A/N: I had to choose a timeline and chose December since the '99 movie matches the play's. You'll see a nod to '82 (which you could argue incorporates part) but that movie is based on the comics and is more comic-bookesque. (For instance, gyrocopters… can't hover like that, so it's a comic bookesque "richest man has plane he invented"). Still, don't put it past Pepper to write something like it down the road, as this is part of how the orphans write the comics. :-) (As I said in "Just Thinking About Tomorrow," I split the difference on the orphans helping - it's logical to search the database right away for Annies born in New York on that date to learn she's Annie Bennett, but orphans can help, maybe in pinning Miss Hannigan as an accomplice. Edit: My later "July Knows Best" shows how they did.)
I searched to see if there was a given date where there could clearly be snow scenes. I got something better - a day after temperatures were in the 50s on the 25th, when the play ends, 10 inches of snow started falling shortly after daybreak on the 26th and continued hard, then another inch in the afternoon. They would know it was coming by Christmas afternoon. It's fun when you can mix in reality to make a fic better. I did that in a Print On Demand book, an alternate 1980 baseball pennant race impacted by a rainout; it's "The Greatest Games Never Played" if you're interested. The first transatlantic phone conversation was January, 1927, so even if Bowlby wouldn't have had a phone in his home, he could always have been asked to come someplace which had one.
Finally, I had a teacher named Mrs. Apple or Appel in 2nd grace and – if her name on a playbill later for our grade school Christmas concert wasn't a misprint - she was so kind not to correct students like me who always spelled it like the fruit. I like to include names of my favorite former teachers from the '70s and '80s when I can, and that story fits nicely here.
Do You Want To Build A Snowman?
"Is he on the phone a lot?" Molly, six, asked her friend Annie Bennett – soon to be Annie Warbucks - eleven, as they peeked in at Oliver Warbucks on Christmas day. Mr. Warbucks was on the phone, and had been another time they'd looked as they roamed the mansion.
"That's probably how he made all his money," Annie pondered aloud.
A friendly chuckle drew their attention, and they turned to see a man whose face was at their level. It was the president, who was in a wheelchair. "It's fascinating how you children come up with such unique ideas. I must be going; there is a storm on the way due early tomorrow. To answer your question, Oliver invested in a lot of inventions when he was younger, then and I became friends when his fortune really ballooned due to weapons during the Great War; I was in the Department of the Navy. We've had our differences lately, but he has always wanted to help others." He saw Oliver Warbucks and waved – Warbucks took the time to step away from the phone to bid FDR a good day before returning to it.
"Yes," they heard Warbucks say, "Thank you, Dr. Huntington. Dr. John Bowlby in Britain gave me your name. I know it's supposed to snow a lot tomorrow, so I wondered if perhaps you could come for dinner and talk to some of the children I have here…" He paused; some of his friends also knew Dr . Huntington, but he had known Bowlby would stand out to him. "Certainly, bring your food, too. It's complicated, but essentially, a very nasty head of one of the city's orphanages here in Manhattan was just arrested, and now I not only have the one I'm planning to adopt, I have six others."
"I'm sure he'll say yes to you," Annie pledged to Molly. She'd been an emotional sister to Molly almost since the first day Molly got to the orphanage two years earlier. "In fact, I'll let you in on a secret. If Ralph and Shirley Mudge had been my real parents, instead of the imposters they were, I was gonna tell Daddy Warbucks I knew a great girl just like me. He wanted to adopt by then. And, he would have had you," Annie said as she squeezed her.
Molly sighed contentedly as she leaned on Annie. "Thanks."
Annie and Molly walked into Mr. Warbucks' office once he was done. "Daddy?" Annie said.
"Yes, Annie?" he said with a smile. "You caught me at a good time. I just got in touch with the owner of Macy's before this call, he's unlocking his store and getting play clothes which I'm buying for all of you to use to play in the snow tomorrow; it's coming very early."
"Leaping Lizards! That'll be so much fun! You know you said I could have anything here?"
"Of course; money is no object to me. I can call him back if you want," Warbucks said happily.
"I'd like a little sister," Annie said with a knowing grin.
Oliver laughed. "And, then there are those special things you are helping me learn about, which money can't buy. You mean Molly?" Annie nodded. "I was just talking to a doctor over in Britain before my most recent call."
"Aren't there doctors in New York?" Molly asked.
"This one is John Bowlby, he is an up and coming worker in early childhood development." Bowlby had completed an internship at a place called Priory Gates which he would later say taught him the basics of everything he would later know as far as the importance of looking at things developmentally. "I knew of him from some friends in Britain. He said it wouldn't be surprising if some of you had become like siblings. I… must admit I feel so inadequate, given that she is younger and you're able to understand when I take you on business trips. But if you'll help me learn, Annie, I'll adopt Molly, too," Warbucks said. The girls jumped excitedly and hugged him. He squeezed them and said: "Now, I need to call a few other places."
Meanwhile, a retrieval team had been sent to the orphanage. "Thanks for helping us, Miss Ferrell," Duffy said as they collected the last of the things the other orphans had at the orphanage and began carrying those bags to the waiting car.
"Thank you for coming along," Grace Ferrell, Mr. Warbucks' personal secretary, said. She saw Duffy's friend Pepper looking around with a somewhat distant look in her eyes. "Those are some nice pictures in that one box, Pepper. Did you draw those?"
"Tessie's a better drawer when it comes to people. Except she doesn't like eyeballs," Pepper cracked. "You'll find out what these things are," she promised. They would become part of the comic strip the orphans had begun there.
Duffy patted her on the shoulder. "That's right. We are going to get published. I don't care how long it takes. What does Annie always say?"
"Yeah. The sun'll come out tomorrow. Well, guess what? She was an orphan like the rest of us all along. I wonder how confident she would have been?"
"I think she would have had confidence. She has that personality," Grace said. "Look at your friend Duffy. July, while quieter, seems to as well."
Pepper finally started carrying her suitcase and the last of the stories and drawings they'd made. "They had the other staff, like that Miss Kathy Annie probably told you about." She had. "I knew them, but I was five or six when my parents died, I was on the street a while. Long enough to know how scary it is. Then here for six, seven years. I wish I could have Annie's confidence."
"I'm not sure what I want, but… I just hope Mr. Warbucks is going to find me a family that will really help me grow in my talents," Duffy said.
"I want a place where I can get some sleep," Pepper griped.
Grace looked kindly at her. "I heard Miss Hannigan made you stay up till all hours of the night on sewing projects a few times."
