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BJ's father was a big, rangy guy, built like his son, still strong and capable even as he aged. His face lit up when he saw Erin in Peg's arms. "There's my little bit!"
Erin reached out, crowing, and her grandfather dropped everything to take her, bouncing her a bit as she giggled. Peg didn't know what she would have done without these generous people, who were always willing to come over and help when she needed it. If she didn't ask as often as she might have, that was about herself and her own need to do things on her own more than it was about them.
She picked up the recorder and various paraphernalia from the porch and carried it in behind Erin and her grandfather.
"So you're making a recording of yourself to send to BJ?" he asked, frowning at her over Erin's head as he tried to understand the task ahead of them.
"Not just me. Erin, too. Just … some little things he misses, the daily routines, the way I might dress up for our anniversary. I set as much of what I needed up yesterday as I could. Can we add some of the recording Hawkeye made, too? I imagine BJ won't remember just what he said, so I want to remind him why I've put in some of what I have."
"Sure." She could tell he wasn't quite certain what she meant, so she played him the tape, looking tactfully away as his eyes filled with tears when he heard his son's voice, so well and strong. She hoped he understood the deep friendship between BJ and Hawkeye, too. If Hawkeye hadn't been in Korea … Peg didn't like to think about it. BJ might be miserable, to say the least.
They started simply: Peg stood by the stairs as the camera began to roll. She felt a little silly and awkward, going through the motions like this, taking a newspaper and carrying it to the fireplace. But when she touched the picture of BJ she kept there she remembered why she was doing this, and it became easier. She pantomimend starting a fire in the fireplace, the scene of so many romantic nights.
Then they fed Erin her lunch, waving her little hand at the camera. And Peg carried a coffee pot across the room, pouring a cup full and handing it to the camera, smiling a little as she thought of BJ's annoyance with Hawkeye's many questions.
They changed Erin and set her down with a toy, a jack in the box she alternately loved and hated. Today she hated it, but her grandfather thought the way her face twisted up and the tears spilled over was adorable, so they kept it, and Peg cuddled Erin with a softer, less surprising toy until the tears faded and they got a little smile.
After that, they gave Erin a bath, lots of bubbles, blowing the bubbles around, and tucked her in for a much-needed nap.
Peg changed into her best dress, the one she had worn the night they went out to celebrate when they first found out she was pregnant—it had taken some work to get back into it, but with BJ gone it was even a little loose now. She fixed her hair, and then smiled into the camera as she came down the stairs toward it. She had set up the dining room as if they were having a candlelight dinner, and she lit the candles for the camera, moving to the end of the table and smiling at the camera again. Finally, she sat down near the fireplace, where the flames were crackling, and invited the camera to move closer, holding her smile fiercely until she thought they had enough footage.
"You all set, then?" her father-in-law asked. His eyes were suspiciously bright. Peg wanted to cry a little, too, but she could wait until she was done. This was more important.
"Let's do the sound, now, before Erin wakes up."
"You got it."
She was grateful her father-in-law was so handy. He had figured out the camera and its various components quickly, and she knew she would be sending BJ something special. He set up the voice recording for her, and she had the tape player nearby so she could use BJ's own words. Her words she had worked on carefully, and she spoke them into the player as if she were speaking directly to her husband. "Hi, darling. More than anything I wish we could be together today, and I know you feel the same. Your wonderful friends obviously know, too." She couldn't help laughing a little at Hawkeye's clumsy questions. "So, with the help of Dad, some rented equipment, and a little tape recording Hawkeye sent me, here's how this day might be if you were here."
It took some fiddling to get the tape recording from Hawkeye lined up properly so she could put the right words in the right places, but they got it eventually.
On the recording, BJ said, "Better still, a candlelight dinner at home." When he stopped, Peg spoke into the device. "Then we'd dance, and talk, and hold each other. BJ, I know that some film and tape can't actually replace the real thing, but this particular anniversary will always be special to me. Don't be sad, darling. Even though I can't be with you, the thought of you, and the love I hear in your voice makes me realize how wonderful it'll be when we're together again. Ten thousand miles can never separate us from the love we share. Happy anniversary, darling."
She stopped there. She had to. The tears had caught up to her, and she laid her head down on the table and wept, trying to stifle the sounds so as not to wake Erin, terribly embarrassed to be crying so in front of her father-in-law, until she realized he was crying, too, and she stood up and hugged him and they cried together.