Chapter 11

 

July 1958

 

Margaret was rummaging through the baby’s closet trying to find him some nice clothes to pack.  He was growing so fast and she was having a hard time keeping up with him when it came to clothes.  He was five months old now and seemed to be changing everyday.  He was still a chubby little boy and was starting to grow some hair.  It was just some blonde peach fuzz, but it made him look a little different from the chubby bald baby that he had been.  In fact he had become more fun lately.  He would roll over and play on the floor with his toys and entertain himself.  He would laugh and smile and the best part about all of it was that he was easily amused. 

 

Danny would be four in September and he was growing intellectually.  He would carry on conversations learned the meaning of larger words all the time.  He liked his little brother more and more because Matt was more fun to play with now.  The only thing he didn’t like was when Matt started screaming out of the blue.  Danny didn’t understand it was because he was frustrated so he always ran to his mother and told her he didn’t do anything.  He didn’t want to get in trouble.  Getting in trouble from Mommy was not any fun.

 

Going back to work was one of the best things Hawkeye ever did.  He loved his job and missed working so much those six weeks that he was out.  As much as he loved his family, he needed to get out of the house and back out into the world.  Sometimes he didn’t know how Margaret did it being with an infant and a toddler all day.  It was enough to drive him mad.  It was odd, because when he wasn’t with them he missed them, but when he was with them for weeks on end without any other social interaction to really speak of, he couldn’t wait to be alone.  Now he had a few days off and was ready to take them to Maine.  He wanted everyone in his hometown to meet his youngest son, and he wanted to go back and spend some time there.  He missed home almost as much as he missed his father.

 

Hawkeye stood in the doorway to Matt’s room watching Margaret rummage through a bin of baby clothes.  “Why don’t you just go shopping?  Half of his stuff doesn’t fit him anyway.”

 

“Because I know we have some things for him.  It’s all your fault.”

 

“My fault?!”

 

“Yes.  You’re tall, so of course he is too.  Both of the boys grow like weeds.”

 

He smiled and shook his head.  “As I recall from the few times I’ve seen your father, he’s a big man.  He’s bigger than me.”

 

 “And?”

“And, I believe you gave Matt those genes, not me.”

 

She stood up with an armful of clothes.  “Got what I was looking for.”

 

“Changing the subject, huh?  I know how you are.”

 

She smiled at him and gave him a kiss.  “I’ll just have to go shopping this afternoon.  You can stay home with the boys or we can all go.”

 

“I’ll stay,” he said quickly.  Shopping with his wife and two young boys was not his idea of a good time.

 

“Okay.”  She looked at the baby that Hawkeye held in his arms.  “You are just growing way too fast.  That’s okay though.  We’ll get you some nice new clothes and show you off to the whole state of Maine!”  Matt smiled and leaned towards her.   He didn’t stretch his arms yet to let someone know that he wanted to go to them, but he would lean his body to them.  She tossed the clothes on his changing table and took him into her arms giving him a kiss on the cheek.  “So,” she looked at Hawkeye.  “What time do you want me home?”

 

“Before dinner please.  I’ll make it tonight and clean up if you’re here.”  He hated when she was gone for dinner because that was when things could get hectic and he didn’t like that.  It was a lot easier when there were two of them there because one could handle the kids and their messes and one could handle the kitchen mess.

 

“Fine.  I shouldn’t be gone more than two or three hours anyway.  I’ll get all the things we need and we’ll pack everything tonight.”

 

“Whatever you want.”

 

She smiled at him, “That’s what I like to hear.”  He grinned and she gave him a small kiss.  “I’ll feed him before I go so he’ll be sleeping most of the time for you.”

 

“Good.  Then I can take a nap.”

 

“Hmm…, let me think about that.”  She pretended like she was giving it some though.  “No!”

 

“What?  Why?”

 

“Because we have too much to do.  We’re taking our first trip with the baby and we’ll be gone for five days.  We need to get things together so we can leave in the morning.”

 

He sighed.  “Fine.”

 

“Go away.  I’m going to feed him and put him down for his nap.”  He gave her a sweet kiss on the lips and left the room.  She sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room and unbuttoned her shirt so she could feed her hungry baby.  Sitting down with him like that was one of her favorite times of the day.  She would just stare at him and memorize what he looked like at that stage in his life.  He would look up into her eyes as he ate and little by little she would see his gorgeous blue eyes start to flutter and doze off to sleep.  She could never describe how that one little baby made her feel inside and how he made her feel whole.  Danny had made her a mother, but Matt had filled that missing link she had always had in her life.

 

It had been a year since Margaret had been to Maine.  The last time she was there was when they got married.  Matt had never been there and both Hawkeye and Margaret were dying to show him off to all of Crabapple Cove.  At five months old he was very relaxed and always had a smile on his face.  It was a great change from the first three months of his life.  Daniel had been waiting for them to take the trip for a long time now.  He had not had the joy of showing his hometown his grandson yet.

 

Margaret had spent the night packing things and making sure they had everything they needed for Matt.  She had never traveled with a baby before and she wanted to make sure she had everything for him.  The first time she had gone to Maine with Hawkeye and Danny, Danny had been over two years old.  All he needed at that time was clothes.  Matt was a lot younger and although Danny was her son too, Matt was her first baby.  She was experiencing a lot of firsts and would until he was about three.  Danny had not become her son until he was almost three.

 

The next morning Margaret was up early and ready to get going before Hawkeye even opened his eyes.  He usually took a long time to get going in the mornings so she woke him up first.

 

When she got out of the shower and was dressed he was still in bed sleeping peacefully.  She sat down on the edge of his side of the bed and placed a hand on his stomach.  “Hawkeye,” she said.  “Time to get up.  Hawkeye, honey, wake up.”

 

 “Hmm,” he groaned.

 

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the head.  “Wake up honey.  Time to get going.”

 

“Nooo,” he rolled over onto his stomach and put his head under the pillow.

 

“Yes,” she smiled.  “Come on, get up.  I have to get the boys ready.  All you have to do is get in the shower and get dressed.”

 

“Fine,” he moaned.  He rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes.  “What time is it?”

 

“6AM. Go shower.”  She leaned down and gave him a kiss.  “And brush your teeth.”

 

“Go away,” he said with a small smile.

 

She laughed and messed his hair up quickly before she stood up.  “Get out of bed!”  She yelled before she left the room.  She walked into Danny’s room and turned his light on.  He was lying on his back.  She sat down on his bed.  “Get up baby.  Time to get up, honey.”  She gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “Danny, time to get up to go to Maine to see Grandpa.”

 

Danny’s little eyes fluttered and he looked at his mother.  “What?”

 

“Get up so we can go.”

 

He remembered then where they were going and smiled and sat strait up in bed.  “Okay.”

 

“Good.”  She smiled and gave him a kiss.  “Go potty and meet me in Matt’s room.”

 

“Okay.”  She stood up and lifted him out of bed and put him down on the floor.  He took off for the bathroom. 

 

The next place she had to go was to get the baby up.  She walked into his room and over to the side of his crib.  He always slept on his stomach, but now that he was rolling around he would roll all over the place at night and would end up on the other side of his crib.  “Matty,” she smiled.  “Wake up baby boy.”  She picked him and he opened his eyes slowly.  “Good morning baby!”  He smiled at her and snuggled to her.  She rubbed his back, “I love how you are in the mornings.  Let’s get you some breakfast so we can get going soon.”

 

Hawkeye rolled out of bed lazily trying to wake up. He sat on the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He felt so tired and couldn’t figure out why until he looked down and discovered that he was naked. He smiled to himself remembering the night before and why he was so tired. He had went running late that afternoon after Margaret had come home from shopping. From the moment he got back his wife was teasing him. He knew how to turn her on and showing her his newly hardened body was a surefire way of doing that. Her teasing ended once the boys were in bed, but that’s when the workout began. She had made him work long and hard last night and he loved every second of it. Still smiling, he got out bed, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before heading to the shower.

