The kids were all on their best behavior for the next few days. They were so excited for the Friday night festivities. Jack Boyle had made his way back to town for NIcki's birthday celebration and the entire Reagan clan was raring to go. Erin had rented out Local 329, an underground gameroom, complete with shuffleboard, darts, skeeball, foosball, and vintage bowling.
Millie, Jack, and Sean had done their research and had their entire night planned out. They all bounced out of bed early Friday morning and sprinted to Danny and Linda's room.
"Good morning!" they all shouted as they burst through the door.
"Good morning," LInda smiled as she sat up in the bed and turned on the bedside lamp.
"It's party day!" Millie was beaming.
"Not until tonight. You three have school first," Linda reminded them as they all climbed onto the bed.
"Let's call Nicki first!"
"We can sing to her," Millie grinned as she climbed up on Danny's side of the bed. He still had his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
"Think she's up?" Linda asked.
"If she's not, she's about to be," Danny yawned. "Because apparently everyone in this house is. Hi, Daughter."
Millie had her face right in front of Danny and she burst out laughing. "You're up!"
"Uh huh." Danny sat up and grabbed his cellphone off his bedside table and placed a FaceTime call to his niece.
"Good morning, Uncle Danny."
"Hi. Is today something special?"
"You know it's my birthday."
"Ah yeah. And how old are you this year?"
"You know how old I am!"
"Yes, but you should know, you'll always be about seven years old in my eyes." Nicki rolled her eyes. "Hey, there are some people here that want to say something to you."
"Happy Birthday!" the Reagans yelled as Danny turned the phone to face his wife and kids.
"Thanks, guys. Are you coming to my party?"
"Of course!"
"They are very excited," LInda assured her. "We'll be there at 6pm sharp."
"Great!"
"With presents!" Millie screamed.
"And ready to eat cake!" Sean smiled.
"But before that, all four of you need to get up and get ready for school," Danny said as he turned the phone back around.
"Oh Uncle Danny, I think my birthday deserves a skip day."
"Well, I don't. Enjoy your day. Good-bye."
Nicki cracked up as she disconnected the call. "Ok," Linda said, looking at her three. "Hop up, go get your teeth brushed and put on your uniforms. I'll go fix breakfast."
"Or we could stay heeeere," Millie smiled at Danny.
"No. Go."
Danny took Millie to school as Linda took Jack and Sean. "Hey, I want you to have a great day today," Danny smiled as she climbed out of the Jeep and he took her hand to walk her inside. "And don't get in trouble because we have lots of fun planned tonight. Copy?"
"Copy. Are you picking me up?"
"Nope. It will be Aunt Linda. I've got to work a little later." Millie frowned. "Don't worry. As long as nothing crazy happens, I'll be home in time to pick you up to go to the party."
"Cool."
"Yeah. Cool." Danny leaned down to give her a hug as she stretched up and kissed his cheek. "Have fun and learn something."
Linda collected all the kids shortly after 3pm and went straight home. They were bouncing out of their skin to get dressed and get to the party.
"We got to get dressed up for this?" Millie asked as they walked into their rooms and found the clothes that Linda had laid out.
"Of course. It's Nicki's birthday. We're putting on our fancy clothes. Go take a bath. You look like you rolled in the dirt today."
Millie died out laughing. "That's because I did roll in dirt today."
Linda rolled her eyes as she chuckled. "Go. Use lots of soap."
5:00pm arrived and no word from Danny Reagan. The kids were panicking because they didn't think he was going to make it to the party to have all the fun with them.
"Where is he?" Sean asked. "We need him for foosball!"
"He'll be here… or he may have to meet us there," Linda said. "If he's not here in a few minutes, I'll text him and tell him to meet us there."
"Jackers, let's call him," Millie suggested.
"Calm down," Danny said as he walked through the front door. "I'm here."
"Woo Hoo!" Sean yelled as he jumped up. "Let's roll!"
"Give me ten minutes. I need a shower. Baez and I found a ripe one this morning and I've been smelling it all day."
