A/N: Hello fellow readers! There are times when I wonder what life is like in The Parker house hold. This story is a set of one-shots based on prompts that I've either found online or have been requested from reviewers. Each chapter will revolve around The Parkers in one way or another. I haven't read the comics and I'm writing based off of the MCU. If you have any suggestions or anyone seems out of character, please let me know. Happy reading! I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing. All credit goes to Marvel and Fink.
Prompt: Never had I seen someone look so lost in their own home before.
"This is a song about somebody else
So don't worry yourself, worry yourself."
-Fink
Rain beat relentlessly on the roof of the car. The thrumming was so loud that is was impossible to return phone calls without shouting. Not that Tony Stark had anyone he wanted to speak to. Considering the events of the previous fortnight, he'd had enough of people. After instructing FRIDAY to forward most calls directly to voicemail, he found that his phone rarely rang. One explanation for that could be that only a handful of phone numbers could get through his A.I.'s protocols. The majority of 'approved' numbers did not want to speak with him but he figured it better to keep the lines of communication open. Checking his call history, Tony noticed that the only calls he'd received in the past couple of days were from Happy and Rhodey. The former of the two was currently trying to maneuver through rush hour traffic.
Traffic in New York was stifling on the best of days but it seemed down-right unbearable that morning. Between the pounding of the rain, the honking of horns, and the angry shouts of the locals, the rhythm of the city beat out of sync with Tony's heart. With a sigh, Tony thought that he should have taken a suit to his morning meeting. Better yet, he mused, I should have skipped the stupid thing altogether. He had been avoiding Ross's calls for weeks. The fall out between the Avengers had been catastrophic and Tony still wasn't ready to face it. He didn't know where his ex-teammates were hiding. Truth be told, he wouldn't give Ross any information if there were any to supply.
"Looks like we're going to be late," Happy said from the front of the car.
"That is unfortunate," Tony mumbled and turned his attention forward. Happy had the windshield wipers on full blast. They whipped to and fro so fast the action made Tony shake his head. Even at full speed, it was difficult to see through the rain. "Guess we better turn around then."
"It is rude to show up late." Happy agreed and turned. "Better to not show up than to be tardy." Tony smirked at the driver's logic. It seemed that neither one of them was in the mood to deal with Ross.
With a silent sigh, he eased back into the leather seat and felt his shoulders relax. Tension radiated from the top of his head to his toes. Rolling his neck from side to side, he gazed out the window at the pedestrians. New Yorkers were a different breed of human. The citizens of the city had endured so much. They were able to withstand both domestic and extra-terrestrial attacks and continued to move forward. A little torrential downpour wasn't about to slow any of these pedestrians down. The crowd looked to be made entirely of umbrellas. Those without umbrellas were using anything they could get their hands on to cover their heads. Everyone except one person.
A slim figure caught Tony's eye. With a paper grocery sack in each arm, she braved the rain with a stubborn chin. She had to be soaked to the bone. The bags must have been heavy. Her stride never faltered. At least not until the bottom fell out of one of the bags. Tony watched her stumble and scramble to pick up everything as it rolled along the pavement.
"Oh that really sucks," Happy commented. He must have watched the whole scene too. Both men observed for another moment before Happy spoke again. "The rain only makes her hotter." Tony agreed that it was a fair assessment. The woman was extremely attractive. Her trench coat did little to hide her figure and while her hair was matted to her head it was long and full. Actually the longer he looked at her, the more Tony was certain he knew the woman. Something about what Happy said just struck a chord with him. The rain only makes her hotter.
Tony blinked. He was looking at Underoo's Aunt Hottie.
The pouring rain did not add to May Parker's exhaustion. If anything, it put a defiant streak in her stride. Rolling her eyes at the clouds, she lifted her chin slightly and on she trudged. Short of Peter getting hurt or injured, her day really couldn't get much worse. Her day began over twenty-four hours ago and wasn't over yet. Stifling a yawn, she adjusted the bags in her arms. They felt heavier than they actually were. These days everything felt heavier. Most mornings it took everything she had just to get out of bed. She lived on caffeine and stubbornness. There is no way she would let Peter see just how tough things were.
