Let Your Heart Hold Fast

Chapter 24

The next week went by smoothly for Peter, Elizabeth and Neal. Neal rarely argued when he was told to sit in the time-out corner or to go to bed. In fact, the only time he looked upset was when dinner was over and there was no dessert. Peter didn't think it was fair that he didn't get dessert, either, but Elizabeth refused to serve it unless they all could have it.

Things were going better for Neal at school, too. He had made new friends and Mr. Parker had finally figured out a way to harness some of his restless energy.

That Friday night, Peter found himself being dragged to a combination Open House and Parent/Teacher conference at Neal's school. He suddenly wondered how his regular Friday night where he usually settled in his armchair with a cold beer to watch the game, had changed to the situation he now found himself in…..sitting in a classroom, in a too small chair, staring at several other uncomfortable looking men. If he had to be honest with himself, he actually enjoyed watching as Neal darted around the room with an enormous smile on his face.

Eventually, Mr. Parker called for Peter and Elizabeth to join him at his desk. "Mr. and Mrs. Burke, it's good to see you. Neal, why don't you go over to your desk and collect the folder we put together this morning?"

At those words, Neal bounded off toward his desk with a determined look. Mr. Parker turned back to the Burkes. "Well, things seem to be going pretty well for Neal here at school. He's doing impressive work in the classroom and he seems to be relating better with the other kids, too. All in all, he seems to be settling in well, especially after the recent trauma."

Mr. Parker and the Burkes talked a little about how things were going at home until a still smiling Neal returned to them with a rather large folder in his hands.

"I got it, Mr. Parker, and it has everything in it. I didn't drop anything," Neal said proudly.

"Excellent job, Neal. Now, why don't you pick out a few of the things that you want to show your….um…..your…uh, Peter and Elizabeth, okay?" The young teacher sent an embarrassed, apologetic look at Peter and Elizabeth at not knowing how to refer to them. They both gave him a forgiving smile.

The three adults watched patiently as Neal looked through his folder, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Finally, he pulled out several different pieces of paper and placed them proudly on the desk.

"Look at this, Lizbef! Remember how I studied real hard for that test and you helped me? Remember how I kept forgetting how to spell duck? Look, Lizbef…..I didn't forget the C and I spelled it right!"

"Good job, sweetie. Peter and I are so proud of you! Remember what I said about hard work?"

"Yep! You said hard work always pays off and you were right! Peter owes me five dollars now!"

Mr. Parker laughed at that and Peter looked away, guiltily, as Elizabeth turned to him in mock horror.

"What?! You bribed him, Peter?"

"I just wanted to watch the game, El, and he wouldn't stop bouncing around, so I told him that I would give him five dollars if he did well on his test. Then I told him that if he wanted to do well, he needed to study even more…quietly….in another room." Peter blushed at the look his wife gave him. "It was an important game, hon!"

Mr. Parker laughed again and then turned back to Neal. "What else do you have for us to see, Neal?"

Neal pulled out another piece of paper and gave it to Peter. The paper was titled "What I've Learned This Year" and there were several sentences on the paper, as well as several drawings. Peter looked it over, surprised to see that most of the things on the list were things that he and Elizabeth had taught Neal.

-Don't play with guns

-Don't manipulate people

-Don't wander off (Peter was extremely glad to see that one make the list)

-Don't leave your Legos on the floor (he was glad to see that one, too)

-If you stay in the water too long, you'll turn into a prune (Peter laughed out loud at that one)

The next few items were things that Neal had obviously learned in school, but the very last thing on the list was the best, in Peter's opinion.

-How to cowboy up.

Next to the last entry Neal had drawn a picture of Peter on his hands and knees, with a smiling Neal on his back, wearing a cowboy hat and digging his heels into Peter's side. Peter couldn't keep from smiling.

Once they were home, Neal reluctantly went up to take his bath. He was still overly excited about the evening and hadn't stopped talking about everything. As Elizabeth went to put on a pot of coffee, she could still hear Neal's excited chatter, interrupted occasionally by small commands from Peter to help move things along.

She was sitting on the sofa, enjoying her cup of coffee, when she heard the soft patter of Neal's little feet coming down the stairs, followed by the heavier steps of her husband. Seconds later, she had an armful of a sweet smelling, much cleaner five year old.

