Lucy walks in on Wyatt telling a story that their child believes is made up but is an adventure from their Mason days
"Alright, Tess, time for bed." Wyatt told his five-year-old daughter. They were finishing up dinner and he took Tess' hand, leading her to her room which was an explosion of pink and white. A tasteful explosion though. Lucy wouldn't have had it any other way.
"What book do you want me to read tonight?" Wyatt was hunched over Tess' book bucket that even at five, was completely overflowing.
"Daddy, you tell me a story!" Tess exclaimed, scrambling into bed with her stuffed animal fortress surrounding her.
"Me?!" Wyatt exclaims back, having left the bucket of books to sit on the edge of her bed.
"Yes! Make up one!" Tess was as headstrong as her mother; he wasn't getting out of this one.
"Ok, ok." Wyatt finally relents and then lets out a long sigh. Which one of their time-travel adventures would he tell his five-year-old? Which one could he edit enough to not scar her for life? Even if Tess did tear through the History for Kids books like they were Christmas wrapping paper.
After that innocent thought, Wyatt knew exactly what story he would tell Tess.
"Once upon a time, there was a girl named…Tess!" He exclaimed, looking at the spitting image of whose name should have been in place. The only feature he could lay claim to was her sparkling blue eyes. Lucy swore that they smiled the same but Wyatt couldn't always see it. But whether she looked like him or not, she was his daughter, he didn't care. All that mattered was that Tess was cared for, safe and above all else, knew she was loved. "And a boy named…Ethan and their friend, Ryan." Lucy always said that if they had a boy, she wanted to name him Ethan, after her grandfather. Wyatt liked Ethan but he preferred Ryan, in honor of Rufus. Because, as much as he loved him like a brother, their kid was not going to be named Rufus. "And they were time travelers. But this time, they got stuck. In 1758." Wyatt over enunciated his point, watching the expression on Tess' face go from gleeful to grave in a split second.
"Di-did they get back? Were they ok?" She implored,
"Babydoll, I'm getting there. I swear, you are just like your mother." Wyatt chuckled and continued, "This was during the French and Indian War, ask Mom about that later. This was even before America was a country yet. So they were stuck a long time ago. And to make matters worse, they had been captured-"
"Daddy, you said this would be a good story. Nothing good is happening." Tess whined and he doubted his story choice.
"It'll get good. I promise." He consoled her, realizing her really probably should have chosen a different one but something about the books had sparked it. Maybe because when they were tied up by Indians, Lucy had said she wanted to read the History for Kids books to her children. And of course Rufus wanted chocolate-covered Twinkies so as always, he was the comedic relief. So he continued further. "But Ethan was a skilled solider and fighter. He could fight their way out. He could get Tess and Ryan to safety. But he had to learn a little French first."
"Teach it to me!" Tess exclaimed, interested in the story once more.
"Ask me tomorrow, I want to make sure I get it perfect!" Wyatt brushed off the comment, he couldn't exactly teach his kid what he'd previously said to make the French captors so upset.
Tess shrugged but eagerly awaited more of the story. "He started fighting with the French solider and was able to get Tess and Ryan away. Now, they had to get to Fort…Baguette." And Tess' laughter rang out. Oh, how he lived for that sound.
"What's so funny?" Lucy asked with a beautiful, pure smile. She sits on the other side of Wyatt and pulls Tess tight.
"Daddy's telling me a story about time travelers and he said Fort Baguette!" Tess laughed again,
"Time travelers, you say? Well, let's listen, I'm sure it's about to get interesting." Lucy locked gazes with Wyatt. She loved so much how nearly every night he always had a story that Tess was so tickled by. Stories she thought were made up. And maybe one day she'd tell her the truth and that day was definitely not right now.
"Now at Fort Baguette, they were able to blend in because they had French clothes on and had to get items to get home. After all, the enemy, Finn, had all but destroyed their ride home. But it wasn't long before the soldiers from before had shown up. Tess, Ethan and Ryan bolted out of there so fast! They were running into people, dodging bullets and jumping fences. Once over, they were safe. Now, they hoped Ryan would get them home. It wasn't like there was a second time machine on hand. But there was a secret code that Ryan could send to the people waiting in 2025-"
"Meanwhile," Lucy started, "the people in 2025 were very worried. The bad guy, Finn wasn't even in the French and Indian War anymore. So, why were they? They eventually found the message but because it was it was two hundred fifty years in the future, the message was badly faded. They could barely see what Ru-Ryan had written."
"But all hope wasn't lost. Another friend, Gianna, who was waiting for them, could put together the faded handwriting from a conversation she'd had with Ryan in the past. She could bring them home." Wyatt added, Tess nodding with a sleepy smile, "She was a computer whiz so she was able to help Ryan with all the special controls. After all, piloting a time machine was no easy task. But then," Wyatt let Lucy take the next part of the 'story'.
"Right before their eyes back home, the time machine appeared and Tess, Ethan and Ryan stepped out, dirty and stinky of course, but home nonetheless." Lucy smiled at her half-asleep, rambunctious, voracious, history-loving five year old and kissed her forehead. "Love you sweetheart."
"The End!" Wyatt showed off his best jazz hands and then did the same as Lucy had done and the two headed for the door. "Sweet dreams, babydoll."
"Well, that was one heck of a story, Mr. Fort Baguette. Where ever did you think of it?" Lucy asked, falsely acting dumbfounded, slumping into bed,
"Who knows? It just kinda came to me."