Family Picnic
“Brock, come on. We don’t want to be late,” Andrea called upstairs.
“But I can’t find my Frisbee,” Brock called from his bedroom. “She said she wanted to play with it.”
“Well, I’ll help you look,” Jesse said, just stepping in from packing the car.
“Is the cooler in the trunk?” Andrea asked.
“Yeah the basket is too.”
“Found it!” Brock called, rushing down the stairs. “It was behind the toy box.”
“Alright, so that’s everything?” Jesse asked, looking at each of them. “Good. Let’s go.”
***
Mike had spread out a thick blue quilt under a large oak tree. They were close enough to see the playground but far enough away to not go deaf from the happy shrieks of children. Mike waited patiently, reading a book and occasionally watching the parking lot for Jesse or Andrea’s car. Kaylee was several feet above him, keeping look out from the strongest branch on the tree.
“PopPop, I see them!” Kaylee said.
Sure enough, Jesse’s red Tercel pulled into a parking space not far away. Brock was the first out of the car, and rushing towards them.
Mike removed his reading glasses, shut his book and stood up.
“Hey, Little Guy,” Mike said, scooping the eight-year old up. “Have you gotten taller?”
Brock chuckled and shook his head.
“No PopPop,” he said, still chuckling.
Mike had just seen him a week ago, when he came over his Mom’s house for dinner.
“No?” Mike said curiously. “It must be the shoes.”
“Hi Brock!” Kaylee called down.
Brock looked up with saucer-sized eyes.
“Whoa! How’d you get that high up?!”
“I just knew the right branches. Come on, I’ll show you.”
“Or,” Andrea said, approaching with a grin and a picnic basket. “You could both come down here, and eat your favorite sandwiches.”
“You have tuna?” Kaylee asked.
“We sure do,” Jesse said.
Kaylee immediately began scaling down the tree, dropping down the last foot and landing gracefully on the soles of her sneakers.
“Hi Uncle Jesse, Aunt Andrea,” Kaylee greeted.
“It’s good to see you, Kaylee,” Andrea said, setting out the paper plates. “How’s your mother?”
“She’s fine. She said she’s sorry she couldn’t make it.”
Andrea and Mike exchanged a knowing look, then Andrea said, “It’s alright, we know how busy she must be.”
“Yeah,” Kaylee said, looking for her tuna sandwich.
“I can help with that,” Jesse said, looking through the basket. “Okay, so we have tuna for Kaylee, ham and cheddar cheese for Brock, salami with pimento cheese on rye for Mike, and turkey and cheese on white for me and Andrea.”
He set the sandwiches out as he named them.
“If you want to try something different or new, go ahead. There’s plenty to go around,” Andrea said brightly.
“Well, not bad,” Mike said, having taken the first bite of his sandwich.
“It’s probably not as good as yours,” Jesse said, talking about the stake-out sandwiches Mike used to make.
“Oh, but Kid, it’s close enough.”
“PopPop,” Kaylee said. “Why do you call Uncle Jesse a Kid?”
“Yeah,” Brock chimed in. “He’s not a kid.”
“He is to me,” Mike said with a grin. “When you get to be my age, everyone’s a kid.”
“You’re not that old,” Kaylee said with a giggle.
“When I was a kid,” Mike said. “there weren’t any computers.”
Brock and Kaylee exchanged shocked looks. Andrea and Jesse laughed.
“Honey, can you pass me a juicebox?” Jesse asked.
“Jesse, those are for the kids,” Andrea teased.
“Didn’t we just have this conversation?” Mike asked with a grin.
They all broke out into laughs again, and Andrea went ahead and started passing out juiceboxes to everyone. She pulled the chips and dip out too, along with the potato salad and other side dishes. The sandwiches were the main meal though, and just about everyone finished two before Brock and Kaylee stood up to go play.
“I’m sooo full,” Brock mumbled.
“Don’t go on the tire swing,” Jesse warned with a smile.
