Wanted to get 2 chapters up as a form of momentum to keep me going. Formatting this fic isn't easy and I'm not totally sure where/how things are gonna go. But uploading 2 chapters is sure to keep it going.
Though I doubt a lot of people are reading anyway.
For those who are, please enjoy.
Beverly had practically torn the front door off before Erica and Geoff had even parked the car. "Mom?" Erica was the first to notice her mother excitedly bouncing in the wide-open doorway. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough!" Beverly's excitement was mixed with impatience. "Say nothing more and bring me my grandbaby!"
"Nice to see you too, Mom." Erica looked to Geoff. "That was the woman you doubted would babysit last minute?" Geoff sheepishly shrugged in response and helped unlatch their daughter's carrier before grabbing the bags.
Beverly squealed with glee as they approached the house. She at least had the decency to wait for them to make it up to the door before scooping her granddaughter out of the carrier. "There's my Baby Schmoopie!" Poppy didn't seem fazed by being abruptly taken out of what held her and into the crazy blonde lady's arms. "Oh, Bubby is so happy to see her Precious Poppy." Beverly ignored her daughter and son-in-law as she carried her granddaughter into the house. Once inside, she took off Poppy's hat and feigned a dramatic gasp. "And look at those gorgeous curls you have! Oh, you're so pretty," Still ignoring Erica and Geoff, Beverly peppered Poppy's face with kisses and continued to fawn over said grandchild.
"Hey everyone!" Erica used a generic greeting when she (and Geoff) did enter the house.
"Hey, Peanut!" Murray gave his daughter a hug. "Good to see you too, Schwartz," he acknowledged his daughter's husband with a quick pat to the shoulder. "Whoa, what's with all the bags?"
"Does this mean we'll be getting more than one night with the baby?" Beverly was excited by that prospect.
"No, we'll be back on Sunday," Geoff clarified. "We weren't really sure what you guys would need so we packed some extra clothes, diapers, food, a couple blankets, and the toys that Poppy's partial to. And if you decide to take her out, there's an extra hat and pair of mittens to keep her warm."
"This is actually Geoff packing light," Erica informed them as she set the empty carrier on the kitchen table.
"I'm not really sure proper protocol for this situation. Our daughter's never spent a night away from us or our apartment. Surrounding her with things that are familiar would probably help make her comfortable."
"I doubt she even knows what's going on right now." Erica gestured to her daughter. "What is she even looking at?"
"I think she's familiarizing herself with her surroundings."
"Which she may as well do seeing as though she will be a very frequent visitor," Beverly added before cooing over her granddaughter.
"Hey, hey!" Barry called as he made his way down the stairs.
"Speaking of frequent visitors," Murray grumbled.
"Looks like you're actually gonna follow through on the whole abandoning your child thing. Good for you."
Geoff was trying not to seem anxious. "Why did he say it like that?"
"Because he doesn't think before he speaks," Erica answered back. "Barry, do you know how hard it was to get Geoff to go along with this trip? Saying things like that is going to make him want to stay home."
"I didn't mean anything bad," Barry explained. "I'm legit looking forward to hanging with the Popster this weekend. Plus, it's your anniversary and you two deserve some time just the two of you."
Erica looked to Geoff. "We really do."
"I know," Geoff agreed, "but I've never spent more than a few hours away from my little girl. I really don't know if I can for a whole day and a half."
"You're never gonna know until it happens," Murray told him. "I get it: the first night away is the hardest. Once you make it through, it'll get easier. It'll probably get to a point where you want to pawn the kid off on someone else so you can have more nights away from them. Until then, you're leaving Poppy in good hands with people who obviously know what they're doing."
"And who'll want to take her whenever," Beverly added.
"I know it seems like the world revolves around your daughter, but you also gotta make time for your wife. Show Erica she's just as special and important."
Geoff turned to his wife and reached for her hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he assured, "She really is."
"Now go do something for yourselves for a change. Everything will be fine."
"Thanks, Mr. G."
"I kinda think Poppy is more important than Erica," Barry noted aloud.
Murray emitted an aggravated noise. "Way to ruin the moment, Moron!" Poppy made some sort of noise as if she was responding. "At least someone agrees with me," he held out his hands for Beverly to place his granddaughter into. "Come see Grampy,"
Barry made an indecipherable face at that. "Grampy? I hope that's not your official title."
"We're trying out new things and letting Mini Peanut decide."
"But she can't talk."
"Doesn't mean she doesn't know. Babies have their own way of figuring what they like and don't like. Don't you, Pretty Poppy?" Poppy buried her head in her grandfather's shoulder. "That's my girl."
"Okay, I think that's everything," Erica figured. "If not: I'm ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure Geoff has multiple lists in the bags if you guys have any valid questions or concerns."
"That is true," Geoff affirmed. "I've spared no detail."
"One detail I think that's good to know is if she's been fed, changed, slept, all that jazz, and she's still fussy," Erica pulled a stuffed bunny rabbit from the front pouch of one of the bags Geoff had yet to put down, "then entertain her with Floppy Bunny."
"I find there's more of an appeal to dangling keys in front of babies," Barry noted. "Anything shiny, really. I mean, who'd be interested in some dumb rabbit?"
"The bunny is soft, doesn't make noise, is cuter to look at, and Poppy's less likely to put it in her mouth," Geoff argued. "She gets so much enjoyment out of this thing; so just take it out and flop it around her every now and then."
"And that's a statement that would sound wrong without context," Erica muttered
"All kids have a beloved toy from their younger days and Floppy Bunny is Poppy's." Geoff demonstrated by taking the bunny and waving it in front of his daughter. "You know you want it." Poppy flexed her tiny fingers as if she was trying to grab the rabbit. "See? You like that, don't you, Baby Girl?"
