United and Reunited
With all of the graciousness for which Southerners continue to find fame, they welcomed the newcomers with delight. Keeping steadying hands upon Levi and Vivi, whom Tony suspected would take off within the sanctuary, the newly ordained parent exchanged pleasantries as the ushers escorted the large family to an empty pew.
Sliding across the smooth wood of the seat, Levi and Ethan staked out seats first, followed by Ava and Elijah. Tony seated himself at the edge, by the center aisle, grimacing in pain as Vivienne righted herself to a standing position in his lap, sandals stomping onto his hips, and one of her chubby hands yanking on his hair. He managed to seat her beside him, but she hurriedly climbed back to standing, jamming herself behind Tony's shoulder and against the pew's edge and back.
Tony couldn't help reaching a hand up to tap her nose, eliciting a giggle. She had managed to secure a view of the church while protected by his shoulder.
The ranks came to life and he snapped his focus to Ava and Levi, evidently in a tug of war over a collection envelope they had discovered in the shelf attached to the pew in front of them. Scowling at them failed to correct the behavior, so he leaned down and hissed a command to behave- pronto!
Not the smartest move- both voices rose to insist that finders turned into keepers, but then Elijah stealthily slid off of the polished wooden seat and snatched it from both of them. Ethan laughed delightedly at the coup, a sound Tony rarely witnessed, and despite the somber surroundings, he joined him in chuckling.
Ava accepted the loss and righted herself into a ladylike position, motioning Elijah to hand her a hymnal. He did and climbed up beside her to play with his purloined envelope as she flipped through the gilt edged book's pages of music.
Levi evidently planned to perpetuate his morning mood, and to register his displeasure he slammed himself against the pew's back with crossed arms and a glower. Then he drummed his heels against the seat until Tony leaned over and grabbed him, sliding him past Ethan, Ava, and Elijah to careen against his side. Resorting to the universal standard of parents under duress while out in public, he leaned down and whispered threats of future punishment should the child fail to change his behavior instantly.
It worked, though not immediately. Still, by the time the first hymn began Levi seemed to have traded his need to articulate his dissatisfaction with cooperative participation in the opportunity to sing loudly and enthusiastically, guessing at the words as he did.
Other congregants turned indulgent, smiling faces towards him.
Once the offering plates appeared for collection, all five children scrambled to participate, having received both instruction and money before they arrived at the church. Tony watched proudly as the group solemnly dropped in their contributions, though little Viv did snatch hers back out of the plate when she realized it would disappear into the next row. Not willing to fight her at the moment, Tony allowed her to keep her dollar clutched tightly in her fist.
The pastor took them through a Biblical reading before summoning the children of the church to the front for their specially tailored sermon.
Tony's crew lost no time in joining the others jogging down the aisles and settling eagerly in a semi circle around the pastor.
Vivienne, too excited to walk, tripped and landed on the carpet, her diapered bottom popping into the air. Before Tony could respond Ethan trotted back and grabbed her hand and helped her stand, then led her to the front to sit beside him.
Ava made it five pews closer to the action before fearfully turning around and doubling back to Tony. She wedged in between his thigh and the pew's wooden edge and refused to accept his whispered assurances that she would enjoy herself if she joined the others. Instead, she dug her little fingernails sharply into his thigh and peeped around the pew to follow the proceedings.
Entertainer that he was, Levi managed to elicit roars of laughter from the congregation when the preacher asked the children to describe a situation they had witnessed where a person committed a wrong yet the witness refused to copy the deed. In an excited recount, he spoke of how his daddy had cursed with two bad words when he stepped barefooted on the handful of Legos Levi had dropped on the kitchen floor just the night before.
With an angelic smile, he assured the listeners that he had reprimanded his daddy and told Tony that he, Levi, knew better than to say such really bad words.
Ratted out in front of a room full of strangers, Tony nevertheless managed to plant a good sport expression onto his face even as Ava changed positions and jumped up to land seated onto his legs.
Waiting for the throbbing to subside, he stroked his chin and smiled indulgently.
As the lesson for the younger set closed, an array of adults ushered them towards the church's annex before following the youngsters. Tony watched as his four deserted him without a backwards glance, but felt a twinge of uneasiness at the disappearance. Despite the innocence of the event, in the back of his mind he always kept their protective custody status a top priority.
Ava settled against him, her back against his strong chest, and he whispered into her hair, assuring her that the other side of the door ushered fun and friends if she would choose it.
Not bothering to respond, she put her sandaled feet against the pew in front and kicked, launching herself more securely into Tony, and knocking into his ribcage. He chided himself for not anticipating the blow but wrapped his arm against his little girl, holding her securely.
