Hi Folks! I took down my treehouse story and I am retooling it. Making it a multi chapter and filling in parts. I realize that it was unreadable and rushed. So here's a Christmas in August gift. I hope it's liked this time. It is still part of my Mr. and Mrs. Specter stories and takes place after Harvey comes home in "M&MS: The Separation". Please R&R. Thank you so much for your feedback and inspiration. Love - Carebearmaxi
The Tree House in the the Specter's Backyard
Chapter 1 - Fun Times
Donna and Harvey Sitting in a Treehouse
Cold December snow continued to fall reddening the cheeks and the nose of the little blonde boy standing looking up watching his father hammering the last nail into the treehouse set on top of the strong oak tree that stood in their backyard.
"Daddy is it done yet?" Gordon Specter, age 5 years, yelled up to Harvey Specter, his father.
"Just about now, son!" Harvey said giving a nail head one more whack before beginning to descend stopping halfway down the makeshift ladder.
"Hey why don't you come up here and take a look?" Harvey said gesturing with the hammer in his hand.
"Dad! Can I come, too?" Amanda Specter, 7 years old, looked up eagerly to her father.
Before Harvey could speak, Gordon turned to his older sister and said, "No! The treehouse is just for daddy and me! You have mommy and Kenzie stuff….!"
"Kids! Donna!" Harvey called coming down from the tree house.
"Mandy, go back in the house and get your coat on!"
"But I want to go in the treehouse!" She protested.
"Not until you get your coat on, honey," Harvey said as he physically turned his daughter's shoulders toward the back-terrace door.
Gordon stuck his tongue out to his sister as Harvey guided Amanda toward the door.
Amanda stopped when she got to the door and turned around and using Harvey's own weapons back on him asked, "Ok, daddy, you built the tree house for Gordon. What are you building for me?"
Harvey looked down and saw his own big chocolate eyes look up at him. No wonder Donna hardly ever says "no" to me. She melts when I look at her with those big puppy dog eyes.
"We'll talk about that later. Go get your coat."
Donna, in the meantime, had their almost two-year-old on her hip. Little Mackenzie Specter was bundled up in her snowsuit as Donna was in her parka. She spotted her husband and eldest child coming inside through the terrace door. One terrace door led right into their dining room and another door led to the kitchen.
"Mommy! Daddy finished the treehouse. I'm getting my coat and then I'm going up!"
"Ok, honey," Donna said as Mandy pushed through the room to get her coat.
"Daddy!" Gordon called from outside.
They both went to the long window and saw Gordon had already climbed the ladder and had entered his new abode. He waved from the window that Harvey had made in the side of the house next to the door. The snow was coming down now at a good pace and was covering Gordon's blonde head.
Harvey murmured to Kenzie and played peek-a-boo with her to get her to smile. Normally she laughed and was always happy to see her daddy. At the moment, Harvey was having a hard time getting her to smile at anything let alone have her reach out for him. It seemed since he and Donna's recent separation and subsequent reconciliation, Kenzie was hit the hardest and understood the least. Harvey felt now, perhaps, his little pumpkin was scarred for life because of what had occurred.
"Why were you yelling for me?" Donna asked as she kept an eye on her son.
"Because the kids started to fight about the treehouse. Gordon insisted I built it only for him which angered Mandy. I may be the best closer in Manhattan, but I can never negotiate a good settlement between these two," Harvey lamented.
"You're telling me, Specter," Donna quipped back with a smile. She listened to her husband while maintaining a grip on Kenzie who was still sitting quietly on Donna's hip while with her mother's hearing she could still hear Gordon's incessant calling for his father's attention.
"Then the answer is simple, Specter. You need to make something for her and you."
"Donna, we don't have another tree in our yard that sturdy."
"You'll think of something. If not, I can help you before she gets too enamored with it. I have faith in you," Donna said coming forward and kissing him.
After Amanda had placed her coat loosely over her body and pushed herself between her parents, Harvey and Donna let Amanda climb into the treehouse much to her brother's dismay.
