Notes: Huge thanks to Mari for the assist! Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their always awesome selves.
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thanks for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
It's Good to Be Home (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari and Ilna)
"Mommy! Daddy!" Angie and DJ cried in unison from the front porch as soon as they pulled up in the Highlander with Joseph. They held up the poster board sign they'd decorated with "Welcome Home Mommy and Daddy!" written in large letters and surrounded by numerous pictures.
Unable to wait another minute, they made their way down the steps, still holding the sign between them, and ran toward their parents. The sign dropped to the ground, however, as soon as they were in range and they flung themselves at Catherine who had knelt with her arms wide.
"Mmmm I missed you so much," she said, holding them close.
"How much?" DJ said, leaning back with a broad smile.
"This much!" Catherine said, pulling him back in for another hug.
"Dat's a lot!" Angie said, beaming. Catherine grinned back and kissed the top of her head.
"Daddy!" DJ said as Steve came around the side of the car with their bag. He set it down and knelt for his own hugs, bracing himself as Angie came barreling into his other side.
"D'you miss us too?" Angie asked.
Steve twisted his lips, pretending to think about it. "Hmm, did I miss you …?"
"Daddy!" DJ cried, laughing.
Steve grinned, hugging them again. "I absolutely missed you. Both of you."
"And Cammie an' Pumpkin?" Angie asked, looking over to where Cammie was receiving her own hugs and kisses from Catherine.
"And Cammie and Pumpkin," Steve repeated.
"Pumpkin's inside wif Grandma Ang," Angie reported. "She's making ragù."
"Pumpkin or Grandma Ang?" Steve teased, causing both kids to giggle.
"Oh! I almost forgot! Come see our sign!" DJ said, running over to where Elizabeth had picked up the momentarily forgotten Welcome Home sign.
Steve stood, Angie on his hip, and came over along with Catherine and Joseph who had retrieved their bag.
"Look at this masterpiece," Catherine said, running a hand over DJ's hair. She kissed the top of his head. "Wonderful handwriting, honey."
"It's hard when the letters are so big," he said.
"Me and DJ colored it," Angie said, pointing to the sign.
"They worked very hard," Elizabeth reported with a smile.
"I can tell," Catherine said genuinely.
"Is that the Golden Gate Bridge?" Steve asked, nodding to a picture drawn in the upper corner.
"Yeah, and this is a cable car," DJ said, pointing to another drawing near the bridge.
"It looks great, honey," Catherine said.
" 'Cause you told us you rode one when you called," DJ said.
Catherine smiled at him. "We did, just so we could tell you all about it."
"I hope I can ride one someday," he said wistfully, looking back at his drawing.
"You will," Steve said. "We promise."
"And did you do this, Angie?" Catherine asked, pointing to the lower corner of the sign.
She nodded eagerly. "Dat's you and dat's Daddy and dat's DJ and dat's me and dat's Cammie and dat's Pumpkin," she explained, pointing out each family member.
"We look very happy," Catherine said.
"You' smiling like you are now 'cause you're so happy."
Catherine's smile widened and she leaned over to kiss her. "That's right, we're so happy to be home."
" 'Cause you missed us," DJ said, beaming.
"That's right," Steve said. "San Francisco was great, but it's good to be home."
"Yes, it is," Catherine agreed. "So let's head inside, because we want to hear about all the fun things you did with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Ang while we were gone."
Grandma Ang had dinner ready, and as they ate, the kids regaled their parents with stories from their own long weekend at the condo, even though they had previously shared a lot during their videocalls.
"Smokey and Cammie are best friends," Angie said around a mouthful of ragù.
"I bet they loved getting to have their own sleepover," Catherine said with a smile. She glanced down at the kitten who had curled up in her lap and looked over at her parents. "And you said Pumpkin did great?"
"She did," Joseph confirmed. "We were ready to bring her back here if she wasn't comfortable with the change and just swing by to feed her and change her litter, but she was fine."
Ang nodded. "Gizmo showed her all the best sleeping spots."
