Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the AWESOME feedback on this story at all hours of the day and night. Special thanks to Sammy for the title. And I'm fairly sure one or both of you gave me some exchange ideas for this story, but it's getting harder and harder to remember who comes up with what :-) Love you both!
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your absolutely AMAZING support of all the REAL World stories. I am, as always, behind on review responses, but I do appreciate each and every one, as well as the favorites and follows, Tumblr likes and reblogs, and Twitter messages. We really do have the best readers in the world!
Hope you enjoy!
From the Ground Up (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Standing in the airport terminal, Mary let out an exaggerated gasp, bouncing Joan on her hip. "Look! There they are!"
The toddler whipped her head around in the direction her mother was pointing. She squealed when her eyes finally lit upon two familiar faces.
"Unka Teeve Ann Caf!"
"Hey!" Steve called across the terminal, raising a hand in greeting.
Catherine smiled broadly from beside him, and the two picked up their pace past the baggage claim to reach Mary and Joan.
"Hi!" Catherine said, scooping Joan into her arms when the toddler leaned out toward her. She kissed the little girl's cheek, playfully nibbling, and tickled her belly to Joan's extreme delight. "You are one happy girl, huh?"
"Happyyyy!" Joan said, bouncing in Catherine's arms. She looked over as Steve hugged Mary in greeting. "Happy, Unka Teeve!"
"Are you happy we're here, Joanie?" he asked, running a hand over her hair and kissing her head. He smiled at her. "Good, 'cause so are we."
"Hi, Mary," Catherine said, leaning over for a sidearm hug.
"Hi. How was the flight?"
"It was fine," Steve said. "Uneventful."
"This is so great," Mary said, smiling happily. "I'm so glad you guys decided to come."
"Well, I was owed a birthday trip," Catherine said. She smiled at Joan who was busy combing her fingers through Catherine's dark hair.
"Your–" Mary stopped. She stared at Catherine incredulously. "This is your birthday trip? The one we screwed up by showing up unannounced?"
"You did not 'screw up' anything," Catherine insisted, gently removing Joan's fingers that had started to tug a little harder in her hair and kissing them. "That was the best birthday surprise."
"But–"
"My birthday, my choice," Catherine interrupted matter-of-factly.
Steve smiled as he observed the exchange.
Mary sighed, touched, and smiled. "Well, we definitely don't want to spend your trip in the airport." She looked between Steve and Catherine, then glanced at the baggage carousels. "Do we need to wait for your bags?"
"This is it," Steve said, motioning to the duffel over his shoulder.
"For both of you?"
"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "It's just a long weekend. We travel light."
Mary sighed a little wistfully. "I remember the days of traveling light. Now even an overnight to Aunt Deb's feels like I'm moving in thanks to all this little lady's stuff," she said, reaching over and playfully poking her daughter's side.
Joan squealed happily, twisting away from the tickling finger and wrapping her arms around Catherine's neck.
They walked out the terminal doors and waited to cross the road to head for the parking structures.
"See pwanes," Joan said. "Up hiiigh," she added with a serious nod, pointing toward the sky.
"Did you see a lot of planes?" Catherine asked.
Joan nodded.
"Auntie Cath and I were in one of those planes, Joanie," Steve said. "What do you think of that?"
She nodded again. "Unka Teeve Ann Caf in pwane."
"Yep," Catherine said. "We got in a plane to come see you, cutie."
Joan beamed. "See me!"
"That's right," Steve said, gently tweaking her nose. "To see you."
"And we are going to have a great weekend, right?" Catherine asked her.
Joan looked at the three adults for a clue how to answer and, seeing their smiling faces, clapped. "Yay!"
"Yay is right," Mary said, smiling broadly. As they started walking toward the parking structures, she continued, "And tomorrow we're gonna put up your swing set in the backyard finally."
" 'Wing?" Joan asked.
"Yes, you know the big box that's been sitting in the garage all summer?" Mary said. "That's the ridiculously big swing set Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine got you for your birthday."
"I'm sorry we didn't make it out sooner to set that up, Mare," Steve said, choosing to focus on the first part of his sister's teasing statement. "We really meant to, but things kept coming up."