“Or the regular one,” Mike added, directing that at Kaylee. “Give it a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Kaylee said. “Want to play with the Frisbee?”
“Yeah!” Brock said, scooping the Frisbee from the toy bag Jesse had brought for him.
“Don’t go too far!” Jesse called after them as they ran off.
“They’ll be fine,” Andrea said, rubbing Jesse’s shoulder. “And I thought I was overprotective.”
Mike smiled at them.
“So how’s it going?” Jesse asked.
“Oh you know,” Mike said. “television, eating out, going to the park, the usual. Retirement has been really…uneventful.”
“You just have to get used to it,” Jesse said with a soft smile. “I felt that way for a while too.”
“Yeah, but Kid, you’ve got the beautiful young woman to keep you company.”
“Oh, Mike,” Andrea said, turning away bashfully.
“And there’s an eight-year-old living in your house,” Mike said. “There’s probably never a dull moment for you.”
“Well, doesn’t Kaylee visit more now?” Andrea asked.
“She does, and that’s nice for me. But it’s still twice a week. That’s a whole five days of me learning to entertain myself.”
Andrea and Jesse exchanged a look. Andrea nodded.
“Hey, Mike…this isn’t the first time you’ve brought this up so…we were thinking…maybe you shouldn’t be living there all by yourself.”
“I’m not moving to a nursing home. My daughter-in-law’s already suggesting it. I can take care of myself.”
“No, we don’t mean a nursing home,” Andrea said. “We were thinking that maybe…you’d like to stay with us?”
Mike was surprised but not scandalized. He looked at Jesse who looked nervous.
“Kid?”
“I’d like you there,” Jesse admitted.
“And I wouldn’t be in the way?”
“We’ve got SO much room there,” Andrea said. “There’s three bedrooms we’re not even using right now.”
“Don’t you want to save that for the other kids?”
Jesse and Andrea both blushed.
“W-well, I don’t think we’d have that many,” Andrea stammered.
“Yeah, I mean, yeah…” Jesse mumbled.
“So what do you think?” Andrea asked.
Jesse looked up at Mike, biting his lip.
“I don’t see why not,” Mike said, smiling at him. “I’m not selling my house though.”
Jesse crawled over the quilt and hugged Mike.
“Welcome to the family,” Andrea said enthusiastically.
***
Brock and Kaylee were playing with the Frisbee in the open grass. He was having some trouble sending the Frisbee in Kaylee’s direction. It usually either turned and rolled on its side along the ground or flew in the opposite direction. Brock retrieved it for the sixth time and walked over to Kaylee, looking at his feet.
“Sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Kaylee said. “You know the worst Frisbee thrower I’ve ever seen hit this one girl in the face and she lost a tooth.”
“Really?” Brock asked, eyes stretched wide.
“Yep…he’s lucky she got a whole dollar from the tooth fairy, or he would have been in real trouble.”
“Whoa,” Brock said, not feeling so bad now.
“Did anyone ever teach you how to throw?”
“Yeah, but it was a long time ago.”
“I can show you,” Kaylee said, taking his hand. She molded his fingers around the edge of the disk and curved his arm towards his body. “Okay, now tilt this side so it’s even.”
“Okay,” Brock said, doing so.
“We’re aiming for that spot…right between those two little trees, okay?”
“You think I could make that?” Brock asked shyly.
“You can, trust me. Now on the can’t of three, throw it okay? One, Two, Three.”
Brock flung the Frisbee fast and was surprised to see it go straight and far.
“It’s gonna make it!” Kaylee said excitedly. “It’s gonna make it!”
The bright red Frisbee shot right between the trees and landed a little further beyond them.
“YEAH!” Brock shouted, raising his hands into the air. “We did it!”
“High five!”
They slapped their palms together, grinning.
“So, are you ready go on the swings?”
“I think so…I gotta go get my Frisbee first though.”
