This is for owlcroft, who has been waiting patiently for my version of her lovely story "Grandad."

-ck

"Nothing I'd Rather Be"

I'd been trying to avoid Hardcase's multiple questions since before we left Gulls' Way, varying between giving him a circular answer or not answering at all. He let up a bit on the ride to the airport, but started needling me again as we walked to the gate. "So you never told me who we're picking up," the judge complained. "I know it's not the Aunts because they've sworn never to fly again."

I didn't respond to that. I was a little surprised Hardcastle brought it up. He knew the Aunts' ages - and resultant lack of vitality - upset me.

I was startled out of my funk when the judge suddenly snapped his fingers. He grinned knowingly at me, causing me to slow our pace. "It's Barbara Johnson, isn't it? Coming from Florida, it's gotta be."

I grinned back, somewhat relieved by his confident - but incorrect - guess. "Nope. Not even close."

We arrived at Gate 14A just as the plane's passengers were departing the jetway. I pulled Hardcastle over to the side, out of the way of the crowd. "Stay here. I'll get a little closer and see if I can spot him. Or her," I said quickly.

Just as I was uncomfortable with the ages of the aunts and their sedentary lifestyles, I also had a hard time seeing how frail and . . . old my father looked. As he carefully walked down the ramp, undoubtedly looking around for me, I swallowed my anxiety as well as I could and pasted a smile on my face. When Sonny finally saw me he smiled back, and it was that same sparkling smile I'd always associated with him, the smile that was on the photo my mom had squirrelled away in her wallet.

Before Sonny could get to me, two young flight attendants - younger than me! - came up behind him and hooking their arms into his, they escorted him the rest of the way over to me. One of the attendants told him to take care, and damned if he didn't turn that 100-watt smile on the two of them, waving as they left. I shook my head. The guy would be an eternal heartbreaker.

After the women left, Sonny finally turned to me and opened his arms for a hug, which for once I returned readily.

ooOOoo

Surprisingly (or maybe not), instead of sitting up front with me in the Volvo, Sonny decided to sit in the back with the judge. "I've got to catch up with my old buddy Milt," he declared.

Although I was required to pay attention to my driving, I was able to multi-task, peering into the rear view mirror often as I kept track of the conversation. Sonny described his "ship life" as a live-in entertainer, and how he subsidized his low pay by eating as much food as he wanted or enjoying his private apartment-like room. Hardcastle snorted or scoffed a few times, especially when Sonny mentioned how he loved having no bills or responsibilities. At the second obvious snort I made eye-contact with Hardcase in the rear view mirror, and glared at him.

The judge cleared his throat. "Sorry, musta caught cold in the airport," he quickly improvised. "Do they have to turn the air-conditioning up that high?"

The next thing I knew the two old guys were actually finding common ground complaining about random "senior issues," like freezing-cold indoor temperatures and the odd clothing choices of young people and how all the celebrities they'd followed in their youth were old, or even dead.

I sighed, smiled, and kept driving.

ooOOoo

I opened the gate with the remote, then pulled the car around the fountain to park in my usual spot near the gatehouse. The door opened before I'd even stopped the car, making me wonder who'd been watching and waiting for us - Kathy, or Matt. When Kathy came out waving and calling to us, I thought I had my answer, but then she informed us, "There's someone here waiting for you all."

I went to the back of the car and helped Sonny out, also eyeing the judge to see if he needed any help. I generally don't need to assist him, but I've been watching him more lately out of habit. And again he didn't need a hand - not only did he get out of the back seat fairly well, he even went to get Sonny's suitcase out of the trunk.

Eventually the three of us met up at the front door, and Kathy gestured us inside. I pulled back a bit, though, and turned to my father.

"Okay, Sonny?" I said quietly. "You ready?"

Sonny looked uneasy. "Mark, you're sure about this, huh?"

Suddenly wordless, I just nodded. We finally entered the house. Matt, standing in the middle of the room, stared at us both. He glanced at me briefly, but then only had eyes for Sonny.

"Hey, you must be Matt." Sonny's voice trembled slightly, and he seemed unsure when he slowly crouched down in front of my boy. But when he held out his arms, he had that same Sonny smile, sparkling and charming.

At first Matt was hesitant, but then he surprised us all by throwing himself into Sonny's arms with an excited "Granddad!"

"That was all we could think of to call you," I explained worriedly. "Everything else was sort of taken. If you'd rather be –"

"There's nothing I'd rather be," Sonny said thickly, "than this kid's granddad."

END