daddy before we came home to nap."
"Unca Steve is Baby Angie's daddy," Joan told them.
Mary chuckled. "We know, peanut."
"He wuves her wike my daddy wuves me."
Mary kissed the top of her head. "That's right. Like your daddy loves you."
Right on cue, there were sounds of a door opening. Joan straightened, beaming.
"Daddy!" she cried, and ran out of the living room to look down toward the kitchen and the door to the garage.
"Hey, pumpkin!" Aaron's voice could be heard as he greeted his daughter happily. A moment later, he'd scooped her up for a kiss and carried her into the living room. He sat beside Mary, giving her a quick kiss, and smiled at the laptop screen. "Hi, Catherine."
"It's Baby Angie, Daddy!" Joan said, pointing.
He grinned. "I see. Hi, Angie."
"Hi, Uncle Aaron," Catherine said.
"Wow, you are getting so big!"
"Baby Angie is sweepy, Daddy," Joan told him.
"Ohh, is she?"
"She's getting there," Catherine said. "I was hoping she'd last till her daddy got home."
For the second time, the word seemed to conjure the man's appearance as the door at the beach house opened and Steve appeared.
"Hey, that's some excellent timing," Catherine said, smiling broadly.
After greeting Cammie, he slid onto the sofa beside Catherine and kissed her, his hand going to Angie's tummy in a gentle hello.
"Unca Steve!" Joan cried sliding off Aaron's lap to get closer to the screen.
"Hey, Joanie!" he said with a broad smile for his niece even as Catherine passed Angie to him.
"Shhh, Unca Steve," she whispered loudly, putting a finger to her mouth. "Baby Angie is sweepy."
He smiled, his eyes drawn back to his daughter who yawned again.
"Looks like you got home just in time, big brother," Mary said.
"Looks that way," he agreed, leaning down to press a kiss to Angie's head.
"Baby Angie can sweep in my woom when she comes hewe, Unca Steve," Joan said, all thoughts of quiet forgotten.
"Oh yeah?" he said. "Are you ready for us to visit?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"Good," Catherine said, smiling broadly. "Because we are so excited to come for the wedding."
Joan bounced in place, barely able to contain her own excitement. "We having a wedding! I have a new dwess! And shoes! I go get dem!"
"Ah ah ah," Mary said, catching her before she could run off again. "One disappearing act per call is enough." She tickled her, causing Joan to squeal delightedly. "We already sent pictures, remember?"
"It's a beautiful dress," Catherine said. "I bet you can't wait to wear it."
"Does Baby Angie have a beautifa' dwess, too?" Joan asked.
"She will," Catherine said, stroking the baby's leg soothingly. "We still have to find something for her to wear."
"You don't think she could just wear this?" Steve teased, nodding down at Angie. "Her I'm the Little Cousin onesie?"
Joan seemed to consider it seriously.
"No, Unca Steve," she said finally. "Da wedding is fancy."
"Fancy?" he repeated, grinning. "I guess I better find something to wear, too."
Mary rolled her eyes. "I guess you better."
"When you come hewe, I show you my beautifa' fancy dwess," Joan said. "An' Baby Angie an' I can match."
"Match?" Aaron said, smiling at her. "That'll be a sight."
Joan looked at the screen. "When aw' you comin'?"
"Not for a while yet," Steve said. "In October."
Her brow furrowed at that. "How many sweeps?" she asked, using her standard measurement of time.
"Oh, a lot of sleeps yet, peanut," Mary said. "About forty."
"A wot of sweeps?" Joan repeated, her face and shoulders drooping.
"Don't worry, Joanie," Steve was quick to say. "It's not so long. In fact, we'll be there before you know it."
Hope you enjoyed!
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