"It's okay. Really." She glanced over at him. "You know, Aaron offered to set it up, but . . . I knew you wanted to."
Catherine looked at Steve whose expression had softened, touched by his sister's words.
He nodded. "Thanks, Mare. I do want to set it up." He glanced at Catherine who raised her eyebrows. "But uh . . ." He looked back at Mary, scratching the back of his head. "Aaron can come help . . . if he wants."
"Aawon?" Joan said, looking around, but quickly became distracted by the strap of Catherine's over-the-shoulder purse as Mary and Steve kept talking.
"Oh, can he?" Mary asked with feigned innocence.
"Yeah," Steve said and shrugged in an attempt at indifference. "Project that big, another set of hands'll be useful."
"Well, good, because I already asked him to come help," Mary said matter-of-factly.
Steve looked at her. "You did?"
"Yeah," she said with a hint of smugness. "He checked the manual to find out what tools it's gonna take to build it. He's bringing his own drill set."
"Huh," Steve said, running his tongue over his lower lip thoughtfully. Finally, he gave an approving nod. "All right. One point for Aaron."
"And he's set up tables in the garage with the pieces on them all organized . . ." Mary continued, fighting a grin.
Steve paused, and Catherine hid a smile by leaning closer to Joan and blowing lightly in the toddler's hair to make her laugh.
His lips twisted slightly, and Steve reluctantly admitted, "That'll actually . . . save some time."
"Oh, will it?" Mary asked sarcastically.
Steve sighed, and she laughed.
"When's he coming?" Steve asked with a small smile.
"In the morning. After breakfast."
Steve nodded, his smile shifting to a smirk. "So we'll have the whole day to get to know each other. Lots of time for us to . . . talk," he said meaningfully.
"Steve . . ." Mary started warningly.
"What?" he asked with faux-innocence.
"Please don't scare him."
"I'm not gonna scare him," Steve insisted. After a beat, he added, "Much."
Catherine rolled her eyes, and Mary balked.
"Steve!"
He laughed, holding up his hands. "Kidding. I'm kidding." He stopped. "Unless, there's a reason I need to–"
Mary groaned. "No, there's no reason." She sighed. "I told you, Aaron's a nice guy."
"Niiice guyyy," Joan echoed. "Aawon."
They all looked at the toddler and chuckled at her pronouncement.
Reaching the car, Mary put the keys in Steve's waiting hand.
"Come on, peanut," she said, holding her hands out for Joan. "Mama's gonna sit by you on the way home."
"Ann Caf," Joan said plaintively, laying her head on Catherine's shoulder.
"It's okay, Mary," Catherine said. "I'll sit in the back with her."
"Are you sure? There's not a lot of leg room."
"I am absolutely sure. I'm soaking up as much of this as I can," Catherine insisted, cuddling Joan closer. "It'll have to last me till Halloween."
Mary smiled. "Okay."
Steve threw their duffel in the trunk as Catherine and Mary got Joan into her car seat. Once everyone was belted in, they headed away from the airport on the way to Mary and Joan's house.
The next morning, Steve and Catherine were on the floor in the sunroom with Joan while Mary was finishing up her shower.
"More, Teeve," Joan insisted, pointing at the tower of DUPLOS.
"I think we've used up all the blocks, Joanie."
They heard the front door open, and a voice call out, "Knock knock."
"Aawon!" Joan cried happily, pushing herself up and taking off at a run for the door.
Steve and Catherine followed in time to see a clean-shaven man in his early thirties pulling a key from the lock and pocketing it before he caught a running Joan as she jumped at him.
"Hey hey, pumpkin!" he said with a huge smile.
"Dip, Aawon! Dip!"
Mary appeared from the hallway, pulling her wet hair back and securing it behind her head. She smiled at the scene.
"You wanna dip?" Aaron asked Joan. "All right!"
Holding her securely, he dipped her backwards, and she shrieked with delight.
"Mama, upsi' down!"
"You are upside down," Mary agreed, laughing.
Catherine smiled and glanced at Steve who was observing the interaction carefully.
As Aaron straightened with Joan, Mary continued, "Hey, peanut, tell Aaron who's here."
Joan looked back, recalling Steve and Catherine, and grinned. "Unka Teeve Ann Caf!" she exclaimed, pointing.
