Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more.
Special thanks to Ilna for the help in hammering out the story idea.
REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best.
Ease of Entry (1/1)
Steve and Joseph stood back and studied their handiwork carefully. On the wall in front of them hung a series of paper templates representing the various items that would eventually make up Angie's amazing activity wall. They'd spent the entire morning arranging and rearranging the various activities in ways that Angie could engage with immediately while also leaving plenty of room for expansion as she grew.
"I talked to Aouli Kaleigh at the zoo yesterday when Elizabeth and I went to that get together with our hiking club," Joseph said. "I asked him about possibly getting some recordings of real animal sounds to use on the wall and he said he'd be happy to help."
"That sounds great." Steve smiled. "The more authentic the better. Angie is just starting to notice buttons and she loves to push them. So, I was thinking we put a button beside each animal picture and when she pushes it she gets the sound."
"You might get sick of the sound of one certain animal," Joseph warned. "When Catherine was little she loved to hear the sound of sheep. When she was three or four she figured out how to make her See 'n Say see land on the same animal every time." He smiled softly at the memory. "I was at sea then, but it nearly drove Elizabeth crazy."
Steve grinned at the thought of toddler Catherine working out how to make her toys do exactly what she wanted them to do. "Maybe we should think about installing a kill switch for the sounds."
"Not necessarily a bad idea," Joseph nodded. "Oh, and I almost forgot, I stopped at Home Depot to check on the acrylic sheets to make the puzzle panels with. They don't have the colors we talked about in stock, but they can order them."
Steve stepped forward and adjusted the paper representing one of the wall's mirrors slightly. "We definitely need the bright colors."
"That's what I think too," Joseph replied.
He picked up his legal pad and made a note to order the panels soon since they'd likely take a week or two to arrive. As he looked from the yellow pages filled with notes and diagrams to the carefully measured templates he'd spent the previous day cutting out taped on the wall, he hesitated. He'd been more than happy to take on the lion's share of the prep work for the project since he knew how busy Steve and Catherine were, but it occurred to him he might be doing too much.
He cleared his throat.
"I think it might be time for me to check in with you and make sure I'm not going out of bounds here." He flipped through the pages of his legal pad. "It occurs to me I may have gotten a little overzealous. If I'm doing too much, please feel free to tell me to back off."
Steve's eyebrows knit together with confusion. "Why would I want you to back off?"
"I've gotten very caught up in the planning," Joseph admitted. "I just thought maybe I might be overstepping."
"You're not," Steve assured him. "You want Angie's wall to be perfect just like I do. I'm happy to have your input."
"Ok, but if I start invading your space in any way you'll let me know, right?"
Steve cocked an eyebrow at his father-in-law. "Haven't we had this conversation before?"
Flashback
Late August 2017
"How long were they sitting on the porch?" Steve grimaced as he set the table for dinner.
"A little over an hour apparently. I can't believe we got our wires crossed so badly." Catherine had been upset since returning from grocery shopping earlier in the day to find her parents sweltering on the front porch. "I could have sworn they said they'd stop by around 2:00 but apparently they said 'noon'." She sighed. "At least Grandma Ang wasn't with them. That's a silver lining."
"Why didn't they call me?" Steve said. "I would have come let them in."
"They said they didn't want to bother you at work."
Steve scoffed. "That's ridiculous. I mean obviously there would be times I couldn't get away, but I was in the office all day today. I would have come right over."
Catherine squeezed his forearm. "I know you would have."
"I hope this isn't because … " Steve placed the napkins on the table then put his hands on his hips.
"What?" Catherine asked softly.
"When your dad and I went to lunch, the first time he told me they were relocating to the island, he was worried I wouldn't like the idea of having them so close," Steve said. "Then later on that night your mom asked me the same thing."
Catherine's heart clutched slightly at the look of insecurity she saw in his eyes.
"Have I done something to make them think I wouldn't want them here?" Steve asked.
Catherine moved quickly to his side and wrapped him in a tight hug. After a few seconds she pulled back and locked eyes with him. "Absolutely not. You've been amazing. They just want to make sure we don't feel pressured to include them in things or like they're around too much."
Steve left his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. "I like having your parents and your grandmother around."
"I do too," she smiled.
Steve's eyes sparkled. "I think I know a way we can convince them they're welcome here anytime."
"What do have in mind, Commander?"
"You'll see." He kissed her forehead. "Soon, in fact. I asked them to come over for dessert."
Two hours later Joseph, Elizabeth, Steve and Catherine sat in the living room enjoying fresh strawberry torte and coffee. Angie slept peacefully in her Newborn Napper across the room, Cammie on guard right beside her.
"I'm sorry Grandma Ang couldn't make it," Steve said.
"She said to send her regrets, but she had a big day out with the senior group from the complex and she was exhausted. She decided to go to bed early," Elizabeth said. "Turns out I didn't need to worry about her adjusting to life in Hawaii. She's got a full social calendar. Today they went to the Botanical Gardens and then had a picnic."
"Sounds like fun," Catherine said sincerely. "More fun than sitting on the porch on the hottest day of the year," she added apologetically.
"We told you that was our fault," Elizabeth insisted. "Don't worry about it at all."
"We should have double checked the time with you before we left the house," Joseph suggested.
"I could have sworn we agreed on 2:00." Catherine shook her head. "I must still have a touch of the mommy brain."
"No worries." Elizabeth took a sip of coffee. "If it happens again we'll just leave a note and go back to the condo."
"It won't happen again," Steve said confidently. He reached behind his back, pulled out a small, flat box he'd hidden earlier and held it out towards his in-laws.
"What's this?" Joseph asked.
Steve picked up his fork. "One way to find out."
Joseph and Elizabeth looked at Catherine who shrugged, making it clear she was as in the dark as they were. After a quick glance at her husband Elizabeth removed the lid.
"Keys." She lifted the small silver ring that held three keys out of the box and looked quizzically at the small card beneath them with a carefully written string of numbers. And … ?" She looked at Steve.
"The alarm code," he smiled. "There's a key there for both of you and one for Grandma Ang. That way you can let yourselves in whether we're here or not. We want you to feel welcome in this house," he said earnestly. "You can stop by whenever you want."
Elizabeth and Joseph had both worried that Steve might feel crowded by their presence on the island full time but the open and sincere look on his face allayed their concerns. He wasn't just saying he was happy to have them around more, he meant it.
Catherine squeezed Steve's knee.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said. "This means a lot to us."
"Having you around means a lot to us," Steve smiled.
Joseph pointed to the two large shopping bags on the coffee table holding gifts for Angie. "You have to promise to let us know if it all gets to be too much though," he smiled.
"I will," Steve promised.
Joseph nodded. "I just wanted to check in and make sure you still feel the same way."
Steve smirked. "I haven't changed the alarm code, have I?"
Joseph bark laughed. "No, you have not."
Catherine entered the room carrying a just awakened Angie. "We came in to say hi and make sure you haven't done anything too extreme like add a water feature."
Angie kicked her feet. "Dada."
Steve lifted into his arms and kissed her cheek. "No, we haven't added … " his voice trailed off as he looked at Joseph. He tilted his head slightly. "But if we built a closed system and a filter to make sure the water stays fresh … "
"I'll do some research," Joseph said excitedly. "I'll have a schematic drawn up by Monday."
THE END
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