 

It felt so good to feel the warm water cascading over his body, loosening all those muscles that had tightened the night before. He took his time in the shower letting the hot water not only relax him, but also wake him up. The drive to Maine was a good four or five hours and there was no telling how much longer that could be made by traveling with two very young children. He was hoping that they would be on their very best behavior, but there was no telling with those two. They were, after all, Pierce boys.

 

When Hawkeye was dressed he walked out of the bedroom and into the noise that was his family. Danny was running around banging two toys together. Matt was fighting with his mother as she was trying to change his diaper and get him dressed. He was yelling and screaming and trying to roll out of her grasp as she was talking to him trying to get his attention focused on her rather than the toy that he wanted. The look on Margaret’s face told him she was ready to blow at any minute. Patience was not one of her strong suits and although she had improved, she had not mastered it yet. 

 

Hawkeye picked Danny up as he ran by. “What are you doing making all that noise? Its too early in the morning for that.” Hawkeye took the toys out of his hands and placed them on an end table.

 

“Daddy, ready to go see Grandpa?”

 

“In a few minutes. Did you eat?”

 

“Yeah,” Danny nodded. “You wanna eat too?”

 

“Yes,” he smiled. He looked down at Margaret. She was sitting on the floor still fighting with the baby. “I’ll grab something quick.”

 

“Okay,” she said. “Matt, stop. Look at Mommy. If you would just cooperate this would get done a lot faster and you could play with your toy. Ah,” she sighed as he continued to fight with her. “You’re just like your father!”

 

“I heard that,” Hawkeye said from the kitchen.

 

“Good!”

 

Hawkeye smiled to himself and grabbed a Swiss cake roll out of the cabinet. Danny saw that. “Daddy, you can’t have that in the morning.”

 

“Why not?” He asked as he started to unwrap it.

 

“Cause Mommy says no. I gonna tell her.”

 

Hawkeye tore off a piece of the chocolate snack and handed it to his son. “Don’t tell her.”

 

Danny smiled widely, “Okay!”

 

Hawkeye sat down at the table with his son and they shared the cake. They had just finished it when Margaret walked into the room with a fully clothed Matt in her arms. She looked at Danny and saw chocolate around his mouth. “Did you have a Swiss cake roll?”

 

“No,” he said innocently.

 

She looked at Hawkeye and he was smiling. Then she looked at her son again. “Is Daddy teaching you to lie?”

 

“No.”                           

 

“He better not be,” she said in a warning tone to her husband. “You ready to go?”

 

“All set. You?”

 

“Yeah. Just waiting for you to go get the car and bring it out front so we can toss the suitcases in it.”

 

He stood up and gave her a kiss. “Hint taken. Come on Danny, you come with me.” Hawkeye didn’t wait for him to answer; he just picked him up and carried him out the door.

 

When the car was loaded and everyone was safely in, they started to drive off. Danny was in the back by himself like he always was. Without car seats Matt had to be held by his mother in the front. He was very easy going when it came to riding in cars and sat there quietly and was asleep before they made it out of Boston. His older brother soon followed his lead and before they were too far into the trip both boys were sleeping. Danny had his head on a pillow and was curled up in the seat as best as his seat belt would allow him. Matt was cradled in his mother’s arms snuggled up to her.

 

“You know something?” Hawkeye said.

 

Margaret had been staring out the window. “Huh?”

 

“We have really good cute kids.”

 

She smiled at him and nodded in agreement. “We do.” She looked in the backseat to see Danny curled up with a small blanket. “That little boy is looking more and more like you everyday. And this one,” she said smiling at Matt. “Is starting to act like you.”

 

“How so?”

 

“Cause he’s a little brat.”

 

Hawkeye laughed. “What did you expect? He’s my son and a middle child.”

 

“Middle child? What are you talking about?”

 

“Well he will be one day. He’ll have a little brother and an older brother to compete with.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Just drive.”

 

“Maybe you should drive. I’m really tired.”

 

“I suppose I could. What’s the matter? Didn’t get enough sleep?”

 

He threw a grin her way and then looked back to the road. “I worked hard last night. You seemed to like it. A couple of times.”

 

She smiled despite her better judgment. “I did. A couple of times. And, I’m hoping you’ll be that good and willing to please when we’re in Maine.”

 

“Are you kidding? With my father there we have a live in babysitter. He never goes out at night. As soon as those boys are in bed, you and I are out of that house.”

 

“You mean you’re going to be romantic for once?”

 

“For once!? I’m always romantic!”

 

“Ha!”

 

He smiled and reached over to touch her arm. “Okay, I admit, we’ve had a dry spell. We’ve had a busy year with a lot of changes, but now things are settling down. I will magically transform into the romantic Benjamin Franklin Pierce that you fell madly in love with.”

 

“Good. Since we’ll be at an ocean front town, I expect romantic walks on the beach with you. Not with all four of us. Just you.”

 

“Okay, and just because we go out to eat or something doesn’t mean we have to take the boys with us. They could care less where they eat as long as they eat. Believe me, we will not be using my father as a baby sitter either. He wants to spend time with the boys, so we’ll let him.”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Don’t worry. He can take care of Matt too. He’s an old pro. You wouldn’t think so, but he’s a softy under that gruff exterior.”

 

“I know he is,” she said.

 

“Besides, I told him we’d give him plenty of time with the boys while we’re there. He’ll be working for a few days, but the nights are for the boys. And my nights are for you and only you.”

 

“You’re so sweet,” she smiled.  She scooted over to him closer and gave him a kiss.  “I love you.”

 

“I love you.”  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer.  She adjusted the baby so they were both comfortable and she laid her head down on his shoulder.  “You tired too?”

 

“Uh huh.”  She closed her eyes.  He held her tighter and looked ahead with one hand on the wheel and the other on her upper arm.  He loved her so much and thanked God everyday that she was his.  In her arms was their little oversight which turned out to be the best thing that every happened to them.  Having Matt so soon caused a lot of ciaos, but it brought them together much sooner.  Matt was what pushed them together as family, and pushed them together as husband and wife.

 

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

 

Margaret opened her eyes when she felt the car come to a stop.  She sat up in the seat so she wasn’t leaning on Hawkeye anymore.  He was glad for that because his arm had fallen asleep, but he didn’t want to stay anything.  She had looked so comfortable and peaceful and he didn’t want to be the one to interrupt that. 

 

“Where are we?”

 

“We’re in Maine, but we still have about three hours ahead of us until we get home.” 

 

She smiled at him and the way he called Crabapple Cove home even though he hadn’t lived there for over five years.  “Okay.  I can drive now.”

 

“Good.”  Hawkeye put the car in park and then turned around to see Danny in the back.  He tapped the child on the legs.  “Time to get up buddy.”  Danny opened his eyes and looked at his father.  He didn’t know where he was.  “Go with Mommy and she’ll take you to the potty.”

 

Danny looked at his mother and then sat up.  He was starting to remember what they were doing.  “Okay.”

 

 

 

Margaret took the boys inside and she changed the baby while Danny went to the bathroom.  It was nine in the morning and the baby wouldn’t want to eat at least for another hour or maybe two.  He was a little off schedule this morning because of the driving.  She wanted to give Hawkeye a chance to rest for a bit so she would drive until the baby wanted to eat.  Then they would have to switch so she could feed him.  Which was fine as long as she could let her husband get some rest.

 

Hawkeye pumped the gas and checked the car to make sure things were all set.  He decided that the back seat looked much more comfortable than the front.  Danny was more than welcome to have the front and he and Matt would take the back.  He was hoping the ride would make Matt go back to sleep.  Normally it did.

 

“Mommy,” Danny said pulling on her pant leg.  “Can I get gum?”

 

Hawkeye snuck up behind him and picked him up.  “Are you begging for food again?”

