Almost Perfect
Those whirlwind hours recalibrated into days, the days slid into weeks, and those weeks rolled into months as the makeshift family thrived and forged a familial bond while under Tony's watch.
At no time did the new father truly let down his guard, but as time passed and entrenched the family within routine daily life, a sense of normalcy emerged.
In fact, that couple of months brought about a welcome and new perspective of the future awaiting his five surrogate children. From regulated check-ins and updates with the witness protection and law enforcement agencies, Tony learned that the key players devoted to retaliation against the kids had finally all been apprehended and imprisoned on other charges.
All of that had not occurred at once, of course, but transpired over a period of weeks.
Yet throughout that same period Tony had kept the children protected and healthy.
The future over the horizon certainly looked hopeful.
More than likely, the five little beings would find themselves assigned to assorted family members permanently before Thanksgiving, not too far past the household's periphery.
In an interesting but unexpected twist, Tony excelled at his new work, much to his own surprise as he discovered that he possessed a knack for teaching and that students responded well to his guidance and approach.
Still, he puzzled over his collegial success, unable to recognize that his classes responded to his entertaining delivery and knowledge of the material. He blossomed so much, in fact, that the Commandant pulled him aside a month into the assignment and confided that he wanted to offer Tony a permanent position at the Navy School.
Startled, the young man stammered a promise to consider it and his shock had not waned when he shared the offer with his dad and abuela.
Shaking his hand firmly the older man insisted that Tony had been born to teach, and then prevailed upon the younger man's sense of duty to his country and military.
Besides the Commandant, the other faculty members also welcomed him graciously.
They included him in lunch invitations and get togethers though Tony generally had to decline the after work offers with thanks.
His colleagues accepted his regrets sympathetically, expressing their understanding of his domestic priorities.
Still, they continued to ask, having genuinely taken to his quick wit and authentic skills.
Tony discovered it extremely difficult to shake off the female attention he encountered. First, he had spent nearly his entire life perfecting his magnetism and honing his flirtation techniques, so rejecting attractive women simply went against his male grain. In addition, he found it awkward to explain satisfactorily and without going too in depth that no, he did not desire any spend the night company. Females tended to treat his rejection of their offers as stumbling blocks they could conquer with perseverance, renewed efforts, and sexy, doe eyed looks.
Tony realized that no one expected him to live as a monk through the assignment, and he did carve some female companionship into his schedule. Something had changed for him, though, and moving from one woman to another no longer appealed to him.
Putting his finger on the problem eluded him, though he could admit to himself that six months ago his perspective encompassed a sole focus upon pleasure in the present moment. Now, though, despite attempts to resort to his lothario mindset, he consistently viewed each encounter through the lens of how it would affect the future- his future, of course. No, scratch that- it really boiled down to the kids, and what damage he worried he would wreak by parading females in and out of their already transient little lives.
Anyway, hooking up seriously proved futile anyway. In some collective spidey sense the children appeared to sense each possibility of a companion as an unwelcome intruder- an antagonist maniacally capable of carving out a chunk of the Daddy's time and attention.
The week before he sat at the pediatrician's office with Eli and Vivi and indulged in the undeniable magnetism he shared with an attractive brunette nurse who managed to afirm her interest in him.
Somehow sensing an impending threat to his new parent, Elijah reacted with tears and panicked whimpers any time the hottie approached him. His behavior deteriorated to the point that for the sake of peace in the office another nurse took her place.
The potential date and romantic interest dissolved right there, right then.
Like a honey blond bloodhound, Ava could be completely immersed playing across the football field as Tony and the family watched Levi's game. Should a woman approach the stands within a bleacher row of Tony, however, Ava would abandon her activity to hasten over and climb possessively into Tony's lap. There she would remain despite entreaties to join the other children spectators. She would sit patiently waiting until the potential problem finally gave up flirting and went elsewhere.
Contrary to his normal nonchalant attitude, Ethan proved just as much a watchdog. Waiting at the school's office to pick Ethan up for a dental appointment one afternoon, an attractive teacher on her planning period bantered back and forth with Tony across the counter.
The sparks had barely begun to ignite when Ethan appeared, sagely sized up the situation, and announced smugly, "Oh wow, Ms. Ross, you teach sixth grade, don't you? With five kids it's surprising one of us isn't in your class. Maybe one of us will enroll in your homeroom next year?" He batted his eyes innocently at the startled teacher, then at Tony, not bothering to hide his smirk as the young teacher hastily excused herself.
Evidently she felt a man with five children- no matter how attractive- just a bit much as a potential romantic interest.
So as Tony carved his own presence into the Navy School campus and community in general, the progeny also staked their own claims.
Despite the family's united efforts to entice Vivienne to speak, she still refused, shaking her head emphatically back and forth and scowling if they pushed or wheedled her too much in their efforts to get her to talk. The pediatrician assured Tony several times that he detected no cognitive or developmental problems- her intelligence was fine. Vivi certainly understood communication but evidently chose to remain mute. According to the doctor, more than likely the baby would decline to speak until it mattered enough to her to talk, until something galvanized her into action.