About an hour later, the snow blanketed the Specters' backyard. Donna was playing with Kenzie in the snow. As this was Kenzie's first real experience of playing in the snow, Donna was smiling as she helped her baby daughter construct a baby snowman. Kenzie would take a pile of the fluffy snow and mimic her mom patting snow into little piles. The snow did not pack well, so the little round balls for the snowman's body did not stick well. It blew away at the smallest wind.
Donna reached out and kissed Kenzie on her cold cheek.
"I'm sorry, baby. Snow is too dry. Mr. Snowman looks like he's half there." Kenzie rubbed noses with her mom and then threw her snow coated arms around Donna's neck and hugged her.
Donna looked up at the treehouse and saw bright Christmas lights lighting the window of the treehouse.
"Mommy!" Amanda and Gordon both called to her.
"Ooo they are beautiful. Where's your dad?"
"Right here," Harvey remarked exhaustedly waving the hammer like a victory torch.
"You did a good job. It's beautiful," Donna said.
"It isth butiful!" Kenzie said as she pointed with wide brown eyes. Donna laughed and gathered her daughter close to her.
"What did she say?" Harvey asked.
"She agreed it was butifu!" Donna smiled
Eventually Mandy was bribed to leave the treehouse with the exciting inducement that it was time to decorate the big Christmas tree in the living room. Gordon realizing finally that he would now have his place to himself had wanted to stay in the treehouse all night.
"Honey, it's way too cold for that. It's winter," Donna said trying to convince Gordon that he would only freeze to death during the night. "In the summer is the time for that. Besides it's time to decorate the big tree! You always love doing that!"
Gordon hung his head and climbed down as his mom watched him walk dejectedly into the house. Donna shook her head and then looked at Kenzie who resumed her seat in the snow and was now eating it.
"Come on, Kenzie baby! Time to hang the ornaments!" Donna bent taking Kenzie's mittened hand in hers and walked with her into the house. Harvey shut the terrace doors behind them. He left the back terrace light lit. He took a minute to admire his handiwork and remembered something from his past. Thinking he might tell Donna of it later on when they were alone and quiet, he went back into the living room to enjoy his noisy family decorate the tree.
One decorated Christmas tree stood in the dining room next to the terrace door. It was not a large tree. It was the one that the neighbor down the street helped Donna haul home and put in the stand during her and Harvey's recent separation. When Harvey came home recently for good, Harvey wanted to keep tradition and bought another tree. So, they moved the original one to the terrace door in the dining room which made the house as festive in the back as well as the front.
The tree in the living room was seven feet tall. Just that day, both Mandy and her brother helped their father haul it in the door as best they could given their current sizes. Harvey had placed it in a brand new stand and then at his son's insistence Harvey's focus was pulled away and riveted on finishing the treehouse. Now, since the treehouse was finished replete with Christmas lights, the children's attention had turned again to the bare tree standing tall in the living room.
Mandy stood in front of her father as he sat in his leather easy chair next to the fireplace taking a moment's respite to catch his breath from all the decorating and building he had been doing since early morning.
"Daddy, you have to hang the lights like you always do. Then we can hang the balls on it. Then you can place the star on top like tradition!" Mandy planned.
"Tradition! I didn't know we had a tradition, Mandy," Harvey joked with his eldest daughter.
"Of course we have a tradition! Mr. George down the street wanted to start a new tradition by putting our star on his tree, but I told him I didn't like it. He isn't my daddy and he was not tradition," Mandy barked looking appalled at the suggestion that her mother would allow such a thing.
Harvey smiled at his wife who was sitting on the couch across from him. Donna returned his smile. Harvey thought: I don't blame her for not allowing it. Donna would never have let our children forget me no matter what had been happening between us. She had told me that when I had stopped home for a visit only a few weeks ago when the environment in our home was still too toxic for us to reconcile.