 

Danny smiled at his father.  “Can I have gum?”

 

Margaret looked at him.  “I have some in the car for you.  You can have that, okay?”

 

“Okay.  Can I have candy?”

 

“No,” Margaret said immediately.  “You don’t need that.”

 

Danny looked at Hawkeye asking silently.  “No,” Hawkeye said.  “Are you ready to check out?  You pay.  I have to go to the bathroom.”

 

“Okay.”

 

********

 

By the time they got to their destination Hawkeye was driving again. He had had his nap and took over when Matt wanted to be fed so Margaret could take care of that. Both of the boys were now wide awake and wanting to get out of the car, and Margaret was ready to pull her hair out because of them. Danny was in the back whining and constantly asking when they were going to get there, and Matt was getting irritable and didn’t know what he wanted, and Margaret couldn’t stand it much longer. All of their problems could be solved by pulling into Dan’s driving and getting out of the car.

 

Margaret looked over at her husband, “We are not leaving in the morning ever again! When we go home we’re leaving your father’s at 8PM so the boys will sleep the whole way.”

 

“Sounds good to me.” It really didn’t bother him either way, but he knew that Margaret’s patience were wearing very thin. “I wonder what my dad has for me. I can’t figure it out.” He turned down the last road that led to his father’s house. “I guess I’ll find out soon.”

 

Danny noticed where they were and stood up. “YAY!”

 

“Sit down!” Margaret said sternly. “You know better than to get out of your seatbelt.”

 

“Margaret,” Hawkeye said. “He’s just excited.”

 

“I know, but he can’t just jump up in the car when he feels like it. What if he does it going down the interstate in heavy traffic?” She looked back the little boy and he was trying to get his seatbelt back on. “Good boy.” Looking back at her husband she saw him smiling. “What?”

 

“You were right.” Ever since her had gotten in that car accident she had been very adamant about seatbelts and everything that had to do with a car. He could understand. 

 

“I never had any doubt,” she smiled cheekily.

 

“Of course not,” he rolled his eyes.

 

She slapped his leg. “I’m always right!”

 

Hawkeye burst out laughing and then she started to laugh with him. He loved her so much and seeing and hearing her laugh only mad him love her more. “I can’t wait to get you alone.”

 

“Is your dad home?” She asked as they pulled up to the house. “I don’t see his truck.”

 

Hawkeye parked the car in front of the garage and turned off the engine. “He might not be here.”

 

“Oh.” She looked back at Danny and smiled at him. He was waiting patiently for permission to get out. “You can unbuckle now, honey.”

 

He quickly bushed the button and whipped his seat belt off. Margaret got out and opened his door for him and he started to run for the house. “Wait a minute,” Hawkeye called. Danny turned around and looked at his father. “Grandpa’s not home, buddy.”

 

“How come? Where did he go?”

 

“I think he’s at his office. He said he might be there,” he looked at his wife. “Go on in and I’ll get all of this and give him a call to see if he’s there.”

 

“But the door…”

 

“Unlocked. We don’t lock our doors here.”

 

“Oh. Okay. Let’s go Danny.” She was dying to get into the house and put the baby down. He wanted to get down and moved around, which at his age constituted rolling around on the floor, but he didn’t care. He wanted to move, and his mother wanted him to relax which would in turn would allow her to relax.

 

“Mommy, can we go see Grandpa?”

 

Margaret opened the door and they walked in. “I’ll call him right now.” She turned the light on in the living room and made sure that the floor was clean before putting Matt down. Then she quickly picked up anything that he could get his hands on that would harm him and tossed it all on the couch. “Will you play with your baby brother for a few minutes for me?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Thank you,” she smiled and gave him a kiss on the head on her way out of the room.  “I love you,” she called back.

 

“Love you too,” he yelled.  He sat down on the floor and played with his little brother as best as he could.  It was hard for him to do anything with Matt because of the age.

 

Hawkeye made three trips back and forth to the car.  He placed everything in the entry way to the house.  Margaret had packed so much stuff and most of it was for the baby, and then there were her things.  He never knew another person who packed as much things as she did.  As soon as he had everything in the house he shut the door and saw the boys in the living room.  He watched them together for a second and then went into the kitchen where he could hear Margaret on the phone.

 

She was looking out the window above the sink while she was on the phone.  He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and attacked her neck with kisses.  She tried not to giggle and move away, but he wouldn’t let her.  She hung up the phone and then turned to face him. 

 

“That was your father,” she smiled.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him. 

 

“I figured.”  He started to kiss her neck and jaw line. 

 

“He’s working.”  Hawkeye didn’t seem like he was listening.  He kept kissing her.  “He wants us to…mmm,” he kissed her mouth.  “Um, go…mmm…have lunch with him.”  He pulled her tight and kissed her deeply running his tongue inside her mouth.  When he pulled back she smiled at him.  “What has gotten into you?”

 

“I want to be in you.”

 

Her eyes widened and she slapped the back of his head.  “The boys!”

 

“They’re in the other room.”

 

“So!”  As soon as she said that Danny walked in.  “Look,” she pointed.

 

Danny walked over and tapped Margaret on the leg.  She pulled away from Hawkeye and looked down at him.  “Did you talk to Grandpa?”

 

“Yes I did,” she smiled.  It was wonderful how much Danny loved his grandfather.  “If Daddy can keep his hands to himself for a while, we’ll go see Grandpa and have lunch with him.”

 

“Okay.  Daddy, you has to not touch nothin’.  Okay?”

 

Hawkeye laughed and started to tickle his son.  “You listen to mommy too much!”

 

“Don’t tell him that.  You ready to go to lunch?”

 

“Yes.  I’m starving.”

 

Margaret went to get the diaper bag and make sure that there was some baby food in there for Matt, and then she got Matt and they headed into town.  Matt was not too happy to be back in the car and neither was Margaret.  Traveling with Matt was not one of her favorite things to do.  Luckily town wasn’t that far away.

 

*****

 

They two hours in town eating lunch with Dan and talking to people.  Everyone had to come up and see the new baby.  It was a good thing that most of the town was working because they needed to escape and go back to the house to put Matt down for his nap.  Hopefully he would be in a better mood when he woke up.

 

Dan had to work all afternoon so he wasn’t home.  When they got back Matt was already asleep so Margaret laid him down and let him finish his nap.  Hawkeye and Danny decided that they wanted to go swimming, but Margaret was stuck in the house until the baby woke up.  She didn’t mind though, it gave her a chance to unpack everything and get things organized.  She also rediscovered the house since it had been a year since she was there.  What she discovered was that absolutely nothing had changed. 

 

*****

 

Hawkeye pestered his father all night about what the surprise was.  Dan never said anything or gave any hints.  It was driving Hawkeye crazy and he couldn’t think of what it was, so he focused on something else.  He had wanted to take Margaret out that night, but he thought it would be best if they stayed in because it was their first night there and they were both tired.  He also wanted to spend time with her in bed and see if she would make love to him in his father’s house.  She would never do that before, but they had never been married before.

 

It was after 11PM when the two of them headed up to bed.  It had been a very long day for the two of them.  Hawkeye checked on the boys before he went to bed.  They were both sleeping in his old bedroom which meant that Hawkeye and Margaret were in the nicer bedroom with the balcony.  He hadn’t stayed in there for a long time and just his luck it was a very romantic place to be.  After seeing that the boys were fine saw Margaret walk out of the bathroom dressed in a short nightgown.   Without saying a word he looked into her eyes and took her into his arms kissing her.  She melted into him and waited for him to break the kiss because she couldn’t do it.

 

When he pulled away he smiled.  “The boys are fine.”

 

Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek lightly.  “I’ll meet you in bed.  I’m gonna go check on them.”

 

“I want to see them with my own eyes.  You know how cute they are when they’re sleeping.”

