Part Four: Day in the Sun
"BJ, would you go and meet the O'Reillys now? You have to allow for the traffic." Peggy came and rubbed her husband's neck.
"No rest for the wicked is there?" BJ laughed, and turned his head to kiss Peggy.
"Very little, and there's even less for us good guys, huh Margaret?" Peggy directed the question to Margaret who currently had two little girls, Erin and Danielle, absorbed in her stomach feeling the baby kick.
"She's right, and as you should know Beej, doctors, the really, really good people get none at all!" BJ threw a blade of grass at her.
"Go Beej, we'll meet you guys down the beach with a picnic okay?" Peggy shooed her husband back inside their large, but modest house.
"Okay, we'll stop by here so they can drop off their luggage right?" Peggy nodded and with a final kiss, slammed the screen door behind him.
"Honestly, that man doesn't do what he's told!" She laughed and came back to sit on the grass where the other woman was sitting.
"Do you mind me calling your kids by their nicknames?" Margaret asked, rubbing Erin's brown curls as they lay on her lap.
"Not at all, in fact my Gracey rarely answers to her name, it's only Shortcake, what about Danielle and Mol?" Margaret laughed.
"They'll answer to near anything. Where's Shortcake anyway?" She looked around, realising that Erin and Danielle were listening to her baby, and Molly played nearby in the sandbox, but Grace was nowhere around.
"She'll be in her cubby, she likes her own space sometimes." Danielle sat up.
"Mummy, why's is Shortcake funny?" Margaret chuckled and kissed her daughter.
"It's just how she is, she's very shy, so if she wants to be by herself let her be okay?" Danielle nodded, not understanding, but still happy she had an answer.
"It looks like she wants company now." Peggy commented as Grace searched the yard and ran over to her friend.
"Danni come see baby." She held out her hand and the two girls ran off to the little cubby.
"Well Margaret, they'll be okay for a while, shall we get lunch started?" Peggy stood up and offered Margaret a hand; Margaret accepted it and the two women went into the house to get lunch.
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"Radar!" Margaret hugged her friend warmly as BJ found the women on the beach.
"I see the Major is having a minor," Radar laughed, holding a young woman's hand.
"Yes, in about 8 weeks. Who's this young lady?" Margaret asked, holding her hand out to the woman who comfortably cradled a baby in her free arm.
"This is my wife, Patty. We married just after I got home. And this is my little girl, Nancy and her brother Henry." Radar gestured to the baby and a little boy who hid behind his father's legs.
"They're beautiful little children. Well, that's Danielle, and that's Molly." Margaret gestured hopelessly to where the kids ran on the beach laughing and shouting.
"I'm Peggy, you must be Walter and Patty."
"Please call me Radar Mrs Honnicut,"
"Okay Radar, and I insist, call me Peggy." Radar blushed nervously at the familiar term. Although he had matured considerably since hw was the boy who slept with a teddy in Korea, he was still a very shy, polite person.
"And I'm Margaret now, I left the army when Danielle was born." Margaret laughed at Radar's shocked expression.
"If you don't mind me asking, Major, I mean, Margaret, where is your husband?" Margaret laughed knowing Radar had thought that the lack of male presence meant that she had divorced again.
"He's arriving tomorrow, we came out early, but he had to wait until his holidays came round." Radar relaxed as Peggy led them over to a blanket spread on the sand.
"Well it's just I thought, seeing as how there wasn't no one here, you might have, well, you know, the 'd' word." Radar mumbled, Margaret squeezed his shoulder and he jumped at her touch, glancing at her face, maybe expecting hurt, but he was given a big, warm smile. He returned it, and began to relax around the woman he had once been scared of.
"Lunch Shortcake, Angel, Princess, Sweet Pea!" Peggy called and the girls came running. The people spent the rest of the day on the beach laughing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"BJ, would you go and meet the O'Reillys now? You have to allow for the traffic." Peggy came and rubbed her husband's neck.
"No rest for the wicked is there?" BJ laughed, and turned his head to kiss Peggy.
"Very little, and there's even less for us good guys, huh Margaret?" Peggy directed the question to Margaret who currently had two little girls, Erin and Danielle, absorbed in her stomach feeling the baby kick.
"She's right, and as you should know Beej, doctors, the really, really good people get none at all!" BJ threw a blade of grass at her.
"Go Beej, we'll meet you guys down the beach with a picnic okay?" Peggy shooed her husband back inside their large, but modest house.
"Okay, we'll stop by here so they can drop off their luggage right?" Peggy nodded and with a final kiss, slammed the screen door behind him.
"Honestly, that man doesn't do what he's told!" She laughed and came back to sit on the grass where the other woman was sitting.
"Do you mind me calling your kids by their nicknames?" Margaret asked, rubbing Erin's brown curls as they lay on her lap.
"Not at all, in fact my Gracey rarely answers to her name, it's only Shortcake, what about Danielle and Mol?" Margaret laughed.
"They'll answer to near anything. Where's Shortcake anyway?" She looked around, realising that Erin and Danielle were listening to her baby, and Molly played nearby in the sandbox, but Grace was nowhere around.
"She'll be in her cubby, she likes her own space sometimes." Danielle sat up.
"Mummy, why's is Shortcake funny?" Margaret chuckled and kissed her daughter.
"It's just how she is, she's very shy, so if she wants to be by herself let her be okay?" Danielle nodded, not understanding, but still happy she had an answer.
"It looks like she wants company now." Peggy commented as Grace searched the yard and ran over to her friend.
"Danni come see baby." She held out her hand and the two girls ran off to the little cubby.
"Well Margaret, they'll be okay for a while, shall we get lunch started?" Peggy stood up and offered Margaret a hand; Margaret accepted it and the two women went into the house to get lunch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Radar!" Margaret hugged her friend warmly as BJ found the women on the beach.
"I see the Major is having a minor," Radar laughed, holding a young woman's hand.
"Yes, in about 8 weeks. Who's this young lady?" Margaret asked, holding her hand out to the woman who comfortably cradled a baby in her free arm.
"This is my wife, Patty. We married just after I got home. And this is my little girl, Nancy and her brother Henry." Radar gestured to the baby and a little boy who hid behind his father's legs.
"They're beautiful little children. Well, that's Danielle, and that's Molly." Margaret gestured hopelessly to where the kids ran on the beach laughing and shouting.
"I'm Peggy, you must be Walter and Patty."
"Please call me Radar Mrs Honnicut,"
"Okay Radar, and I insist, call me Peggy." Radar blushed nervously at the familiar term. Although he had matured considerably since hw was the boy who slept with a teddy in Korea, he was still a very shy, polite person.
"And I'm Margaret now, I left the army when Danielle was born." Margaret laughed at Radar's shocked expression.
"If you don't mind me asking, Major, I mean, Margaret, where is your husband?" Margaret laughed knowing Radar had thought that the lack of male presence meant that she had divorced again.
"He's arriving tomorrow, we came out early, but he had to wait until his holidays came round." Radar relaxed as Peggy led them over to a blanket spread on the sand.
"Well it's just I thought, seeing as how there wasn't no one here, you might have, well, you know, the 'd' word." Radar mumbled, Margaret squeezed his shoulder and he jumped at her touch, glancing at her face, maybe expecting hurt, but he was given a big, warm smile. He returned it, and began to relax around the woman he had once been scared of.
"Lunch Shortcake, Angel, Princess, Sweet Pea!" Peggy called and the girls came running. The people spent the rest of the day on the beach laughing.
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