"Well, not all hours… there were only a few times where it was that bad. It was her way of accepting the agreement not to force the younger ones to do stuff they couldn't, and yet still make us get stuff done," Pepper said, throwing her luggage into the trunk. "Her verbal attacks hurt a lot, too," she said wearily as they walked back inside to make sure they had everything. "How come nobody ever bothered to see what was going on?"
Grace reminded her: "They did direct me there when I called for Mr. Warbucks to host an orphan. I guess they had no concrete evidence, but knew if there was a problem, Mr. Warbucks had the money he could make sure it got stopped."
"Thanks to Annie, it did," Duffy reminded Pepper.
Pepper muttered under her breath. It still frustrated her that she couldn't have Annie's outlook. Sure, people told her that she'd survived; they'd been telling her that ever since Miss Hannigan, the former head of the orphanage, had been arrested. But, part of her wondered.
July had chosen to wait back at the mansion with the others. She had no name, yet she had two. She had been placed on the orphanage doorstep with no name. Miss Hannigan couldn't bother to name her, so she'd called her July. Miss Kathy had called her Kate.
July imagined that she might – eventually – go by Katherine, but another little girl named Kate had been dropped off over six years ago. So, she would go by July for now. But, Kate might go by July. It provided mirth, at least, when they thought about the prospects of getting the names confused. July laughed as she and Kate explored the vast mansion. July knew they had to be adopted together, and not just for comedy potential. Kate had bonded with her.
"Did you find us a home yet?" July asked as they walked past Oliver Warbucks.
"I'm working on it. The Depression makes it harder, so I'll set up trusts for each of you orphans so adoptive parents can use the money to feed, clothe, and so on, plus for schooling." That was something he'd talk with his lawyer about tomorrow over the phone. "A Dr. Huntington will be here shortly. He can help me decide how to phrase any inquiries to potential families." He didn't want to guarantee the Huntingtons would adopt, but he hoped so. It sounded possible, and they might have the money for one or two without the trust. And, the fact that he knew Dr. Bowlby and they had exchanged letters showed he might have considered eventually adopting an older orphan and what it might entail.
"That's good. I hope I get adopted with Kate – or at least a younger brother or sister. I feel odd not wondering where everyone is or making sure Miss Hannigan isn't yelling. I feel like I'm going to need something to do," July confessed.
"It was rough, I'm sure; at least Annie helped with Molly."
"Yes; Miss Hannigan's idea – really Miss Kathy's old one – of giving her responsibility kept her from sneaking out for months, but she did some later, and when Miss Hannigan locked her in the cellar for it, by then we weren't doing tons of sewing, except our own clothes, since the little ones slowed us down – once Molly turned six it ramped up a bit again - but if we did, I had to watch the youngest two while the older girls sewed or cleaned, or let Duffy help Molly. I was usually the mother figure, but it messed things up when Annie got like that," July said.
Oliver was glad to see Mrs. Greer and her family talking to three of the former orphans, Annie, Molly, and Tessie. He had been thinking about something related to what July had said. He walked up to Mrs. Greer as she turned away from the conversation they'd been having.
"Thanks for coming," he whispered, anxiously looking to be sure they couldn't be overheard. "I know it's Christmas, but you and your family can dine with us. Plus…" He sighed and tried to be delicate. "Annie fell asleep before we got home the first night, but the next morning she told you about all the work and so on at the orphanage. I know you saw no evidence of anything awful, and Annie said there was never anything like that, but…"
"Say no more, Mr. Warbucks. I'll look and talk with the girls. I hope we have the same good results, or I don't want to think about what I'd want to do to that woman," Mrs. Greer said. Thankfully, there would be nothing like that, as nothing that bad was ever done, though they'd feared it could with Miss Hannigan's tirades and name-calling like "rotten orphans."
"What were you whispering about?" Molly wanted to know once he left that conversation.
Oliver Warbucks bent down a little. "Molly, the job of a good parent is to make sure everything is safe and you can grow up happy and secure. That means we worry about things that could happen, and we make plans to keep bad things from happening."
"What bad things are going to happen?" Tessie asked worriedly.
"I was asking Mrs. Greer about something that might have happened, but hopefully didn't…" Oliver shook his head. "Times like this are why I feel so inadequate. I can conduct business with anyone and make great financial decisions. But, when it comes to explaining a simple thing like this, I don't even know how to explain what I'm trying to say."
"He might be scared Miss Hannigan was even worse than she was," Annie said.
Molly was still a very concrete thinker at age 6. She was used to Miss Hannigan scaring her – the girl had used Miss Hannigan's "your days are numbered" on her just today – and July and Annie teaching her what was safe. She always listened to them because they were right, like when they' got Miss Hannigan to let her "boss them" a bit during cleaning by acting like her, or when July said Miss Hannigan would put Annie in the cellar for running away. She'd felt from the beginning like she had to listen to them in that sad orphanage, since she felt loved by them, and it had worked out okay, even if it was like the time they washed her mouth out with soap once or other times they punished her because Miss Hannigan was "out of it." Molly was used to a routine, so she asked, "How could it have been worse? you mean like if she treated me like a cat?" Miss Hannigan had, at times, threatened Molly after she hid in the laundry by saying she'd make her drink from a saucer and catch birds for food if she kept acting like a cat.
"Pepper wrote some stories that are worse. I haven't read you those. But, Pepper told me about stuff she saw on the street. Trust me, be glad you don't know," Annie told her.
"Yes, Pepper. She needs a stable home. Dr. Bowlby and I were saying that being the only one there would benefit her – she needs the attention. I was hoping Dr. Huntington could talk to some of the girls and maybe even adopt one; his wife is wonderful," Mr. Warbucks said.
He continued to think about how Annie had been able to explain that so easily. Would he ever be able to explain that effectively? Could he even get on their level to help them understand things?
Grace and the others arrived soon after Dr. Huntington and his family had. "Hi, Oliver." She smiled as he looked up from one of several large packages. "We got the girls' things. Pepper-" She noticed him pulling out a large fur coat; it was about Molly's size. "Pepper and Duffy took drawings and things to the room they'll be in-" Another coat and boots came out. "Pepper wanted time away from the others. So, Mrs. Greer offered to give her a deluxe bubble bath, hair styling, the works." He pulled some other items out of yet another package. "She said the first thing to do is check their hair for nits to make sure they don't have lice. What is all this?"