 

He smiled at her and then walked the other way.  When he got into the bedroom he opened the French doors to let some fresh air in.  It was so clean and different from the city and it also let the soothing sound of the ocean in.  He turned off the lights and stripped down to nothing to get into bed.  When Margaret finally walked in the only reason she could see was because the moonlight coming into the room from the doors.

 

“Honey,” she whispered.

 

“I’m awake.” 

 

He pushed the covers down on her side.  She crawled into bed and cuddled up to him by lying her head on his shoulder.  He wrapped his arm around her and started to slowly pull the nightgown up her back.  She smiled and started to do what he was doing.  Her hand slid down his chest and stomach to find the band of his boxers, but she didn’t find it.  She looked up at him and he grinned.  His hand moved down her back to tug at her panties, but he couldn’t because they weren’t there.  She gave him a grin and rolled on top of him.

 

He smiled up at her and placed his hands on her hips.  “I love it when you’re playful.”

 

“I know you do.”

 

“You’re being brave.  This is my father’s house and he’s just downstairs.”

 

“So?”

 

“Don’t think that I want you to stop, but wasn’t it you who always told me we’re not having sex with my father or your parents in the same house?”

 

She had said that many times before; they both knew that.  “Hmmm… I don’t think so.”

 

“Oh,” he smiled as he pulled her nightgown up over her head.  “Must be my other wife.”  He tossed the nightgown to the side.

 

“Must be,” she smiled and leaned down to kiss him as she ground her hips into him.

 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

 

Dan had gone to work the next morning bright and early.  When he left everyone was still fast asleep so he left them that way.  He had wanted to take Danny to work with him, but he was sleeping and Dan didn’t have the time to get him ready and he really didn’t want to go knocking on his son and daughter-in-law’s door.  He thought he had heard some noise up there late last night, but he wasn’t sure.  He had noticed how touchy feely the two of them were and was happy for them.  He hadn’t seen the two of them act that way since their wedding.  He rememberedhow difficult it was when he was first married; there was a lot of adjusting to do, but not nearly as much as when they had a baby.  Margaret and Hawkeye had to deal with all of that at one time on top of having a toddler running around.  Daniel couldn’t describe how happy he was that they made it through the first tear and came out more in love than they went into the marriage. 

 

Dan was happy for himself because in the last year he had gained a daughter-in-law and a new grandson, but he was aware that things weren’t as perfect in his son’s house.  He was just thankful they stuck it out with each other because he knew the happiness of a good marriage.  It had been a long time since he had a happy relationship with a woman and was glad to see that his son now knew what that was.

 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

 

The weather couldn’t have been better that day.  The sun was out in full force without a cloud in the sky and it was a perfect 85 degrees.  Perfect weather for lounging around at the poolside, simple sandwiches and chips was what was on the lunch menu for the day.  The small family sat at the table on the patio eating lunch that afternoon.

 

Danny was starving and didn’t say a word, but just kept shoving the food into his mouth.  Matt was on his mother’s lap reaching for any food he could get his chubby little hands on, but she was faster than him and wouldn’t let him get anything that he wasn’t supposed to have.  He would have to deal with eating the food that his mother gave to him because she was insistent that he not eat anything else.  He would try to throw a fit, but she wouldn’t let him.  Each time he would get ready to scream she would put a spoonful of baby food in his mouth and he was content with that for a moment.

 

“Did your father tell you what the surprise he has for you is?”

 

“I haven’t talked to him today.”

 

“Oh, that’s right.  I can’t believe you haven’t been down there pestering him all day.” 

 

“It’s too relaxing here,” he smiled.  “Besides, my wife is in a bikini and I don’t want to miss that.”

 

She rolled her eyes.  “It’s nothing special.”

 

“Sure it is.”  He looked at her with the baby on her lap.  “Mom’s can still be sexy.  Nobody ever said they couldn’t be, and if they did they are dead wrong.  All they’ll have to do is look at you.”

 

“I love you.”  She smiled brightly.  Those little things that he said made her feel wonderful.  Feeling good about herself was very important to her.  She had been so upset after Matt was born because she had gained more weight than she expected to.  Then with him having colic she was so tired and unable to exercise for the first two months.  After he started to get better and the says were calmer she was able to start exercising and pull of the weight pretty fast.  Now she had lost all the weight and tightened up her stomach like it was when she was younger.  That was the hardest part because it took the most work and daily exercise to keep it up.

 

“You know, maybe I should give my father a call to see what he’s doing for dinner.  Maybe we’ll go out tonight again.”

 

“Whatever you want to do.  I’m so relaxed here that nothing really matters as long as you and the boys are okay.”

 

Danny guzzled down his drink and looked at him mother.  “I’m done.  Can I go swimming now?”

 

“Not yet, baby.  You need to wait a little.  Why don’t you go play in the sand box,” she suggested.

 

“Okay.”

 

Margaret stood up and handed Matt to his father.  “You take him and I’ll clean up the food.”  She gave Hawkeye a kiss and whispered in his ear, “If these two go to sleep, we’ll have some fun.”

 

Margaret brought some of the food in with her and brought a bottle back out with her for Matt.  Hawkeye held him in the shade while he drank the milk.  Margaret cleaned up the table and then the kitchen.  When she came out after things were done she saw Matt sleeping in his father’s arms.  Hawkeye had his eyes closed and his head back in the swing.  Margaret walked over there and took the baby out of his arms quietly and laid Matt in the crib out there in the shade.  Hawkeye opened his eyes when Margaret turned around and smiled.

 

“You are awake,” she smiled.

 

“Yes.”  He pulled her down on his lap and kissed her neck.  “Danny’s awake.”

 

“He’s playing in the dirt.”

 

“It would be better if he was asleep.”

 

“But he’s not,” she smiled.

 

“I know.”  Hawkeye stood up with her in his arms and grinned.

 

“You better not!”  She knew he was going to toss her into the pool.  He laughed.  “Pierce, I mean it!  Put me down.”

 

“That wouldn’t be as fun.”

 

“It won’t be that fun if you wake the baby up.  You better put me down.”

 

Hawkeye looked over at Matt and didn’t want to wake him.  He would never go back to sleep and then would be cranky all day.  “Okay.”  Hawkeye put her down and then before he knew what was happening her hands were on his back and she had pushed him in.  Margaret stood on the side laughing as she watched him come up out of the water.  “That was real funny Margaret.”

 

“I know!”

 

“I’ll get you back later.”

 

“No you won’t,” she smiled.

 

Hawkeye swam away and left her standing there.  “Oh, yes I will.  It might not be in the pool, but I will get you.”

 

She rolled her eyes and looked over to check on Danny.  He was busy playing in the dirt, so she walked over to the steps on the shallow end of the pool and swam across to her husband.  He was standing on the other end and she wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him.  “You’ll never get me.”

 

He smiled and kissed her softly.  “We’ll see.”  He started to kiss her hungrily and running his hands up and down her almost naked back.  He pressed her hips close to his and they started to make out oblivious to what was going on around them.  They were lost in each other once again until Margaret felt tiny hands on her shoulders and then realized Danny had latched onto her back and wrapped his arms around her neck.  She pulled her lips away from Hawkeye and he saw Danny.  “Hi buddy.”

 

“I swimmed by myself all the way.”

 

Hawkeye smiled.  “Wow, good boy!  You’re getting so good at swimming.”

 

“I know.”

 

Margaret smiled and brought Danny around to the front and put her feet down so she was no longer attached to her husband.  “Where did you learn to swim so good?”

 

He smiled at her.  “You teached me, member?”

 

“That’s right,” she said.  “I did a good job.  You’re swimming like a little fish!”

 

He laughed, “Mommy, you’re silly.”

 

Hawkeye laughed and took his son into his arms.  “You should go practice a little more, buddy.”

 

“No, I want to play with you and Mommy.”

 

“Are you sure?  You’ll have a lot more fun over there,” he pointed to the other side of the pool.

