Sammy & Ilna thank you as always for being the best of everything, especially friends.
REALMcRollers and Readers thank you all! Xoxo
This one's for my Uncle Jidge And Aunt Sookie who always celebrated my accomplishments. I miss and love you both. Every day.
We Did
The screen flickered to life revealing Joan's excited expression and wide open blue eyes. "Aunt Cath, Uncle Steeeeeve!" She waved frantically. "Cousin Angie, guess what!?"
The enthusiasm was ratcheted up a few notches even for Joan, causing Catherine and Steve to share a smile and Angie to squeal "Hiiiiii!" While waving with both hands.
"What, sweetie?" Catherine asked, while securing Angie who was leaning as far forward on her lap as possible.
"I won a prize!" She exclaimed while thrusting a sparkly blue ribbon at the screen.
"Congratulations, Joanie!" Steve's smile grew at the look of pride on his sister and brother in law's faces as they sat on either side of their daughter, who'd popped off the sofa, sat again and then stood once more.
"Tell them what you won for, pumpkin," Aaron prompted.
"I won for the best poster!" She was a bit breathless as she turned to point to the poster Mary had lifted from the side table to display. Pointing to the figures on the poster board, Joan explained who each one was.
"See, that's Daddy," she said of the man she'd drawn with brown hair and a huge smile under the applied letters My Family that had been colored in bright magenta. The pre-written descriptors on the perimeter of the poster included blank spaces for children to describe their drawings. "And that's Mama," she pointed, indicating the illustration of Mary that included a dress colored in with a red glitter pen and gold yarn for hair.
"And there you are," Catherine pointed to the third figure that had bright yellow pigtails and a blue gown.
"In your Frozen dress." Steve smiled at his sister when Joan nodded happily.
The figures featured fill in the blank statements and the kindergartner's careful printing was visible but unreadable via the image on the tablet.
"Can you read what you wrote for Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath?" Mary said as she pointed to the first block of printing. "Here, I'll start the first parts and you tell them your answers."
Joan gave a little hop and read out loud after Mary read, "My daddy is …"
"My daddy is fun and smart and strong and he works on the computer and likes to play games and we laugh lots and we ride bikes. He is the best daddy ever."
Aaron's smile was literally ear to ear, and Mary continued, "My Mama is…"
Joan read her printed words, "Mama is kind and nice and so smart she goes to college and work and she takes care of me and smells real good and is very pretty. My mama is awesome." She grinned at the screen. "Miz Andrea helped me write the big words."
"And you did a great job," Catherine clapped around Angie and the toddler clapped as well.
"Read the rest, peanut," Mary tapped the poster. "My favorite things are…
"Pink stuff and Disney princesses and my family and movie nights with Mama and Daddy and the library and playing games with Gramma and Grandpa and seeing Aunt Deb and going to visit my cousin Angie and Aunt Cath and Uncle Steve and Cammie in Oahu, Hawaii, USA."
The adults smiled at the full description of the beach house's location as Aaron took up the reading. "The rest of my family…" and Joan finished with, "Is in Los Angeles and in Hawaii and in New Jersey. I got a big family."
Joan took a little bow and her parents clapped while wearing huge smiles.
"That was amazing, sweetie, we are so proud of you!" Catherine gushed.
Steve was beaming even as he kissed Catherine's temple. "We even got billing … after Angie, of course."
Mary laughed out loud as she pulled Joan into a hug. "What did I tell Angie when she was born? She was gonna be her cousin's favorite person ever. Was I not right?"
"You were right," Steve agreed, his teasing look belied by the happy smile he couldn't suppress.
"We're goin' for ice cream with Gramma Sue and Grandpa Ramon and Aunt Deb tomorrow to cel-brate!"
"Wow, that sounds like fun," Catherine said as Angie reached for the screen.
"Noni, ahh ba dee ouse keem!" The toddler announced and everyone laughed.
"I'll have ice cream with you next time we come to your house," Joan promised.
Angie wriggled to get down and stepping around Cammie, picked up her stuffed Aardvark to show her cousin. "Noni, see?" She said as she walked up to the screen.
"I see! We can play with your toys when I'm there, too."
"Yay!" The little arms rose with her exclamation. Turning to look at her parents, Angie confirmed, "Noni he'we?"
Scooping her onto his lap, Steve kissed her cheek. "Over the summer, baby girl."
Catherine pointed to the family and said, "Can you say, hurry up and visit, Aunt Mary and Uncle Aaron so I can play with Joan?"
Still clutching the aardvark, Angie smiled and nodded. "Ahh ba de Noni ah zeet May-ee Aawon!"
Aaron's joyful expression was lost on no one. "She said Aawon," he pointed out.
Joan turned to look at her father and grinned, "Cousin Angie said she wants us to come visit, Daddy!"
"I know, pumpkin, but I meant …" Leaning forward, he kissed his daughter's head. "You used to say my name like that when you were very little."
"I did?" The soon to be first grader looked at her mother for confirmation.
"You did. And it was just as cute, believe me." Mary said with a squeeze of Aaron's hand.
Steve and his sister shared a look, both remembering Joan's 'I want Aawon' at the wedding, just before he went to carry their suddenly intimidated little girl down the aisle. Practically every guest within earshot of the child's soft request had mentioned the sweetness of the bond between the two and had told either Mary or Steve, who'd both been too far away at the altar to hear.
When each sibling bent to kiss their respective daughters and looked up, Steve shook his head slightly as Mary nodded, almost in disbelief.
"Look at us, big brother, who'd have thought?"
As Catherine gestured between the next generation of McGarretts, she and Aaron exchanged a knowing glance. Moving a hand to gently squeeze Steve's bicep, she leaned in to kiss his cheek.
Including her brother in law in her statement, she said, "We did." with a soft and contented smile.
# End. Thanks for reading!
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