"It's going to snow tomorrow, Grace. Quite heavily. I don't want the children to miss it, so I pulled out all the stops. I had the owner of Macy's bring winter outfits in the girls' sizes."
Grace was impressed. "You really are going all out, Oliver!"
"I know. Oh," he said, seeming suddenly to catch what Grace had said. "That's good. How did the girls take visiting the orphanage?"
"They didn't even want to look at the sewing room. They just wanted to collect their things – I guess some of them had been writing and drawing things, they were all stacked neatly in one part of the girls' dorm room. I'm a little concerned about Pepper. I'm glad Mrs. Greer is taking time for her," Grace replied. She was glad to see Oliver so focused on the orphans.
"Dr. Huntington can speak with her at dinner, or at least his wife will. I don't know who would be best for Pepper, but I know Mrs. Huntington is a wonderful woman. They're in their early 30s, but he was so busy they had only begun to plan for children," Oliver said. While Dr. Huntington was a medical doctor, he had some interest in early childhood develoment, which was how he'd known Dr. Bowlby.
"Anyway, I saw Annie on the way in to see you; she said you promised to adopt Molly, too. That's so sweet," she said, putting an arm around Oliver.
"Thank you." They shared a tender look. "Annie asked me if I'd give her anything, and she said she wanted a little sister. It helps me think of the things money can't buy, things I've ignored."
"I'm sure you wish you could adopt all of them," Grace said. She got behind him and gently massaged his shoulders as he sat.
"Thank you. You can tell I feel tense, I imagine. Honestly, I know those two are rightly matched, but while I can't give the attention to all of them that they need, I feel responsible to find them homes. Perhaps because I didn't know for so long."
"And tomorrow, they will have no worries, simply time to get accustomed to playing in the snow Which I'd like to see you do, also," Grace insisted.
Oliver was stunned. "Me?"
"You, Oliver Warbucks. I'm stunned – but happily so – that you bothered the people at Macy's and had them bring you things for the girls when they'd normally be closed. That's how you know how to give. But, time is more important. And, these girls have probably never had much time to enjoy something like this," Grace said, standing in front of him at the end.
Oliver supposed Grace was right. "That's becoming easier – I took Annie through New York and even to Washington with me."
"That was doing what you wanted to do, and involving her in it. Which is fine; a good man, the man I'd like to marry, should involve his children in his work." Oliver's eyebrows really shot up this time. "Come on, Oliver. I know you wonder because we're further apart in age. But, don't tell me you're not attracted to me."
"Oh, of course I am; if I were to have considered the possibility of marriage, I would have wanted it to be with someone just like you. But, I'm too old; would you want me? You can be a mother just like this for the girls."
"Not as well. They have no experience; Pepper's was too long ago, and she and her family were on the street for a while anyway. Molly recalls now what having her parents alive was like, but she won't recall years from now what it's like to see a loving married couple."
Oliver understood. "And the others… would never remember anything. But, that's why I'm working so hard to find someone," he persisted.
"I know. It will come, though. You know enough people, you can get leads and find the right possible matches," Grace said. Oliver decided she was right.
Late that evening, Dr. Huntington and his wife smiled as they said goodbye to Oliver. "You have all my recommendations, just from initial talks with them?" Oliver said he did.
Mrs. Huntington spoke up. "I know you thought my husband and I could be great for Pepper, but we might be having a baby." She seemed to be hinting she was pregnant, though only a couple months in. "I think July is perfect for us. Especially with his schedule," she said.
"With Kate, too, of course," the doctor said.
"As you remarked might help both – July to feel some sense of purpose, Kate because she's so shy. I know you have some famous ancestors in the medical field, so I certainly trust your judgments, from what your friend Dr. Bowlby says," Oliver said.
Dr. Huntington nodded. "Wait till tomorrow to tell them we'd like to adopt them. Mrs. Greer said that poor Pepper girl is so edgy. She really wonders what's going to happen, but won't admit it. If you wait, she'll feel more like it's okay if it doesn't happen all at once."
"July was stressed, but hers is a different type," his wife said.
"I know, thinking she has to do it all. Believe me, I know all too well," Oliver admitted.
Mrs. Greer agreed as she and her family walked up to them. "All good reports," she muttered. "Certainly, some emotional scars, but nothing physical." A giant wave of tension left Oliver's face, too, and he breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Mrs. Greer. Of course, they'll get all messy again playing in the snow, but they deserved the royal treatment," Oliver said. He promised to pay her extra, along with others on the staff who had helped her, given the time involved with nails, hair, and everything else.
"I'm glad I could give them all such a great Christmas gift. That Pepper girl especially."
A bit later, Oliver walked much more confidently after the last of the girls had gone to bed. Grace was busy organizing how to reach out to other potential adoptive parents based on Dr. Huntington's suggestions and a few possible leads.
"Wow, Oliver. You look a lot better now, and it hasn't even started snowing," Grace said, recalling her earlier comment about playing in the snow.
"Mrs. Greer gave me wonderful news." He sat in his office chair. "No bruises, scars, nothing. Emotional, for sure, but not physical scars."
Grace walked over to him and smiled tenderly. "You were scared, weren't you?"
He blinked twice. "I was an orphan. I've made and lost so much in my life, and made it again. Scared?" He hedged. "I don't know if I'd use that word. Worried, yes, I'll admit to that."
Grace thought he was trying to evade the question a little. "It's okay to be scared. What's important is what you do when you're scared," Grace said.
"That sounds like a more grown up way of something Annie would say."
"You admire that in a woman, don't you? Just like how I managed to get Annie like I told you about after the Board of Orphans referred me to that place," Grace said, trying to prompt him. She knew he recognized that she could be as clever as Annie.
Oliver smiled, and put an arm around her. "Indeed, I do. Which is what I love about Annie – she helped you out. She has the same drive and determination I did as a boy. And, you do, too."
Milly tossed and turned. She saw the imposters at the orphanage, not the Warbucks' where they had been arrested and taken away. She then found herself running out of the orphanage with the other orphans, imploring them to follow her to the Warbucks' as fast as she could. Her legs were worn out after a long time of running, and suddenly she was at the front door of the mansion. The door opened, and she fainted.
She woke up in a strange place to her, after mumbling "Annie" a few times. As Molly blinked and looked around, she didn't see Annie. "Where's Annie?" Still disoriented, she jumped out of bed and started waking the others in the large guest room. "Annie's not here."
"Molly, it's okay," July muttered as she got up, with the others following slowly.
