I know it took me forever, but I want to make sure I'm putting out the best writing I can. I promised a long chapter to make up for all the waiting, and I deliver. Enjoy!
Carlton awoke and gently extricated himself from under Juliet. They'd been talking far into the night, and she deserved to sleep in.
He walked out to the kitchen and decided to begin making some eggs and bacon.
While he waited for the stove to heat, he wandered out to the living room. Maryanne had brought a family photo album from Miami, and he hadn't quite gotten a chance to look through it.
He looked at pages and pages before he found her. The first picture of her boasted a smiling baby and a laughing toddler he assumed to be her brother Donny. He wasn't surprised to see she'd been smiling since day one. He looked at how the family changed over the years. He noticed an absence of her father in any pictures, but the family still seemed happy. He saw her grow from the smiling baby, to a happy child, to a confident teenager, to the beautiful young woman he met when she moved to Santa Barbara.
"You really love her, don't you."
He looked up and saw Maryanne standing near the edge of the couch. "That's-" He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. It's like she's made of sunshine. No matter what seems to be happening around us, and no matter what I may be dealing with, she can make me smile. I honestly don't know how I made it so long without her."
Maryanne smiled. "In my experience, that means she's someone you should never let go of. I'm not just saying that because she's my daughter. I don't know how much Juliet has told you, but I haven't had the best of luck in relationships."
He shook his head. "I know her father wasn't much of a father, if that's alright to say."
She nodded. "He wasn't. He was around for the first few years with Conran, then a little less after Ewan, then about half the time after Donnan. With Juliet..." She sighed. "He was barely around at all. It was hard on her. I'm just glad he didn't have any more kids. I feel like that would have made things harder."
"It does," Carlton answered without thinking.
She shot him a curious look, but his obvious discomfort led her to let it go. "Anyway, Frank was just the beginning. He was a con-man. After him came Joe the embezzler, then Al the drunken pickpocket, then Steve who sold defective above-ground pools. I don't think Julie knows that I know, but even Lloyd used to have a gambling problem. My wish for her has always been that she make better choices than I did, and it seems she has."
She smiled at him, and he blushed.
By the time Juliet and Lloyd came out, Carlton and Maryanne had finished making breakfast and moved on to watching the news.
"Everything should still be hot," Maryanne told them.
Juliet smiled gratefully, then brought her full plate over to sit next to Carlton on the couch.
Carlton smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. During the next commercial break, Juliet went to do the dishes. Carlton caught a glance at the date when he took out his phone to check his emails. "Oh, crap!"
"What is it, Carlton?" Maryanne asked.
"I completely forgot that I told Ciara I would watch Peter this weekend!"
She sent him an odd look, "You have a son?"
"What?" Juliet asked as she came back into the room and sat on the couch.
"I said I would watch my nephew, Peter, this weekend so that my sister and her husband can go to Nevada to celebrate their 12th anniversary."
"Oh, he's your nephew. Why is that a problem?" Maryanne asked.
Carlton shrugged. "If no one minds then I don't suppose it is a huge deal. He would just be accompanying us for a few days. I could take him home at night."
"Nonsense," Lloyd told him. "That would be a waste of money. You stay here as you have been, and he can stay on the couch. We don't mind having him around."
"How old is he?" Maryanne queried.
"Um... eleven as of last month," he replied, sitting down on the couch next to Juliet.
"Is he the nephew I met last year?" Juliet asked. "The one from Colorado?"
Carlton shook his head. "No, that was Andrew. He's Benen's son. This is my sister's son."
"The one in South America?"
Carlton shook his head again. "You're thinking of Adara, and she lives in New Mexico with her husband and three kids."
"Oh, she's the one with the daughter the same age as Millie."
Carlton nodded, "My brother, Aidan, is the one in South America, and he's Addy's twin. No, this is Ciara's son, and you met him back in 2007. They live in Sacramento."
"Oh, the one who lives near your mom and speaks fluent Spanish," Juliet clarified, and he nodded in agreement.
Maryanne looked astonished as she followed the conversation between the two. "How do you keep any of this straight, Julie?"
She shrugged. "We've been partners for over four years, Mom. I've had time. He knows our whole family, and heaven knows there are plenty of difficult names there."
Maryanne nodded. "Well, I'll look forward to meeting this large family of yours when you two get married!"
Juliet spit out the water she had been drinking. "Mom!"
"What?" Maryanne asked, smiling as she looked between the two. "I know you've only been dating a little more than a year, but you said yourself that you've been together for over four years. I see the way you look at each other. I've seen that look in my own eyes in my wedding pictures. You look at each other like you're home. No pressure, I just figured it would be the inevitable next step."
Carlton turned crimson. "Well, uh..."
"We just haven't talked about it," Juliet cut in as she put a hand on her mother's arm.
Carlton nodded in relief.
"Well, when will we meet him?"
