~~~~Part 10~~~~

1100 est

The park

(Harm's POV)

They've just finished their ice cream, and I'm heading over to the garbage cans with the trash, leaving Mac pushing AJ on the swings. I just stand and watch for a minute. AJ is having a blast, and Mac seems genuinely happy. She really will make a great mother. When I walk back over to her, she says,

"Harm, will you take over here while I go put my clothes into the dryer?"

"Tell you what, you look like you're having fun here, so why don't I go do that while you just continue with what you're doing?"

"Why?" "Umm...is there a reason you're volunteering to do this?"

"If you're wondering whether I'm doing this to get a peek at your underwear, then the answer is no. You just really look like you're enjoying yourself, so I thought I'd do the best friend thing and take care of it for you."

"Harm, who said anything about underwear?" She tries to keep a straight face, but I can always spot her tongue-in-cheek remarks.

I just smile devilishly and waggle my eyebrows suggestively. She play- punches my arm and says, "Oh, just go get my underwear."

AJ laughs out loud at this and says, "Aunt Mac, you let Unca Harm see your underwear?"

"Oh, I don't know how to respond to that one...help!?!?"

I let out a snort of laughter and quickly head towards the laundromat, leaving Mac with the job of trying to explain what she meant by that remark. I almost wish I could stay and hear her response.

I walk the short distance to the laundromat and make my way to the washers containing Mac's clothes. They still have about five minutes left to run, so I just sit down on one of the chairs and wait for them. An elderly woman and her husband are sitting across from me. They've been here for awhile, because I remember they were watching while I kept AJ occupied while Mac threw in her laundry. The woman smiles at me, and I smile back, then she says,

"You were just in here earlier. Where are your wife and son?"

"My w...oh, we're not married."

Her look becomes slightly disapproving, and she simply says, "Oh."

I think about what I've just said, and then I realize the reason for her reaction, "Oh, no, ma'am, I think you misunderstand. That's not our son, either. We're his godparents; we're just babysitting him for the day." At this, her face brightens considerably.

"Oh, okay. Well, you looked like you were having such fun with him, so I assumed he was yours. And you and your lady friend just looked so happy together that I thought you were married. Are you dating?"

Okay, I'm not sure I like where this line of questioning is going, but I respond anyway. "Uh, no, we're just friends."

"Oh, I see," she says with a knowing look. I hate it when people do that whenever I tell them that Mac and I are 'just friends.' It's bad enough that I get it from the people I work with, but when it comes from a complete stranger...I just wish I could 'see' what everyone else does.

I check the washing machines, and I notice that they're done, so I start pulling out the clothes and putting them in a basket. I load them into dryers and get them started. Once I'm done, I head out of the laundromat and make my way back to the park.

When I get there, I notice that Mac and AJ aren't at the swings anymore, and it only takes me a few seconds to spot her, at the top of the playground slide with AJ on her lap, ready to go down. She spots me and whispers something in AJ's ear and points towards where I'm standing. He then calls out,

"Hey, Unca Harm, stand at the bottom and catch us!"

I wave up at him and call out, "Alright, don't go yet, you two!" I go to the end of the slide and nod. "Okay, now I'm ready to catch you."

Mac says, "Okay, we ready? One...two...THREE!" She pushes off from the top, and they slide down. When they reach me at the bottom, they glide to a halt at the end of the slide, and I quickly grab AJ up off of Mac's lap.

"I got you!"

"Unca Harm, you have to get Aunt Mac, too!" So I put AJ down and grab Mac around the waist, as she is trying to stand up, and sling her over my shoulder in much the same way as I did when AJ was a sack of potatoes.

She is taken by surprise, but she recovers quickly. "Harm, put me down!"

AJ is laughing his head off, and he says, "Unca Harm, you got another sack a 'tatoes!"

"Yeah, and this one is a lot heavier than the first one. In fact, I think this sack of potatoes may be the heaviest I've ever lifted." AJ laughs some more at this.

"Oh, we're back with the fat jokes again..." "Okay, Harm, you've had your fun, now put me down." She's laughing as she's saying this, so I know it's safe to keep on going.

I let out a mock gasp, "AJ, did you hear something?"

He's giggling, and he responds, "Umm...tee-hee...I didn't hear anything."

"I think I heard something behind me." I spin around quickly. "There's nobody there!" I quickly spin back, and Mac groans in mock protest.

AJ is laughing harder than ever now.

"Oh, I am really liking the view, but my ribs are starting to hurt." "AJ, sweetie, help your Aunt Mac, please! Your Uncle Harm is being mean to me!"

AJ says, "Unca Harm! You got Aunt Mac!"

"I do? Well, in that case, I'll just put her down." I put her down on the ground and she turns to AJ.

"Thank you so much! You saved me! That deserves a reward." She leans down and kisses him on the cheek.

"Hey, what about me? I picked you up from the slide. Doesn't that deserve a reward?" I put on a puppy dog face.