"Found a ripe what?" Millie asked.
Danny froze as Linda shot him a look. He was so tired it had literally just slipped out. "Banana. RIpe banana. You know how when they get brown spots they get mushy?"
"Yeah…"
"Well imagine when they've been sitting out in the sun and they turn black. It smells really bad. Let's go."
The Reagan crew arrived at the party shortly after 6pm. Henry, Frank, Jamie, and Eddie were already sitting at a table within view of the door, where Erin was greeting everyone.
"Can we go play?" Jack asked.
"Hold on. Go say hi to everyone first," Danny said, pointing at the table. "Hi, Sis."
"Hello, Daniel," Erin smiled as he kissed her cheek.
The kids all ran over to the table and gave hugs to Henry and Frank, and chatted with Jamie and Eddie while Danny and Linda made their way over.
"Now can we go?" Sean asked.
"Look at my face," Danny instructed, "stay together at all times unless one of us is with you. Do NOT go outside for any reason. Copy?"
"Copy," they all answered, bouncing with excitement.
"Alright. Have fun. I'll come play in a minute."
"Is there a backdoor to this place?" Danny asked as the kids ran off to find their first game.
"My detail has it covered," Frank answered. "And Pop and I have an excellent view of the front door, so sit down and relax."
Danny took a seat across from his brother and ordered himself a drink.
"Rough day?" Jamie asked.
"Just a long one."
They chatted for a while, enjoying sliders, onion rings, potato skins, and just about every unhealthy appetizer one could imagine. Linda tried to get the kids to come eat, but they were too excited, enjoying all the games. Danny, Jamie, and Eddie all joined them at one point or another during the evening… and even Henry joined them all for a game of shuffleboard.
As the night came to a close, Sean and Jack convinced Jamie and Danny to take them on in a game of darts.
Millie pulled at Danny's sleeve. "Can I go sit with Grandpa?"
"Don't want to cheer for dear old dad?" Millie looked at him quizzically. He could tell she was getting tired. "Sure. Go sit with Grandpa."
Millie made her way back over to where Frank and Henry were enjoying a cup of Irish coffee with Erin and Linda.
"Hi Granddaughter."
"Hi Grandpa," Millie yawned as she walked over and crawled into his lap.
"Want something to eat?"
She shook her head as she melted into his arms.
"Getting sleepy?" Linda asked. "As soon as Daddy and the boys finish this game, we'll head home."
"I don't want to go. This place is fun. Right, Grandpa?"
"It is a fun place," Frank agreed, butMillie didn't say another word. She was sound asleep before they had even finished their drinks.
Luckily, Danny and Jamie made it a very short game. Jack and Sean had underestimated just how good the older Reagans were at darts when they agreed to take them on and were soundly defeated in no time.
"Hey, who won?" Henry asked as Danny and Jamie came in with huge smiles and the boys, both rolling their eyes.
"Yeah boys, who won?" Danny asked.
"Dad and Uncle Jamie may have come out on top by a few points…" Jack answered begrudgingly.
"You guys ready to head home?" Linda asked as Danny and the boys rejoined them.
"Uh oh. I think we better be," Danny chuckled as he looked at Frank with Millie. "How long has this one been out?"
"About thirty minutes…" Henry answered.
Danny walked over and collected his youngest. "Well, I think that's a wrap on the night for us. We'll see you guys at church on Sunday."
"Dad, can we come back here sometime?" Sean asked as the Reagans made their way to the Jeep.
"I think we may have to. It was pretty cool, huh?"
"It was so fun!" Jack agreed. "I think we should come back for Sunday dinner."
Linda chuckled. "We're definitely going to have to invest in some vegetables if that happens. Did any of you eat anything that wasn't fried golden brown?"
Danny, Sean, and Jack all thought very hard for a few seconds… "There was green icing on the cake?"
They all laughed. "We've got to get some exercise tomorrow."
Linda got called into work early the following morning. "Hey," she whispered to Danny who was still laying in bed as she got ready to leave, "I think I'll only have to work half a day, so hopefully I'll be back by lunch."