She squirmed to get down, and Aaron set her on the ground. Running over to Steve and Catherine, she patted their legs and repeated her introduction, "Unka Teeve Ann Caf."
Aaron stepped forward and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aaron Reyes."
Steve shook his hand and nodded. "Steve."
"Catherine. Nice to finally meet you," Catherine said and smiled, shaking his hand as well.
"Aawon, see bwocks," Joan said, taking his hand and pulling him in the direction of the sunroom. "Cas-uw."
"You made a castle?" he translated. "Show me."
The other three followed, and Catherine leaned close to Mary to whisper, "He's even cuter than the pictures."
Mary grinned. "I know."
Steve made a face that was missed by both women as they entered the sunroom ahead of him to see Aaron squatting by Joan who was showing him the colorful tower she'd built with Steve and Catherine.
Steve stood with Mary and Catherine for a moment watching, his hands on his hips, before saying, "You know, we should get started on the swing set."
"Already?" Mary asked.
"He's right," Aaron said. "It's a full day project."
"You guys are the experts," Mary said with a shrug. She looked at her daughter. "Joan, do you want to keep playing in here, or go outside?"
"Ou'side," Joan said immediately, looking over at the windows where she could see her sand/water table and playhouse.
"Yeah, I figured." She looked at the others. "I'll see how long I can keep her distracted in the backyard while you three start on the swing set." Turning back to Joan, she said, "But first, let's get you changed."
"No, Mama," Joan protested.
"Got to, peanut, or we can't go outside."
When Joan looked like she was going to refuse again, Aaron said, "Go on, Joan, so you can play outside."
She looked at him and then back at her mother.
"Come on," Mary insisted and held out her hands.
Joan finally raised her arms and allowed herself to be lifted. Mary smiled at Aaron as he stood, then glanced between him and Steve with a touch of nervousness.
"Good luck," she said, then quickly clarified, "with the swing set."
Steve and Aaron stared at each other silently, and Mary threw Catherine a pleading look before heading off with Joan.
Catherine glanced between the two men.
When neither spoke, she smiled with exaggerated brightness and said, "Shall we?"
"What's first?" Steve asked as the three stood in the garage surveying the folding table of hardware and fasteners and the wooden pieces lined up on the floor.
Catherine flipped through the instruction manual. "Looks like we start from the ground up." She showed them the first set of pictures. "The base of the fort."
Steve nodded. "Okay."
The three began gathering the pieces they would need.
After her diaper change, Joan was too curious about where Steve, Catherine, and Aaron were to go into the backyard, so Mary brought her to play in the front yard while the other three worked in the garage putting the base of the fort portion of the swing set together.
She had her hands full keeping Joan away from the work area, and often had to scoop her daughter up when the toddler made a run for the garage.
During one such instance, her eye fell on the discarded swing set box, and she snorted a laugh.
"What?" Aaron asked, glancing up from where he was aligning a corner post.
"I can't believe I didn't notice the name before," Mary said. " 'Commander's Quarters'?"
Steve shrugged, not looking up from installing one of the wood screws. "Coincidence."
Mary scoffed dubiously. "Sure."
Aaron glanced over to the table where Catherine was focused on the instruction manual. She caught his eye and shook her head, mouthing "Not a coincidence."
He snickered, but smothered it quickly when Steve looked his way, eyebrows raised.
"You are unbelievable," Mary said, chuckling as she turned with Joan and walked back to the yard.
Working together, the three had the fort frame complete before it was time to break for lunch. They quickly ate sandwiches and got back to work while Joan took her time with her meal of cheese and crackers.
"Such a poky eater," Mary said to the others once she finally came back outside with Joan. She shifted her grip on the squirming toddler. "Wait till we get to the yard, Joan. There's too many tools and pieces in here right now."
"Down, Mama!" Joan insisted.
"Okay, but remember, it's gonna be time for a snooze pretty soon."
Reaching the yard, Mary set Joan down, and they played there for the next half hour. When Joan started rubbing her eyes, Mary put down the ball they had been using and lifted her daughter into her arms.
"Okay, come on, peanut." She walked toward the group in the garage. "Kisses before your snooze. You'll see everyone when you wake up."
