Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Bicycles, Weddings, and Kittens

Chapter 2

Not to anyone's great surprise, Neal was a natural at riding a bike. Peter had taken him up and down the street two times, hanging onto the back of the bike as Neal's words echoed in his mind.

"I'm ready, Daddy, but don't let go." Over and over again, playing like a constant loop of the same seven words. "I'm ready, Daddy, but don't let go. I'm ready, Daddy, but don't let go. I'm ready, Daddy, but don't let go."

Peter had been so caught up in those words and the greater meaning in them that it took him almost a full minute before he realized that Neal was now yelling something different.

"Let go, Daddy! Let go!"

Peter instinctively let go of the back of the bike and watched as Neal wobbled slightly before steadying the bike and taking off. Rushing to follow his son down the street, Peter caught up and jogged alongside the bike, wanting to be there if Neal needed him.

He watched as Neal successfully stopped the bike without falling over.

"I did it, Daddy!" Neal yelled excitedly. "Did you see me? Did you see how I stopped and didn't fall over?"

"You did great, little man," Peter said with a broad smile. He watched as Neal struggled to turn the bike around, intent on going back down the street. When it was obvious that the kid was having trouble, Peter reached down and picked up the bike, turning it around to face the other way. "It looks like Mommy's waiting for you to ride back to her, buddy. We probably shouldn't keep her waiting."

"I'm coming, Mommy," Neal yelled out, as he adjusted the helmet on his head. Turning back to Peter, he asked him to give him a push. Seconds later, he was on his way back down the street, pedaling fiercely to get back to Elizabeth while Peter jogged beside him.

"You did it, sweetie," Elizabeth cried when Neal stopped in front of her. "You're a natural."

Neal eyed her in confusion, not sure what exactly she meant. "I'm a what?" he asked her.

"You're a natural," she repeated. "You look like you've been riding bikes your whole life."

Neal smiled at that. "I've been riding bikes in my dreams ever since I was a little kid, Mommy. That's probably why I'm so good at it."

"Ever since you were a little kid, huh?" she asked with a laugh.

"Do you want to watch me ride again?" Neal asked, looking back and forth between his parents.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, sweetie," Elizabeth laughed. "But, don't go too fast, okay? Daddy has to keep up with you and he's not as young as he used to be."

"Okay, Mommy. I'll go slow for Daddy."

"Thanks, hon," Peter said with a look of relief on his face.

Eventually, Elizabeth went inside the house to start dinner. Neal was perfectly content with riding his bike up and down the street over and over again, but eventually Peter suggested that they ride to the park. By the time they got back, Neal's face was flushed with excitement and Peter's was flushed with exhaustion.

Elizabeth sent Neal and Peter upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner. A minute later, Neal came barreling back down the stairs, nearly tripping over Satchmo in the process.

"Neal, slow down, sweetie. You're going to fall and hurt yourself."

Neal barely slowed down as he reached the table, sliding into the edge of the table as he tried to stop.

"Neal!" Elizabeth repeated. "What has gotten into you?!"

"I'm ready to eat, Mommy. Where's the food?"

"It's almost ready," Elizabeth answered. "Neal, it doesn't look like you washed up at all! Your hands are filthy. Go back upstairs and wash up, please."

"Why?!" Neal groaned. "I'm just going to get filthy again."

"Young man, we do not come to the table with dirty hands. Now, go on."

Neal jumped down from his chair and clomped back upstairs, obviously unhappy with the unfairness of it all. When he came down the second time, his hands were much cleaner. He was happy to see that the food was on the table and that Peter and Elizabeth were waiting for him.

"Much better, sweetie," Elizabeth said after examining his hands. "Thank you."

Peter and Elizabeth watched in awe as Neal started shoveling his food into his mouth as fast as he could.

"Neal, slow down," Elizabeth scolded. "And chew your food before swallowing."

Neal slowed down minutely, but obviously not enough for his parents.

"Neal, your mother said to slow down. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I wanna go back out and ride my bike," Neal explained.

Peter and Elizabeth shared a look. "I think we're done for the night, buddy," Peter finally said. "I have some work to do this evening."

"That's okay, Daddy. I can do it by myself now. I'm a natural, remember?"

Peter and Elizabeth shared another look. This time it was Elizabeth who answered.

"Neal, Daddy and I need to set a few ground rules regarding your bike. First of all, you are never to ride your bike without adult supervision. Is that clear?"

"Why not?" Neal asked. "I don't need help, Mommy. I can do it by myself."

"That's not up for negotiation, sweetie. You absolutely cannot ride your bike without one of us or another responsible adult with you. Secondly, you must always wear your helmet. I don't ever want to see you riding without your helmet on, okay?"

Neal was still sulking over the first rule, so he didn't do anything but nod his head at her words.

"Lastly, you will take care of your bike. When you're done riding, it's your responsibility to make sure it's put away where it belongs. Are we clear on those rules?"

"Yes, Mommy," Neal answered quietly. A few seconds later, he kicked the table in frustration. "It's not fair," he whined. "I wanna ride my bike."