“Oh, don’t worry I’ll get it. You went to get it a bunch of times. I’ll see you at the swings,” Kaylee said, running over to get the Frisbee.
***
The sky turned a bright orange before any of them were ready to go home. Mike, Andrea, and Jesse had spent most of their time talking about their plans for the future and watching the children play. Brock had learned how to properly throw a Frisbee and climb a tree. Kaylee had broken a personal record in swinging height. They had also managed to fit a game of tag and hide-and-seek in on the playground with some other kids. They returned to the quilt tired, thirsty, and in need of baths.
“I think it’s time to go home.”
“Ahh, Mom, can’t they stay with us?”
“Well, now that you mention it,” Andrea said. “We do have some news for you.”
“Your PopPop will be living at our house for a while.”
Kaylee turned to her PopPop.
“You’re staying with them?”
“Yes, but I’ll still see you a lot, Kaylee.”
“Yeah but, why can’t you stay with me and Mommy?”
“Ahhh, Junebug,” Mike said, hugging Kaylee. “You know your Mom wouldn’t be happy about that.”
“Why’s she so mad at you?”
“PopPop did some not so nice things a long time ago, Kaylee. Your Mom has her reasons.”
Kaylee was still pouting.
“I won’t go if you don’t want me to.”
Kaylee looked from her PopPop to Brock, and then at Uncle Jesse and Aunt Andrea. Spending time with all of them these past few months had been really fun. Aunt Andrea was really nice to her and made really tasty snacks. Uncle Jesse was funny and reminded her of PopPop. And Brock…Brock was just a shy little kid. Kaylee could tell he needed help with a lot of things.
“I guess,” Kaylee said to Brock. “If you need him more…you can borrow him. Just remember to share, okay?”
“I will,” Brock said with a smile. “Thanks Kaylee.”
“Come on, Kaylee,” Mike said. “I’ll drive you home. And Kid? I’ve got some packing to do, but I should be there in a day or two.”
“Okay, we’ll see you soon, Mike.”
“Later PopPop,” Brock said softly, staring up at him.
Mike knelt down and gave him and hug.
“See you soon.”
“But I can’t find my Frisbee,” Brock called from his bedroom. “She said she wanted to play with it.”
“Well, I’ll help you look,” Jesse said, just stepping in from packing the car.
“Is the cooler in the trunk?” Andrea asked.
“Yeah the basket is too.”
“Found it!” Brock called, rushing down the stairs. “It was behind the toy box.”
“Alright, so that’s everything?” Jesse asked, looking at each of them. “Good. Let’s go.”
***
Mike had spread out a thick blue quilt under a large oak tree. They were close enough to see the playground but far enough away to not go deaf from the happy shrieks of children. Mike waited patiently, reading a book and occasionally watching the parking lot for Jesse or Andrea’s car. Kaylee was several feet above him, keeping look out from the strongest branch on the tree.
“PopPop, I see them!” Kaylee said.
Sure enough, Jesse’s red Tercel pulled into a parking space not far away. Brock was the first out of the car, and rushing towards them.
Mike removed his reading glasses, shut his book and stood up.
“Hey, Little Guy,” Mike said, scooping the eight-year old up. “Have you gotten taller?”
Brock chuckled and shook his head.
“No PopPop,” he said, still chuckling.
Mike had just seen him a week ago, when he came over his Mom’s house for dinner.
“No?” Mike said curiously. “It must be the shoes.”
“Hi Brock!” Kaylee called down.
Brock looked up with saucer-sized eyes.
“Whoa! How’d you get that high up?!”
“I just knew the right branches. Come on, I’ll show you.”
“Or,” Andrea said, approaching with a grin and a picnic basket. “You could both come down here, and eat your favorite sandwiches.”
“You have tuna?” Kaylee asked.
“We sure do,” Jesse said.
Kaylee immediately began scaling down the tree, dropping down the last foot and landing gracefully on the soles of her sneakers.
“Hi Uncle Jesse, Aunt Andrea,” Kaylee greeted.
