Sammy & Ilna, you make every day a dance in the rain. Thank you!
REALMcRollers & Readers, your enthusiasm for REAL Steve & Catherine brings us such joy. Thank you, as always.
It's Sammy's wedding anniversary today so you get another one from me this week. I offered to switch so she can get away for the weekend. Happy Anniversary, Sammy!
Dancing in the Rain
Steve crept into the room out of his daughter's line of sight when Catherine signaled him to approach quietly. Angie wasn't napping, she was seated in her highchair in the kitchen, facing her mommy. Head down over the tray, she was concentrating as her father moved towards the refrigerator so he could get a better look and not distract the baby from whatever Catherine gestured she wanted him to see.
At just that moment, Angie lifted her hands and squealed, "Ahhhh! MAMA!" while bouncing in the seat. Even as Catherine clapped and said, "good job, sweetheart," the baby's exuberance caused her to lose her grip on the the individual, cheerio-sized, puff snack she'd lifted using her thumb and forefinger and it launched towards her mommy, who laughed and caught it on the fly.
Steve froze, wanting to watch the scene play out. To see how their daughter would react, but she spotted him and said, "Dada! Da da da da Dada!" with grabby hands and he was powerless to resist.
Approaching the baby and kissing her until she giggled, he took a seat next to his wife and smiled proudly.
"You saw her right?" Catherine was beaming.
"Daddy saw you!" He nodded and leaned in to kiss the little cheek once more.
"She was picking up each puff individually," Catherine practically gushed. "She's getting so dexterous, aren't you, sweetie? You're picking things up like a big girl."
"Mama!" Angie bounced in place again, legs kicking out. She carefully and with great concentration, picked up a puff and tossed it off the tray to where Cammie, ever vigilant, glanced at Steve and Catherine, then the discarded food.
"Okay, you can have it," Catherine said with a nod, and the large dog made quick work of the unexpected treat.
Steve chuckled. "And so it begins. Aaron's dad told me their dog was ecstatic whenever they put Alyssa in her highchair. He figured out pretty quick that babies drop a lot of food." He ran a hand over Cammie's head and patted her shoulder. "And you're definitely smart enough to have a bead on that, aren't you?" He was rewarded with a huff and lick to his hand just as Angie began to communicate she was done with her snack and wanted out of her chair.
"Okay, beautiful, how about we take a walk on the beach while it's not too hot?" He said as he grabbed the wipe Catherine was holding out and cleaned the little hands before a quick swipe over Angie's mouth earned him a frown of protest. Lifting her from the seat, he shook his head. "Just like Joanie." He looked at Catherine. "Are we ready?"
She nodded, turning from where she'd moved to the sink to wash her hands. "All ready to go." She clapped and Angie followed suit from her daddy's arms. "Right? Tell Daddy, 'we're all ready to walk on the beach!' "
"Woof!" Cammie pranced in a circle and headed for the door.
Caaa eeee!"
"Yes, Cammie's ready, too!" She grabbed the leash from it's peg and told Steve, "That's a fresh diaper and Esther said she took a nice long nap this afternoon."
He bounced Angie and she waved her arms before clapping both hands against his cheeks. "Dada."
"Okay, then, let's get this mission underway."
Walking along the tide line, Catherine clipped on Cammie's leash as they reached the end of their property and the dog happily fell in step next to her humans. Steve had forgone the baby carrier and simply held Angie, pointing out different things as they walked. A shell here, a bird swooping down for a fish, a pod of dolphins.
Watching him explain each little thing to their daughter filled Catherine with a warmth that bubbled over. Placing a hand on his arm to stop him, she reached up and pecked his lips when he turned to face her.
He grinned. "Not that you ever need a reason, but what was that for?"
She shrugged. "Just because I love you." She looked at Angie and Cammie. "All of you."
Steve placed an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. "We all love you. Right Angie? We love Mommy."
"Mama," she said and grinned before several white terns caught her attention and her eyes followed them out over the ocean. "Mama! Dada!" She bounced in Steve's arms as the striking white birds swooped towards the water.
Steve beamed. "We see them, Angie. Those are Manu-o-Kū." he turned to Catherine said, "She wants to make sure we see them, how brilliant is that?" With a nod before pointing for the baby and telling her, "Those birds can change speed and hover in the air, so people call them fairy terns."
"Ahhhh eeee caaa eeee," Angie said and bounced again.
Cammie, knowing the littlest human was addressing her, did a little whirling dance and woofed in response.
"Cammie sees the pretty birds, too, baby," Catherine took Angie's hand and kissed it. "You're so smart. Who's Mommy's smart girl?"
"And so curious. Did you see how she watched the dolphins 'til they were out of sight?" With a broad smile and a kiss to Angie's temple, the little family continued their stroll along the shore.
When they were about a mile and a half into their walk, Cammie's ears perked as the wind changed. The clear early evening sky was suddenly fraught with clouds, and the dog circled them as a unit, bumping gently against Steve's legs. They shared a look, both turning towards the beach house as Catherine said, "Okay, pretty girl, let's get home."
Luckily, the rain that began when they were just a few minutes from home was a summer shower as opposed to a storm. By the time they reached their beach, all were wet and Angie was giggling as she bounced in his arms while Steve double-timed it to the house.
Once they were on the deck they slowed, noticing Angie was still giggling as she looked up at the rain, blinked and swiped at her face. Her tongue peeked out, much like Catherine's when she smiled, and when Steve handed her off and shook his wet hair like Cammie, new peals of laughter rang out across their beach above the sound of the sound and gentle, warm rain.
"She likes the rain." He grinned. "Look at you, Angie." He tickled her tummy and she laughed harder.
"She's your daughter, she loves water in every form," Catherine returned his smile and held the baby's hand out to feel the drops. When Angie began to bop up and down, she kissed her cheek and began to dance, her daughter firmly in her arms. "Are you dancing? Look at you dancing in the rain, my silly girl."
In no rush to take her away from the new experience she was clearly enjoying, Catherine began to sing what she remembered of a song from the old film she'd seen several time with Grandma Ang.
"I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
La la la la la
I don't know these words
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love...
Keeping with the tune, but replacing rest of the forgotten words with "la, la la la" she continued to dance around the deck with the baby as Cammie pranced and shook her coat, sending more droplets flying.
Steve moved closer, wrapped them both in an embrace and with a hand on his daughter's head, leaned down to kiss his wife while their dog woofed excitedly. He wanted nothing more than for Angie to have a lifetime of happy moments, big ones, and more importantly, little ones like this.
Just then, his phone rang and looking at the screen, he swiped and said, "Hey, Gracie!" as he and Catherine shared a smile and moved into the house.
"Hi, Uncle Steve, do you have a second? I just want to ask you a quick question …"
Steve looked around the kitchen. The renovated kitchen he and Catherine created together. The one in which she'd just fastened a clean diaper on Angie and was wrapping their smiling daughter in a warm blanket, grinning as her own hair and clothes dripped with water. The one where their dog was lapping up a drink as the humans stood in rain puddles on the floor. In the place Catherine had transformed from a house to a home.
His niece's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "Awww somebody's having lots of fun, I can hear Angie laughing. What's my adorable cousin doing, playing peekaboo?"
He smiled broadly at Catherine and answered with a chuckle born of pure joy, "Actually, she was dancing in the rain."
# End. Thanks for reading!
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