"You have all summer to ride your bike, Neal," Elizabeth explained. "And you already rode it for several hours today."

"But, Caleb gets to ride his bike on the sidewalk in front of his house," Neal tried. "Why can't I do that?"

"Neal," Peter interrupted. "Your mother said that it wasn't up for negotiation. You can't ride your bike without us."

"That's dumb," Neal said sourly, as he kicked the table again.

"That's enough, Neal," Peter said sternly. "Knock off the attitude or you'll be spending some time in the time-out chair."

Neal stopped swinging his legs, but he continued to sulk. Elizabeth knew that things were not going to go well if she didn't do something. "Neal, if you'll help me clear off the table, I'll let you help with dessert."

To her relief, the little boy dutifully stood up and started clearing off the table.

Neal wasn't having a good night. After dinner and dessert, he helped Elizabeth sort through some laundry before growing too bored to be of much help. Elizabeth could tell that he was frustrated, so she quickly came up with a plan to keep the energetic six year old occupied.

Once he was settled at the table with a puzzle, she was able to finish the laundry. Once she was done, she helped Neal work on the puzzle, marveling at how good he was at putting the pieces together. The boy had a knack for picking out patterns and identifying where the pieces needed to go.

Eventually, Neal grew tired of the puzzle, so she sent him upstairs to take a bath. Once that was done and he was in his pajamas, they curled up on the couch and watched a movie. Peter joined them halfway through the movie, only to find that both his wife and his son were asleep on the couch. After watching them sleep for a few minutes, he gently shook Elizabeth's arm to wake her up. Once she was awake, he bent down and gently gathered Neal into his arms, being careful not to jostle him too much.

Once Neal was tucked into bed, Peter turned gratefully to his own bedroom, hoping that Elizabeth might still be awake. He was disappointed to find her sleeping soundly on her side of the bed, so with nothing else to do, he turned off the lights and climbed into bed next to her. It had been a long day and he was exhausted.

Neal woke up the next morning bright and early. He looked outside and realized that the sun was just coming up. After the previous morning, he knew better than to wake up his parents, so he decided to just stay in bed.

As he lay there, he couldn't help but think about his new bicycle that was waiting for him downstairs. Without even thinking about it, he climbed out of bed and made his way down the stairs, telling himself that he was just going to look at it.

Because they had forgotten to buy a bicycle lock, Elizabeth insisted on keeping the bike in the alcove under the stairs. Neal quickly made his way over to the bike, marveling at the beauty of it. He really only intended on looking at it, but a minute later, he had pulled it out of the alcove and was sitting on it. He knew that he shouldn't be doing what he was doing, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. The bike was calling to him and begging to be ridden.

Without even thinking about it, he pushed off on the floor and started pedaling, making his way through the small dining room and living room. He was trying to be as quiet as he could, which of course didn't work. On his second lap around the room, he turned a little too sharply and ran into a small table near the sofa. Unable to do anything, he watched in horror as Peter's FBI commendation plaque fell to the floor, the sound of the crash echoing in the otherwise silent house.

In a complete panic, he dropped his bike and ran into the kitchen, choosing to hide himself away in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. As he sat there breathing heavily, he could hear the sound of his dad's steps thundering down the stairs. His heart was pounding so loudly that he figured that it wouldn't take long for his daddy to find him. That thought caused an avalanche of tears to stream down his face.

Seconds later, he heard the sound of a very angry Peter Burke calling out his name.

"Neal! Where are you?!"

Neal wanted desperately to answer him, but he was terrified at the sound of anger in the man's voice. He knew he had broken several house rules and he wished that he had just stayed in his room, instead of coming downstairs.

"Neal!" Peter called out again.

Neal could tell that his dad was getting closer, so he was relieved when he heard the sound of his mother's voice.

"Peter, did you find him?"

"No, but he's here somewhere. Both doors are still locked."

"Neal," Elizabeth called out gently. "Come out, sweetie, so we can talk about this."

"I don't want to," Neal cried. "Daddy's mad at me."

Peter homed in on Neal's voice and seconds later pulled open the cabinet door, revealing a very sad looking little boy.

"Come out of there, Neal," Peter said sternly.

Neal scrambled out of the cabinet and immediately ran over to Elizabeth.

"Save me, Mommy," he cried as he grabbed onto her robe.

Elizabeth grabbed Neal's arm and gently pulled him out from behind her. "Neal, what were you doing? You know better than to ride your bike in the house."

"You never said I couldn't do that," Neal tried.

"Neal George, I shouldn't have to tell you that, young man. And we told you that you weren't to ride your bike without supervision, remember?"

"I couldn't help it, Mommy. I was just going to look at it, but then I had to ride it."

"You didn't have to do anything, Neal. You chose to ride it," Peter interjected. "You made the decision to disobey our rules."

Neal scampered behind Elizabeth again, who immediately pulled him back to the front. "You can't hide from this, Neal," she said. "You've been very naughty this morning."

