Family Man
Halfway through his own meal he stopped and leaned back in his seat, focusing on first one child, then the other.
Beside him Elijah ate enthusiastically and Tony grinned at the sight, recalling his own great appetite at that age. The little boy met Tony's gaze expectantly, topaz eyes curious and a French fry en route to his mouth. His hair, a coppery dark blond, complemented his golden complexion.
A movement halted his study of Elijah.
Levi tried to reposition himself to rest his upper body on the table, but Tony waved his finger at him as a signal to stop. The child opened his mouth to speak, but changed his mind and grinned, showing off his dimple and dark blue eyes. Checking his plate, Tony realized that all of the grilled cheese had been eaten before Levi started on the fries. He filed the fact for future reference. Little Levi ate one course of the meal at a time.
On the other hand, Ethan had polished off all of his food and sat quietly, watching the other patrons around him. His nearly full glass of milk sat stationed before him, and Tony motioned to him to finish it. Ethan scowled, then turned deliberately so that he wouldn't face his observer.
"Ethan," Tony spoke quietly, "finish that milk if you want a soft drink later this afternoon."
The promise of a sugared drink disturbed him, despite enticing Ethan with one.
A stab of guilt flooded him.
Not one of their plates held a vegetable of any kind. His abuela would hit the roof if she saw that transgression.
Refusing to turn around, Ethan's hand nevertheless reached out and brought the glass of milk to his lips.
Ava had availed herself to one or two bites from the sandwich and decreased the fries on her plate by two or three potato slices. She had drunk the milk to almost the bottom, though, and he felt some comfort in that.
"Eat, Ava," he prodded her and she regarded him with hazel eyes.
Tony studied her honey blond hair, which fell in waves that almost obscured her face. He would have to buy some of those little girl hair things and figure out how to sweep it out of her eyes.
She pushed some of her fries around the plate and he let it go, settling instead for mentally noting to himself that he needed to tackle their food issues once they settled in Athens.
A tiny hand grabbed his hair and he pivoted to discover Viv grinning at him, her other chubby hand thrusting a piece of her sandwich towards him. He had cut the crusts off of her peanut butter and jelly, then cubed it into pieces so small she could not possibly choke.
She bounced in her chair, shoving the food closer to his lips with delighted anticipation.
Clearing the table beside theirs of uneaten food and dirty dishes, the waitress beamed at the exchange. "Will you look at that? She wants to feed her daddy some of her lunch, bless her heart."
Grateful for the translation, Tony grabbed the tiny hand and pretended to take a huge bite, smacking his lips loudly and delighting the baby. He laughed with her, unable to resist the little blonde. Even covered in sandwich remains, she resembled a cherub.
He managed to get her to eat quite a bit as they waited for Elijah to finish his last bites.
The final leg of the day's journey advanced them to Greenville, South Carolina, Tony's destination for the day. He had plotted the course deliberately to ensure the children arrived rested and excited when they entered Athens the following morning, and felt satisfied that the end of the journey would take less than two hours.
Their motel had earned its selection with the younger population in mind. It boasted a pool along with a playground area, and a continental breakfast in the morning.
After registration he led the group to their spacious room, one with double king beds and the crib he had requested in advance.
Levi spied the furnishings in one delighted glance and leapt onto one of the beds, jumping enthusiastically up and down on the mattress before Tony's strong arm, acting like a shepherd's hook, yanked him back to stand on the floor.
All of them begged to swim once they located the pool outside of their window, but examining their bags, he found not one of them owned a suit. The bags themselves held no more than a few outfits each, and with a groan he admitted they would have to shop for clothes, really shop for clothes, in the next few days.
Straightening from the inventory of belongings, he shelved his disappointment at the overall dearth of clothing. "Here's the deal," he announced to his audience. "We can't swim without suits, and I am the only one who actually possesses one of all of us staying in our hotel room. So, for the rest of you to swim means we make a trip to buy a swimsuit for each of you."
They assured him earnestly that they supported his idea.
"However," he clarified, changing his voice to one with a stern, stronger tone, "if we walk into that store and a single one of you moves away from the proximity of the shopping cart, we will leave the store immediately with no suits. I refuse to buy anything if you can not conduct yourselves appropriately. Capiche?"
The kids convinced him they most assuredly capiched.
