36.

After much whining and begging and pleading I had given into Trey and Troy and let them have an afternoon snack. A three-scoop ice cream cone. Not exactly the wisest choice I had made while taking care of them, since after they ate their snack they went out on the playground, and had been out there for two and a half hours with no signs of slowing down.

At least they'd be quiet on the ride home.

While they ran around the playground like madman on meth, I plopped myself down on a bench, which I laid down on, and began to skim over a book I had been trying to read for the past year.

Every so often I'd lower the book on my chest and see what the twins were up to.

Children came and went.

Not one near as sugared up as my two. I was so proud. Though how I was going to get the two of them in the car was a mystery to me. I'd worry about that later.

I lifted the book back up and skimmed around for the place I had left off when someone blocked my sunlight.

Almost annoyed, I looked up.

Curious to see who dared block my light.

It was non other then the base commander! Colonel something or other, I really should know his name. On his uniform was Reese, Colonel Reese sounded good to me.

Quickly I sat up and made room for him, "Good afternoon sir."

The colonel seemed harmless enough in a typical mid American boy next-door sort of way. Plus we were in a park on base in the middle of the afternoon. I seriously doubted the colonel was going to try and feel me up.

I was working very hard on being comfortable around people other then my husband and his people.

"Afternoon Mrs. Gordon, have you seen Lynda or the boys around here anywhere?"

I shook my head, "No sir. Just the usual base moms. Not that your wife isn't a usual wife of course, just enlisted. The officers usually use the playground at the officers club for their children, sir."

God, I really had to work on my talking to high-ranking officers. Gordon had it mastered.

The colonel gave me a kind smile.

He leant back on the wooden bench in his green uniform and looked at the twins as they swung on the swings, quite high. "Those are Sergeant Shuggarts boys?"

I nodded, "Yes sir. Trey and Troy. Troy has the cornrows and Trey has the puffy hair."

With a nod the colonel looked over at me, "Are you doing ok with them? With Randy being away so much?"

God.

What was the right answer!

I wanted to be sure I kept Randy out of trouble. He was as nerve wracking as Colonel Monroe's wife! With significantly more power though.

"Absolutely, Gordon and I have been pondering children so this is wonderful practice." There. That sounded good even to me.

There was a ring of truth to it too.

I watched Troy launch himself off the swing and go airborne.

Trey stopped himself with his feet. Dust was everywhere. I would be doing laundry when we got back home.

Troy landed on his feet and kept running, never missing a beat.

What had been in that ice cream?

"How is Master Sergeant Gordon? I heard about what happened last night. I want you to know all steps are being taken to get you and your family back in your home and find the person who broke in."

Well, that was nice.

I gave the colonel a smile, "Thank you sir. Gordon is fine, he has been at work all day."

I looked back to the boys who appeared to be chasing a frog. "Troy! Stop that! That thing could bite!"

Trey stopped running in spot. He froze as if he had his hand caught in a cookie jar.

Troy, however, turned and shouted, "Frogs don't bite! They don't even have teeth!"

I narrowed my eyes and he sighed and shuffled his feet, dejected. It didn't matter. Five seconds later they were busy digging a hole in the ground under the slide.

Laundry, yep.

Between the ice cream, grass stains, and now dirt; I'd be doing laundry all evening.

"I looked over the incident report. What were the intruders looking for? It said your entire residence had been trashed."

The colonel was right.

Therefore the entire house was a considered a crime scene.

"Yes sir, they went through everything. The man was after a camera…other then that I don't know. The two CID Investigators seem to have a theory though, they would be more helpful then me."

The colonel stayed with me and we talked for a while until Troy threw up, and then Trey. After that I took them to the car and took their filthy clothes off. The twins sat in the back of my new car, a Mustang, in their socks and Ninja Turtle Underwear. All while I washed their clothes out in the public bathroom. I wanted to get some of the vomit out.

I wrung the shorts and shirts out and put them in a bag.

Then I headed back to the car where the colonel waited with the twins. Both of who were sound asleep in the back seat. Coming down from their sugar high.

I placed their folded wet clothes on the floor and side the driver's seat back. Then I turned to the colonel, "Thanks for keeping an eye on them for me sir."

He looked over my new car.

Then gave me a smile, "Not a problem ma'am. Let your husband know that if he needs anything, him or the rest of his teammates, let me know. We're very close to catching the arsonist."

Or course I would tell him.

Later that afternoon…

With Trey slumped over my back, his bare legs dangling like a wind chime, and Troy sound asleep slumped across the backseat of the Mustang, I made my way into the side door of the garage and dropped the little boy in the hammock, which swayed with the weight, but didn't do much else.

I patted down his Afro and put a blanket over his sleeping body.

I placed a soft kiss on his warm, yet sticky cheek, pulled a piece of grass from his ear and then left him.

I did the same with Troy.

I pulled him out of my car by his ankles, carried him in the garage and put him on Gordon's air mattress. I covered the little man with a blanket and kissed his cheek.

Then it was back to the Mustang.

I dug around and cleaned up. I threw their dirty clothes in the wash and found their backpacks. Plus half a Butterfinger and a G.I. Joe under the front passenger seat. Somehow I doubted either came with the new car.

One thing I couldn't manage to find was my purse.

Maybe I had left it with Gordon at the office? In the moment of blinding passion I had managed to misplace my bra, I could have misplaced my purse.

That was a possibility.

I stood up and wiped my hands on my jeans, pondering whether I needed to call his office. That thought quickly left my mind when the base commander pulled into the driveway.