Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for their always awesome feedback, and to Mari for the idea and the assist! You're the best, ladies.
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
We continue to hope that the eruption and lava flow on the Big Island does not endanger any lives or homes.
Fluid Situation (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari and Ilna)
Late Sunday
Steve and Catherine had just settled into bed when her phone had them both sitting back up immediately. "It's Lea," she told him, and answered with, "This is Catherine." She listened for a moment and glanced at him.
"Mauna Loa?" he mouthed, and she nodded, already on her feet and grabbing what she needed before she disconnected the call.
"It's started," she told Steve who was reading the alerts on his own phone as she started dressing. "We have a conference call with the mayor of Hawaii County in a half hour."
"We've known it was going to happen for a while," he said.
She nodded. "We have a solid plan in place, but it all depends on the lava flow." She stepped up and kissed him. "I'll call to check in, it's gonna be a long night. I'm not sure when I'll be back."
"I've got the morning routine and drop off. Go." He kissed her once more. "I'll text your parents to be on standby in case anything comes up on my end."
"Tell the kids…"
"You're sorry you left before they're up and you'll call them later," he finished with a small smile. "Grab a few energy bars."
"Aye aye." She smoothed the front of her teal, sleeveless blouse. "Love you."
He kissed her once more. "Love you. Go coordinate the situation." He smiled at her. "There's no one better."
"Good morning, Daddy." Angie walked into the kitchen hours later with Cammie close behind. Looking around the room, she asked, "Where's Mommy?"
"Mommy had to go to work early today." Steve dropped a kiss on her head. "Good morning. Pancakes are almost ready." He'd been up a while so pancakes were on the agenda.
"Mommy had to go to work because of the volcano," DJ offered while placing two glasses of juice on the table. "It's erupting and she's gotta help Governor Lea make sure all the people are okay."
"Lava comes out when the volcano erupts," Angie parroted what she'd been hearing since the warning went out. "The lava is very very hot, right, DJ?"
"Right. It's super hot."
Her eyes turned to her father. "The lava isn't coming here, is it, Daddy?"
Steve placed the plate of pancakes on the table and knelt to his daughter's eye level. "No, baby girl. The volcano, Mauna Loa, is on the Big Island, it's not near Oahu." He saw her visibly relax at his words and smiled, kissing her cheek. He could live to be a hundred and the absolute trust the kids put in him would never cease to make him smile. "We're safe here. Mommy is helping to keep everyone safe on the Big Island."
"Most people live away from the parts of Mauna Loa that are dangerous, but Mommy and Governor Lea have to look out for the whole state, not just Oahu. Right, Daddy?" DJ said while helping his sister reach the syrup.
"That's exactly right."
"Hey, Daddy?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Mr. Francis said that Mauna Loa erupted last time about 38 years ago. Do you remember it?"
Steve smiled. "I do actually, I remember talking about it a lot in school. Then my dad explained how lava flow can change without warning so the first responders were all working lots of hours on the Big Island and some of the firefighters from the other islands went to help."
"Because helping is important," Angie said seriously. "Daddy, can you go stop the volcano?"
Steve smiled at her belief he could stop an erupting volcano. "If I could I would, but that's beyond what anyone can do. All we can do is listen to the scientists and do our best to keep people safe. And that's what Mommy is doing right now."
Angie dipped a piece of pancake in the syrup on her plate and popped it into her mouth. After chewing thoughtfully, she smiled. "Cause Mommy is a helper, too."
"Hey," Steve said a few hours later, immediately answering his phone when he saw Catherine's name pop up on the screen. "How are you doing?"
"Running on fumes, but still going," she replied.
"I saw the alert that shelters have been opened as a precaution."
"Yeah, some residents have evacuated voluntarily, but as of now it's not necessary to order anyone to leave their homes. The flows aren't threatening any downslope communities."
"That's good. That's really good."
"Yeah," she replied, and he could tell from her voice how tired she was. "How were Angie and DJ this morning?"
"Full of questions … concerned about the situation … and proud of their Mommy for helping." He smiled. "Nothing unusual about any of that." He could picture her smile in response, then heard a voice that sounded like Cody's in the background.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I've gotta go," she said.
He shook off the apology. "No, I understand. Call when you can."
"I will," she promised.
"And maybe take a power nap on your couch when you get a chance, okay?"
This time he heard the smile in her voice. "Okay. Love you."
"Love you."
That afternoon, Steve waited in the pickup line at school and smiled when DJ and Angie spotted him and ran over.