Mary kept hold of Joan as the toddler leaned over and kissed Catherine on the cheek.
"Have a good sleep, sweetie," Catherine said.
"See you when you wake up, Joanie," Steve said and received his own kiss.
Aaron smiled when Joan kissed his cheek. "Sleep well, pumpkin."
Mary disappeared into the house with the sleepy girl, and returned to the garage ten minutes later.
"Okay, I suppose I should have some hand in my daughter's massive swing set," she said. "What can I do?"
"We're working on the placement of the handholds for the rock wall," Steve said. "I don't want to put them too close together. It should be a little bit of a challenge."
"Steve, she's only two and a half," Catherine said with an amused smile.
"But she's very coordinated," he insisted.
Mary snorted. "That's what you think."
"She is," Aaron agreed with Steve. He looked at Mary. "She can make it across the balance beam at The Little Gym just holding one of our hands."
Steve raised his eyebrows, glancing between them for a moment before turning his attention back to the rock wall.
"So, Aaron, you're in software design, right?" Catherine asked, handing Steve a pencil to mark the placement of the handholds.
"Yeah, my company designs software for a range of different businesses."
"He's one of the project managers," Mary said proudly, smiling at him.
Talk between the four continued, focused mainly on the project at hand, though occasionally interspersed with questions for Aaron from Catherine. Steve remained quiet unless they were talking about the swing set, but it was clear he was taking in everything Aaron said and watching the interactions between Mary and Aaron carefully as they all worked together.
An hour and a half later, they had the step ladder and rock wall attached to the fort frame and had started on the attached picnic table bench.
"She should be waking up soon," Mary said.
As if on cue, they heard sounds coming from the baby monitor.
Aaron smiled. "Right on time."
Mary set down the level she had been holding. "I'll get her a snack, and we'll play inside for a bit."
"I'll come with you," Catherine said, straightening. She looked at Steve and Aaron. "You guys are okay finishing the bench, right?"
Steve nodded. "Sure."
"Yeah," Aaron agreed.
"Okay, we'll be back in a bit," Mary said, and Catherine followed her into the house.
Steve watched them go, then looked at Aaron who had continued to secure an additional brace near the bottom of the unit.
He licked his lips thoughtfully, and said, "So, Aaron . . ."
Aaron stopped, glancing up at Steve, then at the door where Mary and Catherine had disappeared. He straightened, nodding slowly in understanding.
"Is this the 'what are you intentions towards my sister' conversation?"
Steve paused for a beat, then huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I guess it is."
"Thought I passed the background check."
Steve blinked in surprise. He chuckled, acknowledging the truth with a quick nod.
Aaron sighed. "Look, man, I've got a younger sister, too. I get it." He grimaced. "Kinda wish I'd had your uh . . . resources to screen a couple of her previous boyfriends, actually."
He paused for a moment, and his eyes dropped as he looked for the right words.
"And I get that there's . . . more to it," he said. "With you guys. Mary's told me a little bit. I get the feeling there's a lot more, but . . ."
Steve shifted his weight, but didn't speak.
Aaron sighed and met Steve's eyes steadily. "I care about Mary. A lot. She's . . . she's really special. And Joan, she's like a little ray of sunshine. I'm crazy about Joan."
"Feeling seems to be mutual there," Steve said.
He paused, then added, "With both of them."
Aaron gave him a small smile.
Steve took a deep breath. "And you're right. There is a lot more. But that's not a conversation for right now. For now . . ." he began, but his voice trailed off.
When Steve didn't immediately continue, Aaron said, "For now?"
Steve looked at him. "My sister likes you. So does my niece. Gotta be a reason for that." He pressed his lips together and nodded once. "For now that's enough."
Aaron let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. He nodded gratefully.
Steve held his gaze for a beat, then turned to survey the frame they had constructed. "We should start thinking about moving this to the backyard before it gets too unwieldy. We can put the swing beam together in here and attach it back there later."
"Yeah," Aaron agreed, but he remained where he was. His eyes stayed on Steve's back for a moment before he got back to work, a small, tentative smile now on his face.
Catherine rejoined Steve and Aaron a short while later, letting them know Mary had convinced Joan to stay inside and watch a little Doc McStuffins.
"Probably a good time to move the frame, then," Steve said.