Steve grinned. "That was nice of him."
DJ nodded. "They didn't like the fort, but Cammie and Smokey did."
"That fort looked pretty epic," Steve said as Joseph smiled proudly.
"It was so big!" DJ said.
"Yeah!" Angie agreed. "So big! We eated cookies in dere!"
"Of course you did," Catherine said with a laugh.
"And Grandpa made hamburgers," DJ said.
Angie nodded eagerly. "Wif pickles!"
"And when it was raining we went to the … the … what was it called, Grandma?" DJ asked
"The Children's Discovery Center," Elizabeth supplied.
"Yeah, and they had a rainforest section!"
"Neat," Catherine said. She leaned toward him to tease. "Any pink dolphins?"
He grinned. "No, but it was still cool."
"What about you, baby girl?" Catherine asked. "What part of the Discovery Center did you like best?"
"We brush da biiiiig teef," Angie said.
"There was an exhibit about the human body, including a giant mouth with teeth the kids could brush," Elizabeth said.
"And I went under da car like Daddy!" Angie added enthusiastically.
Steve quirked an eyebrow curiously, looking to the Rollinses for a translation.
"They have a Your Town exhibit with different careers," Joseph explained. "Angie kept going back to the mechanic's shop to roll under the car."
"That's my girl," Steve said.
"And DJ, tell Mommy and Daddy who you pretended to be," Elizabeth prompted.
He smiled, ducking his chin a little. "I pretended to be a judge making kids official like Judge Linda did for me."
"Ohh, honey," Catherine said, wrapping an arm around him as Steve smiled softly.
"It was very sweet," Ang said, quickly wiping away a tear.
"Don't worry, I took pictures and video," Elizabeth assured them. "Of everything."
Catherine smiled gratefully. "I would expect nothing less."
"So you enjoyed a little time away?" Elizabeth asked, sipping decaf on the deck with Catherine and Ang after dinner.
"It was great." Catherine smiled as she watched Steve toss a ball around in the yard with the kids, Joseph, and Cammie. "I actually told Steve it was nice to reconnect, but he pointed out how we're always…perfectly connected, which is true. He called it recharging." Her smile broadened. "Like the battery in the Marquis." She chuckled.
"That's actually pretty accurate, car analogy or not," Elizabeth said. "It's always nice to have some alone time to enjoy each other's company undistracted."
"We decided since the kids are older, we want to do it more regularly. Maybe every couple of months."
"That's a wonderful idea, honey," Ang said and patted her hand. "You both work hard and you love your jobs and of course you adore the children, but you're right, they're perfectly fine for a few days every so often. You should plan a nice little getaway here and there."
"An absolutely excellent idea," Elizabeth reiterated. "I completely agree."
"Because then you get a long weekend with your grandkids?" Catherine chuckled at her mother's ever present enthusiasm about spending time with her children.
Elizabeth shrugged. "Long weekend. A week. Two weeks." She waved a hand, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "Whatever you need."
Catherine laughed, then leaned in to hug her mother. "Love you, Mom, you guys are the best." She grinned, looking back at the kids in the yard. "With the outings, delicious food, and massive fort-building, I'm just happy they wanted to come home."
"You really didn't have to get us anything, sweetheart," Joseph said as he admired the carved key holder that was shaped like the San Francisco skyline and had hooks for several keys. "I'm going to put this up tomorrow. Right by the door."
"Everybody can use it so you remember where your keys are," DJ said as he touched the silhouetted buildings.
"Exactly right," Elizabeth said as she opened the decorative tea canister and enjoyed the aroma. "Oh this smells delicious, I think I've found my new favorite morning tea."
"And Grandma Ang gots a pretty bag. Is dat for when you go to BINGO?" Angie pointed to the San Francisco tote that featured watercolors of a local artist.
"I'm absolutely using this when I go to BINGO," her great-grandmother said while leaning over to kiss Catherine's cheek. "Thank you both, it's lovely."