 

“Hawkeye,” Margaret scolded.  “He doesn’t want to.  He wants to spend time with us.  Stop being such a baby.”

 

“But I want to play with you,” he grinned.  She rolled her eyes and swam away.  “Okay Danny, go get her.”

 

The three of them played in the water for a while.  Then Margaret got out and laid down in the sun watching them and the baby out of the corner of her eye.  It was so nice to be outdoors and be able to relax rather than just walk like they did in the city.  She loved the country and the fresh air and room to roam.  It was freeing where as the city was confining.  Seeing Danny be able to run around made her want to move out of the city.  He loved the air and the freedom and always had a smile on his face and was into everything.  He would jump from one thing to another and always with a smile on his face and dirt on his hands.

 

After Matt woke up Margaret moved him into the house and he played with some toys on the living room floor.  He even liked to be outdoors and wanted to go back out.  He would roll over to the screen door and try to look out.  Finally Margaret grabbed a big sheet and set him up outside in the grass and she laid next to him getting some sun.  Danny ran around playing football with his father while Matt laughed and watched them.  Margaret loved the times that the four of them could just be together like that.  Those times were what made a family close and stick together.

 

When Dan got home the four of them were outback all relaxing on the large sheet playing with Matt.  That baby didn’t lack for any attention and he knew it too.  He knew just what to do to get what he wanted.  “What are doing?  Spoiling that baby even more?”

 

Hawkeye looked up at his father.  “Hey, you’re early.”

 

“No I’m not.  It’s after five.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Margaret looked up and smiled.  “Hi.  How was your day?”

 

“Same as always.  Did I miss anything?”

 

“Not too much,” she said.  “We’ve been lounging around all day.”

 

“Hi Grandpa,” Danny jumped up.  “We gonna eat?”

 

“Yeah.  How long until everyone is ready?”

 

“About twenty minutes,” Margaret stood up.  She picked up the baby.  “I’ll be as fast as I can.”

 

“No hurry,” Dan said.  “Hawk, I need to talk to you.”

 

Hawkeye thought his father was acting a little odd.  Maybe he had bad news for him.  He didn’t know.  “Danny, go with Mommy and get ready to go out to dinner.”

 

“But I don’t want to.”

 

“Too bad.  Go get ready.”

 

“Fine,” Danny said and ran off towards the house.

 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

Margaret had fed the baby and was putting him into some clean clothes when Hawkeye walked into the house.  He slammed the door and stomped upstairs without saying a word.  Margaret looked up and saw Dan come through the door.  “What’s the matter?”

 

“Ah, he’s acting like a child.”  Dan said in a gruff voice.

 

Margaret snapped Matt’s last snap and placed him on the blanket in the middle of the floor.  She looked at Dan, “What happened?”

 

“I told him that we’re having company for dinner tonight.”

 

“Who?”

 

Dan looked her in the eye.  “A woman that I’ve been seeing for a long time.  Her name is Dora.”

 

“Ah.”  Margaret suddenly understood.  “And Hawkeye doesn’t like her?”

 

“He doesn’t know.  He hasn’t met her.  I want her to meet my family.  I’m sick of being alone, honey.”

 

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “I’ll go talk to him.  Will you keep an eye on the boys for me?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Margaret could understand where he was coming from.  He was a man in his sixties that lived alone, and he didn’t want it to be that way any longer.  Margaret didn’t understand why Hawkeye was so upset about going to dinner with the lady, but she would find out.  She walked upstairs and walked into their bedroom.  Hawkeye was out on the balcony looking out at the ocean.  She walked up next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist.  He glanced over at her, but then looked strait ahead.

 

“Talk to me,” she said.

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“Why not?”

 

He looked at her and moved away so she wasn’t touching him.  “I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”

 

“Fine.  Are you going to dinner?”

 

“Margaret, I really don’t want to talk about this.”

 

She sighed with aggravation.  “The boys and I are going to dinner.  You can stay here and pout if that’s what you want.”

 

He stared her in the eye.  “Bye.”

 

She clenched her teeth and walked out of the room.  He was acting like an ass and she couldn’t understand why.  She didn’t want to be rude and she wanted to meet the woman that Daniel found companionship in.  She and the boys would go and have a good time.  She would just have to make excuses for her husband.

 

They four of them drove to the restaurant where they met a very pretty looking older woman.  She had a smile on her face and Margaret could tell that she was a little uneasy.  She did her best to make the woman feel at ease, but the fact that Hawkeye wasn’t there wasn’t helping.  Dora wasn’t an idiot.  She knew Hawkeye wasn’t here because she was there.  She felt horrible about that because she really wanted to meet him.  Dan talked about him all the time and she had hoped that she would be able to meet the one person that Dan lived for once his wife died. 

 

Matt took quickly to Dora.  She held him most of the way through dinner.  She had some of her own grandchildren, but the youngest was four years old already.  She missed having babies around and Matt fell in love with her and the way she spoiled him.  Danny liked her too and told her all about how he and his grandfather were going to go fishing tomorrow and invited her along.  She thought he was very amusing and loved the two boys immediately. 

 

After dinner was over they went for a little walk down the street to an ice cream parlor.  Dan had promised Danny some dessert and Danny always made sure to hold him to that.  Dora sat with Matt outside at a picnic table while Margaret went in with Dan and Danny.

 

Dan looked over at Margaret as they were standing in line.  “What do you think of her?”

 

She smiled, “I just left my baby with her.  What do you think I think of her?”

 

He laughed.  “Now that says a lot coming from you.”

 

“She’s great.  I really like her a lot, Dan.”

 

“I wish Hawk would have come.  Sometimes that kid pisses me off like no one else can.”

 

“I know what you mean.  He’ll come around or I’ll kill him.”

 

It was their turn to order so they stopped talking.  They got their things and then they went outside to sit with Dora and Matt.  Danny couldn’t wait to get his hands all over that chocolate.  Margaret made him sit to side so he wouldn’t get everyone else covered too.  Matt saw his mother walk out of the ice cream parlor and smiled and flailed his arms and legs.  She smiled at him and traded him for an ice cream cone.  Then she took a seat across from Dora.

 

“Thanks for watching him for me.”

 

“Not a problem,” Dora said.  “He’s an angel.”

 

Margaret gave the baby a kiss on the cheek.  “He’s my little angel.  Aren’t you Mommy’s chubby little angel?”  Matt smiled and reached for her face.  She kissed his hands.

 

She had a small bowl of vanilla ice cream for the two of them to share.  Matt loved to eat it too and he would throw a fit if he didn’t have any.  His father was the one that had started that.  Hawkeye would feed him food that he wasn’t supposed to have and Matt was now in the habit of eating food. 

 

“I wish I could have met Hawkeye.”

 

“You will,” Margaret said.  “I’m sorry he’s not here.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Dora said with a smile.  “Its not your fault.  He’s got a mind of his own and so do you.  I know what its like to be married.”

 

“How long were you married?”

 

“Forty years, two kids, and four grandkids.”

 

“Ah,” Margaret smiled.  “Do they all live around here?”

 

“No.  I was born and raised here but my husband was in the army.  My kids grew up all over the place and they’ve both settled other states.  Dan tells me you’re an army brat too.”

 

“Yes.  I was an army nurse for years too.”

 

“Dan told me all about you.  And Hawkeye.  You sound like a very happy couple.”

 

“We are.  I am so sorry about him.  He usually doesn’t act this childish.”

 

“Stop apologizing for him.  I’m sure I’ll meet him one day.”

 

“If I have anything to do with it, you’ll meet him very soon.”  The more Margaret got to know the lady the angrier she got at Hawkeye.  She thought he was acting very rude and wanted to get to the bottom of it.  She didn’t want him and his father to be upset with each other. 