Molly had frantically dashed into the hall by this time, just now getting oriented a little, yet not quite, since it was dark and she'd only been upstairs for a bit going to bed; it was still unfamiliar to her. Mr. Warbucks heard her calling loudly. "We have to save Annie."
"Molly, are you all right?" He had just come up after a long evening of work.
"The Mudges aren't her real parents," Molly insisted. "They want to take the money and hurt Annie! We have to save her!"
Oliver had picked up the trembling girl by the time she had finished her sentence. "It's all right, Molly. You had a very scary dream." He hugged her and carried her over to Annie's room. "Let's find Annie," he told the sniffling child.
"I don't want anything to happen to Annie," Molly whined as they entered.
"I know. Annie, dear," Oliver said as the older girl rose.
"Aw, did you have a bad dream, Molly? Was it one with your parents on that boat again?" Annie took her in her arms and cuddled her, with Oliver putting an arm around Annie.
"No, Annie. It was those bad guys. I thought they took you and were gonna hurt you."
Oliver reminded Molly, "I would always have checked, Molly." The idea of writing a personal check and not a cashier's check, or not checking them out even with the locket, wasn't sound business practice, but that wasn't important to Molly. "We found out about her real parents, the Bennetts, since I could easily call the FBI. And, you girls helped us find out Miss Hannigan was an accomplice. Annie was never going to go to anyone till I was absolutely sure we knew who her parents were. Anyone could have faked the locket, or anything. Miss Hannigan could have told anyone about it while she was drunk," he tried to joke. The joke didn't affect Molly, but Annie chuckled. They'd gotten evidence of the sweatshop and stealing from the orphan fund for her booze which would have put her away even without the conspiracy with her brother.
"Was Daddy Warbucks in the dream?" Annie asked as she slowly rocked Molly.
"Yeah. For a minute. And Miss Grace." Molly turned to Oliver. "She's such a good dancer. And she sings so nice. She'd make such a nice Mommy."
"I know. I was telling herjust a little bit ago, she'd have been the woman of my dreams 20, 30 years ago," Oliver maintained.
"Those are some really good dreams." Annie chuckled as Oliver smiled and nodded. "Molly, you know that was in your mind because you were scared it could happen, right?" When Molly nodded slowly, Annie suggested, "Let's think of some ways that dream can change, so if you have it again, you can change the script. Because when it's in your control, you can." Annie shared ideas – like airplanes flying around to find her, even with Molly flying one if she wanted, or phones in cars to help, which was impossible in 1933.
Oliver considered that, once again, he'd failed to comprehend the girls' needs. He'd let Duffy and Pepper share a room since they were older and Pepper especially wanted quiet. He'd let July have the younger three, with Annie having her own room. But, would Molly prefer – or even need – to room with Annie? Now that he was adopting her, too, he thought it important for her to also have her own room. But, he didn't know what to do. Once Annie and Molly were done talking, he asked if she wanted to stay there.
Molly nodded slowly. Annie added: "She can snuggle with me for tonight."
"All right. We'll discuss if you want your own rooms later, but we'll move the little bed we got for Molly in here for tomorrow night. And, for good if you want," Oliver promised.
The wind was howling after daybreak the next morning, with lots of beautiful snow falling quickly. After breakfast, several of the girls asked if they could go out to play despite it still coming down fast and furious.
"All right, but be careful. Go out back, it might be hard to tell the yard from the street if you wander far enough and if someone dares to ride a horse through," Oliver said. They complied.
Molly was the first to venture out. She waved to the others. "Watch this." She laid on the ground and made a snow angel, something she still recalled being shown when she was 2 or 3.
"Swell." Annie ran outside and did the same. Soon, all but Pepper had drifted out. One of the youngest workers ventured out, too, and showed the girls how to build a snowman – or tried to, given how fast it was coming down.
Kate ran back to Pepper. "Come on, Pepper. Do you want to build a snowman? Or we could race through mansion halls."
Pepper was clearly lost in thought, wondering when and if she'd be claimed. Kate didn't know what it could be; all she knew was that Pepper needed to be prodded a little to have fun.
Pepper ventured outside the second time the girls were out, after a little break. But, she simply dove into the snow and made a snow angel. She laid there blissfully catching snowflakes on her tongue as the snow continued steadily. It was slowing, but more was expected in the afternoon. Over eleven inches would fall that day, with almost 10 having fallen by this time.
Kate and Molly bugged her as she stood up moments later, still catching the snowflakes. "Do you want to build a snowman?" Kate asked. After waiting a moment, she said "It doesn't have to be a snowman." Then, getting no response, they left for a moment.
Pepper had been thinking of life on the streets. Seeing others having fun – and finally venturing outside – she had begun to soak in the realization that she didn't have to be scared anymore of what could happen. Oh, sure, she still had anxiety, and thought about stuff that had happened at the orphanage and before, but she was finally getting a sense of freedom. And, who could blame her for wondering at first? Even Annie had thought she'd be scrubbing floors when she got to the Warbucks at first, and she'd been a lot more confident.
Suddenly, as Pepper remembered how to have fun, several snowballs hit her in rapid succession, totally breaking her concentration on the beauty of the snow and of freedom.
"All right," she told her attackers in a playfully harsh manner, "it won't be a snowman, it'll be a snowKate and a snowMolly." The girls squealed with glee as Pepper grabbed Kate and urged the others to playfully roll the youngest girls in snow so there was one big snowball packed high enough only the youngest girls' heads and arms were sticking out. Pepper chanted several times, "Do you want to be a snowman?" as she laughed at them while packing the snow.
"Such bliss," Oliver said as he watched through the back window. "It looks like they've got Pepper engaged in play with a full head of steam now – she and Duffy don't let up." He turned to one of his staff. "We better call them in, Molly and Kate might be pretty cold with all that snow packed on them, and I don't want them to catch cold. It's near lunchtime, anyway."
"Certainly, Mr. Warbucks."
Grace was on the other side of him. "Why don't you go out and play in it?"
"Me? Grace, I have a lot to do. The city may be shut down by this snowstorm, but that's why it's so good to have a telephone," Oliver insisted.
"And, you called your lawyer at his home and followed some leads to a possible adoptive family for Duffy now, an older couple in the media business. Plus I know the girls would love for you to join them," Grace told him. "Especially this one."
Oliver chuckled. "You?"
"Come on, we'll go out together and build a snowman."
Oliver felt odd as he slipped his boots on that afternoon. "Can we go out to the front, Daddy," he heard Annie ask. "Anyone can see driving now." Even then, it would only be horses and buggies.