May wasn't delusional enough to believe Peter was entirely clueless. Without Ben's income, she couldn't make the mortgage payments. Not long after his death, she and Peter were forced to leave their home and move to a cheaper apartment. While May put on a brave face for her nephew, she also knew that he did the same for her. When she sold the extra furniture that wouldn't fit in the new apartment, Peter threw an arm around her shoulders and proclaimed that he never liked that dresser anyway. It had been his dresser. And bed frame. And night stand. The space in his new room was limited and he chose to keep the desk and downsize the bed. May didn't have the heart to tell him if he kept growing at the rate he currently was he wouldn't fit in the twin bed for much longer.
At least I won't have to shower when I get home, May mused. The rain had already soaked her hair and was running down her back. Her trench coat did little to protect the scrubs she was wearing. Not that it mattered, she snorted. Her sneakers and pants were saturated with water and starting to sag in an unflattering manner. Grumbling once more, she adjusted the bags once more when suddenly the weight left her right arm. Groceries scattered all over the sidewalk and pedestrians scurried about to avoid them. Dropping to her knees, she grabbed at whatever was close. A loaf of bread landed flat and didn't move but the fruit bounced away happily.
Cursing under her breath, she scrambled to get as much as she could before it rolled into traffic. If she could just get to the oranges, she would consider it a success. Baking eased some of her stress and she'd had her eye on an orange muffin recipe for some time now. As she reached for one that was about to roll off the curb, a car splashed by ruining what little composure she had. Sputtering and swiping the water from her face, she looked up in time to see the orange escape to the storm drain.
"Oh come on!" She threw the closest object she could find at the car, which just happened to be the other orange needed for the recipe. "This is just perfect. A perfect way to end a perfect day!"
Brushing her hair from her face, she struggled to pull herself together. The other grocery bag was still holding up for now but it was already stuffed to the brim. She couldn't fit all of her groceries in one bag. Some of it would have to stay behind. Thinking of what was needed for dinner that night, she started to rearrange the contents of the bag in her arms. She couldn't help but think this wouldn't be an issue if she still had a car.
May was dangerously close to crying when someone picked up the loaf of bread and handed it to her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned to say thank you only to find that the person helping her was none other than Tony Stark. For a moment, neither one said anything.
"Thank you," she took his offering and added it to the pile in her arms. May noticed that Tony was relatively dry. "You're getting all wet."
"It's a good thing I'm not made of sugar," he smirked and continued to help gather her groceries.
"Or the Wicked Witch of the West," she added and received a chuckle for her efforts. "It won't all fit in this bag."
"Oh, that's not a problem. We'll just put it in the car."
"What car?" May looked over to see a nicely polished black car with a driver behind the wheel. "Oh, I really couldn't impose. I'm drenched and the water will ruin your seats."
"They'll dry off," Tony shrugged her refusal off.
"You really don't have to go out of your way. I'm only a couple blocks from home."
"I'm already out of the car." He added, "And as you pointed out getting rained on. Come on, let's get out of here." Holding an armful of groceries on one side, he used his other hand to help her up. They quickly made their way to his car. May felt and heard her clothes squish as she slid across the leather seats to make room for him. The air conditioning sent a shiver down her spine and her clothes stuck to her body.
Adjusting her hair so the moisture would drip on her coat instead of the car seats, she let out a quiet sigh. "Thank you," she repeated. "The storm came out of nowhere."
"I should really be thanking you. Now I have a legitimate excuse to miss my morning meeting." He pushed a few buttons on the consol in from of them. May felt the air warm and if she wasn't mistaken her seat was warming up as well. "Introductions are in order. May Parker, this is my driver…"
"And bodyguard." The driver corrected.
"And former body guard, Happy. Happy this is Peter's aunt." May smiled at her nephew's name.
"It's nice to meet you, Happy. Peter has mentioned you. I think you've dropped him off at the apartment."
Tony intercepted before Happy could respond. "Oh yeah, you aren't the first Parker to ride in this car." That must have been the case because Happy knew how to get to her apartment. Even with the weather slowing traffic down more than usual, they arrived home in no time. May bit back a groan. The rain hadn't let up and she was starting to warm. She leaned forward to grab her remaining grocery bag only to find that it was already in Tony's arms. "Ready to make a run for it?" Before May could respond or come up with an excuse as to why he didn't need to help anymore, Tony opened the door and was back in the downpour. Scrambling to grab the remaining items, she threw another thank you over her shoulder to Happy and scooted out of the car. They moved as quickly as they could considering the sidewalk was slippery.