Still, her bubbly personality kept her in the midst of family activities, and she generally played well with others and accepted the family dynamics.
When Tony pulled into the carport at the end of the workday, baby Vivi would bounce up and down behind the security of the storm door, arms thrown out to welcome him. Swooping her into his embrace, Tony would shower her with tickling kisses and revel in her burst of laughter.
With that dimpled chin and little rosebud mouth, who could resist her charms, even if she remained silent?
Elijah entered a growth spurt which necessitated Tony sending Miss Talia to the mall twice to purchase new clothes and shoes.
Handing over his credit card he marveled at the little boy's maturation as he brushed back the coppery blond hair and teased Elijah. "Now what am I going to do if you outgrow all the clothes they have at the mall?"
Intense topaz eyes regarded him soberly before the little fellow responded carefully, "I don't know, Daddy, because I can't go around naked."
Tony hid a smile at the thoughtful reasoning and answered seriously, "True, Son, but we won't ever have to really worry. You can always wear Levi's clothes, or Ethan's clothes, or even my grown up clothes if you get any taller."
Elijah smiled shyly and twisted from side to side with his arms extended at his sides. "Do they have firemen?"
"I don't know, but I know the way to get the sit rep," Tony admitted before turning to address Talia. "Miss Talia, would you pretty please check to see if you can find any clothes with firemen or fire trucks for this growing boy? If you discover any in my little man's size, those are the ones I want you to buy rather than any others."
Nodding conspiratorially, Miss Talia agreed.
Elijah's increase in height grew proportionally with an increase in bashfulness. He withdrew and became more introverted, preferring to conduct most of his play by himself and somewhat away from the family. For instance, instead of joining the others sprawled in front of the television for a video, he would remain in the room but would choose a chair, a corner, or a stool to separate himself.
Tony panicked, worrying over the potential stigma of a stunted social growth. He tortured himself into sleeplessness one night, genuinely afraid that his guidance had begun to work against the toddler.
In the wee hours of the morning, though, he had an epiphany- he decided to watch Elijah for personality clues as he would a suspect in surveillance.
What could it hurt?
So one entire Saturday he fixated on the child for the day. That was an approach in which he could place his confidence.
Putting the little boy to bed that night he conceded that throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening, Elijah had never once shunned collaborative activities when requested to join them, but instead had participated fully when in group situations with the other four. As he shrewdly regarded Eli Tony had studied the toddler as he segued from one activity to another. Why had he worried? He chided himself for the agonized fear he had wasted. From his observation Tony concluded that Elijah possessed an incredible and wonderful imagination which provided the main avenue in which the child entertained himself.
Elijah did not require an audience to provide the stimulus for learning or play.
The youngest two were none the worse under his care.
Even after several weeks to conquer fears, Ava approached kindergarten each day with some degree of concern, at times worrying herself into weeping. Despite Tony's reassurances as he wiped the tears from her hazel eyes, she would fret over her future ability to confront or master one skill or another. She insisted upon Tony supervising or tutoring her each evening as she practiced whatever concept Ms. Rhodes had taught the little ones that day.
Then one night as he patiently coaxed her into working on a handout matching like objects all by herself, Tony suddenly realized the root problem- Ava was a perfectionist! Her expectations for herself demanded precision, evidenced by her commitment to mastering the kindergarten's curricular objectives.
The information both pleased and upset him. At least he knew what made Ava tick, true, but he did not want her sabotaging herself with unrealistic expectations. Trusting his instinct, he began a ritual with Ava where each evening they shared with each other one thing they had done during the day which had made each of them proud, and one which they each had not done well, but for which each could be forgiven. Through those conversations he made some inroads into pushing her to appreciate and accept that sometimes falling short happened no matter how prepared she was.
What Ava lacked in confidence, however, Levi possessed in spades.
Levi slammed into his second grade classroom like a stick of dynamite, but luckily, Ms. Corwin had extensive experience in redirecting and handling energetic and excitable seven year olds. Very intelligent, he excelled in all of his classwork so well that the school had requested Tony's permission to test the child for the gifted program.
Tony gave his assent.
Not only did he agree that Levi should encounter material which challenged him, but it also dawned on him that the boy needed to be kept occupied for everyone's sake.
Trouble quickly found him when he became bored. Or he found trouble- whichever, the two turned into an unwelcome combination!
Despite the stellar academics, Levi managed to land into mischief and trouble at the elementary school every couple of days. Reading each bad conduct message ruefully presented to him, Tony would sign it incredulously, listening in disbelief as Levi reeled off one dramatic and embellished explanation or another over his misguided intentions. Levying a punishment to fit each of the little fellow's school crimes Tony would wonder aloud at Levi's continued penchant to entertain his class or delight in nonconformity, despite knowing that he would receive an unpleasant consequence at home for a bad school report.