"There's plenty of snow out back yet," he quipped. "You didn't bring it all inside."
"Now, that's sounding like a father playing with his daughter," Grace teased him.
"I suppose it does. I can't recall the last time I built a snowman. But I am very glad to have some help," Oliver said.
He enjoyed himself. Oliver grinned as, after a while, he heard a shout from a horse and buggy. They weren't common transportation, but a clever newspaper man had brought a camera hoping to take some pictures. Of the scene after the snow had let up for the most part. Either that, or some neighbors had seen and tipped hm off.
"Mr. Warbucks!" the cameraman called. He announce3d what paper he worked for.
"Hello," Oliver said. "Two pictures, please!" The cameraman took one of Oliver and Annie building a snowman, then one with Molly in it, too.
"Thank you, Sir. What's the other girl's name? Was she at the orphanage, too?" the cameraman called out.
"Molly. She bonded with Annie at the orphanage. I'm adopting her, too," Oliver called back.
"Thank you, Sir," he called back merrily. He took a wide range shot of all the kids further down the road before he left.
Oliver turned toward his future daughters. "That is ingenuity and hard work on display. It's what made America great. That man came out to get a picture somewhere, and if he takes advantage of what I told him, he'll get credit on a little scoop and keep working his way up. Always remember that – look for whatever chances you can get and take every opportunity to do a good job for someone."
Grace smiled. She wound up playing with the others and helping them build snow forts before they chose up sides for a snowball fight. However, even if Oliver was having too much fun with Annie and Molly now to play with her, at least he was out there.
They took another break for more warm Ovaltine. Oliver had gladly bought a lot knowing Annie had grown fond of it in her time there, but all this playing in the snow was going to make that supply a little thin till stores could easily reopen in a day or two. Then, the group went out again.
"They never get tired of playing in the snow, do they?" Oliver said.
"No, they don't. Do you?" Grace teased him.
"I'm about to invite you to build a snowman with me," Oliver told her. As they rolled a large ball around in the snow, he said, "I know having Annie around makes me feel young. But, this does, in a different way. I feel like a schoolboy having fun with his crush."
Grace giggled. "Oliver, did you just say you have a crush on me?"
"Yes, I did." They began to roll the middle ball. "Grace, I do like you so much. I'm even realizing I love you. There are times I think we could build a life together. But, until the last few days, I had felt I was too old. When I referred to you as my crush, that's just what I would do when I was a boy Annie's age, maybe more like July's. I loved having fun with them, but I wasn't sure how to take the next step, to start doing courtship-type things together."
They lifted the second ball on top of the first, and prepared to roll the top one as a few snowballs whizzed past them. Pepper had decided that it would be a good idea to take a bunch of snowballs and try to charge the other side's fort, which led to a bunch of them just charging at each other randomly throwing snowballs and laughing.
"So, I made my millions, I focused solely on business, which I was good at. And now, I'm a kinder, more pleasant version of Old Scrooge, learning my lesson much less forcefully than he had to learn his," he finished as they put the top part on the snowman.
Grace shook her head as they jogged inside to get coal, a carrot, and an old hat and scarf for the snowman before returning. "Oliver Warbucks, don't compare yourself to Scrooge. That man was such a miser and cared nothing for his employees," she scolded him.
"I said I was kinder," Oliver said defensively. "I would never treat a Bob Cratchit the way he did. I might not know about Tiny Tim, but once I found out I'd pay medical bills years earlier than Scrooge did. Just like I helped Annie once I learned orphans don't always have last names and other things. And, like I'm helping the others now. I didn't know much," he admitted as he and she finished decorating the snowman. He then put his arms around her. "Now, I'm doing all I can, just like Scrooge became like a second father to Tiny Tim. When it comes to thinking money was so important, I was like him a little. And you are have started me back on the right path by bringing Annie to me. You are my Christmas past, present, and future. I love you," he said – with feeling this time.
"Oh, Oliver! I love you, too." They hugged and kissed passionately. It was the moment she'd hoped for. She didn't know how long he'd had a crush on her, but she had had one on him for a long time. She was so glad to see him finally realizing he didn't have to feel like an old man.
Drake, the butler, couldn't help but chuckle a few days later, on Friday. Had he not announced Pepper's potential adoptive parents – who were talking with and getting to know her now – several minutes earlier in the same way, it would have really seemed strange.
He welcomed the school representative in, directed her to the sitting room, and then went to poke his head out back. "Mrs. Appel from the schools is here, Sir" he said calmly as he observed Oliver Warbucks building another snowman with Annie and Molly.
"Wonderful, Drake. She is a little early." He slipped off his snow pants, coat, hat, and boots, as did the girls, and – after several minutes – he and all the former orphans were gathered in the sitting room with Mrs. Appel.
"Mr. Warbucks," she said after some small talk, "July and the others were telling me about the way she had to teach the youngest with Miss Kathy gone so much in the 1930-31 school year, and then by herself starting in the summer of '31. Now that the city is finally digging out from this storm, I wanted to talk with each of them to assess where they might be in school. I understand from the papers Miss Hannigan made them work all the time."
"True, but Annie told me last week they got quite creative in their teaching," Oliver said.
'Annie knew how to spell Mississippi right away when I got her," Grace recalled.
"That's wonderful. I can imagine they'd have to be creative. I teach second grade – I'm thinking Kate might be able to be in my class from our talks so far. Of course, I'll be forgiving if a child spells my name like the fruit, it might be more confusing if I correct it," she joked.
"If there wasn't a cool tune to spelling like 'Mississippi,' it was harder to teach," Duffy acknowledged.
"Let's sing one of the songs we'd sing – we tried to keep our spirits up by always singing and coming up with little stories to help teach things," July explained.
"Oh, no, not this again," Pepper said, rolling her eyes.
Duffy reminded Pepper she had fun with these songs, too. "Some got pretty repetitive," she admitted, "but this one was special." She told how they would pass the time cleaning or on the sewing machines making up songs to the tune of ones they'd learned…
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Molly, four, had been there a few weeks. She sat on Annie's lap holding some material straight, just like Kate sat on July's.
"We only have to sew a few more minutes, then we'll be done," Annie promised her as she squirmed a bit. They could take breaks just to run off energy, but Miss Hanigan would complain, and neither liked that. They were glad they had pushed for a deal like Miss Kathy had made with Miss Hannigan not to force the younger ones to do the work of an adult; of course, they were all younger at that point, it seemed.
