Here's part 30, as promised…
OOOO
Part 30
"Kids!" Harm shouted from where he, Mac, Bud and Harriet were sitting at a picnic table, "Be careful…"
The three young children, along with Mattie, were trying to pile onto the zip line, aided in the adventure by Jennifer Coates.
"It's alright, Dad," Mattie shouted, "We're fine."
Tyler, Tiegan and Little AJ were all laughing hysterically as Jen tried to find places for them all to sit or stand. Mattie was sitting through the tire, with Tiegan on her knee, Tyler was sitting on top of the tire, holding onto the rope. Jennifer helped Little AJ to stand on the inside of the tire, a foot on each side of Mattie and Tiegan. Before she let them all go, Jen checked that they were all secure.
"You all ready? Secure? Make sure you're all holding on tight, this may actually hit the ground…"
"Yes!" the younger kids exclaimed, excited to see if this would actually happen, "Yes, let's go!"
"You okay, Matt?" Jen asked.
Mattie nodded, "Yep, I'm ready to go, Jen."
Jennifer let them go and the densely loaded tire took off along the zip line, bobbing with the heavy load it was under. The kids were all laughing loudly, especially Mattie, who was managing to hold on and keep an arm around Tiegan. The adults laughed along, watching as the tire nearly skimmed the ground on the way down, hit the end of the line with a 'THWACK' then starting back along. Everybody had to pile off, halfway back along the line because the tire was now dragging on the ground. Jen ran out and helped Little AJ and Tyler down, then helped Tiegan and Mattie to their feet.
"Was that fun?" Mac asked as she pulled Tiegan onto her knee, while Tyler climbed onto Mattie's, "What would you guys like for lunch…um, dinner?"
At the children's requests, she put together plates of food and passed them to the children. Then she made sure Mattie and Jen had settled with a good amount on their plates.
"Mattie, Jen," she asked, "Are you sure you don't want some more? We have potato salad and chicken wings here…"
"I'm just going to finish this, first," Mattie assured her, while trying to keep her face straight as Jen gave her a bemused look, "Maybe I'll get some more when I'm done."
Mac just smiled and went back to supervising the younger children.
Mattie gave Jen a look that said, 'Don't say a thing. I know what you're thinking, but I like it when she's like this.'
Jen just smiled to herself. It was kinda cute, after all.
They were all just finishing their food, when Tyler spotted something in the park's parking lot and let out a shriek of joy. He had spotted somebody parking their car and took off towards them. Little AJ and Tiegan were close behind them and Jimmy was left behind, because he was a slow eater and Harriet wouldn't allow him to leave before he had cleaned his plate.
"But Mom!" he protested loudly.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, young man," Harriet reprimanded him, "Finish here, first, then you may go."
"Looks like Wendy and the kids are here," Mac noted to her husband.
Wendy had agreed to join them with her children, although she was only able to come for a few hours after mid-day because two of the children had had doctor's appointments in the morning. Wendy had also brought Robbie with her, who was technically no longer her foster-son, but who, at seventeen, was also nearly nearing the end of his time in foster care. It was just a shame that he had been put into the care of virtual strangers at this point in his life. However, Wendy had promised him that once he reached eighteen, she would do all she could for him (and would be able to, since he would be a legal adult and not under the legal care of child protective services.) Even if that meant him sleeping on the sofa in their house, Wendy was determined that he would receive support and not be left to cope on his own.
He, Mattie and Jen spent the afternoon chatting, until Tiegan came and begged her former big-brother to push her on the swings.
Luckily, there was plenty of food left to go around, so the adults passed the afternoon chatting, snacking and watching the children play in the unseasonable warmth and sunshine.
OOOO