Saturday, November 13, 2004, 7:05 a.m.:
"Why are we going to this?" Walter asked Paige as they moved about their apartment getting ready.
"Because it is Sylvester's birthday party." Paige reminded him, even though she knew she didn't need to. "Besides, it might be fun." Paige grinned.
"You have more faith in random events in the woods being fun than I do. About the only part of it I can think that will be fun will be examining your naked body for ticks after we get home." Walter teased.
Paige shuddered.
"Please, no talk about creepy crawlies or I won't be able to go." Paige told him.
"You do realize this is in the middle of the woods, right?" Walter asked cautiously.
"I know I'm trying to put it out of my head." Paige said as she grabbed his hand finally and they walked out of the basement.
"Here." Happy said as they walked into the main house.
"What's this?" Paige asked as she took the spray bottle.
"I made a tick repellent for us." Happy told her. "And why are we going to this thing?"
Paige sighed as she shook her head.
"First, thanks for this. Second, you know why. For Sylvester's birthday." Paige told her.
Happy looked at Walter and they both rolled their eyes.
"Why are we going to this thing?" Ralph asked as he walked into the family room with Veronica.
Walter and Happy both smirked as Paige shook her head.
Paige sighed as she grabbed Walter's hand and dragged him out of the house and to the waiting SUV.
"Don't forget we got to stop and pick up Jeremy." Happy reminded the driver.
"Yes, by all means, let us not forget to pick up Jeremy." Ralph sighed.
"Daddy!" Happy complained.
King Raynold's Faire, Bare Cove Park, Massachusetts:
"Hey Guys!" Sylvester said excitedly as Walter and the Dineens walked in from the parking lot. "I hope you are ready to have a lot of fun!"
"Fun? Seriously?" Walter whispered to Paige as he waved with her.
Paige stopped and forced Walter to look at her. She kissed him deeply and then looked into his eyes.
"Walter, give it a chance, please. For me, if nothing else? I would like to have a nice time and not have to constantly correct your negative feelings about it." Paige whispered.
Walter looked at her for a moment. Looking into her deep brown eyes and the miniscule specks of green in the iris of her eyes. The perfect clarity he saw in them and he slowly nodded as he smiled.
"Whatever it is you want to do, wherever you want to go, whatever you want in your life, I'll do everything within me to make it possible." Walter whispered back to her.
"Thank you Walter." Paige grinned and turned to follow the others along with him.
"The food merchants aren't open yet, so I hope you already had breakfast." Sylvester told them as Toby walked up from behind him.
"What's Toby doing here?" Jeremy asked as he walked along holding Happy's hand.
"Toby's like his mentor. So don't worry about it." Happy explained. "Happy birthday Sylvester." Happy said as she walked up and hugged him.
"Thanks Happy." Sylvester grinned.
"Hey Toby." Happy said as she stepped over and hugged him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, no one said this was a birthday party. I didn't bring you anything." Jeremy blushed.
"That's perfectly okay. No gifts were asked for, expected or required. I'm just glad you guys came." Sylvester told him as they shook hands.
"Nifty costume." Jeremy told him.
"Thanks, it is the same thing I wear when I play Fantasies and Frolics." Sylvester explained then pointed out several adornments of honor he'd won playing.
"Is there a blacksmith here?" Happy said as she listened to the sound of steel clashing against iron.
"Yup, figured that would be something you'd love." Toby grinned.
Happy held out her hand and Jeremy stepped up and took it before they walked on into the faire, followed by her detail.
Paige and Walter walked off in a different direction with her detail. They heard the ring of a bell and Paige looked over and grinned at the test of strength booth. The booth attendant was showing some people how it worked. She pulled on Walter's arm and they walked on over. They stood there watching several people trying but they couldn't quite ring the bell.
Walter was explaining mathematically to Paige why they failed and one of them seemed to take offense.
"Right, I want to see you do better then, big mouth." The man told Walter as he tossed the hammer at him.
