Walter was fairly distracted the next week. To his family he seemed more like the boy they knew before Paige came into his life as he devoted untold hours on the delivery algorithm. The only saving grace was Paige, as she demanded he spend at least an hour after dinner with her and their family. She grew concerned at how cold he seemed to grow as he diverted more and more of his intellect into the task. The second week she began making him resume more of a normal schedule as she was worried that he wasn't acting normal.
"Walter, what is going on with you?" Paige finally asked that second week.
Walter looked down and then back up to her.
"I call it the rabbit hole." Walter told her softly.
"What's the rabbit hole?" Paige asked.
"It's a mental state, when I begin to get sucked into how to solve a problem. More and more of my thoughts get trapped inside of it. Megan found me deep inside of it a year before you and I met. I was trying to solve 3x+1. It is a maddening mathematical enigma. Mom and Dad had gone to visit Dad's brother and left us alone for a week. I barely drank and ate less. She'd thought I had some kind of fit because Mom and Dad were gone. She struggled but had finally got through to me before I died. I was so dehydrated. I'm having a difficult time with this algorithm and it has been sucking me in deeper and deeper." Walter explained.
"Okay, well then here is the deal, let me see your phone." Paige demanded.
Walter pulled out the phone Cabe had given him back at Christmas. She entered two alarms in his phone and then handed it back.
"When the first alarm goes off, you may work on this problem Walter, but you have to promise me when the second one goes off you will call me and then we'll do something together. Even if it is just over the computer. Any other time you can not work on it. Deal?" Paige said seriously to him.
Walter slowly nodded his head.
"I promise." Walter told her.
Walter did better with it after that as he strictly followed her demands. But he wasn't making much headway with the software.
And then there was Paige's birthday present. He was nearly losing himself in trying to figure out what to get her. Every attempt to get Paige to give him a hint resulted in her telling him the same thing. She just wanted him.
Cabe smiled at him as Walter and Paige came out of school on Friday, April 6th.
"Sorry kid, but the people in charge were wanting me to ask if you had an update on the software?" Cabe asked as they joined up with him.
"I'm closer, Cabe, maybe another week?" Walter told him as they began walking.
"Cabe, they got to stop pushing Walter. He was close to hurting himself by trying to figure this out. And that won't help anyone." Paige told him.
"I know, kid. You and I value Walter more than this, but there are people who value this more than anything else. Including the one trying to develop it." Cabe told her.
"Oh hey, did I tell you about what my Grandmother sent me?" Cabe asked suddenly.
They both shook their heads and Cabe pulled his laptop out of the SUV. With Walter's help he pulled up a picture of an old three masted Barque done with strings.
"This belonged to my Grandfather and I always loved it. The artist takes these tiny nails and places them strategically around the board and then uses string to connect them and it forms the ship. Pretty cool huh?" Cabe smiled at them.
Paige grinned as she nodded.
"That is pretty cool, Cabe. Right Walter?" Paige asked.
Walter's eyes went wide as his brilliant mind began working. He slowly nodded in agreement.
Walter kissed Paige at her door and then took off like a shot as he ran for home.
Walter ran into their home yelling for his Mom.
"Walter, son, calm down. What's wrong?" Louise asked as she came out of the kitchen. She watched as Walter sat his one school book on the bookcase.
"I know what to make for Paige for her birthday!" Walter nearly yelled.
Louise smiled even as she laughed and shook her head.
"Well good, nothing like waiting until the last minute. What do you need?" Louise asked.
"I've got to go talk to Dad real quick, but I'll need to see all the colors of thread you have." Walter told her before he ran past her and out the back door of the kitchen.
"Thread?" Louise said, puzzled as she watched him run out.
"Dad!" At the sound of Walter's call Sean looked up from the quarantined sheep he was treating for foot rot and saw Walter running towards him.
"Whoa, right there boy. What's wrong?" Sean held up his hand to stop him from coming closer.
"I need a bunch of tiny nails to make Paige's birthday present. I also need a finished piece of wood." Walter said out of breath as he stopped.
Sean nodded.
"I've got about a thousand 1" trim nails in the barn. There is the board I was going to use to make a new post box sign." Sean told him.
"May I have them? I'll replace them later." Walter promised.
"Of course you can." Sean smiled as he nodded.
"Thanks Dad!" Walter yelled as he turned and took off running.
Sean shook his head while grinning. He couldn't believe how much his boy had changed in the last almost three years.
Walter ran into the house with the nails, board and hammer. He saw his Mom at the dining table with her sewing box out.
"These are all the colors I have, Walter." Louise gestured.
Walter took a quick look and nodded at the nearly thirty seven colors.