Molly slumped. "Can we sing the 'I love you' song?" Pepper rolled her eyes a bit.
July knew she might need to hear it – that's what Molly called it, even though it was a math one, to the tune of "Bicycle Built For Two," also known as "Daisy Bell." "Sure. Pepper, I know we've sung it a lot. But Miss Hannigan is cutting down a lot on the sewing projects." Little did they know she was taking money from the clothing fund to pay for her drinking instead. So, now they would have to sew their own clothes, too. "Let's do it once. then we'll do another
The girls all sang together, with Annie giving Molly a squeeze and July giving Kate one after the "I love you" part. "In addition one plus one equals two. We can add things, certain as I love you. Count the numbers up for the sum, five more will equal seven. Earn a big grin when we begin knowing one plus one equals two." They then sang: "In subtraction, three minus one is two. Take 'way numbers, I'll still always love you. Counting backwards is subtraction, five, four, three, two, one action. We can subtract, start with the act knowing three minus one is two."
Miss Hannigan walked in as they were singing. "This is the nuttiest way to work I've ever seen, but it works," she grumbled. "You are almost done. And it gives me something to say if the Board of Orphans ever wonders what you girls are learning here since you're not in school." She left, but not before telling the girls they could have a little free time afterward, provided they had put the new sheets on Molly's bed.
"Yes, Miss Hannigan, we did," Annie said. She was thankful that Miss Hannigan hadn't come out and said Molly had wet the bed again, though she could tell Molly felt bad at just the allusion to it. "At least Miss Hannigan trusts us to handle it. Right, Molly?" Annie asked. She grinned.
Pepper piped up: "Okay, we're almost done. Let's do that one I made up," she urged them.
"I think we've got it down pat," Duffy said, though Tessie wasn't' quite sure.
"Okay, let's do it." Pepper began; the other girls quickly joined in in unison. "Meet me in Saint Louis, Louie, go from near to far. Near is right beside, around you, close to where you are. If you have to go a long way, like by train or car, if it's a much bigger distance, that is when it's far."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Mrs. Appel was impressed. "It sounds like you came up with some very creative ways to learn. The more I think about it, till you get used to things,and becasue it'll be really hectic getting you registered, not knowing where you'll all live for sure yet, I think it'll be best to have tutors till the start of next school year."
"Yeah. I think one reason I got tired of that 'I love you' song, as Molly called the simple math one, was because it reminded me of how hard it was to believe I could be loved," Pepper said.
"That makes sense," Grace said. "You've said you were jealous of Annie thinking she had parents alive."
"But we're going to be right here for you," the Jacksons promised Pepper.
"We had songs for lots of different things like that - Miss Kathy had taught, which was maybe fifth grade level for the oldest ones. They were probably getting bored like I was with the songs in the end, but we kept trying to add new ones. Or we'd just think of different things for each letter of the alphabet, like birds. Once in a while someone would donate something, and if Miss Hannigan didn't sell it right away, we'd use it," July said.
"There wasn't much by the end, though," Annie said. "The good news is, to keep us all learning something, some of our songs covered other subjects. That's how I learned to spell Mississippi. We had old World Almanacs from the early twenties Miss Kathy donated years before she left, and we could read it in our spare time, too."
"Miss Hannigan knew noone would want an almanac that old. Just like they wouldn't want girls as old as me," Pepper mourned.
"Don't worry," Mrs. Jackson said as she put an arm around her. "People care about you, Pepper." The girl hoped she was right.
The next day, Saturday, after temperatures had plummeted as the city returned to somewhat normal business – albeit with quite a bit of snow – the temperature would return to a level where one could play somewhat easily. For the New Year's Eve ball drop on Time's Square Sunday, the high would be 42 with a low of 15.
Oliver and the others relaxed after their evening meal. "It's been quite the week," he said.
Lou Jackson and his wife, Meredith, were there, too. Meredith was in her late 40s and had a daughter of 21 who was recently married and out of the house. Meredith had been a midwife for years, as well as having three children – a son had died in infancy, another was 24 and had moved out West.
Meredith put an arm around Pepper. "I know it's hard to believe," she said "but since we came yesterday, we've fallen in love with the idea of having you in our home."
Pepper scoffed. "Kids my age don't have people fall in love with the idea of adopting them."
Lou smiled. "It has been a challenge. But, we're certainly up to the challenge."
Pepper looked glum. The couple seemed nice, but she still had doubts. "You wouldn't consider it if Mr. Warbucks wasn't giving you the money to do it."
"No," Lou confessed, "but we would do it if we had the money ourselves, regardless of what Mr. Warbucks offered." That made Pepper feel only a little better.
"It's going to be hard leaving here, huh?" July asked.
"Yeah. We've planned stories and we've had lots of fun playing. It's still hard to imagine not having to clean everything. The Jacksons talked about chores, but a few little things will be nothing compared to that place," Pepper said.
"I know it was hard, Dear," Meredith said. Pepper still couldn't believe someone was actually calling her something nice. In a way, she didn't believe she deserved it.
"What would you say to my buying the orphanage from the city once the courts don't need any of it for evidence?" Oliver asked. He really wanted to, but wanted to ask them, just in case any of them would feel queasy about it reopening, even with better management.
Tessie had been listening in. "If we get someone like Miss Kathy it'd be okay." The others agreed that they wouldn't mind.
"Okay, thank you. Oh, that reminds me, I got a letter from her today that she sent to Annie – and all of you - through Bert Healy," Oliver said. He asked the kids to gather around and read it.
Molly had only met her once when she'd been leaving, but the others had known her at least a few years, with July – whom Miss Kathy had called Kate – having known her for over ten. They all listened with joy about how she'd heard about Annie's broadcast. She hoped the message would reach the rest, that she had been praying for them all this time. Having worked there for free for a year, she'd finally moved to Ohio with her husband for work. He read a phone number, too, at the end – it was one in Cleveland, where she was a teacher while her husband worked in a steel mill. They had an eighteen-month-old and had just had a baby.
"Can we call her?" Annie asked excitedly.
"Sure, why not. I'll tell the operator to reverse the charges; I'll pay long distance." He knew the girls would be talking for several minutes, though he asked them to try to hold it to a minute or so each. It was another way he wanted to continue to go all out in helping these girls.
"To see the look on her face when Annie talks about standing up to Miss Hannigan once like Miss Kathy did," Grace said as they watched the girls take turns on the phone. "Of course, she knew her job was on the line, and was just agreeing with how it had been with Miss Kathy there Still, I'm sure she's proud."