Once the adult service ended, Tony followed the line of parents as they threaded their way out of the church's sanctuary and into the reception and classroom areas. Glued to his side, Ava's hand gripped his, but he noticed that as she took in the scene on the other side of the door, her fingers relaxed.
That counted as a step towards victory.
Levi and Ethan mingled with a group of boys, and Tony motioned them to him. They obeyed, and Ethan brought an acquaintance his own age with him. The boy introduced himself as Daniel Monroe, a down the street neighbor.
Tony recognized him from bike rides the family had taken around their new neighborhood. Daniel and his friends generally congregated close to the woods right down from his house.
As far as Tony could glean from this introduction, Ethan and Daniel had bonded during their Sunday class.
Daniel's parents joined them, and Tony liked them immediately. The dad, Brett Monroe, worked in insurance while his wife, Adele, held a position as a nurse at an orthopedic clinic. Their other son, Darcy, was Ava's age. The entire family supported Georgia football, and in the conversation Brett and Adele invited Tony and his brood to join them some Saturday for tailgating, to participate in the partying and camaraderie routine before a University of Georgia football match.
Adele invited Ethan to join them for lunch and to spend the afternoon, as well. Automatically poised to refuse the offer, Tony caught sight of Ethan's wistful expression and agreed instead, asking Adele to please send the boy home by mid day.
Elijah ran to him clutching a picture he had colored of Jesus surrounded by a group of children. While bragging upon the talent evident in the little boy's choice of colors, Tony enlisted his help in locating Vivienne.
The baby room, large and spacious, was secured by a toddler gate at the entrance. There parents could go to collect their progeny once church finished, without running the risk of having a small child dart past into the corridors. Tony spied Vivienne playing with a stuffed pink panther taller than she. Noting her absorption in the task he steeled himself for a volatile response when she had to leave the toy behind.
However, she surprised him instead and turned it loose with just an instruction from the teacher, who insisted to Tony that Vivienne had behaved beautifully the past hour. Swinging her into his arms he nuzzled her and bragged on her teacher's comments while she lay her head on his shoulder.
Tony picked up on the sounds of her fingers hitting her mouth, and the sound of intense and frantic sucking followed instantly. His baby had reached her limit for extra curricular activities.
Actually departing the church took some time, far more than Tony had anticipated. Well wishers swarmed him, congregants clearly pleased to welcome the new family extended their greetings, along with the pastor's heartfelt invitation for them to return.
In addition, somehow he had attracted the attention of several women, who made it a point to express an interest in the new family. Promises of visits with summertime salads and offers to accompany him shopping for kid items assailed him. The fact that he recognized their transparent ploys to make his acquaintance somehow failed to elicit the pleasure it would have done in his carefree, single days.
He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled sharply. He had even begun to reminisce about a no- longer- an- issue- bachelorhood!
When he finally exited the church, the children ran ahead to the van clutching mementos gleaned from the Sunday service. Supervising the safety restraints for Ava and Elijah as he secured Vivienne, Tony discovered himself one child short. Muttering under his breath, he backed away from the vehicle and surveyed the outdoors until he pinpointed Levi running up and down a set of steps at the side of the church's annex building.
Though he called to him and Levi acknowledged the summons, the boy did not interrupt his game or abandon his activity.
Really annoyed at the cavalier response, Tony left the doors to the van spread wide open and marched his way to the troublemaker, who deliberately pivoted to face the opposite direction. "If you are not in your seat, buckled, by the time I count to five," Tony threatened, feeling his irritation skyrocket, "you will be a sorry little boy when I get you home!" Once the words flew from his lips a flash of déjà vu enveloped him. He sounded exactly as he remembered his abuela and dad had when confronted with a just- as- stubborn little Tony years prior!
Frowning, Levi swiveled to regard him mutinously. He stayed put.
"One!" Tony snapped, pointing forcefully towards their vehicle.
Lips puffed into a pout, Levi stomped down the steps but froze when he left the cement and progressed to grass.
"Two!"
As slowly as he could, the child put one foot in front of the other, executing a series of baby steps. Losing patience entirely, Tony snatched him in a football hold and carried him, amidst angry protests and kicking arms and legs, to the van.
The others studied them wide eyed at the dramatic arrival of the Daddy and Levi.
"Now," Tony hissed, "get into your seat, put on the belt, and make sure you think long and hard before you say anything."
He slammed the door.
Determined to push as many buttons as possible, Levi replied smartly, "anything!"