Disclaimer: As usual, not mine.
In the background, Joe could hear laughter and happy shouting. "Sounds like it's pretty active over there," he commented. "Is Callie having a good Mother's Day?"
"Yeah," Frank responded with a laugh. "Although I don't think she expected the gifts the kids gave her. After all, one doesn't normally expect a magnifying glass, file organization tabs, and a calculator on this holiday. But, they did pick flowers for her, and help me make breakfast for her, too, so I suppose it evens out."
Joe chuckled. "I guess. And I'm going to bet the unusual gifts are because your kids have detective parents."
"Maybe so," Frank replied, "but sometimes, I think Callie wishes they'd forget that."
"Yeah..." Joe paused. Maybe he shouldn't have called today...
"Joe? Is something wrong? You're not saying anything."
"Huh? Oh. No...not...exactly."
"What do you mean by that?" Joe took a deep breath. "Nancy asked about Vanessa yesterday."
"Oh." On the other end of the line, Frank was at a loss for words. "What did you tell her?" he managed finally.
"The truth," Joe responded simply. "And we celebrated Mother's Day by going around laying flowers at Vanessa's favorite spots in town today."
"Wow, Joe...that...Vanessa would've loved that."
"Yeah..." Joe took a deep, shuddering breath. "It just...well..."
"It took a lot out of you, didn't it?" Frank asked, hearing the strain in his brother's voice.
"Yeah," Joe admitted. "And I just needed to touch base with someone. Nancy's upstairs right now...I think she's writing in her diary. So I thought I'd call you."
"Are you taking her to visit Grandma Bender today, as usual?"
"No...she's out of town. We're going to celebrate Mother's Day with her when she returns next week."
"I see. And, of course, our celebration with Mom and Dad isn't until tomorrow."
"Right."
"So I'm guessing you don't know what to do for the rest of the day."
"Pretty much. I was wondering if you had some ideas."
"Well, you could always come over here."
"No, I don't want to do that. Today's Callie's day."
"Well...maybe...maybe tell her more about Vanessa, Joe. I know it's hard for you, but she really should know more about her mother. And you have all those photos you could tell her about." Frank's voice took on a mischievous tone. "Like the one I took when Vanessa found out you were flirting with the new server at the pizza place."
Joe groaned. "I'd forgotten all about that."
"See? The perfect photo to show Nancy! I'm sure she'd love to know why her dad's covered in pepperoni pizza!"
Joe laughed. "Okay, Frank. I'll try your suggestion."
"Okay. Really, Joe. I think it will be for the best. Take care."
"You too. Tell Callie Happy Mother's Day for me. After all, she mothered me enough back then; sometimes I want to call her my mom, too."
Frank chuckled. "I'll tell her." And they hung up.
Joe ran a hand through his hair, and bit his lip. "May as well get this show on the road," he muttered. He pulled a few photo albums from the closet, and went to Nancy's room. When she saw the albums, her eyes lit up.
Wordlessly, Joe sat down and placed the stack of albums between them. "Pick one," he said simply. "And I'll explain every story behind every photo..." he blushed as his daughter chose the album with the very picture Frank had mentioned moments ago."Regardless of how much it might embarrass me." And with that, father and daughter settled in to celebrate the rest of Mother's Day together.