"No worries, Babe. I'm going to let the kids sleep in and then we'll grab breakfast and get outside and play for a while."
"Sounds good. I'll call you on my way home." She leaned over and kissed him. "Love you."
"Love you more."
"Love you most."
Linda snuck out of the house as Danny drifted back off to sleep. The next thing he knew, it was 9am and he hadn't heard a peep from the kids. He knew he'd been exhausted from work, but he also knew there was no way the kids would sleep for over 11 hours. Curious, he got out of bed and went on the hunt. They weren't in their rooms, or in the kitchen, or in the livingroom… he started to get nervous until he ran up to the playroom to find them all doubled over in laughter at a raunchy cartoon that Linda had never allowed them to watch.
"Ahem!" he cleared his throat as their eyes darted in his direction. "What are we doing?"
"Waiting on you to get up!" Sean said as Jack quickly turned off the television.
"Uh huh. How long have we been up?"
"Just a little bit," Millie yawned as he walked over and took a seat beside her on the love seat. "We're hungry."
"Well, how about we go and cook some breakfast?"
"I like that idea," she grinned. "Chocolate chip…"
"Absolutely not," he cut her off. "I promised Mama we'd eat healthy today. Fruit and oatmeal it is." The kids all wrinkled their noses and began to protest.
"Daaaad! Daaaaaaaad! Mr. Uncle Dannnnnnny," they all groaned.
"Ok. Waffles but no chocolate chips." Their frowns turned to big smiles as they all jumped up to run to the kitchen.
"You're the best!" Millie grinned as Danny rolled his eyes.
After a stack of waffles, minus the chocolate chips, but still with enough syrup to drown them, the Reagan kids suited up for an entire morning of outdoor activity at High Rock Park. The Reagans hiked trail after trail, played around in the creek, and even stopped for a few pictures at various lookout points. Linda called around noon to let them all know that she was on her way home.
"We're still at the park, but about to head that way. Wanna meet for lunch?"
"How about I pick up lunch and join you all for a picnic?"
"Sounds good. We're about 4 miles out anyway. We should be back at the pavilions by the time you get here."
"Perfect. Want anything in particular?"
"Nah. Just surprise us."
Linda picked up chips, sandwiches, and cookies and made her way to High Rock Park. She pulled up just as her crew was walking up. They all ran over and helped her unload the goodies before taking a seat at one of the picnic tables and enjoying lunch.
"Tell me about your day," LInda said. "I want to hear all about it."
Millie started talking a-mile-a-minute. "We climbed up over big rocks, under a rock bridge, went to the overlook, walked across a swinging bridge, saw about a million squirrels and chipmunks…"
"And we got tons and tons of good exercise so we'll all sleep good tonight," Danny smiled.
"Can I fix this hair before we leave?" Linda asked as she took the scrunchie out of Millie's hair which was half up, half down, sticking out, up and sideways. "It looks like Daddy used a glue stick and leaf blower to fix it this morning."
Millie burst out laughing as did both of the boys. "Hey, it's Sean's fault. He was supposed to fix it."
"What?" Sean looked at him utterly confused as Danny cracked up. "I have no idea how to fix a girl's hair."
"Obviously. I mean, look at your poor sister."
They all laughed as Linda swept Millie's sweaty hair into a messy bun. "Much better."
That night, the Reagans kept their outdoor activities going. Danny built a fire in the firepit as Linda surprised them with stuff to make s'mores. After their delicious dessert, they all stretched out for a little fun looking at the stars. Jack schooled them on constellations and tried to point out as many as he could identify.
Danny insisted they get up and go in before they all got too comfortable. He knew they were exhausted and it wasn't going to be long before they were sound asleep, and he was right. The kids were asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. Hilariously, they weren't the only ones. Linda walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and was expecting a little bit of adult fun since the kids were obviously down for the night, but by the time she finished and crawled in bed, Danny was also sound asleep. She chuckled as she turned off the lamp and snuggled in beside him, content on trying for some adult time the following morning.