"And now…" Steve said as he handed two boxes over to the children. "Here you go. Mommy and I saw those and thought of you guys right away."
"Yay!" Angie tore at the paper with abandon and squealed with delight at the model of the Golden Gate Bridge. "Is so pretty! Look, DJ," she held it up as her brother finished carefully opening his box and extracting a cable car replica. "Wow, it's just like the one in Ms. Lane's picture."
"Here, push the switch," Steve told him as Catherine reached to turn Angie's bridge into a beautiful night light that twinkled with an array of tiny LED lights.
"They light up! That's so cool!" DJ hugged both parents, followed by Angie doing the same. "Thank you, they're awesome presents."
"Dey's so pretty," Angie's eyes were glued to the twinkling lights. "Thank you," she said in a hushed tone. "Look, Grandma, i's so pretty!"
"I see, it's beautiful, darling. And DJ, that's a wonderful cable car. Mommy and Daddy have excellent taste in souvenirs, don't they?"
DJ and Angie both nodded, leaning against Steve and Catherine's legs.
"Thank you both," Elizabeth said, smiling at her daughter and son-in-law.
"We wanted you to know that even though we were enjoying a special weekend away together, we were also thinking of you," Catherine said, kissing both kids' heads but including her parents and grandmother in her words.
Elizabeth smiled softly, reaching over for Catherine's hand and squeezing her fingers. "I know exactly what you mean."
After saying good night to the Rollinses and Grandma Ang and thanking them again for dinner and for the Happy Funtime Express, Steve and Catherine sent the kids upstairs to start getting ready for bed while they locked up.
Pausing for a moment in the living room before heading up, Catherine knelt to give Cammie a few more kisses.
"We missed you, too, pretty girl," she said. "You and Pumpkin."
Cammie chuffed happily. Both she and Pumpkin had stayed close throughout the evening, clearly pleased to have the whole family back home.
Steve joined them after checking the backdoor. "I'll tell you something else I missed," he said. She looked up, raising an eyebrow in question. "Our bed. It's been a few days, you think it's still as comfortable?" he asked, lips quirked as he fought a smile.
"Mmm," she said, standing and stepping close to kiss him. "One way to find out."
As he leaned down to meet her lips they heard, "Mommy! Angie's hair is stuck in the strings from her shorts!"
Steve winced and Catherine looked toward the upstairs incredulously. "Wh– how did she even–"
He sighed, shaking his head with a chuckle, and kissed her temple. "We are definitely home."
After a mercifully quick untangling of hair from shorts - Angie had decided to make her hair longer by tying her shorts into it - pajamas were donned, teeth were brushed, and they all headed to DJ's room for a bedtime story. As Catherine finished reading You Belong Here, a family favorite, DJ yawned, leaning into his mother's side and sleepily running his fingers through the ends of her hair, while Angie had already begun to doze in Steve's lap.
Careful not to disturb his sleeping daughter, Steve leaned over to kiss DJ's head. "Good night, buddy. I love you. Sweet dreams."
"Night, Daddy," DJ said sleepily. "Love you, too."
Catherine brushed a gentle hand over Angie's head, not wanting to wake her, and waited for Steve to stand and take her to her room. She set the book on the nightstand and turned back to DJ, helping him get under the covers and tucked in.
"Good night, my sweet boy. I missed you."
He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Missed you, too, Mommy."
"Have sweet dreams." She kissed his forehead. I love you."
"Love you, too," he echoed, his eyes drifting shut with a smile on his face.
Catherine rose, going to the doorway to turn off the light and standing for a moment to watch him. When she finally stepped into the hallway and pulled the door most of the way closed, she saw that Steve was doing the same at Angie's room.
They met in the middle of the hall, arms slipping around each other naturally and smiling as Pumpkin brushed up against Catherine's ankle and Cammie nuzzled Steve's leg.
His words, when they came, were quiet and perfectly summed up her own feelings.
"It's good to be home."
Hope you enjoyed!
Book: You Belong Here by M.H. Clark, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Compendium, 2016)
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