"She sounded overjoyed when she answered and I told her about Annie helping to get all of them out, and July's leadership as a mother figure, before I turned the phone over to them. Miss Hannigan kept her promises to Miss Kathy. Not going near the girls when drunk, not forcing them to do more than physically able…" Oliver smiled. "She was more worried about her job than actually caring for the girls, but as mean as she was, Miss Hannigan had some scruples. Though I don't know if they were related to anything more than making sure she kept her job."
Grace leaned against Oliver as he put his arm around her. "Those girls went through so much. I can tell with Pepper; she's still holding some back."
"I agree. I let it be known we need someone for her with an immense amount of compassion and patience, and I'm sure they will do a good job, from the discussions we've had."
"What do you think about us as a couple?" Grace asked.
"I like where it's going." He considered that he was just looking for the right time. There was so much to consider yet with the orphans. "Just with Annie and Molly, talking to teachers, finding friends for the girls, seeing if I want them in public or private school… oh, the Huntingtons have friends with a couple younger children, they invited Kate and July to church with them. So the Huntingtons are going, and Kate invited Molly, so she's going, too. She's feeling a lot better about being apart from Annie now, not worried that something will happen to Annie."
Grace nodded. "I'm glad she's not having nightmares anymore. I see why she was scared at first. She remembers her parents well yet, and what it was like to lose them. I imagine all kinds of things went through her mind when she realized what those imposters were up to."
Grace wished that Oliver would talk about marriage. However, she also knew that this was how marriages lasted – instead of rushing into things, the couple talked about all their plans, interests, and how they would do things as parents, in hobbies, or whatever before planning the wedding. Marriage wasn't just about the ceremony; it was about the life one lived together afterward.
Still, some confirmation would be nice, she pondered. Because they had talked so much over the many months she'd worked for him that it felt like they'd done all of that already.
The Jacksons would stay there with Pepper till Sunday afternoon. Annie was interested in spending time with her friends that New Year's Eve day – especially since Pepper would be leaving early that afternoon with the Jacksons – so only Molly went with the Huntingtons to church. Kate was a little more anxious going to a new place – July wouldn't be in her Sunday school class since she was older – but Molly's presence helped a lot.
After the service, the kids met July and the Huntingtons. By force of habit, July asked "How was Sunday School?" before her future adoptive parents had a chance. July chuckled inwardly at how she was still trying to be the mother figure.
"Good. The teacher talked about what we should ask for in the new year," Kate said.
Molly was more vocal. "There was this king. God said he could have anything he wanted. He said wanted wisdom so he'd know how to be a good king. He had the right answer, so God gave him lots of money and power and things too."
"I prayed for God to help me know what to say," Kate said It was her way of asking for help to overcome her shyness.
"Good," Mr. Huntington said. "So, you prayed for wisdom in that. Molly, did you ask for wisdom for anything?"
I want to know God better," Molly said. "Daddy Warbucks said he's learning to build treasures that last. And teacher said Jesus says build treasure in Heaven where nothing bad can happen."
July responded. "When Miss Kathy was at the orphanage, she talked about God some. She said she prayed for us. Miss Hannigan didn't care for it – but, she didn't care for a lot of thing, did she?" The others laughed. "In the main service they talked about making good choices in the new year, and the most important being to know you have a relationship with God. I prayed and trusted Jesus to save me from my sins and make me new inside so I could have that relationship with God." She'd known she needed a Saviour. As much of a mom as she'd tried to be, she knew she'd failed, overreacted, and so on, partly being so young, partly from the environment. Miss Kathy might have said July had made her proud, but she knew she wasn't perfect.
Mr. Huntington knew July was trying to help Molly understand to little avail. "She's a bit young to grasp that yet," he told her as they rode back to the Warbucks'. "You girls haven't had much exposure to that, and Molly's really young anyway, though I think I was her age when I did that. So, kids can," he concluded.
"I'm glad to see you helping, but feeling comfortable doing it, not feeling like you have to do anything," his wife told July.
"Thanks. Some things I do feel comfortable with. It's just tricky trying to keep track. I used to do so much there; I still want to have responsibility, but I don't want all I used to have…" July chuckled. "It's so complicated. I'm glad I know Jesus now so I can pray and ask for wisdom and know God will always hear me and help me."
Mrs. Huntington agreed. "It's going to be hard to get used to things. You had the stress of having to be the mother figure, keep the younger ones occupied, doing all that work, and worrying about Miss Hannigan and what she might do. Take your time and let God give you peace when you get worried. He's got a great plan for you."
July considered one thing she'd thought about. "One thing I did those last couple years – really the last three, Miss Kathy had to do so much else I was deputy house mother before she left – was come up with ways to teach reading, math, and other skills. I'd use baby toys that were ten, eleven years old and create puppet shows; Duffy and I tried to create characters. We didn't write many ideas down, unlike the others. Still, maybe we'll market that someday." And, they would. She and a couple others would be a few of the many brains behind Sesame Street. All because they'd had to brainstorm with almost nothing and teach letters and numbers when they had few materials. Although they stopped short of agreeing with Pepper's joking claim that the always anxious Telly Monster was inspired by Tessie. That was rather unlikely. Pepper liked to tease about things like that even years later.
Pepper wasn't in much of a mood to joke about things that day, though. Annie said when the others got home, "Pepper's been down in the dumps all day."
"It's a rough transition. Miss Ferrell thinks perhaps Pepper is wondering if she's worth being adopted," Oliver told them.
"She has been telling a lot of stuff about being on the street and things like that, too" Mr. Jackson said. He turned to Pepper. "The nice thing is, you can get a brand-new start now."
"I hope," she managed to say with little confidence. "And, Annie, I don't want to hear you say 'the sun'll come out tomorrow."
"I think Pepper's just processing everything she's been through yet," Mrs. Jackson said as she put an arm around her. "And it's okay if it takes a while, sweetheart."
Pepper agreed; it was a huge change. Part of it, though, was wondering if she really deserved to have people care about her and be so sweet and kind to her. She'd convinced herself that she wasn't going to get adopted and that she'd have to wait years to find a loving husband and start a family. Years more in that awful orphanage.
"Now that I'm out," Pepper admitted, "I had so much fun this past week. But, once I leave here, part of me is scared about what's going to happen next."
The Jacksons told her they would always love her, even as she struggled not to be a bully anymore or with whatever else she dealt with.
