Notes: Huge thanks to Mari and Sammy as always for the fantastic feedback and to Mari for bouncing ideas to come up with this one. The big day is almost here!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
The Special-est (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"There they are!" Catherine said as several familiar faces finally walked through the gate into baggage claim at the airport.
"Dere dey aw?" Angie echoed, though more of a question, as she pushed against her grandmother's hip and shoulder to get herself higher.
"Where?" DJ asked, rising up on his tiptoes for a better view.
"Come here, buddy," Steve said, lifting him up so he could see.
Once he spotted the L.A. crew, DJ gasped. "Look! It's, it's everybody!"
Joseph smiled. "It sure is."
Catherine leaned over to kiss DJ's cheek. "Joan's grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousin wanted to come support us on our special day, too."
DJ beamed. "Because they know what it's like?"
"That's right," Steve said, setting him down and squeezing his shoulders. "That's exactly right."
"We're here!" Joan squealed as she broke away from her parents and ran toward them. She headed straight for DJ and grabbed his hands. "DJ! It's almost your special day!"
His smile lit up his face. "I know!"
"Joanie!" Angie cried, wriggling to get down so she could hug her cousin.
"Hi, Angie!"
"Welcome to Hawaii," Steve said with a broad smile as the rest of the group made their way to them.
"Hey, you know I was born here, right?" Mary teased, giving her brother a hug.
"Yeah, wasn't really talking to you, Mare," he quipped back, wrapping his arms around her to return the hug.
"Thank you so much for coming," Catherine said, greeting the Reyes and Jacksons.
"We wouldn't have missed it," Ramon Reyes said, embracing her.
"We feel like we've been on the journey with you in a small way," Susan Reyes said, hugging Steve and then Catherine.
"More than a small way," Steve said.
"You've been so generous with your expertise and advice," Catherine continued. "And especially your support."
"We're so happy we can help," Ramon said. He smiled at DJ. "Especially after meeting this wonderful young man."
Joan giggled. "That's DJ."
"I know that, nieta," he replied, grinning at her and giving her a little tickle.
Catherine smiled at Joan's cousin who was the same age as Joan and DJ. "How was the plane ride, Avery?"
"My ears popped lots," he said. "And there was so much water!"
Joseph smiled. "There is. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"
"Avery's flown a few times but never over the ocean like that," his father, Paul Jackson, said.
"Still amazes me every time, too," Deb said, making her way down the line to hug Elizabeth, Joseph, Ang, Steve, Catherine, Angie, and DJ.
"This is my cousin Avery," Joan told DJ.
He nodded. "I've seen your picture in my book Uncle Aaron gave me," he said to the other boy.
"Uncle Aaron showed me your picture, too," Avery said. "He said you're in first grade like me and Joan."
DJ's eyes brightened. "Yeah!"
Steve and Catherine shared a smile with Aaron's sister and brother-in-law at the two boys connecting immediately.
"Well, I'm sure you've all had enough of airports for the day," Elizabeth said.
"I sure have," Alyssa said. "Let's get our bags and get out of here." She grinned. "Can't wait to smell that fresh island air."
"What carousel?" Joseph asked, motioning to the baggage claim.
"Seven," Paul said.
The group headed that way and it wasn't long before the carousel started moving and bags began to appear. Steve grabbed Deb's purple suitcase when she pointed it out, and Ramon and Susan's wasn't far behind. After a few minutes, Paul pulled his family's large black case off the track followed by a smaller one that was also theirs. All that was left was Mary, Aaron, and Joan's, the trio having elected to share one large suitcase since this was a shorter trip.
Several more minutes went by. More and more passengers from their flight claimed their bags. Elizabeth kept the kids occupied singing familiar songs and playing "I Spy" while everyone kept an eye on Angie who clearly wanted to take a ride on the baggage carousel.
After twenty minutes and at least that many shared looks, Aaron finally said, "Starting to get a bad feeling here …"
"Buzzard luck, I'm telling you," Mary said as they finally made it to the beach house after reporting their lost luggage to the airline who had promised to call the second they'd located the missing suitcase.
The rest of the group trooped inside, minus Deb and Grandma Ang who'd been dropped off at the condo to rest and Ramon, Susan, Alyssa, Paul, and Avery who had picked up their rental SUV and gone to check in at their hotel with plans to join the group a little later for dinner.