Carlton looked at his watch and shot up. "She'll be at my house in 10 minutes. I had better be going, but I'll be back."
"Mind if I tag along?" Juliet asked as she stood up and put a hand on his arm. "I'm sure my mom won't mind."
Maryanne shook her head in response and waved them on. "Go! Enjoy some alone time. We will be showered and ready by the time you get back."
Juliet nodded, shooting her mother a grateful smile as she followed Carlton out to the car.
"Thanks again for doing this, CarCar."
Carlton sighed. "Eventually, Ciara, you're going to have to learn how to say my name."
She gave him a look, then smiled and looked over at Juliet. "I've met you," she stated as she pointed at the younger woman.
Juliet nodded and extended a hand. "Juliet O'Hara."
Ciara gave Carlton a sly grin, and his eyes grew wider.
"Ah, yes, the partner he never shuts up about."
Carlton blushed and turned to walk away. Juliet put a hand on his arm and gave him a pleased smile, though, which calmed him down somewhat.
Raul came in with a backpack and a preteen.
"Hi, Peter," Carlton greeted.
The boy didn't look up.
"Peter, put that thing away," Ciara scolded as she snatched away his DSi.
"But, Mom! I was playing Platinum!I was just about to fight Team Galactic, and my Infernape is all leveled up and-"
Ciara shook her head. "It's going in your backpack. Uncle Carlton can decide when it's a good time for you to play it, but this is not that time."
Peter sighed, "Yes, Mom."
Raul waved at everyone, then walked out.
"He's a man of few words," Ciara explained. She leaned down to kiss Peter on the cheek. "Be good for Uncle Carlton. We'll be back here tomorrow night."
"Oh, uh, about that..."
Ciara looked back up at her brother.
"We're staying at Juliet's."
"Oh, really?" Ciara asked slyly. "And why is that?"
"Uh..." Carlton turned bright red.
"Convenience. My parents are in town, and Carlton helped me plan some fun stuff that I'm sure Peter would enjoy. I'll write down the address," Juliet interrupted smoothly. She went over to Carlton's junk drawer and found a small notepad with a mini pen through the spirals. She wrote down the address, then handed it to Ciara with a smile.
Ciara laughed. "I like you. Take good care of my little brother."
Juliet smiled. "I'll do my best."
Carlton, Juliet, and Peter walked her out to the car, then waved as the couple drove away.
"So what fun stuff are we doing?" Peter asked immediately.
Juliet opened the backseat door on her side of Carlton's car. "We haven't quite decided that yet. Peter nodded, then climbed into the backseat.
Peter wasn't quite sure what to think of this lady. She seemed nice, but looks can be deceiving.
"So, you like Pokemon?" Juliet asked.
Peter looked up. "You know about Pokemon?"
Juliet nodded. "I had the original Pokemon Blue game for GameBoy when I was 18."
Peter smiled and bounced excitedly. "Which Pokemon did you have?"
"Well..."
By the time they pulled up to Juliet's house, Peter had found his new best friend.
"Hello," Maryanne sang as the trio walked through the front door. She set her book down and got up to walk over to them. "I'm guessing this handsome fellow must be Peter."
Peter smiled and stuck a hand out. "Pleased to meet you."
"Oh, and a gentleman." She shook his hand and smiled back.
"What are we doing today?" he questioned. He looked at her suspiciously. "Something fun, right?"
She laughed. "Well, we haven't decided that yet."
"How about the movies?" Carlton asked the group.
Peter shook his head. "Nothing good is playing."
"We could go back to the beach," Lloyd recommended.
Peter shook his head. "I hate the sand."
"The Botanic Gardens are always fun this time of year," Juliet suggested.
Peter thought about it for a moment. "That's the place with the flowers, right?"
Juliet nodded. "It has many different plants, and also some small animals and bugs."
Peter thought for another moment. "Okay, but only if I can play my DS in the car."
The group looked at Carlton. Juliet gave him a slight nod.
He nodded. "Okay, but only in the car."
"Yay!"
Maryanne and Lloyd filled a mid-sized cooler with fruit, water bottles, PB&J sandwiches, and a couple of juice-boxes.
The group piled into Carlton's car, Peter seated between Juliet's parents in the back, and headed off to the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens.
When they got to the Gardens, they went over to the Garden Shop to buy a couple of hand lenses. Peter received his own, while the adults shared the other one. They also picked up a pair of binoculars for the whole group.
Walking quietly through, they spotted turtles, fish, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, lizards, squirrels, and even woodpeckers chipping away at a pole.
Peter wanted to see the Woodland Trail, but they discovered that the oaks were missing most of their leaves. In fact, much of the trail had been devastated by the Jesusita Fire a few months back.