"Is Mommy still at work?" DJ asked as he hugged him in greeting.
"Yep, there was a press conference this afternoon," Steve replied, swinging Angie up into a hug.
" 'Cause of the volcano," she said matter-of-factly.
"That's right," he said, setting her back down.
"We talked a lot about the volcano today," DJ said as they moved toward the truck.
"Yeah!" Angie echoed. "We watched it on the smartboard!"
"I watched some videos, too," Steve said, making sure both kids were buckled in. "It's pretty incredible to see. And thankfully so far no one is in danger and no homes have been affected."
"And Mommy will make sure everyone is okay," Angie added, smiling proudly.
"Yeah," DJ agreed.
"That's certainly what she's trying to do," Steve said. He shut the rear doors and got into the driver's seat.
"Did Mommy call?" DJ asked.
"Does she miss us?" Angie added.
"Yes and yes," Steve said with a little smile. "She's called a couple of times when she's had a few minutes to spare, and she misses you very much. But as long as nothing changes in the next couple hours she should be home tonight."
"I bet she'll be really tired," DJ said.
"I think you're probably right," Steve acknowledged. "But she won't be too tired for lots of hugs from both of you."
Angie and DJ beamed at each other.
It was quiet for a few minutes as Steve pulled out of the pickup line, then DJ asked, "Hey, Daddy?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
"I was wondering … is there anything we can do to help with the volcano?"
Steve smiled softly, unsurprised by his son's question given his caring and thoughtful nature. "Right now there isn't, since the lava isn't affecting any of the local communities. But I love that you want to help and we'll keep checking to see if there's anything we can do, okay?"
DJ smiled and nodded. "Okay."
"Maybe we can make dinner so Mommy has something to eat when she gets home," Angie said.
"We can definitely do that," Steve said.
"Yeah," DJ agreed, "and we can get her favorite tea ready so she can relax."
"And have a bubble bath!" Angie added.
"Those are all great ideas," Steve said. "You found a way to help after all."
DJ beamed. "By helping the helper."
Hours later, Catherine arrived home and was greeted at the door by the whole family, both two and four-legged.
"Oh my goodness, what a welcome," she said, eyes tired but her smile warm at the enthusiastic greeting.
"We were watching the news, they said everyone is still okay," DJ said even as he hugged her tightly. "The lava isn't by any people."
"That's true," she replied. "It's a fluid situation, literally. We'll keep monitoring the flows, but right now no one is in immediate danger." She straightened to kiss Steve even as both kids remained plastered to her sides.
"We've got dinner for you, Mommy!" DJ said. "Creamy chicken soup."
"And your special tea you can have with a bubble bath," Angie added, looking up at her.
"That all sounds wonderful, but first I want another hug," she said, moving over to the couch. Both kids immediately scrambled up to sit on either side, wrapping their arms around her. "Mmm, that's perfect." She smiled as Cammie placed her head on Catherine's knee and even Pumpkin climbed over Angie to settle in her lap. She met Steve's eyes and quirked an eyebrow at him. Chuckling, he joined them on the couch, shifting Angie into his lap.
"Usually it's Daddy who has to leave in the middle of the night and stay at work for hours and hours and hours," DJ said after a while.
"But this time it was Mommy," Angie added.
"Mmm, and I missed you," Catherine said.
"We missed you, too," DJ said. "But we know you have an important job keeping people safe when there's a big emergency, so we understand."
Angie nodded, head against Catherine's chest.
"Thank you for understanding," Catherine said and smiled. "Now … what was that you said about creamy chicken soup?"
After dinner, Catherine decided to forgo the bubble bath but did enjoy a hot cup of herbal tea while the kids were getting ready for bed. Steve took over the storytime duties, sitting on DJ's bed with Angie in his lap while Catherine and DJ snuggled up beside him. Midway through I Love You Little, I Love You Lots, he looked over to see that not only had Angie and DJ dozed off, but Catherine was fast asleep as well.
He chuckled softly, glancing at Cammie at the end of the bed. "My reading isn't that bad, is it, girl?"
Cammie chuffed quietly in response and resettled her head on her front paws.
"My voice must just be so soothing," he continued, carefully closing the book so as not to jostle Angie in his lap. His smile softened as he looked at each in turn. "And being a helper can be exhausting." Slowly he reached for her hand that was resting on DJ's arm and brought it to his mouth for a kiss. "The people here are lucky to have you, and so are we."
Hope you enjoyed!
Book: I Love You Little, I Love You Lots by Douglas Wood, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Scholastic, 2022)
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