Chapter Seven

"Oomph!"

The wind was knocked out of Roy the next morning, when the kids leapt onto him. He glanced at the clock. Six thirty. Was he ever going to sleep late again? At least the kids were past the age where they threw a morning tantrum until they were fed. But still. Didn't a man have a right to sleep past seven in the morning sometimes?

"Daddy, Uncle Johnny is coming by today," Jenny said, as her hair fell on Roy's face. He tucked it behind her ear as he smiled...cheerily, he hoped.

"Yes - "

"And Uncle Hank, Uncle Marco, Uncle Mike and Uncle Chet," Chris reminded her.

"Uncle Chet is funny. But Uncle Johnny is more funnier," Jenny declared, with all the surety of a four year old.

Roy struggled to sit up. The kids slid from his chest to the bed next to him. He glanced over and noticed Joanne had already risen. The scent of coffee and bacon drifted up the stairs. He was reminded that Joanne almost always rose before him. He had a momentary flash of guilt.

"Now look, kids," he began. "Remember. This is a grownup job. You can help, but we're gonna be using sharp tools. And it won't be finished today."

"Tomorrow!" Jenny declared.

"Breakfast!" Joanne called.

Roy pulled on a robe and stumbled downstairs. Joanne handed him a mug of coffee the moment he walked into the kitchen. She glanced at him before turning her attention to the frying bacon.

"Hon, Johnny stopped by."

Roy sighed. "Johnny? What did he want?"

"He made up a shopping list. Said he would go over to the lumber yard when it opens and pick out the lumber. Oh, and he wanted to what kind of hardware we've got. You know, screws, nuts, bolts, that kind of thing. I told him you were sleeping and to come back this afternoon."

Roy plunked himself down at the table and held his head in his hands. "He's too much. I gotta call him off." Roy stood walked to the avocado green phone and dialed Johnny's number. It was picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Johnny, you need to back off. I haven't even thought about what to buy. And what's the big idea, coming by so early? It's my day off!"

"Hey, it's my day off, too! Just tryin' to help. I'll come back this afternoon. Is that okay?"

"Yes, but - "

"Meanwhile, I'll draw up a schematic."

"But - "

"We're all doing one. Then you can pick the one you like best."

"Johnny, I've decided to keep it simple. Swings, a slide, a treehouse."

There was a short pause.

"Oh."

"Yeah, so - "

"How big a treehouse?"

John, I haven't had my break - "

"I was thinkin' we could do a treehouse for Chris, and a little princess cottage, on the ground for - "

Roy hung up. He sat down at the table again. Joanne placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. "You know hon, it's really sweet for the entire shift to want to help you like this."

He glared at her. "Ya think so, huh."

Joanne took a sip of coffee. "Yes, I do. And I was thinking that a little princess cottage would be - "

"How do you know about that?"

"John told me when he stopped by."

Jenny came rushing in. "A princess castle? Oh Daddy, I love you!"

Roy smiled weakly. "Yeah. But not a castle. A cottage. A SMALL cottage."

"Will you paint it pink?"

Roy's head dropped. "Sure, why not?"

Jenny rushed out. "CHRIS, GUESS WHAT? YOU'RE GETTING A TREEHOUSE AND I'M GETTING A PRINCESS CASTLE! PINK!"

Roy picked up a piece of bacon and bit savagely into it. "I was gonna build a seat all around that tree, you know."

I know, and you were going to build me an arbor, too. But kids have a way of disrupting plans." Joanne leaned down, gave Roy a kiss and called the kids. They came barreling into the kitchen.

Roy couldn't help but smile. God, he loved those kids. Okay, so he'd build them a great swing set, a tree house, and a princess cottage. Maybe a rope bridge from the cottage to the tree. If he could swing it, he could get a telescope into the treehouse so he and Chris could gaze at the stars. That would mean he'd have to make the treehouse big enough for an adult. Maybe, just maybe, this was going to be okay.

Roy got up, walked to the den, fetched a piece of graph paper and a pencil, returned to the kitchen, and started drawing. Yeah, this was gonna turn out all right. And he'd show Alice. He'd build something bigger and better than Bruno ever could. That would prove who was the better father, yes sir. It would stop her little biting remarks to his wife once and for all.

Joanne peeked over his shoulder. "Uh, Roy?"

"Uh huh?"

"Is that the plan for the swing set?"

Roy kept drawing. "Yep."

Joanne pointed at one section. "What's that?"

"A rope bridge from the cottage to the tree, so the kids can get to the ladder up to the tree house."

"A rope bridge."

"Yeah. I was thinking of makin' it the ladder up tp the tree house, but I changed my mind." He looked up and grinned. "This'll show Alice. And I bet Bruno won't have a whole work crew, either."

"Roy, come on. Don't get competitive with Alice."

Roy shot Joanne a positively evil look. "I finally found something that will make her shut up once and for all." He grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door. "I'll be back. I'm gonna go look at some chains."

"CHAINS?"

Roy paused at the door and smiled. "For the swings, hon. The swings."