Neal hated the word naughty, but even more he hated it when his parents were upset with him. His eyes filled with tears in the wake of their obvious disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Mommy! I won't ever do it again, okay?"

Elizabeth knelt down in front of her son and pulled him gently to her. "Neal, why do you think Daddy and I set these rules for you?"

Neal thought about it for a second or two before answering. "I don't know," he sniffled. "Probably because you don't want me to break things."

"No," she answered. "We don't want you to get hurt, sweetie. You just learned how to ride a bike yesterday, so you're still a little new at it. It's going to take time for you to get used to all the ins and outs of riding a bike on your own. That's why we insist on you wearing a helmet, too, which you obviously weren't this morning."

"But, you said I was a natural, Mommy, remember?"

"And you are, but you still need practice. And riding inside of a house is extra dangerous, because you have to steer around all of the furniture and rugs. You could have ran into the wall or something much worse than just a small table. Not to mention the fact that you broke Daddy's plaque, causing the glass to shatter everywhere, and then ran off barefoot into the kitchen. You could have cut your feet badly, sweetie."

I'm sorry," Neal said again, this time looking up at Peter.

Peter knelt down beside his wife and turned Neal towards him. "Listen, little man, your Mommy and I make these rules to keep you safe and to keep this household in some semblance of control. We expect you to follow our rules and when you don't we need to deal with it. Now, can you tell us which rules you broke this morning?"

Neal wanted nothing less than to talk about his morning antics, but he knew he had no choice. "I rode my bike all alone and I didn't wear my helmet," he said miserably.

"What else?" Peter prompted.

After a pause, Neal answered again. "I broke your thingie, Daddy, and I'm sorry."

"Thank you for your apology, bud, now what else?"

"I don't know, Daddy."

"What are you supposed to do when you wake up before us, Neal?" Peter prompted again.

"I'm supposed to stay in my room or go into your room," Neal said. "I'm not supposed to go downstairs by myself."

"And what did you do this morning?"

"I came downstairs by myself," he answered sadly.

"So, you broke three rules this morning, bud. What do you think we should do about this?"

"I said I was sorry, Daddy. I promise I won't do it again."

Peter and Elizabeth shared a quick look before he spoke again. "I'm glad to hear that, Neal. And in order to make sure it doesn't happen again, I think there needs to be a consequence."

"I hate consequences," Neal groaned.

"I think that's the point with this particular type of consequence," Elizabeth laughed.

"Okay, Neal, I think that for starters you can go to bed an hour early tonight," Peter said. He wanted to start off with the easy part, knowing that what he said next would not go over well. "And no bike for the next three days."

If he didn't feel so bad about having to ground the boy from his bike, Peter would have laughed at the indignant look on his face.

"That's not fair, Daddy! Three days is forever!"

"It's not forever, bud. It's three days."

"That's forever to a little kid, Daddy!"

"Well, maybe it will help you to make better decisions next time, little man."

The next three days were miserable for everyone in the Burke house. Neal sat around the house, looking longingly at his bicycle. He didn't want to play with Caleb. He didn't want to take Satchmo for a walk. He didn't even want to paint or draw.

Elizabeth hated having to watch him be so miserable. She knew that he deserved to be punished, but she hated seeing him so miserable. Peter, on the other hand, was annoyed with the constant pouting and heavy sighs that came from whatever corner of the room he was sitting in. There was a part of him that wanted to just say forget it and let the poor kid ride his bike, but he knew he couldn't do it. He had to stay strong. Neal had to know that Peter kept his word, that he couldn't wiggle out of his deserved punishments.

When the three days were finally over, Peter came home from work to find Neal happily riding his bike up and down the sidewalk, with Elizabeth watching him closely. He just sat in his car for several minutes, taking in the scene before him, and thanking God for bringing him to this point in his life.

That night at dinner, he listened happily as Neal told him all about riding his bike. Dinner was never dull when Neal was excited. Just as they were finished eating, Elizabeth interrupted Neal's third retelling of how he almost ran over Satchmo that afternoon, to tell them that they had been invited to the wedding of her assistant.

"Do we have to go?" Peter asked, knowing the answer before he even asked.

"Of course, we have to go, Peter!" she exclaimed. "I'm a bridesmaid and she wants Neal to be in the wedding, too."

"She wants me to be in the wedding?" Neal asked excitedly.

"Yes, sir…..she wants you to be her Ring Bearer, Neal."

"Really? Cool!" he exclaimed. And then, "What's a Ring Bearer?"

"It's a really important job, sweetie," Elizabeth explained. "During the wedding, you'll be holding the wedding rings. You'll walk down the aisle with the Flower Girl and give the rings to the Bride and Groom when it's time."

"What's a Flower Girl?" Neal asked.

As Elizabeth explained the finer aspects of a wedding party, Peter thought about all the ways this could go incredibly wrong.

Author's note: I have to admit that I can't stop laughing at the ideas I have for the wedding and I can't wait for you all to read it. Let's just say that Peter is completely right.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.