Cammie woofed excitedly at the influx of so many of her favorite people, tail wagging non-stop, and was rewarded with multiple hugs, kisses, scratches, and pats.
A lick from Cammie brought a smile to Joan's face. She had been uncharacteristically quiet on the ride home after her bubbly arrival, despite sitting between Angie and DJ.
"Well, one bright spot," Aaron said with a wry grin. "At least we don't have to lug that massive suitcase up the stairs after five hours in a plane."
Mary nudged him with an eyeroll. "Mr. Optimist."
"Uh oh," Angie said, the first to notice tears forming in Joan's eyes. "Joanie cwy."
Both Mary and Aaron immediately knelt by their daughter as the rest of the family similarly turned their attention to the young girl.
"What is it, peanut?" Mary asked, touching her arm gently.
"Our suitcase," Joan whispered, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "It's gone."
"Ohh," her mother said, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay. The airline people said they think it just got put on the wrong plane by accident. They'll find it and send it to us."
"That's right," Aaron said, running a hand over her hair. He blinked, an idea of what was upsetting her occuring to him. "Hey, remember, Comfort Bun is in your backpack. Here." He reached behind her and unzipped her pink backpack that served as her carry-on and took out her stuffed bunny. "Safe and sound," he said handing it to her with a soft smile.
Joan continued to cry silent tears even as she buried her face against the bunny.
"What is it, honey?" Catherine asked from behind Mary and Aaron.
Joan looked up, her face stricken. "My special dress … for DJ's adoption."
Mary and Aaron both exhaled sighs of understanding. She'd picked the dress out specifically once they learned in mid-January that DJ's adoption date would be on Valentine's Day. She had asked her parents to hang it on a hook on the wall in her bedroom and everyday she'd looked at it and asked how much longer till DJ's special day.
"The pink and white dress you showed us on Skype?" Catherine asked.
"With hearts," Joan confirmed quietly.
"P'itty dwess," Angie said quietly which brought about a fresh round of Joan's tears. Angie shuffled closer and leaned on her cousin's arm. "Shhh 's okay," she said, repeating what she often heard from her parents when she cried.
Elizabeth leaned down, speaking gently. "I'm sure the airline will find your suitcase with your special dress in time, but just in case they don't, how about you and I take a little trip to the mall to find another one?"
"That would be wonderful, right, pumpkin?" Aaron asked her.
Steve nodded. "Always good to have a contingency plan. But I'm going to make some calls in the meantime to make sure they find your suitcase as soon as possible," he said, wanting to do whatever he could to ease his niece's distress.
Joan nodded, wiping her eyes but her face crumpled when she caught sight of DJ standing next to Steve.
"I just wanted it to be perfect for DJ," she said as her tears started again.
"Ohh, peanut," Mary said, hugging her again. "It will be perfect. We're going to make sure of that."
Aaron shifted into the armchair and gently pulled Joan into his lap. "You know what, pumpkin," he said, carefully wiping the tears from her cheeks. "If it wasn't for that amazing video of our special day, I probably wouldn't remember what I was wearing or what you were wearing or anything like that. What I remember without needing any video to remind me … is your beautiful smile when we were standing in front of Judge Linda. How you told her I already was your daddy." He reached for Mary's hand even as she wrapped an arm around Joan in his lap to connect them all. "I remember the love in my heart the moment we officially became a family and that moment was so special that it doesn't matter what we were wearing."
Catherine, who'd lifted Angie onto her hip, took DJ's hand and Steve squeezed his shoulders as they looked on along with Elizabeth and Joseph.
Joan looked between her parents, seeing the sincere emotions so clear on their faces, and smiled brightly at them. "I remember, too," she said, a moment before she was enveloped in a hug from both of them.
DJ stepped closer once they'd straightened. "It's okay, Joan. I don't care what clothes everyone wears," he said with a shrug. "Everyone's here. That's why it's going to be special."
Catherine wiped her own eyes, an action mirrored by Elizabeth, and even Steve and Joseph were blinking away tears.
Joan beamed at her newest cousin.
"It's going to be the special-est."
Hope you enjoy! Join us Friday for the special day!
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