The door to the main entrance slammed shut behind them. May shook the rain from her trench coat. "I picked a heck of a day to miss the bus," she mused and pushed the button for the elevator.
"Why didn't you wait for the next one?" The elevator doors opened with a bing and the pair stepped in.
"It didn't start raining until after I decided to walk home. Will you miss your meeting? Or can you catch the end of it?" She fumbled for her keys and stepped out into the hallway.
"Nah," Tony shrugged. "It's not a big deal. They don't need me there anyway."
"Well, then, can I offer you a cup of coffee?" She slid the key into the lock and swiftly opened the door. "Happy can come up too if he'd like. Visitor parking is around back."
"He isn't a fan of coffee but I'll take a cup. Where do you want these?" He nodded down to the groceries in his arms.
"Oh, you can set them on the counter." She toed off her shoes at the door and hung her coat on a kitchen chair. The rain made her clothes cling to her body in all the right places. Tony turned to place the items on the kitchen counter. He stilled loved Pepper but it was hard not to notice a woman like May Parker. Natural beauty turned heads. She called his name and he turned in time to catch the towel she'd thrown at him. Pulling another from the laundry basket on the kitchen table, she threw it over her head and began to rub furiously. "I swear this placed looked halfway decent yesterday."
"Looks fine to me," Tony replied. He meant it too. There was some clutter here and there but he wouldn't say the apartment was dirty. To Tony, who was used to laboratories, the space was warm and lived in. The dishes in the sink and shoes in the hallway completed the picture.
"That boy, I swear," May rolled her eyes. "He can stay up late studying the Laws of Physics; but, his cereal bowls never make it to the dishwasher." She put said cereal bowl and a tupperware container in the dish washer. "At least he ate the leftovers for dinner last night. Sometimes he gets so wrapped up in what he's working on that he skips meals. And the rest of the time, he's eating me out of house and home."
"Sounds like he has his priorities straight to me," Tony charmed a laugh out of his protégé's aunt. She had a nice laugh.
"He really is something." She smiled fondly for a moment. "But don't tell him I said so. Wouldn't want it to go to his head."
"I completely agree. He doesn't know how to handle compliments. That's why I never give any." Tony joked.
"He gets that from his Uncle Ben." She started rifling through a cupboard. "Ben couldn't accept a compliment to save his life. He was such a humble man." Her voice trailed off and Tony sensed that mentally she wasn't in the kitchen anymore. Her hands stopped searching and dropped to her sides. After a moment, she blinked and shook her head slightly, as if to clear away the remnants of a memory. "Where is the coffee in this kitchen?" She mumbled. An awkward silence followed as May Parker realized Tony had heard what she said.
Spotting teabags in a canister on the counter, Tony changed the subject. "Actually, I'm already on my second pot of coffee. Something without caffeine would be great." May took the hint and grabbed the kettle off the stove. She turned her back to him while she filled the kettle with water. The task gave her a moment to collect herself.
There were moments when life, or more specifically the recent changes in her life, overwhelmed May. She kept a good handle on it the majority of the time. But every so often, like now, it caught her off guard. The grief of losing Ben and her old life, the life that she so loved, was always present. She likened it to swimming. She was a good swimmer; and, she had life preserves in her day-to-day, Peter being the most obvious one. Treading water was easy with Peter around. Her nephew had now lost three parental figures in his short life. Moving forward and taking care of him was the only option. They were all each other had. Peter would never admit it; but, he needed the stability. They both needed it. She needed to know what time he would be home from school just as much as he needed to know what time her shift at the hospital ended. Last night had thrown May for a loop. She'd had every intention of being home right after work last night until management had mandated her. It didn't happen often but when it did her whole schedule was out of sorts. So Peter had been alone last night and this morning. She hadn't seen her nephew in over twenty-four hours. She felt guilty. Which is why she stopped at the grocery store after work to pick up supplies to make lasagna, Peter's favorite. And because she stopped at the grocery store, she'd missed her bus. And because it was a cool, cloudy morning, she decided a nice walk would help her clear her head. And now she stood in the new kitchen, of her new apartment, in dripping wet clothes looking for coffee. And it was nowhere to be found. She knew where coffee was in the old kitchen; but, for the life of her she had no clue where it was in this kitchen.