"Dad, come on," Mandy said pulling on her father's hand. "We don't have much time left before Mom makes us go to bed."
"Ok, Mandy, I will work on them right now," Harvey said as he allowed Mandy to pull him out of his easy chair.
Harvey made short work of the lights and, for once, all the lines were blinking in perfect sync making a collage of color on the ceiling in the darkened room. Soon Donna, Gordon, Mandy, and Kenzie finished hanging the ornaments. All went well except another argument between brother and sister when Kenzie, this time, swiped Gordon's favorite ornament wanting to hang it on the tree herself. Before Kenzie made it to the tree to hang the old 1978 Trans Am ornament, Gordon caught her and pulled it roughly from Kenzie's hand which caused another hullabaloo. Harvey tried to negotiate between Gordon and his little sister this time. However, this time, he thought WW DD (what would Donna do?).
"Gordon, let Kenzie hang it where she wants and then she won't pay attention to it, and then you can hang it where you want. Is that fair?"
Gordon's frown did not become a smile right away, but Harvey implicitly told his son no more arguments.
"Ok, daddy," Gordon said and waited impatiently for Kenzie to hang the car and then he quickly changed it.
Harvey watched as his wife came in from the kitchen and smiled at him.
"Very good, counselor. Maybe you'll get the hang of this negotiating thing between the children yet?"
Harvey smiled widely preening like a peacock. When he was going to the bar for a drink, Donna stopped him on the way wearing a wry expression.
"So how did you think of that little solution?" She asked.
Harvey swirled his scotch and then said, "I thought 'What would Donna do?'
"Good answer, counselor," Donna smiled and laughed. "You are a good father, Harvey Specter."
"Yes, I am," Harvey grinned.
After the arguments and negotiations about where to hang what ornament settled, Donna asked Harvey to help with the garland.
Mandy looked at the tree and pulled on her father's jeans pocket.
Harvey looked down at his older redhaired munchkin and asked, "What is it, Amanda?"
"You forgot to put the star at the top of the tree."
Suddenly, Donna and Harvey both looked up and laughed.
"Yes, I did, didn't I?"
He layered the last strand of the garland and bent down and side hugged Mandy. "You've been waiting all this time for me to do that, haven't you?"
Mandy looked up into her daddy's face and said, "Yes, I have."
Harvey being the argumentative lawyer he was decided to have a little more fun at Mandy's expense.
"What if I don't want to?" Harvey's tone was that of a petulant child.
Suddenly, Donna watched amused as a thundercloud insinuated itself on Mandy's face.
"Daddy!" Mandy now whined.
"How would you like to hang it for me? Start a new tradition," Harvey asked softly in Mandy's ear.
"I'm not tall enough and a ladder won't help," Mandy logically remarked. She stepped back and put her hands on her hips staring at Harvey.
"I have an idea. Get the star," Harvey said pointing to the box where the precious sentimental ornament sat.
Mandy walked over to the star retrieving it from the box. She brought it back and attempted to hand it to her father.
Suddenly Harvey picked up his daughter telling her to hang the star. He had to bend the top stalk a little bit so Mandy could place it on the spot squarely.
"This is how you can hang the star for me," he whispered in her ear and giving her a kiss on her cheek.
Harvey straightened the stalk where the star was now situated. The myriad of blinking lights reflected on the gold.
He deposited his daughter to her feet and then noticed that there mother was missing.
"Mandy, Gordon, did you see where mommy went?" Harvey asked picking up Kenzie realizing the late hour knowing the children needed to get into bed. Donna had managed to give them all baths after the snow and tree house events and before dinner and decorating the tree, so all three were ready for tucking in and reading bedtime stories.
A/N: "Mr. George" was my dad. My maiden name is Carol George. I didn't realize this until I wrote as to how a child would refer to an adult neighbor. For more clarification you can read Mr. and Mrs. Specter: The Separation because I intend to add to this story from that one. Thank you again for reading and reviewing. Love - Carebearmaxi