Mill Valley, California
Monday, April 18, 1956
8:00AM
Wedding Bells and Bomb Shells
"OK. All right. I'll see you then. How could I forget? OK. Sure, Bring her along. She can meet Peg. See you on Thursday. Bye". 5-year-old Erin woke up on Monday morning to hear her father, BJ saying the previous things into the telephone and then hang up the phone.
"Daddy, who were you talking to?' Erin asked.
"Oh, no one, sweetheart." BJ came into Erin's room, which was right across from his room, the room he had been in when he was talking on the phone.
"Come on, Mommy made pancakes" BJ smiled and picked up his daughter.
"Why were your fingers crossed, Daddy?" Erin looked at her father's mustached face. BJ looked down at his fingers and noticed his fingers were crossed in the child-like habit when children lied to their parents.
"I don't know." smiled BJ. "Force of habit. Ugh. You know, you're getting real heavy. Do you want to walk to the table today?" he said of their tradition of him carrying her to the table that had started when she was 2 and he had returned from Korea.
"OK!" yelled Erin and ran downstairs into the kitchen.
Peg Hunnicut's back was turned when Erin ran into the kitchen.
"Don't run in the house, darling." the woman said automatically.
"Sorry Mommy!" yelled Erin excitedly and started pouring maple syrup sloppily over her chocolate chip pancakes.
"Good morning, darling" BJ strode into the kitchen smiling broadly and kissed his wife on the cheek, then kissed her lightly on the mouth.
"I need more syrup, Mommy." interrupted Erin holding out the empty bottle, focusing heavily on her pancakes.
"That's funny, I swear I just bought that bottle." Peg muttered, frowning in concentration.
"Guess you didn't" BJ laughed "pancakes look good, darling" he said to his wife as Peg looked through the refrigerator, her brow furrowing in concentration.
As BJ walked to the table, he looked at his daughter's pancakes "Erin, honey, I think that's a bit too much syrup. Anymore and the pancake's going to be floating, if it's not already."
Peg looked up from the fridge to find her daughter's pancakes literally drowning in maple syrup. The whole plate was full of it. The plate was so full; some of the syrup had dripped on to the table and the floor. "Oh honey." Peg said breathlessly and grabbed a sponge and ran over to the disaster, leaving the refrigerator door open in the process.
"Did I do something wrong?" asked Erin, looking like she was about to cry.
"Oh no, sweetheart" said BJ, avoiding Peg's glare, which obviously meant 'stop babying her' "next time, let Mommy or I pour the syrup" he continued, giving Peg a glance of his own, meaning 'is that good enough for you?' Peg rolled her eyes and walked away to close the refrigerator door.
"You know what?" BJ said to his daughter, ignoring his wife.
"What?" Erin asked glumly.
"I'll just take my pancakes." he grabbed two pancakes off the platter in front of him and buttered them quickly "...take your plate." he took Erin's plate and put his fork on the pancakes and slowly let the syrup drip down from Erin's pancakes onto his own "...and voíla.unoverlysyruped pancakes. That enough syrup for you, baby?" BJ grinned at the sight of his daughter's tear-streaked smiling face and held out the Erin's plate. Erin grinned eagerly, grabbed the plate and started wolfing down the pancakes. BJ felt his wife put her arms around his neck, kiss his cheek, and then go to sit in her seat across from Erin's, next to his seat which was at the end of the table. They smiled lovingly at each other, which BJ took to mean Peg wasn't mad at him anymore. "God, she's beautiful," thought BJ to himself "I missed her and Erin so much in that dammed war. But now it's over, and I'm home where I should be."
Thoughts of the war reminded BJ of something. "Oh, Peg, I just remembered, Joe Swenson called. Today's meeting got rescheduled to Thursday, so I'm just going into work today."
"I forgot all about that meeting" Peg said thoughtfully, chewing on a piece of pancake "I would have called you at work."
"Oh well, you can call me there now" BJ smiled cheerfully.
While Peg and BJ were smiling at each other, Erin was concentrating very hard on trying to remember something that was bothering her from when she was listening to her parents' conversation. Finally she remembered. "Daddy" she said "I heard you talking to Dr. Swenson. You said to him, 'see you Thursday'. You'll see him today. Why did you say that?"
