I Wish I'd Kissed You Then Chapter 4
Today would have been Pops' 90th birthday. Booth and Brennan were at the Founding Fathers, having a celebratory drink in his honor. They usually did this to commemorate Grams' and Hank's wedding anniversary as well, keeping alive the tradition Booth' grandfather had begun the year after losing his beloved wife to cancer. Before meeting her partner, Brennan would have disdained such a practice as mawkish, but she had come to recognize its deep significance and value, on both a personal and anthropological level.
(Since Jared and Shrimp were below the legal drinking age back then, Hank had adjusted his usual practice from sharing a vintage toast at the neighborhood bar to cooking Margaret's favorite evening meal; her Italian spaghetti, Caesar saIad, sourdough bread, and double chocolate cake with Irish Bailey's icing. He figured the boys could tolerate a small dash of whiskey for dessert, especially if they weren't aware of it.
His reason for concealing its presence lay more with Edwin's failures than anything else. More than once, lying in bed at night, Hank had wracked his brain for a different way he could've protected the boys, particularly Shrimp, but ordering his alcoholic son out of their lives was the only solution he'd seen. Heaving a deep sigh, he'd turn over, punch his pillow in frustration, and try to get some shut-eye before morning. Taking on two rambunctious grandsons was not how he'd planned to spend his retirement years, but family came first.)
Brennan had easily mastered all of Margaret Booth's traditional recipes, and relished the experience of doing so, since her own grandparents had never been part of her youth. Hank had given her several old cookbooks, an enameled Pennsylvania Dutch motif metal recipe box, and a worn blue canvas ring binder notebook full of Grams' handwritten specialties. Parker, Christine and Hank now clamored for these favorites, along with Carly Victor's macaroni and cheese, Pops' Battle of Inchon grilled cheese sandwiches, and Max's delicious banana/vanilla wafer pudding.
Perched on the same bar stood from which Brennan had once yanked Jared for belittling his older brother, Booth leaned over and kissed his wife.
"Bones, I'm sure looking forward to digging into Grams' spaghetti when we get home; followed by a big wedge of her Bailey's chocolate cake! Ya remember that poor Priceco employee Meg Tracy?"
Brennan smirked as she returned his kiss. "How could I forget, Booth? For a while, you were mourning that case ruining your penchant for chocolate cake, but that didn't last long."
"Don't think I ever told l you the Priceco supervisor scolded Pops when I went to question her. I told him to stay put under a sign, but oh, no… he started helping customers and walked up wearing one of those blindingly orange vests! The lady thought he was an employee."
"Dayglow orange, Angela said it was," Brennan remembered. "Hank told me I had steel ovaries that day."
"He was right, Bones, you do!"
"After you left to question Stephanie Simon, he told me he'd never been prouder of anyone than you, Booth. That's when he asked me to tell you about your dad leaving, and hold you," she mused. "He never stopped worrying about your welfare."
"He sure had a good time at Club Jiggle, didn't he?" Booth remembered with a grin. " 'There's nothing wrong with big women; your gramma had some jam in her jelly,' he said. Ha! If Gramma had been anywhere in earshot, she'd have punched him in the arm!"
"I think that poor homeowner missed his wife as sorely as Pops misses Grams," he declared.
"Missed, Booth. I thought you believe your grandparents are reunited now."
"I do, Bones. Sometimes, I forget he's gone, you know? Seems like he's still at Willow River. I hear him in my head. That day we drove him back to the retirement center, he told me, 'Now listen.You remember. It's all in there. Everything you need to know. You just do what it tells you.' "
"I don't believe the way you do, but I know what you mean, Booth. When he pulled me aside before we left, he said not to be scared, that I wouldn't want any regrets; that life passes so fast. When I said I didn't understand, he poked me in the chest, and said 'Yes, you do.' Hank was a very wise man."
"I should've listened to him right then and so many other times, Bones. I wish I'd kissed you right in the middle of that sidewalk; after we watched Pops walk back inside pulling his suitcase behind him. Instead, I just stood there, and made some lame remark, telling you I liked that 'thing' you were wearing around your neck, your gold chain."
"I should've told you how beautifully your deep blue wrap dress hugged your curves, embraced your willowy body, followed my heart right then and there, like Pops counseled me, and kissed you senseless, like I so badly wanted to!"
"That was truly an awkward moment; as much as you finding my gum in your mouth," Brennan saidsoftly. "I agree, we were both foolish that day, sticking to that silly line of yours! I wanted to kiss you too, right then, Booth! But we did eventually get it right, and now we have our 30 or 40 years together, just like your grandparents."
"I'll never stop kissing you, Bones, even when they have to wheel me over to reach your bed."
"Speak for yourself, Booth! I'll have you know I certainly don't plan on spending my twilight years in a bed! I will go out on a dig, Seeley Booth! A trowel in one hand and my brush in the other!"
"If anybody will pull that off, Bones, it'll be you! And I guess I'll be right beside you! Who else will keep you safe?"
A/N: Credit for Hank's wise words go to the Springfield! Springfield! script site, an excellent source of Bones' quotes: view_episode_ ?tv-show=bones&episode=s05e08
. /view_episode_ ?tv-show=bones&episode=s05e08