Aaron nodded his agreement. "Mary and I marked off where she wanted it in the backyard."
The three were able to maneuver the frame out of the garage and around to the back of the house where they got it situated by the wooden stakes Mary and Aaron had put in the ground to indicate its placement.
They worked throughout the rest of the afternoon on the swings, roof canopy, and slide. They were eventually joined out back by Mary and Joan. It got harder and harder to keep Joan from the work area as the unit became more and more recognizable as a swing set.
"I know you want to play, peanut," Mary said, holding her.
"It'll be done soon, Joanie," Steve said as he, Aaron, and Catherine worked on loosening the ground underneath the fort to make sure the swing set would be level before they attached the wooden stakes to secure the unit in place.
' 'Wide, Mama," Joan said plaintively, pointing at the green slide coming out of the front of the swing set. " 'Wide."
"After dinner you can go on the slide," Mary told her. "It's not ready just yet."
"Wea-dy?" Joan repeated.
"Not just yet," Mary said again. "Come on. Let's get dinner going. I bet Uncle Steve, Aunt Catherine, and Aaron are hungry."
"You hung-wy?" Joan asked them.
"I sure am," Aaron said.
"Go inside, sweetie," Catherine said. "We'll be there soon."
Mary was able to get Joan inside, but they soon saw Joan's face peeking out of the sunroom window and watching them again.
"She's gonna love this thing," Aaron commented.
Steve smiled, looking over at the house from where he was attaching the safety handles near the step ladder and rock wall. Catherine was up in the fort, installing the steering wheel and telescope. She followed the two men's eyes and smiled at the image of Joan gripping the windowsill to pull herself high enough to look out at them.
"She may not be so poky at dinner with this waiting for her," Catherine said.
Aaron chuckled. "She's always poky at dinner," he said, his eyes still on Joan.
Steve watched Aaron a moment longer before turning back to the safety handles, a thoughtful expression on his face.
True to Mary's word, after dinner the group returned to the backyard so Joan could try out her new swing set. For the first few minutes, the toddler just walked around the unit, looking at it in amazement.
"Ooooh," she said, gripping the seat of one of the swings and moving it back and forth. " 'Wing."
"What do you want to try first, peanut?" Mary asked.
Joan walked over to the slide, patting it. " 'Wide." She raised her arms. "Up 'wide. He'p me."
"How do you ask?" Mary prompted.
"Pweas?" Joan said dutifully, though she was shaking her arms and bouncing in anticipation.
"Okay," Mary said, picking her up. "Here you go. Uncle Steve can catch you at the bottom."
"Unka Teeve, cat' me," Joan said, looking at him.
"I'll catch you," he assured her, positioning himself at the bottom of the slide.
"Here we go," Mary said, settling her at the top. "Ready? Say 'Wheeeeee!' "
"Wheeeeee!" Joan echoed with a huge smile.
Catherine took out her phone to catch Joan's first trip down the slide into Steve's arms on video. He swung her high into the air as she squealed happily.
"Was that fun?" he asked, grinning.
" 'Gain!" she exclaimed.
"I think that's a yes," Aaron said with a laugh.
"You wanna go again?" Steve asked. "Do you want to try to climb up yourself?"
He walked to the back of the swing set and put her down by the step ladder and rock wall. She put a hand out on one of the rocks, but then stepped back and shook her head. She ran back to the front to Mary and raised her arms again.
"Up 'wide, pweas, Mama!" she cried happily. " 'Gain!"
"Okay," Mary said, lifting her. She winked at her brother. "We'll try Uncle Steve's rock wall later."
He smiled. "Whatever makes her happy."
Catherine stepped closer to him, running a hand across her lower back and smiling at his happy expression.
"Hey, Joan," Mary said. "Can you tell Uncle Steve, Aunt Catherine, and Aaron thank you for putting your swing set together?"
"T'ank yoooooooou!" she said, bouncing in Mary's arms.
"I think they're all gonna need big hugs and kisses later."
Joan nodded, but said, " 'Wide now."
They all laughed at that.
"Okay," Mary said, shaking her head in amusement at her daughter. "Slide now, kisses later."