Walter missed catching the hammer but luckily his hand made it fall next to him without hitting anyone else. Walter stared at the man for a moment.
"What's the matter? Chicken? Afraid to put your muscles where your mouth is?" The man taunted him.
"Let's go Walter." Paige told him.
"Yeah, go ahead Walter, cower behind her skirt." The man told him.
Walter growled as he grabbed the handle of the hammer and stepped up towards the man.
The man laughed as he stepped back.
"I'll even pay for your attempt. But if you fail to ring the bell at least once in three tries, you owe me fifty bucks." The man told him as he handed the attendant ten dollars.
"Fine." Walter said from between gritted teeth. He turned and looked at the block the striker was on. He reached down and wiggled the lever to get a clear understanding of its unique operation and then stepped back. His brilliant mind quickly calculated the variables and then his hands tightened around the handle. He swung it up over his head and then pulled down hard as it reached its apex.
Paige stood there smiling as she watched.
The hammer struck the pad of the lever perfectly and the brass weight on the other side was sent flying up the runner and into the brass bell on top. Everyone stood there kind of shocked but as the weight settled on the pad Walter repeated the action, ringing the bell again. And then a third time. As part of the lure of the booth, if you ring the bell three times in a row, you get three more tries. Each three rings takes you up in quality of your choice of prize.
Walter rang the bell the max number of times, fifteen times in total. His breathing was quick, his hands and arms ached and he was sweating but he chucked the hammer down next to the lever as everyone stood there shocked.
He'd drawn quite a crowd from all around including the booth attendants from the other booths. As Paige leaped into his arms a loud roar rose up from everyone around them in celebration. Paige got to choose her prize when they broke their hug. She took the stuffed St Bernard dog doll that was just over five feet tall.
Before they could leave a man in chainmail and a smock of some kind walked up with two others.
"Greetings friend!" The man said. "I am the sheriff of the faire and we have not had anyone ring the bell all fifteen times this entire season. As is our custom, you are the honorary Lord and Lady of the faire for the day."
Paige grinned as she squeezed Walter's arm.
They escorted Walter and Paige to a small structure and he was able to freshen up and they gave him and Paige a special smock and cloak to put on that denoted their honor. They found out as part of the honor, their personal food and drink was free and they got a twenty percent discount on all other purchases. They kept her stuffed dog doll in a locked room inside the structure for when they were ready to leave so they wouldn't have to carry it.
As they walked the faire they were constantly greeted by the event members with reverence. While Paige was eating up the bowing and greetings, it wore on Walter. But he kept his promise firmly in the front of his mind.
"By the Scepter of Ravenswood!" Sylvester said as he saw them walking towards them.
Happy, Toby and Jeremy looked at him and then at what he was looking at. Happy grinned really big even as Sylvester dropped to a knee.
"Please get up, peasant." Paige said laughingly.
"What's going on?" Happy asked.
Paige grinned at Walter and explained.
"How's your hands?" Toby asked quietly as he stepped up to him and Paige as they began walking to the next booth.
"They hurt." Walter whispered back to him.
"I bet, any sores?" Toby asked as he looked at his hands.
Walter shook his head as he turned them over so he could see.
"Yup, you got some first rate blisters now." Toby told him quietly.
Walter sighed.
"How are things with Happy?" Walter whispered.
"Good, Jeremy is another story." Toby chuckled.
Walter sighed as he nodded.
They all met up for lunch at the large food court. There were twelve booths, each with different items for sale. Picnic tables lined the center of the court and in the very center was a small stage and a woman playing a lute as she sang.
As Walter and Paige moved into the courtyard with their family and friends the woman stopped mid song and gestured theatrically towards them.
"Let us all welcome our noble Lord and Lady!" She said and followed it with a florid bow. The event people who weren't busy all bowed which elicited people visiting the faire to also stand and bow. She went on to tell the tale of how their Lord had withstood the mocking of his lesser and rose up to demonstrate his mastery and why he and he alone was the faire's Lord.
Ralph, Happy, Toby and Paige, all four were chuckling at her story. Veronica stood there shaking her head but grinning while holding two year old Emmett.