 

The sun was going down by the time that they left.  They said goodbye to Dora and then headed home.  The baby was ready to eat and go to bed and Danny was tired too.  He hadn’t had a nap and all that swimming took a lot out of him.  When they got home Margaret headed strait upstairs with the two boys.  She sat in their room and fed the baby while Danny got ready for bed and then got into his bed.  They were both fast asleep by the time that Matt was done feeding so she gave them both a kiss on the head and left the room.

 

She thought Hawkeye would have come in to say goodnight to the boys, but she didn’t see any sign of him yet.  She walked downstairs and saw Dan sitting in his chair reading the evening newspaper.  “Have you seen Hawkeye?”

 

“No, he’s probably out avoiding me.”

 

Margaret took a seat on the couch.  “I don’t understand why he’s so upset.”

 

Dan looked up from his paper.  “His issues are not with me; they’re with his mother.  You’ll have to talk to him about it.”

 

“How long do you think he’ll be gone?”

 

“There’s no telling, but I’ll bet he’s out by the cliff.  If you look out the kitchen window you should be able to see him.  The moon’s pretty bright today.”

 

“The boys are asleep, could you just listen for them incase?”

 

“Yeah.  Go talk to your husband.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Margaret walked into the kitchen and looked out the window and sure enough Dan was right.  Hawkeye was sitting way out there barely visible from the house.  Margaret sighed and walked outside.  It was quite the walk from the house to the edge of the cliff where Hawkeye was.  She didn’t want to scar him so she called his name before she got to him.  All looked at her and then looked back out at the ocean.  She knew that he saw her.

 

Hawkeye had sensed when she was standing behind him.  “Have you ever just watched the ocean?”

 

“What?”

 

“Look at it.  Its beautiful and dangerous.  I guess it’s like love.”

 

Margaret sat down next to him and placed her hand on his leg.  “Are you okay?”

 

He still didn’t look at her.  He looked straight ahead.  “How was dinner?”

 

“It was really nice.  You would like her, you know.”

 

“What if I don’t want to?”

 

“I guess that’s up to you.  You want to tell me what’s really bothering you?”

 

He turned and looked at her.  “Do you know how long my mother has been gone?”  She nodded.  “Over twenty five years.  In all that time there wasn’t a day that went by that I wished her death was a dream, but its not.  Two years after she passed away my father started to date again, but he never introduced them to me.  We never talked about it.  Not once.”

 

“Well honey, he’s getting older now and he doesn’t want to be alone forever.”

 

“I know and I don’t want him to be.  It’s hard.  I don’t want a mother.  I had the best and…”

 

“Hawkeye, she doesn’t want to be your mother.”  She put her arm around him.

 

“Do you ever hear me talk about her?”

 

“No, not too much.  Why don’t you?”

 

He looked into her eyes and she could see the dears in his eyes.  They were threatening to come pouring down.  “I was ten years old when I lost her.  Every time I think about her I’m that ten year old kid who lost his mother.  You know how it is at that age; your mother is your whole life.  Please don’t let that happen to our kids.”

 

“If its in my control, it won’t happen.  I’m sure your father never forgets about her.  He’s not trying to replace your mother.”

 

“I know.”

 

She wiped a fallen tear from his cheek.  “I know you miss your mother.  That will never change, and it won’t for your father either.  No one will forget her.”

 

“I know you’re right.  I’ve done a lot of thinking and I even talked to my mother tonight.  I’m not crazy, but sometimes I talked to her and it makes me feel better.”

 

She smiled.  “I know what you mean.”

 

“When my dad told me that he wanted us to meet that woman, I didn’t know what to do except get angry.  It was something I never had to deal with as a child.”

 

“She’s very nice if that makes you fell any better.”

 

“My problems have nothing to do with her or my father.  They’re between me and my mother.  I needed to deal with it myself.  Yeah, sure I was angry at my dad.  He waited until the last minute to tell me.  He didn’t give me a chance to get used to the idea and now that woman…”

 

“Dora, that’s her name.”

 

“Dora, probably thinks I’m an ass.”

 

Margaret smiled, “She didn’t, but I did.”

 

“I am an ass.”

 

She chuckled.  “Sometimes you act that way, but in this case I think it was because you were confused not because you were rude.”

 

“Dad mad at me?”

 

She shook her head no.  “I think he understood all along.”

 

“Yeah, he usually does.  Tell me about her.”

 

She held his hand.  “Are you sure?” He nodded.  “Okay.  She was married for forty years.  Her husband passed away four years ago.  He was a general in the army.”

 

“Anyone we know?”

 

“No.”

 

“Your father know him?”

 

Margaret thought for a second, “He might.  I’ll ask him.  Anyway,” she smiled.  “They had four children together and have seven grandchildren so far, and two on the way.”

 

“What happened to her husband?”

 

“Diabetes.”

 

“Oh.  Where is she from.”

 

Margaret was taking all his questions as a sign of interest which was very good.  “She’s from Maine but she said she hadn’t lived her since she was a girl.  She and her family always lived on bases around the world.  Once her husband retired they moved to Florida, but after he passed away she wanted to come back to Maine.  Her children live in the northeast and she wanted to be close to them and connect with her old friends.”

 

“Oh.”  She seemed normal to him and like a nice person.  “Does she have money?”

 

She smiled, “I don’t know about that.  She owns her own house and supports herself.”

 

“That’s good.”  At least she wasn’t after his father for his money.

 

“Anything else?”

 

“No.”  Hearing a little bit about her made him feel more at ease.  Dora had a life outside of his father.

 

She smiled at him and gave him a kiss.  “You’ll be okay.  She’s not looking for anything from you except to meet you.”

 

“Yeah, I know.  How serious are they?”

 

“I’d say pretty serious considering this is the first woman your father ever wanted you to meet in twenty five years.”

 

He looked into her eyes and questioned carefully, “Marriage?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Ugh,” he groaned.  “The boys are not calling her grandma!”

 

“Okay.”

 

“They have one and that’s your mother.  I’ll make sure they know all about their other grandmother, but they will not call Dora Grandma!”

 

Margaret smiled at him.  “I agree.  I’m with you on that, now calm down.  Are you ready to go back into the house?”

 

“Are they boys sleeping?”  She nodded.  “Is Dad there?”

 

“Of course.  You didn’t think I’d leave our boys alone.”

 

“Let’s take that walk on the beach.  We’ve been here two days and haven’t been alone.”

 

“Okay.”  He stood up and grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet.  He stepped off the cliff like he was going to walk down it.  “What the hell are you doing?”

 

“Going down to the beach,” he said innocently.

 

“Not that way!”

 

He looked down and thought about it.  Since he was a kid he would climb up and down it.  It probably looked pretty strange to her.  He smiled, “We’ll go down a smaller slope.”

 

“Down the rocks?  I’m wearing sandals.”

 

“Stop being such a baby,” he pulled her along and they walked back toward the house.  “You’ll be fine.  I’ll be right there to catch you if you fall.”

 

“Fine.”

 

They walked a little way hand in hand and then started to climb down.  Hawkeye went ahead of her and held her hand to help her the whole way.  She knew she could have done it alone, but it was a lot nicer to have him there ready to catch her.  When he got to the bottom he jumped off of the last boulder and opened his arms to her.  She smiled at him and fell easily into his arms.  He held her feet off the ground and kisser her.  When he put her down he sat on the boulder and started to take his shoes off.

 

“A walk on the beach is not complete unless you’re barefooted.”

 

She chucked; he was right.  She kicked off her shoes and placed them next to his on the rock.  Then she placed her right hand in his left as they walked along the waters edge.  She always loved holding his hand like that.  They were big and strong and made hers look so tiny.  At the same time his hands were soft and gentle.  She couldn’t help but think how much he was like his hands.  He was strong and protective and made her and the boys feels safe, and he was also gentle and loving.  Holding his hand always made her feel loved and safe.

 

“What are you thinking?”

 

When she heard those words they brought her out her thoughts and back to the real world.  “Nothing,” she smiled.