In that moment, a tidal wave of emotion hit May Parker and sent her reeling. This shouldn't be her life. Eight months ago, the coffee would have been in the cabinet beside the coffee machine. The kitchen in this apartment was so small and counter space was limited. The toaster was out, which meant that Peter moved the coffee pot to make space. Regardless of where the coffee pot was, she had no idea where to look for the coffee. When Tony suggested tea instead, she nearly wept tears of joy. The tea was right where it was supposed to be. And now, she had spent so much time with her thoughts that water was overflowing from the kettle. It poured down the sides until May fumbled with the spigot. Pouring the excess out, she turn the stove on, set the kettle down to warm, and briefly wondered if Tony would notice, or care, if she slipped some Baileys into her drink. She needed to pull herself together. And change out of her soaked scrubs.
Pasting a fake smile on, she turned to her guest. "I'm going to find some warm clothes. You won't fit into anything of Peter's but I might have some bigger sweatshirts that you could change into."
Never had Tony seen someone look so lost in their own home before. She was putting up one hell of a fight and Tony briefly thought that he should excuse himself. Clearly, May had had a rough day and the last thing she needed to worry about was him. But he got the impression that leaving now would offend the Parker matriarch. He had helped her out and she felt the need to repay him with hospitality. Drinking a cup of tea with May Parker was hardly a task, let alone a burden. Tony just needed to make sure his presence didn't burden her. He could see that she needed a moment to compose herself. "Actually, the towel seems to be doing the trick. I'll just keep an eye on the water."
"Tea bags are on the counter. I shouldn't be long." She walked to the back of the apartment.
Tony considered putting the groceries away for her, and then quickly shot the idea down. She might not be able to find them later. On the other hand, it didn't seem like she knew where everything in the kitchen was anyway. He settled for looking around the kitchen as he towel dried his hair. Photographs littered the refrigerator. Professional school pictures of Peter through the years. Tony could practically see the boy growing up in these pictures. Snapshots of May with a man, Tony could only assume was her late husband. The same man was in other pictures with Peter too. A young Peter sat sandwiched between an attractive couple. The man in this picture wore glasses. The woman had a kind smile. It was Peter's smile. Tony felt something resembling sadness tug on his heart. This fridge told of happier times and the sadness that followed loss. A magnetic frog held a more recent picture. Peter and May laughing at each other while taking a selfie. Despite it all, they were making some more happy memories. The tea kettle whistled.
He turned the burner off and pulled a few tea bags from the canister on the counter. "I'll get that." May entered the room in dry clothes with her hair clipped high on her head. She pulled two mugs from another cupboard. Tony slid into a kitchen chair while she prepared the drinks and wondered if she had anything stronger to add to them.
"Peter mentioned that you two moved recently." He saw her back stiffen slightly and continued with his train of thought. "I wouldn't be able to tell. Looks like you've been here a while."
She relaxed slightly. "The clutter helps with that. I'm a bit of a packrat. The move forced me to downsize considerably but old habits die hard."
"If the fridge is any indication, I imagine you have things from the 80's in here." He motioned to the picture on the fridge. This picture featured a young May Parker with teased hair pulled back in a scrunchie.
"Oh my gosh," she rubbed her eyes. "That is Peter's favorite picture of me. Trust me; I've tried to get rid of it. It always finds a way out of the trash. I think I was in high school when that picture was taken. And now he's in high school, I can't believe it. Just yesterday, he was starting kindergarten." She was looking at one of the school pictures now. "He has to stop growing. Is there any way to stop that?"
"Not that I know of," Tony pondered lightly. "But you never know what people are researching these days."
"He's already taller than me and he hasn't stopped growing yet. He's going to hit another growth spurt; I just know it."
"Put a brick on his head?" Tony suggested.
"I was hoping you would have a special machine that would do the trick." She handed him a mug and joined him at the table.
"I can't say that I do. But I can look into it." Suddenly she hopped up and started rummaging through the fridge. "Forget something?"
"We can't have tea by itself. You liked my walnut date loaf, right?" Tony's stomach clenched at the memory. The tea was fine, but he couldn't pretend to like that particular snack again. "Or I have banana nut bread."