"Hmm, I don't know...what do you think, little man?" She looks over at AJ, and he grins and nods his head.

All I can think to myself is 'Yes!' She turns back to me and has this really sexy, seductive look on her face. "I'll give you a reward..." She moves towards me slowly, and I can feel her lips on my skin...and she blows a big raspberry.

AJ squeals in delight, and I scrunch up my face and wipe my cheek. "Ewww...that's gross, Mac!"

"But Unca Harm, I thought you liked Aunt Mac's germs!"

I falter for a minute and Mac seizes the opportunity to comment.

"Oh, stop being a baby, Harm! Take it like a man."

"Yeah, Unca Harm, take it like a man!"

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" AJ looks at me and says,

"My side!"

"Good answer." She laughs and says, "Okay, boys, who wants to go back to the swings?"

AJ immediately jumps up and down, waving his hand in the air, "Ooh, I do!"

"Okay, let's go, then. Last one to the swings has to push the other two!"

AJ and Mac take off running. She makes sure AJ wins, and plops him onto a swing before sitting down on the one next to him.

I'm walking leisurely towards the swing set, and when I get there, Mac says, "Well, it's about time! You know, you're getting slow in your old age."

I ignore her and start AJ off on the swing. Mac is just sitting there watching, and AJ calls out, "Unca Harm, you have to push Aunt Mac, too. You were the last one here."

I look over at Mac for a second, and then respond to him, "AJ, do you feel how I'm pushing you on the swing? How I sometimes push your bottom instead of your back to make you go higher?"

"Yeah"

"Well, I don't think Aunt Mac wants me pushing her bottom so that she can swing higher."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Hmm...we definitely need to discuss that later on.

"Oh, okay," says AJ.

We stay at the swings until it's time to get Mac's clothes. We all make our way from the park to the laundromat. I volunteer to help her fold her clothes, but she tells me to just watch AJ.

After a few minutes, he says, "Unca Harm, I have to go to the potty."

I nod my head and say, "Alright, let's go find where it is, then." I take his hand and we walk to the back of the place and find the bathroom. It's a single room, and when I start to go in with him, he says,

"No, you stay here. I'm a big boy, I like to go by myself."

"Okay, you go by yourself, then."

As I'm waiting for him outside the door, a woman walks over to a table right next to me, with a basket of clothes fresh from the dryer.

"Hi," she says.

I nod and respond, "Hello."

"I saw you in the park with your wife and son a few minutes ago. You've got a beautiful family." She's folding her clothes and talking to me, and she doesn't see my hesitant expression.
"Oh, well, they're...uhm..." she looks up at me. Oh, what the heck. I just reply, "Thanks." She smiles and turns her attention back to folding. At that moment, AJ walks out of the bathroom, shaking his hands and spraying water everywhere.

"Um, thanks, AJ. I guess there's no need to ask whether or not you washed your hands, is there?"

He just shakes his head and smiles and shows me his hands, "See? All clean!"

"Good job, now let's go back to the front."

I grab his still wet hand and we make our way back up to where Mac is.

"It was nice talking to you."

I turn around and smile at the woman and reply, "Nice talking to you, too. Take care, now."

When we get back up to the front, Mac is loading the basket with her clean, folded clothes.

"You boys ready to go?"

We both nod our heads and follow her to the SUV parked outside. We get everything (and everyone) into the car and I start it and head back towards Mac's apartment.

************************************************************************

We get back to Mac's place and all get out of the car. I grab the basket full of clothes, and she grabs AJ's hand. Once inside, I bring the basket to her room and set it down on the bed, which is missing sheets and bedspread, because she took them off this morning to wash them.

I hear AJ call from the living room, "I'm hungry. Can we have lunch?"

I walk out of the room and say, "I think that's a good idea. What do we have?"

"Nothing," Mac says as she is walking out of the kitchen, "I also need to go grocery shopping today, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, we can order a pizza, or we can go out to lunch, it's up to you, little man."

AJ contemplates this for a moment, then says, "I think we should go out and get a pizza!"

"Oh, I give you a choice, and you pick both! Well, that's just cheating!" I throw my hands up in the air in mock frustration. AJ giggles.

"Fine, then. We'll go out and get pizza, as long as it's okay with Mac." I look at her, as does AJ, with a pleading look.

"Well, who can resist two adorable faces?" "Oh, alright. We'll go out to get pizza. Just let me grab my money."

"Don't worry about it, Mac. I've got it covered."

"Is he being chivalrous?" "Harm, you've already paid for everything but my laundry...wait, you did pay for it to be dried."

"Mac, it's my treat. Would you let me be a gentleman, please?"

She purses her lips and then rolls her eyes at me.

"Whatever." "Fine."

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's move on out!"

"Yay!"

I take Mac's key and close and lock the door behind us. Once again, we're off.