Maryanne enjoyed the Tea House Garden best. The group had the opportunity to witness an authentic chanoyu tea ceremony before continuing through the rest of the Arroyo Section. A volunteer for the ShinKanAn Teahouse explained that it was open every second Saturday of the month, and Maryanne remarked that they would have to plan their next visit accordingly.
Carlton and Juliet discussed their love of the Meadows section. To anyone who didn't know, it would have seemed as though they'd visited together in the past.
After they left the Gardens, the group headed over to Shoreline Park to enjoy their picnic lunch.
Not long after they finished eating, a couple of boys around Peter's age came over to recruit him for the playground-wide boys vs. girls freeze tag war. While Juliet and Carlton sat on a bench and watched him play, Juliet's parents walked over to the Torii gate to head down to the bluffs.
"Do you want kids?" Carlton asked.
Juliet laughed. "Not quite sure where that came from, but yes."
Carlton nodded. "Me too."
Juliet smiled. "I figured."
He looked over at her in surprise.
She just laughed. "I've seen the way you are when Iris is at the station, and I've seen how you are as an Uncle. You hide it well, but you're like a Three Musketeers bar. The outside is hard chocolate, but the inside is soft and delicious."
He shot her a look. "Did you just compare me to candy?"
She nodded.
Did she just call me delicious?
Peter chose that moment to climb onto the roof of the play structure with a few other boys and attempt to fly.
Carlton ran over to try to stop him, while Juliet just sat back and laughed hysterically.
"You don't look anywhere near old enough to be that boy's mother," a woman commented from the next bench over. "And I mean that as a compliment."
Juliet shook her head. "I'm not his mother."
The woman regarded her for a moment. "Step-mother? Was that man you were with not your husband?"
Juliet shook her head. "He's my partner."
The woman nodded. "So not yet."
Juliet didn't feel the need to go into it, so she just nodded.
"I don't mean to be a busybody. I'm just very good at people-watching. So who is the boy, then?"
Carlton appeared at that moment. "Ah, that's my nephew, Peter."
"Oh, that makes sense. Where are my manners? I'm Carolyn. Carolyn Miles. My two are the hooligans that convinced your Peter to join the war." She held out a hand to each in turn, and they shook.
"I'm Juliet, and this is Carlton."
Carolyn smiled. "Nice to meet you both." She looked down at her watch. "Unfortunately, I must be off. We've got a family dinner tonight, and you know how little boys can be."
They said their goodbyes, and the woman sauntered over to the playground. "James, Colin, time to go!"
About twenty minutes later, Maryanne and Lloyd reappeared.
"That beach is gorgeous," Maryanne commented.
They chatted for a few minutes, then decided to call it a day.
When they got home, they pulled out Monopoly and began to play. By the time five o'clock rolled around, Peter was winning with three full sets, a hotel on each property of one set, and three houses on each property in another set. He'd also landed on Free Parking enough to amass a good amount of spending money.
Carlton walked to the kitchen to begin dinner, and Maryanne trailed after him to grab the table settings. Carlton began the pollo fajitas for the adults. He then crumbled up the end of a loaf of bread and covered the remaining chicken in the crumbs to make baked chicken nuggets for Peter.
After dinner, Juliet called up the chief while everyone returned to the Monopoly game.
"O'Hara?"
"Hey, Karen. Are you and Iris busy tomorrow?"
"I don't believe so. Nothing after church, anyway. Why?"
"Well, we have Carlton's nephew for the weekend. I figured this would be as good a time as any to get together with you so that you can meet my parents."
Karen chose to ignore the implications of "we have" for the time being. "What were you thinking?"
"Backyard Bowls? We could take the kids over to the Moreton Bay Fig Tree after. Peter and my parents have never seen it."
"That sounds fine. What time were you thinking?"
"Church gets out at 11, so how about 12:30?"
"Perfect. I'll see you then!"
The women hung up. Juliet walked back into the room and shot Carlton a thumbs-up before heading to her DVD display.
"Peter, have you been exposed to the wonders of Heartbreak Ridge?"
He had not, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the movie while they finished their game. And none more than Carlton, who was pleasantly surprised that Juliet not only suggested the movie, but also owned a special edition copy.
After the movie, Maryanne and Lloyd headed to bed. Juliet raided the linen closet to prepare the couch for Peter, then handed him the TV remote and headed off to her room. Carlton had already changed into pajamas, and he was flipping through her DVR to find an SVU episode they had not yet seen. As she changed into pajamas herself, Juliet couldn't help but smile at the neatly folded men's pajamas in the drawer. She knew this was only meant to be temporary while her parents were in town, and she knew that come Tuesday he'd be heading back to his place for a few days. She'd never imagined how nice it would be to have Carlton around at home, though. The thought occurred to her that this is the Carlton she would get if she were really dating him, and she found she really liked the idea. REALLY liked it. This could be dangerous territory.
She snuggled up to him in her bed, and he idly began to play with her hair.
REALLY dangerous territory.