"That sounds perfect."
"I love to bake," She sliced each of them a piece. "That is the upside to living with a human garbage disposal. If the recipe doesn't turn out, he'll still eat it all."
"So your kitchen is your lab space?" May nodded.
"And my nephew is my guinea pig," she smirked. "I like to think he is compensated well."
Initially, Tony thought that 'guinea pig' was a pretty accurate description for someone willing to taste test May's baking. However after trying the banana nut bread on his plate, he considered volunteering to be the test subject. Clearly, May's walnut date loaf was not the norm. She must have noticed the pleasure on his face for she grinned broadly.
"Banana nut bread is my specialty. I'm surprised there is any left over. It normally doesn't last more than a couple days around here."
"If I baked, I would ask for the recipe." Tony quickly finished off his portion.
"If you baked, I wouldn't give it to you." May rose to bring the rest of the bread to the table. "It's my Nana's secret recipe. One of these days, I'm hoping to get Peter into baking and pass the secret along. Help yourself. I'm trying a new muffin recipe tonight. I'll have Peter bring you some the next time… shoot!" She groaned and rubbed at her eyes.
"You don't have to do that," Tony wondered if she felt stressed at the idea of having someone else to bake for.
"No, it's not that. I lost the oranges earlier. I need those to make the muffins."
"Are you sure they aren't in the bag? I thought we got everything."
May shook her head and sipped her tea before answering. "No, they're gone. One went down the gutter and I threw the other one at a car."
"Oh, is that what you threw?" Tony smirked. "You have one hell of an arm, May Parker."
"Yes, I do. Who do you think taught Peter how to play baseball?"
Tony's eyebrows rose at the comment. "He can play baseball?"
"Let me rephrase that," May corrected herself. "I attempted to teach Peter to play. Poor kid has no hand eye coordination. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bat."
Tony helped himself to more bread and tried to hide a smile. If May thought Peter wasn't athletic, that spider bite must have done wonders for Peter's reflexes.
"Of course, he gets it naturally. The Parkers weren't blessed with athleticism. Ben was probably the most athletic and even that is a stretch." She chuckled and smiled to herself.
"What were they like?" Tony nodded to the picture of Peter sitting between his parents. May followed his gesture to the fridge and stood up to retrieve the picture.
"This was taken a couple of weeks before they died." She spoke softly. "They were good people, Tony. Nice. Genuine. And just brilliant. Richard was so intelligent it was intimidating. But he didn't have an ego about it. I didn't know much about his research, but I know he was climbing the ladder at work. Quickly. It seemed like every experiment he conducted was published. I'm not sure if that's normal or not."
"It isn't." Tony said.
"I didn't think so. He didn't talk much about his work. Richard was good about keeping his work and home life separate. They were great parents. On the other hand, Peter makes it easy." She smiled sadly and tapped the edge of the photo on the table. "They were a good team."
"Seems like you two make a pretty good team," Tony added, hoping to steer the conversation away from anything too sad.
Her smile brightened considerably. "We really do. I'm lucky. I may be the only parent in the city who doesn't have to deal with teenage attitude."
"That is always a bonus. I had it in spades."
"I can see that," May teased. "You would have given me gray hair."
Tony scoffed. "Are you kidding me? That hair will never gray." He pointed again to the picture of her with teased hair.
"That picture will haunt me forever." May shook her head and moved to unpack the soggy groceries. Tony noticed that she had a system for stocking her kitchen and left the majority of the food out on the counter. Realizing that she was being watched, May explained. "I should start the sauce for dinner now. The longer it simmers; the better it tastes."
Tony marveled at her stamina. If he had worked through the night, making dinner would be the last thing on his mind. May, on the other hand, was coming alive. As she began to mix ingredients together, her back and shoulders perked up. Her voice became a little more animated and she laughed freely. Her domain was a kitchen just as much as his was a laboratory.
Outside, the rain continued to assault the ground. Every so often a strong wind would splash water up the windows. The dreary weather made May's kitchen even homier than it already was. Tony found himself kicking back and relaxing for the first time in weeks. They continued the conversation while May cooked. The topic never strayed to anything too serious. As they chatted, Tony could see how life in this apartment unfolded on a daily basis. It didn't take much imagination to see that the Parkers enjoyed each other's company. There was no television in the kitchen. He didn't doubt they actually discussed their days while eating dinner. Tony mused that May was the type of parent who genuinely took in interest in her child's interest and attempted to keep up. He wondered how often dinner was spent discussing physics or biology.