 

He smiled back at her, “I know you were thinking about something.”

 

“Just how much I love you.”

 

“I love you too.”

 

They walked quietly for a while enjoying each other’s company.  Margaret had never walked on the beach with him and she just realized it.  They were in the infancy of their marriage and unless they were alone and away from the boys that was hard to remember.

 

Hawkeye started to walk away from the water’s edge and to the sand dunes.  He sat down and pulled her down to sit on the sand between his legs.  She didn’t put up a fight at all and rested her head against his chest.  He played with her hand gently and she let herself relax without a care in the world. 

 

Hawkeye broke the silence, “I love this place.”

 

“Me too.  The boys do too.  They both love the outdoors.”

 

“I know they do.  I was the same way when I was kid.”

 

She smiled.  “You still are.  You’ve been outside more than you have inside since we’ve been here.”

 

“Do you want to live here?”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you want to move?”

 

She looked back at him, “Do you?”

 

“I asked you first,” he said.

 

“So.”

 

“So you answer me and then I’ll answer you.”

 

“Okay.  I want to do exactly what you want.  If you’re happy with your job and our life in the city, then so am I.  If you want to stay there, so do I.”

 

“That’s not a fair answer,” he whined.

 

“So what?”

 

He smiled at her.  “Okay.  I love my job, I love our place, and I love my life.  I love all of it except one thing.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“I don’t want our boys to grow up in the city.  I want them to be able to run around and get in all kinds of trouble like I did as a kid.  Not city trouble, because that’s different.  I want them to be able to ride their bikes and play in the woods.  They can’t do that where we live now.”

 

“You’re right, but that doesn’t mean that living in the city is wrong, its just different.”

 

“I know, but I don’t want that for them.”

 

“They’re still very young, and they’re fine and happy right where they are.  You and I need to be happy and as long as we’re happy, so are the boys.”

 

“What will make you happy?”

 

She smiled and looked back out at the ocean relaxing against him again.  “I want to go back to work this fall.  When we get home I want to start looking for a job, and look into preschool for Danny and a nursery for Matt.”

 

“What do you want to do?”

 

“Nursing.”

 

He rolled his eyes.  “I know that.  What kind of nursing do you want to do?”

 

“Well to be honest with you, full time had crossed my mind, but the more I think about it the less I want it.”

 

“You said you didn’t want that.  Why would you even think of it?”

 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to.  It had just crossed my mind.  I would have worked second shift so I could have been with the boys, but then I would have never seen you.  It wouldn’t have worked for us.  I was thinking more along the lines of something in the mornings.”

 

“How about OR?”

 

“No.  I’ll look into things when we get home.  There are always positions for nurses.”

 

“I like having my very own personal nurse at home.”

 

“Well,” she smiled.  “Your ‘personal nurse’ needs to get out of the house.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I know you know,” she looked back at him.

 

He smiled and kissed her.  “I have a position in mind for my favorite nurse.”  She smiled and turned in his arms and pushed him to the sand.  “Ah, you can read my mind.”

 

“That’s not what I was reading,” he smiled seductively.  “No one can see us out here, can they?”

 

“Not a soul,” he grinned as he rolled her onto her back.

 

*&*&*&*&*&*&

 

Hawkeye woke up at 5AM feeling like he was dying of thirst.  He rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers and made his way quietly down the stairs to the kitchen.  He saw his father standing there making a pot of coffee.  Dan spotted his son out of the corner of his eye.  “Morning.”

 

“Morning,” Hawkeye mumbled tiredly running his fingers through his hair. 

 

“You came in late last night.  I take it your wife found you.”

 

Hawkeye reached in the cabinet for a glass.  “Yeah, she did.  Thanks for staying with the boys.”

 

“Sure.  What are you doing up so early?”

 

“I came down to get some water.”  He took a tray of ice cubes out of the refrigerator.

 

“We have water upstairs.”

 

“But no glasses.”  He dropped some ice cubes in the glass.

 

“That would pose a problem.”  Dan sat down at the table and waited for his coffee.  “Margaret and the boys still sleeping?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Do you want a cup of coffee?”

 

“I want to go back to sleep, so I’ll settle for this water.”

 

“Suit yourself.”

 

Hawkeye ran some water from the faucet into his cup.  “Where are you going this morning?”

 

“I was thinking about doing a little fishing.  You wanna go?”

 

“Where ya going?”

 

“Out to the river.”

 

Hawkeye nodded.  He hadn’t been fishing for over a year, and he missed it.  “I’ll go.  We have to bring Danny though.  He’d be pissed if we went without him.”

 

Dan smiled and nodded.  “Bring Matt and Margaret if you want.”

 

“She hates fishing, and she won’t let Matt out of her sight for that long.  I don’t know how she’s gonna go back to work.”

 

Dan chuckled.  “I’m sure she’ll manage.”  He stood up and poured another cup of coffee and fixed it with cream and sugar.  “Take this and go wake my grandson up.  We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Hawkeye walked up the stairs and into his room.  He sat the coffee on the nightstand and sat on the bed for a moment.  He needed some time to wake up before he got dressed and got Danny up and moving.  He felt a pair of warm hands snake around his waist and a nice sweet kiss on his back.  “Where did you go?”

 

“For a drink.  We’re going fishing.”

 

“I’m not.”

 

He smiled and sat sideways so he could see her.  She laid her head back on the pillow and looked up at him.  “I know.  I meant us guys.”

 

“Matt’s not going either.  He’s too little; he can’t be outside all day like that.”

 

“Calm down.  Matt is staying home with you today.  My father, Danny, and I are going out to the river.”

 

“The keep a careful watch on Danny.  He knows how to swim now and he’ll jump in that water without a second thought.”

 

Smiling, he said, “Look, I know how to take care of him and Matt if he were going.  There was a time that I was a single father and had to do everything on my own.  I can assure you that Danny will be safe.”

 

“You’re right, but I just have to make sure that he’s safe.  That’s my job as his mother whether I was there for the first two years of his life or not.”

 

“Good.  We’re both doing our jobs so we should have the best children in the world.”  He gave her a kiss.  “I’m going to get Danny up.  You going back to sleep?”

 

“I’m going to try.  Would you toss me your shirt over there?”  He picked it up and handed her one of the tops to his pajamas.  He never wore them because he only like the bottoms, so Margaret would wear the tops as a nightgown most of the time.  It was easier to feed the baby in the mornings because it was a button up shirt rather than a pullover like most of hers were. 

 

Hawkeye walked into the room that both of the boys were sharing and sat down on the bed.  He shook his oldest son’s shoulder, “Danny.  Wake up.”  Danny opened his eyes sleepily.  “We’re going fishing, buddy.  Get up.”  Danny jumped out of bed at those words.  “Go pee and brush your teeth.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Hawkeye stood up and grabbed some clothes for Danny.  He looked into the crib and saw that Matt was awake.  “Uh oh, Mommy’s not gonna get anymore sleep, is she?”  Matt kicked his hands and feet.  “How long have you been awake?  You didn’t make any noise.  You must have found yourself very entertaining.”  Matt started to get fussy so Hawkeye picked him up.  “I’ll take you to your mother.”  He walked back into the bedroom with Matt in his arms.  “Margaret,” Hawkeye said lightly. 

 

“Mmm?”

 

“Somebody wants you.”

 

“Not now,” she groaned.

 

“Not me.  Matt.”

 

She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes.  Matt smiled at the sight of his mother and started to squeal happily.  “Morning baby.  Why aren’t you sleeping?  You shouldn’t be awake at this hour.  You should be sleeping.”

 

“Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen,” Hawkeye said.  He handed the baby to her.

 

“You need a new diaper.  Why didn’t Daddy take care of that for you?”

 

Hawkeye took the baby back.  “I’ll do that right now.  Then we have to leave.”

 

“Thank you.”  She closed her eyes again.