"Admit it, you are having some fun." Paige whispered to Walter.
Walter grinned and nodded.
As they finished eating, Happy and Jeremy took off to wander the faire by themselves. They ended up way back in the back of the woods as they followed one of the trails. At one point Happy stopped and listened for a moment.
"Hear that?" Happy asked.
"Sounds like running water." Jeremy nodded.
Happy grinned and pulled on his hand as they left the path. Her agents sighed but followed along with her.
They found the stream fairly quick and Happy grinned seeing a tree trunk left over from a tree that had fallen. She stepped over and sat down on the trunk and then patted it. Jeremy swallowed but sat down, after looking about for a moment.
"Would you like to kiss me?" Happy asked with a big smile.
Jeremy's eyes went wide and he nodded.
Happy looked at him like, well?
Jeremy leaned in and their lips touched for a moment and then he pulled back.
Happy's hand rose up and grabbed his shirt and pulled him back until their lips touched again. They sat there kissing for nearly fifteen minutes when one of the agents coughed.
"I'm sorry Ms Dineen, but your Father is ready to leave." The agent told her.
Happy sighed but nodded and stood up.
Jeremy stood up quickly but stepped out away from Happy. His hand reached in front of himself and pulled quickly at his pants.
Happy grinned even as she turned and held her other hand out.
Jeremy coughed as he turned around and took her hand.
Thursday, November 25th, 2004, Thanksgiving:
"Hey Jeremy." Paige greeted Jeremy at the door. "Come on inside." She smiled as she moved back to allow him to step in.
"Thanks Paige. I hope you are having a good day." Jeremy smiled as he walked in.
"Thanks." Paige said as she closed the door. "Happy is in the family room." Paige turned and walked with him through the house.
"Hey Jeremy." Happy said grinning as he came into view. She moved off the sofa and the young couple hugged and kissed briefly.
Paige just grinned at her Father who was sitting there scowling. She stepped into Walter's arms.
"Psst." Paige said quietly looking at her Dad. "You better get that scowl off your face before Happy sees it." Paige warned him with a whisper and then kissed Walter.
"We're going back to Callan for the Christmas break. You think your parents would let you go with us?" Happy asked after she broke the hug.
"No." Jeremy sighed. "We're going to visit my Mom's folks down in Rhode Island over Christmas break."
"Well that stinks. At least it saves me from having to beg my Dad to let you go." Happy sighed.
"Where's Toby?" Jeremy asked.
Happy eyed him cautiously for a moment. She watched him fidget a little.
"He's working at the hospital, as a junior doctor he has to work the holiday." Happy told him neutrally.
"That's a shame." Jeremy said, trying to sound sincere. He then turned to greet Ralph. "Good afternoon Mr Dineen." Jeremy tried to smile.
"Jeremy…good afternoon." Ralph said finally.
While they waited for dinner to finish being prepared Walter and Happy both performed a couple of songs on the piano.
"It is so amazing what all you can do." Jeremy said as he kissed Happy as she got up from the piano.
"Thanks." Happy grinned.
They walked into the dining room and took their seats around the table.
Ralph said grace before the turkey was brought out of the kitchen.
He stood up and took up his carving knife and fork. Jeremy flinched at the sound of the metal against metal as Ralph brought them together. Ralph grinned watching him flinch before he began cutting.
"So you are going to visit your Mother's folks over Christmas?" Veronica asked.
"Yes Mrs Dineen." Jeremy said. "They live down in Newport East, Rhode Island."
"Oh, I do enjoy a good glass of the Newport Vineyard white wine." Veronica said quickly.
"My Mom worked for them after she graduated high school. For a little over a year until she married my Dad. They actually met there." Jeremy smiled.
"You know Mom, I've got that science class this year that is on soil. And I was doing a soil study in it the other day and if I'm not mistaken, I think Dad should change his farm. I think his farmland would produce amazing grapes." Paige told them.