Amused at the immediate promise of cooperation, he had them slide their bags out of the way and straighten the room before returning to the van.
Much to his relief, the store outing brought about no major problems. The children took him at his word, determined to enjoy a swim and the playground once back at the hotel.
Settling Vivienne in the cart's belted child seat, he swung Ava and Elijah into the deep main portion of the cart, the area used to place merchandise. Levi insisted he could be trusted and would walk beside the cart and hold it with one hand, as Ethan had promised Tony he would do.
Were the circumstances different, Tony would have relished the fact that females flocked to him non stop during the shipping trip. Apparently his status as a single dad elevated him to new heights of desirability to the opposite sex.
He took advantage of his appeal to convince the women to aid him in correctly sizing the children for their swimsuits, and with very little time squandered, they returned to the hotel room and changed.
Before they departed the store, though, he grabbed a huge bottle of sunscreen along with snacks and drinks to suffice for supper.
With his energy nearly depleted, he convinced himself that it would be ludicrous to attempt visiting another restaurant for supper after an exhausting car trip and physically tiring swim.
He made the right call.
They remained out by the pool nearly two hours, with the children alternating between the playground equipment and the allure of the water. Tony stayed vigilant, encouraging them to have fun while simultaneously checking upon their safety.
Hanging out at the kiddie pool, he observed Ethan as the child merely dangled his legs in the regular pool, rather than immerse himself. When questioned, the boy glossed over his lack of participation by insisting to Tony that his stomach hurt. Savvy to the desire to save face, Tony pretended to believe him.
Levi, on the other hand, begged to leave the baby pool area to swim in the deep end, and finally Tony granted him a shot, but not until he stood poised and ready to dive in should Levi flounder.
Wonders would never cease in his introduction to parenthood!
Levi, he discovered, swam as skillfully as an Olympic contender, both under and above the water, and dove as well as he swam. Tony followed his prowess and movements with unrestrained surprise and pride, mentally comparing the seven year old's expertise with Ethan's nine year old lack of aptitude.
Maybe he could help Ethan master swimming later, after they settled in Georgia.
Tony reminded himself their union, his union with them, would be brief. All five children would reunite, or even unite for the first time, with their family member in the next couple of months.
Still, he could better their lives while he had them.
Rounding all of them up some time later, he led them back to the room and realized with a shock that it was nearly seven o'clock. He decided to let them skip baths since they had wet themselves down in the pool, but had them strip off their suits and change into pajamas. He hung the suits on the shower rod, hoping they would have enough time to dry before they left.
Locating toothbrushes in the assortment of belongings, he discovered he alone had brought toothpaste and a hairbrush. He made another mental note to add both to his next grocery visit.
Vivienne ran around the room completely naked, having slipped away when he stripped off her suit and diaper. He let her go until she finished eating, then caught her and dressed her for bed. The older children he sent in turns to use the bathroom and brush their teeth. One by one the kids began to tire, and as soon as he powered on the television to an animated movie, he could tell that sleep would follow soon.
Taking advantage of their lethargy and preoccupation, he slipped into the bathroom and luxuriated under a shower under blasting jets of hot water, using it to mentally review the day and then consider the agenda for the morning.
Sleeping arrangements had not really crossed his mind, but as he dried and dressed he knew he needed to get the kids going in that direction.
Who was he kidding? He needed to head in the sleep direction right along with them!
Propping himself against the headboard of one of the massive beds, he called Vivienne to him, and scooped her into his arms when she arrived. Positioning her carefully, he gently rubbed her blond hair and then her back as she sucked her fingers and watched the television screen. Five minutes later her eyes closed, but he waited a bit longer before carrying her to the crib and covering her softly.
Motioning to Elijah, he convinced him to slide under the covers and watch from the other bed, and Ethan moved from the chair by the window to crawl under the covers beside him.
Levi changed places to sit at the end of Tony's bed, but Ava stayed rooted in a chair in front of the built in desk.
Patiently Tony waited through one set of commercials and then to the next as the video played. Gradually Levi crept beside him and leaned against Tony, his eyes heavy. Wrapping an arm around the little boy, Tony rhythmically patted the small back. Ava followed Levi's path a few minutes later, and within another half hour, all five children slept soundly.
Grabbing the remote with a blissful sigh, Tony powered off the television and slipped into his own exhausted and welcome sleep, family man style.