"Lizbef, can we have another Open House tomorrow? I have a lot more stuff to show you."

"I'm afraid not, sweetie. Open Houses only happen a few times a year, I think. Besides, it's the weekend. Don't you remember what happens this weekend?"

Neal thought hard for a few seconds and Elizabeth could tell by the smile that covered his face that he remembered. "It's Leah's birthday!"

"Yes, it is. We need to get up early tomorrow and bake her cookies, remember? Then, we're going to go buy her a present before the party. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"It's gonna be a good day, Lizbef," Neal said. "Maybe even the bestest day!"

Elizabeth pulled Neal in closer to her. "Maybe even the bestest," she repeated.

Getting Neal into bed that night was harder than usual. Elizabeth blamed it on Peter, who had been in charge of watching Neal while she met with some of the other mothers in the classroom. Apparently, Peter had gotten involved in a conversation about sports with a few of the other dads and hadn't noticed Neal's repeated trips to the cookie and cupcake table. By the time Elizabeth had returned, Neal was complaining of a tummy ache and Peter was once again looking guilty. Fortunately, by the time they got home the tummy ache had subsided. Unfortunately, the sugar high seemed to be taking longer.

"Neal, buddy, I really need you to try to go to sleep, okay? If you don't, I might find myself sleeping on the couch tonight."

Neal looked puzzled at that. "Why would you have to sleep on the couch?"

"Elizabeth is a little mad at me, buddy, because you ate so many cookies tonight. Sometimes, when she's mad at me she makes me sleep on the couch."

"Will she make me sleep on the couch, Peter?" Neal thought that it sounded like it would be fun.

"I think that's pretty much reserved for husbands, kid, so you don't have to worry for a while."

Peter was surprised by the look of disappointment on Neal's face.

"No fair," Neal said. "Husbands have all the fun."

The next morning, Peter woke up to the smell of fresh baking and the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. He quickly took a shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, thankful that it was Saturday.

Walking into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Elizabeth laughing heartily, despite the fact that there was flour covering almost every aspect of the kitchen, including the small boy and the dog next to her. "What happened in here?" Peter asked. "It looks like there was a snowstorm."

"Neal happened," Elizabeth laughed, as she looked around the kitchen. "He had a little accident with the flour."

Peter looked at Neal, who had a huge grin on his face. "It wasn't my fault, Lizbef! Satchmo tripped me! I don't think the kitchen is a good place for a dog."

Peter laughed when Satchmo howled in response. Sometimes, he thought the dog really understood what they were saying.

Peter and Elizabeth both laughed at the sight of Neal standing in front of Satchmo with his hands on his hips and a stern look on his face. "Don't howl at me like that, Satchmo. You know I'm right." Turning back to Peter and Elizabeth, Neal continued. "I think Satchmo needs a time-out for being disbedident."

"How about if we just put him outside for now, until I can get him cleaned up," Peter offered. "Let's go, Satchmo."

When Peter returned, he wasn't surprised to hear Elizabeth ask him to take Neal and get him cleaned up. He expected the kid to balk at the idea of another bath, too, but he obviously realized that he needed one. While he was taking his bath, Neal told Peter all about the birthday party he was going to and how he was going to get Leah the best present.

Peter helped Neal wash his hair and then helped the boy dry off. He always thought it was funny to watch as Neal tried to use the big fluffy towels Elizabeth insisted on having. The towels were bigger than Neal and the poor kid usually ended up tripping over them as he tried to use them. Once in Neal's room, he helped the boy get dressed, not surprised to find that he had chosen to wear a shirt and tie. What was it with this boy and dressing up?

Eventually, Neal was dressed and Peter tried desperately to comb through his curls without causing him too much pain. Neal continued to talk the whole time and Peter half-heartedly listened. Most of his concentration was on trying not to pull out all of Neal's hair.

"Peter? Are you listening to me?" Neal asked, frustration heavy in his voice.

"Oh, sorry, buddy…I was concentrating on your hair. What did I miss?"

"I asked you a really important question, Peter. It's something I really, really need to know."

"Okay, buddy. I'm listening."

"How did you get to be Lizbef's husband?" Neal was completely serious as he waited for Peter to answer him.