"Oh. uh." BJ said uncomfortably "I don't know" he recovered, and smiled, but rather weakly. Erin seemed to accept this, said "Oh, OK" and continued eating her pancakes. ************************************************************************
Wedding Bells and Bomb Shells
"OK. All right. I'll see you then. How could I forget? OK. Sure, Bring her along. She can meet Peg. See you on Thursday. Bye". 5-year-old Erin woke up on Monday morning to hear her father, BJ saying the previous things into the telephone and then hang up the phone.
"Daddy, who were you talking to?' Erin asked.
"Oh, no one, sweetheart." BJ came into Erin's room, which was right across from his room, the room he had been in when he was talking on the phone.
"Come on, Mommy made pancakes" BJ smiled and picked up his daughter.
"Why were your fingers crossed, Daddy?" Erin looked at her father's mustached face. BJ looked down at his fingers and noticed his fingers were crossed in the child-like habit when children lied to their parents.
"I don't know." smiled BJ. "Force of habit. Ugh. You know, you're getting real heavy. Do you want to walk to the table today?" he said of their tradition of him carrying her to the table that had started when she was 2 and he had returned from Korea.
"OK!" yelled Erin and ran downstairs into the kitchen.
Peg Hunnicut's back was turned when Erin ran into the kitchen.
"Don't run in the house, darling." the woman said automatically.
"Sorry Mommy!" yelled Erin excitedly and started pouring maple syrup sloppily over her chocolate chip pancakes.
"Good morning, darling" BJ strode into the kitchen smiling broadly and kissed his wife on the cheek, then kissed her lightly on the mouth.
"I need more syrup, Mommy." interrupted Erin holding out the empty bottle, focusing heavily on her pancakes.
"That's funny, I swear I just bought that bottle." Peg muttered, frowning in concentration.
"Guess you didn't" BJ laughed "pancakes look good, darling" he said to his wife as Peg looked through the refrigerator, her brow furrowing in concentration.
As BJ walked to the table, he looked at his daughter's pancakes "Erin, honey, I think that's a bit too much syrup. Anymore and the pancake's going to be floating, if it's not already."
Peg looked up from the fridge to find her daughter's pancakes literally drowning in maple syrup. The whole plate was full of it. The plate was so full; some of the syrup had dripped on to the table and the floor. "Oh honey." Peg said breathlessly and grabbed a sponge and ran over to the disaster, leaving the refrigerator door open in the process.
"Did I do something wrong?" asked Erin, looking like she was about to cry.
"Oh no, sweetheart" said BJ, avoiding Peg's glare, which obviously meant 'stop babying her' "next time, let Mommy or I pour the syrup" he continued, giving Peg a glance of his own, meaning 'is that good enough for you?' Peg rolled her eyes and walked away to close the refrigerator door.
"You know what?" BJ said to his daughter, ignoring his wife.
"What?" Erin asked glumly.
"I'll just take my pancakes." he grabbed two pancakes off the platter in front of him and buttered them quickly "...take your plate." he took Erin's plate and put his fork on the pancakes and slowly let the syrup drip down from Erin's pancakes onto his own "...and voíla.unoverlysyruped pancakes. That enough syrup for you, baby?" BJ grinned at the sight of his daughter's tear-streaked smiling face and held out the Erin's plate. Erin grinned eagerly, grabbed the plate and started wolfing down the pancakes. BJ felt his wife put her arms around his neck, kiss his cheek, and then go to sit in her seat across from Erin's, next to his seat which was at the end of the table. They smiled lovingly at each other, which BJ took to mean Peg wasn't mad at him anymore. "God, she's beautiful," thought BJ to himself "I missed her and Erin so much in that dammed war. But now it's over, and I'm home where I should be."
Thoughts of the war reminded BJ of something. "Oh, Peg, I just remembered, Joe Swenson called. Today's meeting got rescheduled to Thursday, so I'm just going into work today."
"I forgot all about that meeting" Peg said thoughtfully, chewing on a piece of pancake "I would have called you at work."
"Oh well, you can call me there now" BJ smiled cheerfully.
While Peg and BJ were smiling at each other, Erin was concentrating very hard on trying to remember something that was bothering her from when she was listening to her parents' conversation. Finally she remembered. "Daddy" she said "I heard you talking to Dr. Swenson. You said to him, 'see you Thursday'. You'll see him today. Why did you say that?"
"Oh. uh." BJ said uncomfortably "I don't know" he recovered, and smiled, but rather weakly. Erin seemed to accept this, said "Oh, OK" and continued eating her pancakes. ************************************************************************