While navigating the kitchen, May was on autopilot. She taste tested the sauce multiple times, adding a dash of this or that before deciding it was just right. Then she moved back to the table to fold towels while the sauce simmered. Before he knew it, the kitchen was completely spotless and the entire apartment smelled like heaven. Tony glanced at his watch to find that he had been there for almost two hours. Now that May didn't have a task to complete, she was starting to lose steam. It was time for him to take his leave.
"Well, I would love to stay longer but I'm sure I have a pile of work waiting for me." He put his dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.
"Thank you again for your help." May smiled. "If you need a break from all that work, you're welcome to come back for dinner."
The offer was very tempting. He hadn't had a home cooked meal since he and Pepper split. But Tony knew that tonight was a Parker family dinner night. He could see how excited May was to spend time with her nephew tonight. There was no way he would intrude on that. "I will keep that in mind." He returned the smile. "Tell that nephew of yours to take the night off. I'll give him a call when I have the next project up and running."
Tony waved and threw one last smile over his shoulder as he closed the front door. May locked the door behind him, yawned deeply, and thought that the only thing she wanted more than a nap was a shower. Ten minutes later, she was clean and in comfortable clothes. Snagging a blanket from the basket in the corner, she curled up on the couch.
Hours later, her nephew woke her.
"You made lasagna!" The door almost bounced off the wall. May sat up from her place on the couch, her heart jumping in her chest. Peter winced slightly. "Sorry! I should have known you'd be sleeping. Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay," she rubbed her eyes and checked the time. It was time to start putting dinner together. "How did you know I was making lasagna?"
"Are you kidding me? It smells fantastic! I could smell it from down the street." His voice squeaked with excitement.
"All the way down the street?" May laughed at her nephew's enthusiasm.
"Uh, well, maybe not that far." Peter stumbled over his words. "But definitely from the end of the hall. You didn't have to do that. You must be dead after work last night."
"I wanted to. It's been a while since I made it."
"And you feel guilty," Peter toed off his shoes and threw a wink at his aunt.
"And I feel guilty," May admitted. Standing up, she moved to the kitchen. "It's not right for you to come home to an empty house."
"Hey, I'm resourceful," Peter pretended to be hurt by his aunt's words. "I didn't starve. Even made it to school on time."
"In clean clothes?" May played along with her nephew's antics. Lifting the lid on the stock pot, she looked to see how her sauce was coming along.
Peter pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck and sniffed deeply. "Close enough."
"Punk," May laughed. She reached out to swat him with the wooden spoon she had in her hand. Peter easily dodged her.
"Why don't you go back to sleep?" Peter suggested. With a hop, he got situated on the countertop. "I can put the lasagna together."
"If I nap anymore, I won't sleep tonight. But thanks for the offer." She pulled a large pot from a cabinet and filled it with water. "Do you have any homework?"
"A little bit," Peter said. "It shouldn't take me too long."
"Why don't you finish that up before dinner and then maybe we can have a movie night?" May suggested.
"Okay!" Peter slid off the counter. He was peeling the skin off of an orange. May blinked. She could have sworn they were out of oranges.
"Hey, where did you get that orange?"
"In the bag," he pointed to the brown paper bag sitting on the kitchen table.
"Where did that come from?"
"It was sitting outside the door. You must have forgotten to bring it in." Peter shrugged. "I could have stopped at the store on my way home. Are you sure you don't want me to finish up dinner?"
Confused, May opened the top of the bag to see at least fifteen oranges. "No, that's okay sweetie. Work on your homework." She heard Peter shuffle off to his room and the door close. May ran her fingers gently over the fruit and smiled softly. She spotted a note sticking out from between two oranges.
I wasn't sure how many you needed.
The warmth from Tony's kind gesture spread from May's chest to her finger tips. Picking out two oranges at random, she shouted down the hallway. "How about orange muffins for breakfast?"
"Orange muffins?"
"Yeah, I found a new recipe on Pinterest."
"Sounds great!"
May had to agree with her nephew. It really did sound great.