After the sun had set a half hour later, the four were in the kitchen. Steve and Catherine stood by the counter, both drinking from water bottles. Aaron, Mary, and Joan stood in the middle of the room.
"I should get going," Aaron said.
"We'll walk you to your car," Mary said. "Won't we, Joan?"
"Caw?" Joan repeated.
"Yeah, let's walk Aaron to his car so he can go back to his house."
Joan looked at Aaron. "You house?"
"Yep," he said and swung her up into his arms. "I am ready for bed, little lady. I might even be asleep before you are tonight."
"You 'weepy?" she asked him.
"I am sleepy. That was hard work putting your swing set together."
Mary smiled and rubbed Joan's back. "Yeah, so let's walk him to his car so he can go home and sleep."
Aaron looked over at Steve and Catherine by the counter.
"It was great meeting you both," he said. "I'll see you at breakfast in the morning?"
"Yep," Catherine said with a smile. "Have a good night."
"Thanks for your help today," Steve added, his expression more reserved, but his words were sincere. "Wouldn't have gotten it done in one day without you."
Aaron nodded, and his smile was pleased. "Sure. Thanks for letting me help."
Steve returned his nod.
"Well, goodnight," Aaron said.
"Goodnight," Catherine replied for both of them.
Mary and Aaron holding Joan headed out the door through the garage to walk to his car.
After the door closed, Steve took a long drink from his water bottle. He shifted to face Catherine, leaning his hip on the counter, but his eyes drifted out the kitchen window to the driveway where the trio now stood talking.
Catherine glanced over her shoulder to follow Steve's gaze and smiled knowingly as she turned back to him.
He capped his bottle and placed it on the counter, holding it near the bottom and tapping it absently on the laminate surface as he watched Aaron gently bounce Joan in his arms and Mary step closer to them.
"Go ahead," Catherine said.
Steve looked down at her. He sighed at her look and shook his head. "You already know."
She smiled. "Yeah, but say it anyway."
Steve paused, taking a deep breath and tapping the bottle a few more times on the countertop.
"I like him," he said quietly.
Catherine's smile widened before her expression softened fondly, and she reached for his hand, holding it loosely in hers and intertwining their fingers.
"My dad said the same thing the first time he met you."
Steve raised his eyebrows, and she smirked.
"Well, maybe not the first time, but . . . at lunch the next day," she amended. "First time he called you stubborn and clumsy."
Steve chuckled, then took another deep breath.
Catherine's expression turned more serious, and she ran her thumb over the back of his hand.
"You should tell your sister," she said.
He squeezed her fingers lightly. "She doesn't need my approval," he said with a slight shake of his head.
"No, she doesn't . . . but that doesn't mean she wouldn't like to hear it anyway."
He looked into her eyes and saw the truth in them, both for Mary and for herself years ago.
The corner of his mouth rose in a small half smile, and he leaned down to kiss her lightly.
He straightened enough to press his lips to her brow, then turned his head to rest his cheek on her hair for a moment. Tightening his fingers around hers, he inhaled her familiar, soothing scent and exhaled slowly.
They heard the garage door closing and the door to the kitchen start to open.
With a final kiss to Catherine's head, Steve straightened the rest of the way and released her hand so they could turn to face Mary and Joan as they came back inside.
Joan rubbed her eye with a fist, laying her head on Mary's shoulder.
"Hey, sweetie," Catherine said, stepping forward and holding out her hands to the sleepy toddler. "Let's get you into your pjs and ready for bed, huh? Then we can read a book."
Joan came to her willingly. "Nuff Bun," she said.
"Sure, we can read Knuffle Bunny," Catherine said, recognizing Joan's name for the book they'd brought her back in May.
"Nuff Bun's fwiend," Joan said.
Catherine glanced at Mary.
"There's a sequel," Mary said. "Knuffle Bunny Too."
"Ohh," Catherine said and looked back at Joan. "Well, let's go see about Knuffle Bunny's friend, then."
"I'll be there in a few minutes, peanut," Mary said as Joan laid her head on Catherine's shoulder. "Say goodnight to Uncle Steve."
"Nigh' Unka Teeve," Joan said, blinking at him sleepily.
He smiled softly at her and leaned down, brushing a hand over her hair before kissing her head.
"Goodnight, Joanie," he said.