"You've got all the colors I need. I'll replace them later if I might have them please?" Walter asked.
Louise nodded while tears of joy welled up in her eyes. She just couldn't believe her boy was showing so much emotion.
"I also need to figure out what to cover this board with. It looks pretty good but I'd prefer a darker stain but I don't have time for that." Walter told her.
Louise nodded.
"Not a problem." And she pulled a large basket out of the closet that had a number of miscellaneous pieces of cloth scraps in it.
Walter sat the items down and began going through the basket and then finally pulled out the one he wanted.
"May I have this please?" Walter asked.
Louise nodded and he quickly grabbed all the items along with her fabric glue and ran upstairs to his room.
Megan sat in her room listening to music and ever so often she'd take her headset off.
"Come in." She called out each time but no one ever entered and she didn't hear any knocking so she put her headset back on. Then as one song ended but before another song started she heard the knocking clearly. She quietly took the headset off and stood up. As she went to open the door she heard it again but now she knew it was something else. She walked down the hall after leaving her room and stopped at Walter's door as she heard the knocking again.
"Walter?" Megan said as she knocked on his door.
"It's open." Walter called back.
Megan smiled but opened the door and saw Walter at his desk. His monitor, keyboard and mouse were on the floor as he was bent over the desk. The piece of finished wood now wrapped in the midnight blue cotton cloth lying under him as he measured and then picked up a nail and placed it where the tape was and then hit it with the hammer until it was solidly driven into the board.
"Oh, what's up Megan?" Walter finally asked as he looked over after securing the nail.
"I'd heard this knocking noise so I came to investigate." Megan told him before stepping in. She looked down at the board with nails and scratched her head. "What is this?"
"It's going to be Paige's birthday gift when I'm done with it." Walter told her.
Megan smiled.
"Good, I know she told you she didn't want anything but girls sometimes will tell a boy that just to see what they'll do." Megan told him with a grin.
Walter frowned.
"You mean she really does want a gift? Why doesn't she just say that?" Walter said in exasperation.
"Because Walter, she wants to see what you'll do for her." Megan stressed the word for.
"Is this one of those games the older kids say people play?" Walter asked.
"Probably." Megan smiled as she turned to leave. "Good luck with your present." Megan said before closing the door.
"Megan, Walter, supper." Louise yelled up the steps just as Sean walked in from the barn.
Sean stopped as he passed through the dining room and kissed Louise before walking to the downstairs bathroom and washing up.
"How is the sheep dear?" Louise asked as she watched him.
"She's doing better. Probably another week in quarantine and she'll be healthy enough to rejoin the herd. Walter was certainly excited over this idea of his. He must have run all the way out to the paddock." Sean told her.
Louise nodded just as they heard more hammering.
"He borrowed all my sewing threads for whatever he has planned for it." Louise told him.
"Thread? What has that boy got in mind that he'd need a piece of wood, nails and thread?" Sean asked as he dried his hand.
"Beats me, but he sure is excited by it." Louise smiled as she stepped back over to the stairs and she smiled at Megan as she came down. "Is Walter behind you?" Louise asked.
"Not yet." Megan said just as they heard more hammering.
"Walter Patrick O'Brien, you get down here for dinner. Your Father is hungry." Louise yelled up again.
"How you feeling today girl?" Sean asked Megan as she sat down and slid her crutches under the table.
"Stronger. I haven't had to really use the crutches so far. I think the last lesion has finally healed over." Megan told him.
Louise walked into the kitchen and came out with a large pot filled with Irish stew and sat it on the table before going back for the soda bread.
As Louise walked out with the soda bread they heard more hammering.
"That boy, I'll go get him." Louise finally said.
"No dear, I'll handle this." Sean said a bit angry as he stood.
Megan quickly reached out and put her hand on his before it left the table.
"Poppa, please wait. Don't go up there mad. I know family dinner is important but so is this. Think back about your first love and you trying to get or make gifts for her. How important that was to you. Walter is getting closer to normal but if you go up there mad you are going to give him conflicting emotions and it will hurt him." Megan begged.
Sean paused as he listened to her words and then he slowly nodded.
"You make a good argument girl." Sean told her before he bent over and kissed her forehead and walked to the steps and began climbing them calmly.
Sean paused and rapped gently on Walter's door.
"It's open." Walter called out before hammering again.
"How you doing, boy?" Sean asked gently after opening the door.
"I'm making headway on this present Dad." Walter said before he frowned as he measured out the next nail. He looked back at his Dad and his eyes were shifting back and forth before they opened a bit wider. "I'm sorry. I was just so focused. I'll be right down." Walter tried apologizing.