"Oh I don't know pumpkin." Ralph said. "While I think you are right, that is a huge cost in conversion. Not to mention I think it takes close to four years to get a good crop production. That is a lot of overhead." Ralph told her as he recalled the literature he'd read concerning Ireland's farmlands.
"How much do you think?" Paige frowned.
"Well if he did it in stages it would help." Walter offered. "If he kept enough land for the sheep, he could start by using five acres of the remaining land for grapes the first year. And farm the other fifteen. Then each year he could do five more acres until all twenty are producing grapes. And then he could look at getting rid of the sheep and going full scale." Walter said as his mind ran the numbers. "He'd probably need close to one hundred thousand euro for each five acres."
"Oh, that is a bit much. Especially at his age. He really needs to look at slowing down. I just thought going to grapes would make it easier for him. Never mind." Paige shook her head.
"I get the feeling Paige isn't talking about your Dad when she said that, what Dad is she talking about?" Jeremy whispered to Happy.
"She calls Walter's parents Mom and Dad, just like he calls our parents Mom and Dad." Happy whispered back.
Jeremy nodded.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! To answer LouBe's request, at this time in 2004 - May, Walter 19 - Apr, Paige 18 - Feb, Happy 14 - Sep, Toby 21 - Nov, Sylvester 11
LouBe - Trust me, you aren't the only one scrambling, trying to keep their ages straight! lol Happy is much too happy having been adopted, she won't change her name for sure. So I guess we'll either have to call them Toppy or Dintis(dentist?) LOL So glad you liked the gift paper! Ralph and Kenneth seemed like a good pairing at knowing of each other if not actually having met, what with Ralph being in the diplomatic corp and Kenneth running around the world looking for dangerous weapons. hehe Well who better to string his bow? lol Hrmm...Anything I can do to help you see Sylvester as his younger self better? As for Jeremy's last name...lol It didn't come from a place of Toby making jokes, but you're right...if it came to that, Toby could definitely rise to the ocassion for it. lol Ralph is definitely "Father of girls". lol Paige said that she doesn't really see anything wrong with Jeremy, she's a little concerned about his feelings towards Toby, but she's still optimistic while ready to put her foot on his neck if he gets out of line. She winked at the last comment. LOL Oh man...this site throws some doozies sometimes! lol
Railman - Good question, it definitely seems like Jeremy doesn't like Toby too much. Stay tuned for upcoming chapters! lol Yep, Kenneth being part of the weapons inspection teams...sometimes they'd get into some conflict with a local government and Ralph would have to do what he does best and negotiate their release. I think it is safe to say that something about the stage might have a calling for Paige...in the future. Sylvester is definitely making strides with Toby's help! Veronica said "Thank you".
Susan - They certainly had a great time teaching Walter's parents to dance! Poor Toby! Hopefully by the time you get to this chapter you will be liking him a lot more! Yeah, I'm not really comfortable with the age gap...Just trying to take it one chapter at a time.
Pearliegirl - So glad you loved it! Happy's glad to have your approval of Jeremy! Her Dad is about to drive her crazy. lol Well, I'll try but you never know what the Muse will say. lol So glad you enjoyed the Mother-daughter talk! It definitely isn't in my wheelhouse. lol I really want Callan to keep going, it is just a lot of fun. 2005 is going to be a busy year. I'm glad the chapter affected you and found you wanting to protect Toby! It is defintely going to be a long road to get Toby and Happy together as a couple, if that is where the story is going. Legally speaking in Massachusetts, once Happy is 16, she can be in a relationship with anyone she wants, but I'm like...No, just no. Not sure I'm comfortable with 18, but we'll see. I'm rather protective of this Toby myself. hehe The whole affect/effect thing is annoying at times. I usually try to think of it as feeling/show. Affect is something felt, where effect is something seen...if that makes it clear as mud. lol I'd be so disappointed if you weren't looking forward to more chapters! *grin* Way back in the days before the internet and long long long before emojis I had adopted the use of * to denote expressions. lol But " works too!
To the Adventure! -Tim