He ran a hand along Catherine's back and gave her a grateful smile as she walked past him.
Both he and Mary watched them disappear down the hallway and into Joan's room.
After a moment, Steve started, "So . . ."
"She does that very naturally," Mary cut in.
He rolled his eyes. "Don't start."
"Why not?"
" 'Cause this conversation is about you," he said, folding his arms.
"Oh, we're having a conversation?" she said, her voice snarky.
"Mare–"
"I didn't know. 'Cause sometimes it's hard to tell with you."
He sighed, recognizing her deflection tactics.
"Mary–"
"Well, let's hear it," she said. "What's your verdict? Or do you need to . . . what would call it . . . gather more intel?"
He held out his hands. "You gonna let me talk or what?"
She sighed. "Sorry, I just . . . I mean . . . you know I don't need your permission to date him, right?"
"Of course you don't need my–" He groaned, running a hand over his face. "That's not what I . . . okay . . . this is not how I . . ." He sighed and looked at her in exasperation.
He stopped, realizing that though there were traces of defiance in her eyes, she was also biting her lower lip expectantly.
Pausing, he exhaled slowly before speaking again.
"You were right," he said finally, nodding. "He is a nice guy. I like him." He glanced down the hallway. "I like how he is with Joanie." Looking back, he held her eyes. "And with you."
Mary ducked her head, a small smile appearing on her face.
She glanced up. "You like him?"
Steve sighed with a small laugh, looking up. "You gonna make me say it again?"
"No," she said, laughing a little herself.
He looked at her sincerely. "I think he's a good guy, Mare."
She smiled at him.
He folded his arms. "But that's based on less than one day's observation, I reserve the right to uh . . . 'gather more intel,' he said with a teasing smirk.
"Of course you do," she said, laughing more comfortably. When she exhaled there was a definite hint of relief in her sigh. "I should go check on Cath and Joan."
"Okay," he said.
She walked past him and started down the hallway.
"Mare," he said and waited for her to turn. "I'm happy for you."
She smiled, looking down as the smile grew.
With a final glance, she nodded and turned back down the hallway toward her daughter's room with a lightness in her step.
The next morning, Aaron was already seated at the restaurant when Steve, Catherine, Mary, and Joan arrived. He stood as they approached and smiled.
"Good morning," he said.
"Aawon!" Joan said happily, reaching for him.
"Hey, pumpkin," he said and took her from Mary who squeezed his arm and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
Aaron glanced over at Steve, but the other man's face was impassive.
"Do we need a booster seat for her?" Steve asked.
"Already got it," Aaron said, nodding toward the bench.
He situated her in the booster seat as Mary walked around to sit on Joan's other side. Steve and Catherine took the chairs across from them.
"Unka Teeve Ann Caf 'weep me house," Joan told Aaron.
"I know," he said. "They slept at your house."
"Yeah, and Aunt Catherine read Knuffle Bunny to you before bed, didn't she?" Mary asked.
Joan nodded absently, her attention taken by the crayons on the table in front of her. Leaning forward, she grabbed the blue crayon in her fist and drew a line on the paper placemat that had been flipped to the blank side. Mary shifted her fingers on the crayon to a proper grip, and Joan continued scribbling happily.
"What's good here?" Catherine asked, looking at the front of the placemat that served as the restaurant's menu.
"Everything," Mary said. "This is our favorite breakfast place."
"Oh yeah?" Steve asked.
Mary nodded. "I never even knew about it until Aaron took us a few months ago."
"Omelets as big as your head," Aaron said.
"And great French toast," Mary added. "Seriously great."
"Ohh," Catherine said. "That's gonna make it a tough choice. I was really thinking eggs – these omelets look fantastic – but I do like French toast . . ."
"Get an omelet," Steve said. "I'll get the French toast, and you can have some."
She nodded her approval of the plan, giving him a quick smile.
After they placed their orders, and Joan was on her second placemat, Steve looked across at Mary and Aaron. "So we should figure out Thanksgiving dates," he said.
"What about Thanksgiving?" Aaron asked, confused.
Steve looked at Mary, his brow knitted. "You didn't invite him yet?"
Mary shrugged awkwardly. "I was . . . waiting till you all met."