Kate, however, thought she had a better solution. The seven-year-old crawled into Pepper's lap, gave her a big hug, and said, "It's okay to cry, Pepper. I know it's no fun to think of that place."
"You just know how bad that was," Pepper told her, her voice cracking a little. "I've been on the street. After I lost my parents. If I started to cry…" She sniffled. "I don't know if I could stop."
She let her future adoptive mom cradle her as Mrs. Jackson said, "It's okay, Dear. I know life's been rough. But you are coming into a family filled with love."
"Thanks," she uttered weakly, trying but faiing to sound really tough.
Oliver and Grace bade goodbye to those who were leaving throughout the afternoon. "All of them should have good adoptive families soon," Oliver said enthusiastically. It would turn out to be true, though the adoptions would take months to complete.
"That's great news," Annie said as she came up behind them. "Thanks for taking care of everyone." She realized her dog Sandy had been pretty much ignored, she'd had such fun with her friends. She promised to remedy that, and she would.
"It's our pleasure, Annie. Well, Grace, only about five hours left in 1933."
"So, what do you want to do till we hear the ball drop on the radio?" Grace asked.
"Let's go out and build a big snowman. The floodlights out back will be bright enough, and there is still snow from that storm," Oliver suggested.
As the family put on their heavy coats – and all sorts of other things needed to build a snowman at night when the temperature was dropping into the twenties already – Annie and Molly spoke excitedly of the families the others had in store.
"That's nice Tessie's getting an older brother right away," Molly said as Annie helped her slip on her new boots.
"I know. And Duffy's family is going to help her with dance lessons and singing so she can get even better. We've all got such great families." Annie knew it would take a while, but as far as she was concerned, these people were already her friends' families. "Now, remember, don't spoil the surprise," she whispered in Molly's ear.
They spent time making a huge snowman, then the girls ran to get coal for the snowman's face. Once they brought it back, along with an old hat, they left to playfully toss snowballs around a little way off from Oliver and Grace.
"oh, wait," Grace said. "We need something for the nose."
"Oh, I have something here." Oliver pulled a small box out of his pocket.
Grace started to put it on the snowman, before realizing it had something inside. She gasped. By the time she looked up from it, Oliver was on one knee.
"I have learned so much about love, about what's important in the last couple weeks. I've gone from being a bachelor who thought just having all the money and influence in the world was enough, to realizing the joy of things that money can't buy. And, while I have certainly done all I can to help others with that money recently, I realize I want more of that wonderful thing called family I've learned to love.
"I know our age difference seemed like a lot. But, you've shown me how to act and feel young at heart, no matter how old I am. Yes, the girls have taught me that, and I love being a father. But, more importantly, I love you. I love everything we can be as a family, and as husband and wife. I told Annie if she helped me I knew I could adopt Molly, too. And then I realized I don't need to have all the answers. I just need a wonderful woman who can help guide me when it comes to marriage. Grace Ferrell, will you please marry me?"
"Oh, yes, Oliver," she said, with tears running down her cheeks. They hugged warmly as Annie and Molly jumped up and down as well as they could in the snow and cheered.
A few months later, the newlyweds were enjoying the wedding reception, which was slowly ending. Each of the girls had come with their soon-to-be adoptive families. They had even been able to time it so Miss Kathy could come to visit and attend during her school's spring break.
Kathy strode up to the Warbucks' table. "Thanks so much for inviting my husband and I, and paying our way," she told Oliver. "This has been the most wonderful reunion."
"You can be mightyp roud of all of your girls," Oliver said.
"I only wish I'd known soon enough, maybe we could have adopted one. Well, I'm going to go say goodbye to the last of them, and then we need to get going to we can get some rest before our train leaves tomorrow morning. You and Grace are the most wonderful couple."
"Thank you for coming," Grace said.
"Miss Kathy, are you leaving?" Duffy and Miss Kathy hugged. "This has been the most fabulous reunion," the young teen said.
Miss Kathy agreed. "It has been. I'm so glad Pepper is getting along well. It sounds like she really released a lot of pent-up pain in the few days after she got home to Brooklyn."
"And now she's not a bully but yet her old self in her verbal battle with Dodger fans at school in Brooklyn. She seems to love the challenge of being a Giants fan there," Duffy said. It would reach a climax later that year as she'd echo the Giants' manager who asked: "Is Brooklyn still in the league?" only to have the Dodgers knock them out of a tie for first and cost them the pennant at the end, though she'd have revenge in 1951 during a more famous race and improbable finish.
"So, she's becoming better, not a bully anymore, but still with those sharp one-liners. All of you girls have great talents; she has a good sense of humor as well as some fun stories. I forgot to ask, how are those coming?" Miss Kathy wanted to know.
"Great," Duffy told her, "we told my parents about them, we're working on getting them published by later this summer; with some fixing up of course."
"Wonderful. I'm so looking forward to the comic strip Pepper – and all of you – created. I'm sure she feels confident about herself just knowing what started as taunting Annie for sneaking out to find her parents has blossomed into Little Orphan Annie," Miss Kathy said. Duffy agreed as they hugged again.
Annie and Molly sat next to the Huntingtons, who would watch them as guests at the Warbucks' while Oliver and Grace were on their honeymoon. "It's so nice to know we're not orphans anymore." Annie chuckled. "Could you believe the moves Tessie's older brother put on some of the men; if he'd been a bit taller and stronger he might have caught the garter."
"I had fun being flower girl. That reporter said it looked like a royal wedding," Molly said.
"Daddy Warbucks went all out, that's for sure.," Annie said. She put an arm around Molly. "I'm so glad we'll be sisters for good."
Meanwhile, Oliver and Grace kissed again as they prepared for their two weeks in the Bahamas. "This has been a once in a lifetime set of months."
"Too bad you can't build a snowman in the Bahamas," Grace teased him.
"We could try a sandcastle," he joked. "Seriously, I feel younger and better than I have in years. I have finally learned to be truly wise, and build my treasure in things that can't wear out or grow old or lose value. And I have the three greatest gifts anyone could ask for, in you, Annie, and Molly." They said "I love you" and embraced at the start of decades of great family memories.
A/N: I retire a lot, for those who don't know, so I can't say this is it – I might have 1 more idea anyway. But, if this is it, thanks for reading my idea, and God bless. In parting I would share the Gospel or say to go to Godlife dot combut knowing me I will probably be back with 1-2 more stories somewhere. Just like I edited and noted "July KNows Best " - I have a few others, too. :-)