Chagrined at the déjà vu interactions, Tony acknowledged the irony of his adult obligations to the small firebrand, finally grasping how his father and abuela must have perceived his own ridiculous school incidents and misbehavior.
Refusing to waver from a punishment for a bad school notification, Tony stood firm despite Levi's dimple and pouty pleading. No matter how eloquent the little boy's explanation, each incident would boil down to roughly a couple of lines.
"But Daddy, 'member I told you that I thought I was supposed to climb on the top of my desk and dance. She said let the music make us happy. I musta misunderstood."
followed by Tony's "That's too bad, then, because that misunderstanding has cost you television tonight."
or "I wasn't the only one making the spitballs. Daddy, I told you! Robert and William beside me spit them across the room too, and John even spit one at the board! I didn't even do that."
inviting Tony's "Good- thanks for clarifying that, Son. Now I'll know that when I put you to bed tonight a half hour early you won't be the only young man being punished for today's unacceptable behavior with an early bedtime."
or even "I did stop talking when I was supposed to stop talking. Listen, listen, please. It's just I thought Ms. Corwin was telling me that I could talk again when I stopped talking. So that's what I did, see, I talked after I stopped talking."
ushering in Tony's sage promise "Keep rationalizing your actions like that and I can promise that you will keep losing your outdoor play time each time you do. When she said to close your mouth, that is exactly what should have happened."
Yes indeed, Levi managed to run Tony ragged with his antics, and Tony often had to remind himself- frequently had to remind himself- that deep in his heart he sensed that one day the little miscreant would evolve into a model citizen!
Since school actually began, Ethan had lost some of his defiant attitude, though it resurfaced when he felt threatened or angry. His work output was generally good, and better in some subjects than in others. He aced Language Arts and read voraciously. Social Studies appealed to him as well. Without Tony's prodding and insistence upon acceptable grades he would have put little effort into math and science, though. So to hold onto his privileges from Tony he worked hard enough to make B's and A's in all of his courses.
Though perpetually poised to balk at any home rules, Tony recognized that Ethan thrived because of the structure and routine, no matter how he outwardly appeared to chafe. Capitalizing upon that intel Tony assigned him the task of maintaining the family calendar, which Ethan took very seriously. The child blocked off the afternoons and evenings and methodically penned in appointments and commitments, juggling the schedule to accommodate the family's multitude of activities.
He would revel in Tony's praise, especially when Tony insisted that he depended upon him to keep their obligations conflict-free. Still reticent and suspicious, nevertheless Tony could still witness the child's pleasure blossom through a shy responding grin.
Ethan possessed a sharp eye for the ladies, or rather, the young cuties of the fourth grade had a collective crush on the brooding newcomer.
Rarely did an afternoon pass without a phone call from an ardent admirer asking to speak with Ethan. After the third one while supper cooked one evening, Tony admonished the youngster. "Can't they get enough of you at school? They just turned you loose a couple of hours ago."
"I told them already that I don't have permission to talk until after homework, and that I'm not allowed to accept calls after seven," Ethan defended. "They just still pick up the phone anyway to chat with me. I don't ask them to phone me."
Absentmindedly he rubbed the thin scar above his eyebrow.
Unable to resist a grin at the child's predicament, Tony felt compelled to tease the little lothario about his popularity, no matter how unappreciated. "Sure thing, Ethan, but I would be remiss if I failed to point out that you have fallen into the tall, dark, and handsome category, and that scar gives you a mysterious air with the females."
Ethan blushed and left the kitchen, not comfortable in accepting his star power, but Tony stayed secretly tickled that the child had such a fan base..
Family wise, the local YMCA proved a wonderful extension to the school day a couple of times a week. Tony enrolled Ethan in swimming classes over the fourth grader's protests and attempts to save face by insisting he could already swim. Within a couple of weeks of practice and instruction at the Y Tony revelled in the young man's transformation. Ethan's confidence grew as his skills did, and six weeks into the program Tony breathed a sigh of relief. Though still there was clearly more to learn, Tony felt that Ethan would be able to save himself from drowning should an accident ever transpire.
Levi entered the peewee football league and proved an apt team member. He approached the game enthusiastically, and Tony privately relished the fact that the sport sapped a good portion of the little boy's seemingly boundless energy.
Tony selected a gymnastics class for Ava which she attended with a host of reservations. Usually she refused to join the teacher or classmates unless Tony watched from the section reserved for parents and sat strategically on the bleacher so she could see him at all times. However, once she did participate she would practice one skill or the other until she felt confident that she performed correctly, and her innate poise showcased her agility.
Vivienne and Elijah participated regularly at the local library's story time, and also took advantage of any activities the University of Georgia extended for the youngest population in Athens. According to the souvenirs they brought home with them, the school's museum of art worked hard to cultivate devotees at an early age.
All in all, the five children blossomed and Tony's little family approached the holidays at peace with their lives and situation.
Then when they least expected it, their world imploded.