Steve glanced at Catherine who gave him a significant look. He exhaled and nodded.
Turning back to Aaron, he said, "We'd uh . . . we'd like to invite you to come to the island for Thanksgiving." He nodded toward his sister and niece. "With Mary and Joanie."
Aaron's eyes widened. "Wow. That's . . ." He looked at Mary who was smiling hopefully. Returning her smile, he repeated, "Wow."
Steve shrugged. "I mean, we're gonna have a full house so I can't guarantee what the sleeping arrangements will–"
"Steve," Catherine said.
"It . . ." Steve rubbed his forehead with a small wince. "It'll be fine." He took a deep breath, and Catherine rubbed his back, hiding an amused smile.
Aaron shared another smile with Mary, then looked across at Steve and Catherine. "I'd be happy to join you for Thanksgiving. Thank you for the invitation."
Steve gave him a half smile and a nod. "You're welcome."
Mary leaned over Joan and stage-whispered, "Told you he liked you," with a little smirk in Steve's direction.
Joan looked up and began making whisper noises in imitation.
All four adults laughed, and Joan beamed at the reaction.
"You know what this means, peanut?" Mary said, and Joan looked at her. "It means you're gonna get to make another turkey for Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine's fridge."
"Tu'key!" Joan exclaimed, throwing her hands up in her excitement.
"Careful," Mary said, catching Joan's right hand before it reached the wall behind them. "Let's keep the crayons on the paper, okay?"
"Pit-chure," Joan said, pointing at the placemat with mostly blue scribbles on it.
"Yeah, you've made a couple pictures, haven't you?" Catherine said with a smile, nodding at the other placemat Joan had colored.
"Hey, guess what," Aaron said, flipping his placemat over to the blank side and moving it in front of Joan. "We could make a turkey right now with your hand. Here."
Gently, he took her left hand and put it on the paper, then guided her right hand with the crayon to trace around her fingers. He lifted her hand and grabbed another crayon, quickly filling in two legs, an eye, beak, and wattle.
"See?" he said. "A Joan-sized turkey."
"Tu'key!" Joan squealed. She dropped the crayon and picked up the paper with both hands. "Tu'key, Mama!" she said, showing Mary the drawing.
"A turkey," Mary said, smiling. She glanced over at Aaron. "It's perfect."
Joan tipped the paper back toward Steve and Catherine.
"Tu'key, Unka Teeve," she said. "See? See, Ann Caf?"
"I see," Catherine said with a broad smile. "Good job!"
"Look at that," Steve said, his smile mirroring Catherine's. "Your very own turkey."
Joan set the paper back down, smiling happily at the drawing. "Tu'key," she said quietly to herself, picking up her crayon again. "Me tu'key. Aawon tu'key."
Aaron smiled down at her, then looked across the table again. "What time's your flight back?"
"Not till seven," Steve said.
"Do you want a ride to the airport?" Aaron asked. He looked at Mary. "That way you don't have to have Joan out too late."
Steve looked surprised. He glanced at Catherine and nodded, looking back at Aaron. "If you wouldn't mind, that'd be great. Save us the cab fare."
"I don't mind at all," Aaron said.
"Thank you," Catherine said. "If you're sure we're not cutting into your Sunday plans . . ."
"Sunday plans," Mary scoffed, rolling her eyes with a teasing smile at Aaron.
"What?" Steve asked and looked between the two.
"Just the game," Aaron explained. "Hoping the Cowboys can stay afloat while Romo's out."
Steve quirked one eyebrow. "Cowboys fan, huh?"
"Yep. Definitely."
Steve sat back in his chair, folding his arms with a little shrug. "Well, nobody's perfect."
"Hey!" Catherine said.
Steve grinned, holding back his laughter. He stopped and said, "Wait, do you put ketchup on your eggs?"
Aaron made a disgusted face. "Oh God, what? No. Ughh." He shook his head vigorously. "That sounds . . . ughh."
Catherine sighed, smiling. "Well, nobody's perfect."
Hope you enjoyed!
Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems (Hyperion, 2004 and 2007)
Keep track of all the REAL World stories on our Tumblr page - mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com - including a chronological list!
You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line.
And find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions on all things McRoll in the REAL World! Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller