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Playing for Second (1/1)

"Uncle Steve, we're going to the ball," Joan announced with a sweeping arm gesture towards Angie, Kaitlyn and Jacob who stood a few feet behind her.

She and Kaitlyn were wearing flowing dresses from the 'let's play pretend' box along with strings of beads and sparkly play heels. Joan had a tiara perched on her head while Kaitlyn had chosen a crown of flowers. Jacob was wearing one of Steve's old ties and a bright red jacket with gold epaulets. They looked every bit the standard dress up prince and princesses.

And then there was Angie.

Standing in the middle of the group with a smile that could light up the whole neighborhood. Dressed in a cammo shirt and pants, the boots Carrie bought her, play makeup under her eyes like eye black with both a crown of flowers and a tiara on her head.

Danny and Joseph pulled out their phones to take pictures. They sent a few snaps to Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth, Gabby, Grace and Jenna who were enjoying a day at the salon.

"Well you all certainly look ready for a big night out." Steve smiled. He couldn't believe Angie, who usually wouldn't stand for anything on her head, was happily tolerating not one but two pieces of headwear. He leaned over and tickled his daughter's tummy. "Even my little cammo princess here."

"Not all princesses have to look the same," Joan reminded him.

"You're absolutely right." The pride on Steve's face was unmistakable. He loved that Joan was growing into a strong, independent young woman with a good heart and a strong sense of wrong and right.

"Is there any way we could get some music?" Kaitlyn asked. "All balls need music."

Steve pulled out his phone. "I think that can be arranged."

Kaitlyn moved to stand beside him as he scrolled through his playlist. "Do you have the kind of music they dance to at balls? The kind where you spin a lot?"

Steve looked at her hopeful face. "Give me a minute. I'll find some."

Five minutes later he had downloaded a handful of waltzes. "Ok, here we go."

Just as the music began to play Angie tugged on Joan's sleeve. "Cookies?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Joan smiled at her beloved uncle. "We also need some cookies."

"You do, do you?" Steve asked suspiciously. "What do you need cookies for?"

Joan skipped across the deck and grabbed the book Kaitlyn had been reading to them earlier off the table. She brought it back to where Steve was waiting, flipped through a few pages, then turned the book towards him and pointed to an illustration of a ball in full swing. There, in the corner, was an overflowing dessert table.

"Cookies!" Angie thrust her hands in the air.

"Looks like that princess had a Nonna," Danny chuckled.

"It's almost lunch time," Steve pointed out. "Do you think we could have the cookies later?"

Angie scowled. "Ahhh baaa dee." She pointed to the lavishly dressed characters in the picture then to herself and the other kids. "Baah daa daa." She pointed to the band in the picture then to Steve's phone. "Cookies!" She pointed to the sweets in the picture then looked expectantly at her father.

Steve, temporarily at a loss for how to respond, looked back at her.

"You really can't argue with her logic," Joseph said, trying hard not to bust out laughing as the father/daughter standoff continued. His granddaughter was turning out to be a little carbon copy of both her parents and he couldn't be prouder. He knew she was going to keep them all on their toes for years to come.

"How about if we get some cookies and we put them on the table like in the picture, but we don't eat them until after lunch?" Steve proposed.

Angie looked at her father, then Joan, then Kaitlyn and Jacob.

"How about if we have one now because we'll work it off dancing then we save the rest for after lunch?" Jacob countered.

Steve couldn't help but laugh. "When did this become a negotiation?"

Danny snorted. "Get used to it, my friend."

"Ok." Steve shook his head. "One cookie now and then we save the rest for later. Deal?"

"Deal!" Jacob beamed.

Joseph went to the kitchen to get a plate of cookies while Steve and Danny moved the furniture out of the way to create a large dance floor in the center of the deck. After a quick cookie break it was time for the dancing to commence.

Jacob was paired with Joan, Joseph with Kaitlyn and Steve with Angie. Danny offered to be the official videographer. As the music started all three pairs began to move. Jacob and Joan weren't anywhere even close to on beat as they took a few steps to the right, then a few back to the left, then twirled in circles until they were both unsteady from dizziness. Meanwhile, Joseph and Kaitlyn were executing a near perfect box step. Steve, his daughter smiling happily in his arms, decided to kick things up a notch. He tightened his grip on Angie and began to move around the entire perimeter of the dance floor, twirling and dipping with abandon as Angie squealed with delight.

After several times around the floor he came to a stop next to Joan and Jacob. He squatted down and placed Angie on the deck, waiting a second to make sure she felt steady after the all the spinning. When it was clear she did he addressed Jacob. "May I cut in?" he asked, extending his hand to Joan.

Jacob looked slightly confused. "I'm not exactly sure what the means, but okay."

He took ahold of Angie's hand while Steve scooped Joan up and once again began circling the dance floor. She locked her arms around his neck and squealed with delight every time he dipped her. "Eeeeeee! Spin again, Uncle Steve."

After a few more minutes he stopped next to Joseph and Kaitlyn. After handing Joanie over to his father in law he addressed Kaitlyn. "Would you care to dance, princess?" he asked with a formal tone.

"Yes." She smiled sweetly.

Steve bowed then extended his hand. He stepped carefully as they began to circle the dance floor and after one lap, he lifted Kaitlyn off her feet and began to spin and dip as he had with Angie and Joan. The pre-teen's joyous laughter filled the air.

Danny smiled at Joseph. "He's really got this best dad/favorite uncle thing down, doesn't he?".

Joseph nodded. He'd always known the young man he met all those years ago under such awkward circumstances had an amazing heart. That was clear from the love and respect he showed Catherine. The only question had ever been if he could get passed all the pain of his teenage years and allow himself to feel the joy and love he deserved. "He sure does." Joseph beamed. "The rest of us are just playing for second."

By the time the women returned home from the salon the men were relaxing on the deck while the children worked on a sand castle under Cammie's watchful eye.

"Mama!" Angie scrambled to her feet and made a beeline for Catherine as soon as she stepped onto the deck.

Joan, Jacob and Kaitlyn were only steps behind her, eager to greet Mary and Jenna.

"You ladies look like you had a good time." Joseph took a handful of shopping bags from Elizabeth. His gaze landed on the familiar pink stripes adorning one of the bags and he looked at his wife with a raised eyebrow.

"We made a pact no shopping for the kids today." She smiled saucily at him. "Just for the grownups."

He grinned. "I look forward to seeing what you bought later."

"Okay enough of that," Catherine chuckled as Steve blushed.

Danny snorted. "I love it when you two get a taste of your own medicine."

"There's something different about your hair." Joseph studied his wife. "I just can't place it."

"I got very subtle highlights." Elizabeth turned her head to give him a better view.

He kissed her on the cheek. "They look beautiful."

Danny smiled at Gabby who had taken the seat beside him. "I like your haircut."

She patted his knee affectionately. "I didn't get it cut."

"At all?"

"Not even trimmed," she said.

"Did you get highlights?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Just a deep conditioning."

He looked at Grace trying desperately to discern if she looked any different than she had when she left the house a few hours earlier. "Is your hair shorter?" he asked.

Grace rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Actually, it's longer. You said it was okay if I got extensions so I could try them out and see if I wanted them for prom."

"Right." Danny tried to cover. "I meant is your hair longer."

"You're hopeless when it comes to things like this," Grace chuckled.

Jacob peered at his mother. "Uncle Steve said we can stay for dinner if we want and we can make our own pizzas. Can we stay?"

Jenna chuckled. "I can't see why not. Dylan is at a sleepover, Casey is at work and Cody has plans with Jess."

"You look very pretty," Kaitlyn said. "Did you put on makeup?"

Jenna knew that if any of her children were likely to notice the change it would be Kaitlyn. "The lady at the salon put it on me. Do you like it?"

Kaitlyn nodded. "It looks good, But I think it would look better if the eye makeup was sparkly."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Jenna promised.

Angie squirmed to get down as the kids got antsy to get back to the beach and finish their sand castle.

"I thought you were just getting a trim," Steve said as he eyed Catherine. "It looks like your hair is what? Three inches shorter?"

"On the nose, Commander." She smiled at him. "The ends were a little dry, so we decided to take a little more off."

"It looks great." He pulled her into his lap. "You smell like cucumbers. Did you get a facial?"

She waggled her eyebrows. "Better. A full body wrap."

"Okay that's enough," Danny grumbled.

"Your hands feel extra soft," Steve said. "Paraffin treatment?"

Catherine nodded.

"Now you're just showing off," Danny growled.

"I'm observant," Steve responded as Catherine smiled brightly.

Danny and Joseph made eye contact and the younger man smiled. 'Playing for second indeed,' he thought to himself.

THE END

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