"Okay, you had to have heard that one!"
Geoff replayed what he said in his mind. "Oh, I hear what you mean and I now regret saying it like that."
"Hey guys!" the gang was all there when Adam came downstairs. "I'm glad I could see you before you went off," he handed them an envelope. "It's just a little something for your anniversary."
"Aww, thank you Adam."
Erica held up the contents of the envelope. "Ten dollars?"
"The first anniversary is the paper anniversary after all."
"Happy Paper Anniversary then," Adam wished his sister and brother-in-law. "I know it's not much, but I still wanted you guys to have something."
"Thanks, Adam," Erica thanked her brother and gave him a quick hug, "but aren't you gonna need this more?"
"That ten dollars is part of the change from when I bought some new video equipment—which I also need for school. It's gonna make my videos look clearer. I'll try to get some video of Poppy for you while you guys are gone."
"Ooh," it sounded like Geoff approved of that, "that's also gonna make for a great gift."
Adam took notice of niece. "Hey, Poppy!" When he tried to get close, Poppy let out a cry and started squirming in her grandfather's arms as if she was trying to get away from her uncle. "What did I do?"
"She just doesn't like you," Barry reminded Adam of his previous hypothesis.
"Don't listen to Barry," Erica discouraged. "You just need to spend more time with Poppy. Try not to be so uncomfortable around her."
"I'm not uncomfortable with her," Adam protested.
"I meant it like…like don't be afraid you're gonna break her when you hold her. And when you do, don't be so tense; relax a bit more. If she's crying, try to keep calm and quiet her down and don't pass her off on Mom, Dad, or Barry. Poppy knows who you are, but she just needs to get to know you better."
"I mean…I guess all that makes sense."
"You'll be fine," Erica assured her youngest brother. She then looked to her husband. "We really should be going now, Geoff. Let Adam take all the bags."
"Let Adam do what now?"
Erica ignored him and went over to her daughter. "Have fun with your grandparents and uncles. Mommy and Daddy will be back tomorrow, Sweetie," she gave Poppy a quick kiss on the cheek. "Love you."
A quick goodbye kiss wouldn't be enough for Geoff as he took his daughter from his father-in-law. "I'm gonna miss you so much," he held her as tight as he could and covered her face with kisses. "I promise we'll be back tomorrow and then never let you out of our sight again." Erica signaled for her mother to take the baby. When Beverly did manage to free Poppy from Geoff's grasp, Erica took Geoff by the wrist and started pulling him toward the door. "BYE POPPY, DADDY LOVES YOU!" Geoff managed to cry out before Erica had dragged him out of the house.
"Bye guys," Erica quickly bade her family goodbye before Barry closed the door.
"A night away from the kid will do him some good," Murray decided. He noticed his granddaughter didn't have much of a reaction. "At least this one doesn't start screaming her head off the second her parents left."
"Erica really did that?" Adam inquired.
"Nope. Much like her own child, Erica didn't really care when her parents left," Murray pointed to his older son, "I'm actually referring to that one."
"Oh, Barry absolutely hated whenever we left," Beverly agreed.
"And yet now it's the opposite," Barry countered. "Quite frankly: I like when you guys leave and I get this place to myself."
"You don't even live here!" an aggravated Murray pointed out. "You know what: I'm not gonna get upset in front of Poppy." Before he left for the den, he directed his attention to Barry, "And for what it's worth: we don't get upset whenever you leave."
"That's not true, Boopy," Beverly disagreed as she wrapped an arm around her middle child and pulled him closer. "I always miss you when you leave." She diverted her attention to her youngest. "I'd pull you in too, Squishy; but my arms are full."
"And Poppy would cry if you came near her," Barry added.
"Oh, honestly," as if to prove him wrong, Beverly carried her granddaughter over to Adam. Once in close proximity to her uncle, Poppy started to whine and squirm as close to her Bubby as she could. "It's okay, Precious. We love our Uncle Adam." This made Poppy start to cry (which made her other uncle laugh). "Well…we'll learn to love our Uncle Adam." When Beverly backed away, Poppy quieted down.
"Not only does this confirm I'm right, but this also confirms that I am the favorite uncle."
"Since when did this become a competition!?" Adam questioned back.
"It isn't," Beverly prevented the brothers from any fighting. "There is no clear favorite. She just needs a little time to adjust to someone she doesn't see often. But, now that Mommy and Daddy are gone, we can try on the new outfits Bubby made for her Poppy. Yes, we can!"
Barry gave a somewhat evil chuckle as his mother left the scene. "Oh little bro: it's always a competition. And I'm winning."
"Oh yeah?" Adam tried to think of a comeback. "Well, you wouldn't win Dad's favorite child!"
"Neither would you; it's clearly Erica."
"Dammit, it clearly is." An idea occurred to Adam. "Oh, Dad!"
"What have you morons got against me watching television?!" Murray yelled from the den.
"Remember that forty bucks you gave Barry so he could get something for Poppy? Turns out, he couldn't get it for her after all."
A red-faced, nostril flaring, visibly miffed Barry tried to suppress his rage. "You son of a-"
"Moron!" Murray snapped his fingers at his son. "Money!"
"Sorry, Bro," Adam, meanwhile, was triumphantly smug. "It's always a competition."
"Oh, I am going to get you back so hard!" Barry threatened.
"I'm sure you will. Until then, I think I'm gonna enjoy this."
Another finger snap from the den. "MONEY, NOW!"