Sean smiled as he held out his hands and stepped over to him. Sean sat on the corner of the bed and tried to see what Walter was doing. Walter seemed to understand and he twisted and held the board up.
"I got to say I was puzzled when your Mom said you wanted her thread and that going with the things you wanted from me. What is it?" Sean asked as he scratched his head.
"It's a type of art, called string art. You place nails in precise positions and then you use the thread to link them together to form the image." Walter explained even as Sean took the board from him to look at it a bit closer.
"Well, I realize you see something to this pattern but it escapes me, son. But it's supper time, so put this away for now and come join the family for the fine meal your Mom's made for us." Sean told him with a smile while handing the board back to Walter.
Walter nodded as he sat it on the desk and got up and the two men walked downstairs to join the ladies and they sat down to eat.
Paige smiled as her computer connected to Walter's just a few minutes after the alarm would have sounded for Walter to stop working on the algorithm and then they were looking at each other through the choppy webcam video.
"Hi Walter, how is the program coming?" Paige asked.
"Evening Paige. I haven't actually worked on it today. I've been working on your Birthday gift." Walter told her with a smile.
"Walter, I told you, I just want you." Paige smiled.
"I know, but I really wanted to do something because it is your birthday and you are the most important person to me." Walter told her.
"You're the most important person to me." Paige grinned. Her eyes seemed to see something on his bed behind him. "What's that on your bed?"
Walter looked back and his eyes went wide as he shifted in his chair so she couldn't see it.
"That's what I'm working on." Walter explained with redding cheeks.
"Well let me see what you have so far." Paige grinned as she demanded.
Walter shook his head.
"No, it isn't ready to be seen by you yet." Walter told her.
"Fine, be that way then." Paige stuck her tongue out at him.
Walter grinned and reached out towards the webcam and made a pinching gesture and Paige laughed.
"Careful, you like kissing my tongue, you don't want to hurt it do you?" Paige grinned.
Walter shook his head while smiling.
"Think you can help me with my math homework?" Paige asked.
"Of course." Walter said happily as he watched Paige adjust the webcam so he could see the problem. Walter began walking Paige through the rules and procedures of how to deal with that particular algebra problem.
Walter and Paige sat talking over the computer for about a half hour after her math work was done and finally Paige sighed.
"Well I guess we should hang up, even if I don't want to." Paige told him.
"I don't want to either. But I do need to get back to your present." Walter slowly nodded.
"I need to go say good night to Happy anyway. I'll see you in the morning but in the meantime, don't forget about me." Paige grinned.
"Tell Happy good night, for me." Walter shook his head as he was about to tell her there was no way he'd ever forget her, his eyes went wide. Paige grabbed the hem of her sleep shirt and pulled it up exposing herself in her bra to Walter and she giggled before disconnecting from his computer.
Paige got up and went out into the hallway and walked down to Happy's door and knocked.
"Come in." Happy called out.
Paige smiled as she entered.
"Hey sis, did you have a good day today?" Paige asked as she moved into the room and sat down on the corner of Happy's bed.
Happy looked up from working on her science project and nodded.
"Everyday with my family is a good day." Happy told her with a smile.
Paige grinned.
"I'm so glad you're my sister now." Paige reached out and pulled Happy in and hugged her. "I'll see you in the morning. Oh Walter said to tell you good night."
"I'm really glad too, even though it took the death of Aunt Jo." Happy told her with a sad smile.
Megan lay in bed and saw it was nearly 10 p.m. and thought she better say good night to Walter. She got up and made her way down the hall and his door opened just before she got to it.
"Oh, I was just coming to say good night." Megan laughed as they saw each other.
"I was about to use the restroom." Walter grinned.
"How's your project coming?" Megan asked.
"Feel free to take a look, I'll be right back." Walter told her as he walked on over to the restroom.
Megan walked in and sat down in his chair and looked at the project. 'He must be done with the nails.' Megan thought seeing a few lines made with some of the various colored threads.
"So what is it going to be Walter? I'm not recognizing the shape at all." Megan asked as Walter stepped back into the room.
"It doesn't exactly have a shape you'd identify. It is a mathematical expression of a complex series of numbers." Walter tried to explain.
"You're right, I wouldn't recognize that." Megan grinned. "Sleep well Walter." Megan told him as she stood and then kissed his cheek and left.
Walter sat down and picked the board up and looked at it. He smiled as all he could see was love in vast and vibrant colors.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well!
Railman - Indeed she would have been a nightmare for anyone. lol
Margaret - Yep the little love birds are still deep into each other! hehe
To the Adventure! -Tim