"Well, I asked her to marry me and she said yes." Peter tried to keep it simple for Neal.

Neal looked at him thoughtfully. "Really?"

"Yep, just like that. Why did you ask that, Neal?"

"I just wanted to know," Neal answered. Seconds later, he grabbed his fedora and headed downstairs.

Peter had most of the morning and afternoon to himself, while Elizabeth took Neal shopping for a birthday present before heading to the party. He was surprised to find that he found the house almost too quiet without the busy five year old around. He was also surprised to find that there was a small part of him that wished he had gone with them.

Instead, he spent some time taking care of a few things around the house, before settling in to watch some television. Hours later, the door opened and the silence in the house was a thing of the past. Neal ran through the door and into the living room, jumping into Peter's lap.

"Whoa, buddy. Be careful," Peter exclaimed, as he tried to keep his sandwich plate from toppling over. "How did the party go?"

"It was great, Peter. You should have seen it! There were balloons and streamers everywhere, and there was a bouncy house! I jumped in it for hours, Peter. Can we get one?"

Peter laughed at the look of excitement on Neal's face. "I'll think about it, kiddo."

"Guess what else, Peter. Leah liked my present the bestest of all. All the other kids were mad because she barely looked at their presents."

Peter sent a look to his wife, who looked exhausted. "What did you end up giving her, Neal?"

Neal's grin lit up the room. "We got her a fedora! It's like mine, but it's made for a girl. Did you know they made hats like that for girls? I didn't know that! Lizbef found it in the store and we even found one that had her favorite color on it. Did you know that her favorite color is green? That's my favorite color, too."

"I thought your favorite color was blue, Neal."

"Nope, it's green. I changed my mind last week."

Peter filed that away for another day, knowing that it would probably change again, sooner or later. Elizabeth watched on as Neal filled Peter in on everything he had missed. Apparently, it was a great party. After about fifteen minutes of Neal's constant chatter, Elizabeth sent him up to his room to put away his fedora and to change his clothes. The minute he was gone, she melted back into the sofa with a loud sigh.

"Rough day?" Peter asked.

"That boy has more energy than anyone has a right to have," she replied in a tired voice.

"Did he behave?"

"He did, Peter. He was the hit of the party with the other moms. Especially when he asked Leah to marry him!"

Peter had just taken a drink of his beer when Elizabeth said that, causing him to spit it out in surprise. "What?!"

"Apparently, he thought that asking her to marry him would automatically make him a husband. Do you have any idea where he got that idea from?" Elizabeth looked at him suspiciously.

Peter explained the conversation he had had with Neal that morning, still not sure he understood what the boy was thinking. "Where did this fixation to become a husband come from?" he wondered out loud.

"I have no idea, hon. When I asked him why he wanted to be a husband, he just said something about how husbands have all the fun. Where does he come up with this stuff?"

That night, Neal curled up between Peter and Elizabeth as they watched a movie. They let Neal pick out the movie, and Peter reluctantly sat down to watch Toy Story. When the movie was over, he was surprised to find that he had actually enjoyed the movie. Living with a five year old had definitely broadened his horizons in strange ways.

Neal had fallen asleep towards the end of the movie, so Peter picked him up and carried him to bed. Once he had the little body all tucked in, he kissed him on the forehead, and then moved aside for his wife to do the same. Just as Elizabeth started to pull away from Neal, his big blue eyes popped open, staring straight into hers.

"Lizbef? I told you this was going to be the bestest day and I was right, wasn't I?"

"You were, sweetie. It was definitely the bestest."

Neal yawned widely and shut it eyes. "Good night, Peter. Good night, Lizbef. I love you."

Peter bent down and ruffled Neal's curls. "We love you, too, little man."

Author's note: Oops…I did it again. Another chapter of fluff. One wonderful reviewer (Snovk, I'm talking about you) requested a chapter where Neal was just happy and carefree, without any angst. I hope this chapter delivered that for you all. He definitely deserves some happiness, as do Peter and Elizabeth.

I would love to hear what you all thought of the chapter. Your reviews are sustenance, especially when real life gets in the way of writing. Darn those kids for feeling like they need to eat, lol. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have to have a day job, and I could write as much as I wanted to.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading. You guys are all amazing and I appreciate you all taking the time to read my story.