 

It was only five minutes later that Hawkeye and the two boys walked into the bedroom.  Danny jumped onto the bed and gave his mother a kiss.  “Bye Mommy.”

 

“Bye honey.  Be good and listen to your father and grandfather.”

 

“I will.”

 

Hawkeye handed Matt over to her and gave her a kiss.  “What are you going to do today?”  He reached for a pair of old jeans that were on the floor and slipped into them.

 

“We’ll find something.”

 

“Okay.  The keys to the car are on the table and remember that you don’t have lock the doors.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Hawkeye gave her another kiss once he had his shirt on.  “Let’s go buddy,” he said to Danny.

 

“Bye Mommy.  Bye Matty.”

 

“Goodbye sweetie.  Have a good time.  I love you.”

 

“Love you too,” Danny called as he left the room.  Hawkeye smiled back at his wife and then he left.

 

Margaret laid in bed and fed Matt.  She burped him and he was back to sleep, so she settled him down next to her on the bed and she closed her eyes and went back to sleep with him.  She woke up around 9AM to a very quiet house and jumped into the shower before Matt woke up.  She took a quick shower and when she went back into the room Matt was still asleep.  She started to get dressed and that’s when the baby woke up.  He rolled onto his belly and looked around for her.  When he spotted his mother he smiled brightly showing her the few teeth that he had.

 

“Hi baby boy.  Did you sleep good on Mommy’s bed? Its been a long time since we took a nap together.”  Matt smiled brightly and hit his hands on the soft bedding.  “Its just you and me today little guy.  What do you think of that?  You finally get that one on one attention that you love so much.  Yes you do!”  He smiled and tried to talk back to her the entire time she was getting dressed.

 

She ran a brush through her hair quickly and then picked up her son.  “Oh, you’re getting heavy!  That wet diaper probably has something to do with that.  Once you’re dressed we’ll get some breakfast and decide what we want to do today.  I have an idea, but you have to be in the right mood.  We could go into town and see what they have.  I’m sure we’ll meet a lot of people who know us, but we don’t know them.  Daddy and Grandpa like to talk a lot.”

 

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*

 

Matt was sitting in his highchair sucking and chewing on some plastic toys while he watched his mother in the kitchen.  It had been a quiet day with just the two of them and he was very relaxed.  He was normally high strung, but for the most part he had been very relaxed and easy going.  He didn’t have to fight for attention from his mother or share her with anyone.  After he woke up from his afternoon nap he had been content to play with his toys just so long as he could see his mother.  As soon as she would leave his site he would start screaming even if she just left the room for a second.  He wasn’t used to being alone and he didn’t like it at all.

 

Margaret was sitting at the kitchen table husking some corn when she heard the squeak of the screen door open.  Then she heard a pair of little bare feet running through the house.  “Mommy, guess what?!”  Danny said excitedly.

 

“What?”  She smiled.

 

“I got some fishes!”  He smiled.  “This many!”  He held up three fingers.

 

“Wow!  Did you have fun today?”

 

“Uh huh.  I had lots of fun.  I played in the water too and catched a frog!”

 

She smiled at his excitement.  There wasn’t anything more in the world that she liked to see.  “What else did you do?”

 

“I played in the dirt and throwed rocks.  But in the water like you told me to.”

 

“You’re such a good boy.  Where are Daddy and Grandpa?”

 

“Puttin’ the stuff away.”

 

“Ah.  Why don’t you go take a bath?  You smell like a little fish.”

 

“Well,” he paused and smelled his arm.  “How ‘bout I go in the pool?”

 

She thought about it with a smile on her face as he looked up at her hopefully with his eyes sparkling in anticipation of her answer.  She couldn’t say no to him.  “Okay.  You tell Daddy to come in and watch Matt for me and you and I will go in the pool.”

 

He took off out the backdoor and ran into his father at the bottom of the steps.  He told him what his mother said.  Hawkeye told Danny to go see his grandfather while he waited.  Hawkeye walked into the kitchen and tried to sneak up on his wife, but it didn’t work.

 

“Don’t you dare touch me,” she warned.

 

“Hey, how did you know it was me?”  He stood next to her at the table.

 

She looked up at him.  “I can smell you.  Did you have fun today?”

 

“A blast,” he leaned down to kiss her, but when he did that she moved out of the way and stood up.  “What’s the matter?”

 

“You stink.  Go shower.”

 

“Just a kiss,” he smiled.

 

“No!”

 

“Please,” he begged.  “I didn’t let the fish touch my mouth.”

 

She looked at for a moment, “Fine.”  He kissed her lightly and then harder as he pulled her body up to his.  He started to rub up and down her getting his fishy clothes all over her.  She slapped him on the chest and pulled away.  “You’re a jerk!”  He laughed.  “I’m serious!”

 

“I know you are.”  She rolled her eyes.  “Maybe I’ll jump in the pool.”

 

“Good!  Your shorts are in the laundry room.”

 

“Come swimming with me.”

 

“No.  Take Danny.  He wants to go in anyway, and I told him I would take him.”

 

“I want you to go too.  You smell like fish.”

 

“Because of you!”

 

“Come on,” he urged.  “You’re already in your suit.  Let me get in mine and we’ll go for a nice swim before dinner.”

 

“Okay.  Let me finish this.  We’ll meet you out there.”

 

“We?”

 

“Matt and I.”

 

He smiled and looked around and saw Matt sitting in his highchair.  “I didn’t even see you over there, buddy.  Did you have fun today with Mommy?  You look like you did with that big smile on your face.”

 

 He started to pick his son up, but heard, “Don’t touch him.”

 

“What?”

 

“You’re dirty and you smell.”

 

Hawkeye looked at Matt, “Sorry.  Mommy said no.”

 

“Pierce, just get out of here.  You’re making the whole house smell.”

 

“Fine.”  He gave her another kiss and then headed for the laundry room to chance.  Hawkeye walked out and Margaret sat back down at the table to finish what she had been doing.  She loved that man with all her heart, but sometimes he was such a pain in the ass. 

 

Dan walked into the kitchen not five minutes later.  Margaret looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.  “Hi, did you have a good time today?”

 

“Yeah, we did.  I talked to your husband today and we straightened some things out with Dora.”

 

“Oh, well that’s good.  How come you don’t smell as strong of fish as Hawk does?”

 

“Because I know what I’m doing.”

 

She smiled at him.  “Fish for dinner?”

 

“Yes.  I’m cooking.  You finish husking that corn and I’ll take over from there.”

 

“Wonderful!  Is Dora coming by tonight?”

 

“No, she has one of her grandchildren with her for the next couple of nights.”

 

“Really?  Have you met her family?”

 

“Most of them.”

 

“Why doesn’t she bring her grandchild along?”

 

He paused for a moment thinking about Hawkeye.  “I don’t know.”

 

“How old is the child?”

 

“Same age as Danny.  He’s staying with Dora while his parents are at the Cape for a few days.  They live over Portland.”

 

“Do you think Dora would like to come?”

 

“I know she would, but what do you think Hawk will do?  He’s such a baby when it comes to this.”

 

“He’ll be fine,” she smiled.  “What’s her grandson’s name?”

 

“Sam.”

 

“Danny and Sam can keep each other company and Hawkeye and Dora can get to know each other.”

 

Dan smiled at his daughter-in-law and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  “I’ll call her and tell her to come over.”

 

Margaret smiled, “Good.”

 

Dan look at her, puzzled.  “Why do you smell like fish?”

 

She rolled her eyes.  “Because your son is a pest, that’s why.  I’ll jump in the shower in a few minutes and then I’ll help you dinner.”

 

“Thanks honey.”  She nodded and smiled.  “Hi buddy,” he said to Matt on his way out of the room.

 

Margaret looked over at Matt and smiled at him.  “What is Daddy going to think of all of this when I tell him?  Maybe you and I should go out there now and let him know.”  Margaret picked up the baby and the two of them headed outside.

 

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