Notes: Mari and Sammy – Thanks for the fantastic feedback and support, always right when I need it.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for the fantastic feedback as well. Every word is appreciated!
Hope you enjoy!
Memory Lane (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Steve was already smiling when he opened the door and stepped into the house. Catherine turned from the back windows where she was standing with Angie against her shoulder, looking out at the backyard and water beyond, and smiled broadly.
"There he is," she said. "Look, honey, Daddy's home."
He greeted Cammie, then walked through the living room to meet them, grabbing a bit of hand sanitizer from one of the strategically-placed bottles.
"Fast as I could," he said, pausing long enough to give Catherine a quick kiss before placing a gentle hand with hers on Angie's back. "Wanted to get home while you were still awake, Angie." He kissed her head, smiling as she burbled and her eyes followed him.
"She just ate so she should be up for at least a little bit."
"I had a thought on the way home," he said. "It's a nice night, do you want to take a walk? Just a short one around the neighborhood. She'll probably fall asleep but at least she won't get hungry."
Catherine smiled. "I think it's a great idea. And I know Cammie agrees." She grinned down at the happy dog whose tail was now wagging in anticipation. Looking at the baby, she asked, "What do you think, huh? Do you want to see where you live? You couldn't ask for a better tour guide," she added with a smile at Steve.
While he stowed his weapon and badge, Catherine checked Angie's diaper at the changing table of the Pack and Play unit. Steve returned, wearable baby carrier in hand.
Catherine, holding Angie once again, smiled. "I was just going to ask if you wanted to try that out. Here," she said, passing him the baby once he'd set the carrier down on coffee table. "I'll get Cammie ready and grab a couple things just in case."
"All right. We can figure this thing out, right, Angie?" He smiled at the baby on his chest.
"Come on, pretty girl," Catherine said, leading Cammie away.
Steve used one hand to grab the infant insert that would give the baby more support inside the carrier and put it on the napper station of the Pack and Play before carefully laying Angie on top of it.
"Okay," he said, addressing her as he picked up the ergonomic carrier that had been extensively researched before making the final cut. "I watched the video a few times. This thing has as many straps and clips as tactical gear so once you're in, you're in." He attached the waistband clip, then swung the carrier around to center it on his body and tightened the strap.
"What do you think?" he asked, the carrier hanging down in front of his legs. "Good look, huh?" He stepped over to Angie. "Now it's your turn." He adjusted her position on the infant insert and attached the swaddle strap across her middle to keep it in place. "You ready for this?" he asked while checking to make sure her arms were comfortable. "Let's do it. Here we go," he said, lifting her and placing her against his torso.
Holding her with one hand, he checked that her legs were in a frog-legged position and pulled the carrier up and over her back. He switched hands a couple times to check that she was in the right position, then slid the straps over his shoulders and reached back to fasten the clip between them.
"How we doing?" he asked her. "Okay?" He tightened the shoulder straps, then reached in to unclip the swaddle strap and adjusted the insert, fastening the side straps in place. He adjusted the insert one more time, making sure it was fully supporting her legs, then folded the top back to provide more support for her head.
He ran through the checklist he'd memorized from the video, checking Angie carefully as he recited each one. "Legs in frog-legged position. Thighs supported. Back curved. Head and neck supported. Airway clear." He kissed her head and smiled at her. "I think we're about ready."
"Well, look at you two" Catherine said with a grin, returning with Cammie on her leash and a drawstring bag in hand. "That was fast."
"Piece of cake, right, Angie?"
"How many times did you watch the video?" Catherine asked knowingly.
"Four," Steve said, unabashed.
Catherine smiled and placed a hat on Angie's head. "It's overcast, but just in case. This one doesn't have a wide brim, so we'll still be able to see her and make sure she's okay."
He nodded.
Catherine grabbed a burp cloth from the Pack and Play, stowing it in the bag along with a few other practicalities before slinging it over her back. She adjusted her grip on Cammie's leash, then placed a hand on the carrier over Angie's back and smiled at Steve. "Ready?"
"Let's do it. Operation: Walk Around the Block is a go."
Steve kept one arm around Angie in the carrier as they walked, holding Catherine's free hand with the other. Cammie trotted a few paces ahead.
As they passed Frank and Kathy Kayama's house, Steve said, "I remember going on walks around the block with my dad, Mary in her stroller."
Catherine smiled. "Did you want to push her? I know a lot of older siblings do."
"No, I wanted to walk a few steps ahead so I could keep an eye on her."
"Of course," she said, grinning.
"Dad would talk about different people who had lived in the neighborhood over the years." He smiled slowly, looking down at Angie, and decided to do the same. He nodded to a house across the street. "The Simons lived there. Two brothers around my age. I remember this one time they got locked out and we managed to jimmy open the laundry room window. Bobby, the younger brother, was the only one small enough to fit through so we hoisted him up and inside. His shirt got caught on a nail and tore a big hole in it, but luckily he got his hands down so he didn't land on his head." He smiled down at Angie. "Shh, pretend you didn't hear that."
Catherine grinned.
"And the Hayamas were two doors down from them," Steve continued. "I used to cut through their backyard to beat Michael when we'd race on our paper routes. Nice older couple, they didn't mind. But I did some yard work for them to make up for it."
Catherine smiled at that, squeezing his his fingers.
They paused while Cammie sniffed around the base of a tree, and Catherine released Steve's hand.
"Thorntons used to live here," Steve said, nodding at the house.
Catherine's brow knit and she brushed her hair back. "I know that name …" She thought a moment. "Wasn't that the girl whose kitten you rescued out of a tree?"
He chuckled. "Yep, Becky Thornton, and that's the tree."
She grinned broadly. "Did you hear that, Angie? Daddy's been performing rescues since he was a kid."
"Any excuse to climb a tree," he said with a shrug, but Catherine smiled, knowing it was about more than climbing, even when he was young.
Steve ran his hand up and down Angie's back and nodded across the road. "Your Aunt Mary's piano teacher lived down that street. I had to walk her to and from her lessons once a week. Sometimes Mrs. B would bake so we'd get a couple warm cookies to eat on the walk home. The cinnamon ones."
"Snickerdoodles?"
"Yeah, snickerdoodles." He grinned. "That was the name of her dog, too. I used to play with him in the backyard while Mary was inside."
Catherine smiled at him and addressed Angie. "Just like you're going to play with your doggie in your backyard, sweetheart."
"And that's where the guy who dressed up in a gorilla suit to scare kids at Halloween lived," Steve said, pointing to a house further down the street. "Used to hide right in those bushes. Got Mary every time."
"He doesn't live there anymore, honey," Catherine said to Angie. "So you don't have to worry about being scared."
"She wouldn't be scared, would you, Angie?" he said, smiling down at her.
"But even if she was, she'd have Mommy and Daddy there for backup."
"Always," he said earnestly, hand cupping Angie's head as he pressed a kiss to it through her hat. He smiled softly, looking around. "It was a nice neighborhood to grow up in," he said quietly.
He paused as thoughts of his interrupted adolescence inevitably surfaced, and Catherine slid her free hand along his back above the carrier waistband supportively.
But his eyes didn't cloud over as they once would have. He smiled at Catherine and looked down at Angie. "And still is."
She smiled at him and laced their fingers together again. "It certainly is." She nodded to the baby. "Is she asleep?"
He smiled, looking down at Angie nestled peacefully against his chest. "Oh yeah, she's totally out. I think she probably missed most of this walk down memory lane."
"It's okay," Catherine said, smiling softly and tightening her fingers around his. "It's only the first of many."
Hope you enjoyed!
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