“It’s good to see you, Kaylee,” Andrea said, setting out the paper plates. “How’s your mother?”
“She’s fine. She said she’s sorry she couldn’t make it.”
Andrea and Mike exchanged a knowing look, then Andrea said, “It’s alright, we know how busy she must be.”
“Yeah,” Kaylee said, looking for her tuna sandwich.
“I can help with that,” Jesse said, looking through the basket. “Okay, so we have tuna for Kaylee, ham and cheddar cheese for Brock, salami with pimento cheese on rye for Mike, and turkey and cheese on white for me and Andrea.”
He set the sandwiches out as he named them.
“If you want to try something different or new, go ahead. There’s plenty to go around,” Andrea said brightly.
“Well, not bad,” Mike said, having taken the first bite of his sandwich.
“It’s probably not as good as yours,” Jesse said, talking about the stake-out sandwiches Mike used to make.
“Oh, but Kid, it’s close enough.”
“PopPop,” Kaylee said. “Why do you call Uncle Jesse a Kid?”
“Yeah,” Brock chimed in. “He’s not a kid.”
“He is to me,” Mike said with a grin. “When you get to be my age, everyone’s a kid.”
“You’re not that old,” Kaylee said with a giggle.
“When I was a kid,” Mike said. “there weren’t any computers.”
Brock and Kaylee exchanged shocked looks. Andrea and Jesse laughed.
“Honey, can you pass me a juicebox?” Jesse asked.
“Jesse, those are for the kids,” Andrea teased.
“Didn’t we just have this conversation?” Mike asked with a grin.
They all broke out into laughs again, and Andrea went ahead and started passing out juiceboxes to everyone. She pulled the chips and dip out too, along with the potato salad and other side dishes. The sandwiches were the main meal though, and just about everyone finished two before Brock and Kaylee stood up to go play.
“I’m sooo full,” Brock mumbled.
“Don’t go on the tire swing,” Jesse warned with a smile.
“Or the regular one,” Mike added, directing that at Kaylee. “Give it a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Kaylee said. “Want to play with the Frisbee?”
“Yeah!” Brock said, scooping the Frisbee from the toy bag Jesse had brought for him.
“Don’t go too far!” Jesse called after them as they ran off.
“They’ll be fine,” Andrea said, rubbing Jesse’s shoulder. “And I thought I was overprotective.”
Mike smiled at them.
“So how’s it going?” Jesse asked.
“Oh you know,” Mike said. “television, eating out, going to the park, the usual. Retirement has been really…uneventful.”
“You just have to get used to it,” Jesse said with a soft smile. “I felt that way for a while too.”
“Yeah, but Kid, you’ve got the beautiful young woman to keep you company.”
“Oh, Mike,” Andrea said, turning away bashfully.
“And there’s an eight-year-old living in your house,” Mike said. “There’s probably never a dull moment for you.”
“Well, doesn’t Kaylee visit more now?” Andrea asked.
“She does, and that’s nice for me. But it’s still twice a week. That’s a whole five days of me learning to entertain myself.”
Andrea and Jesse exchanged a look. Andrea nodded.
“Hey, Mike…this isn’t the first time you’ve brought this up so…we were thinking…maybe you shouldn’t be living there all by yourself.”
“I’m not moving to a nursing home. My daughter-in-law’s already suggesting it. I can take care of myself.”
“No, we don’t mean a nursing home,” Andrea said. “We were thinking that maybe…you’d like to stay with us?”
Mike was surprised but not scandalized. He looked at Jesse who looked nervous.
“Kid?”
“I’d like you there,” Jesse admitted.
“And I wouldn’t be in the way?”
“We’ve got SO much room there,” Andrea said. “There’s three bedrooms we’re not even using right now.”
“Don’t you want to save that for the other kids?”
Jesse and Andrea both blushed.
“W-well, I don’t think we’d have that many,” Andrea stammered.
“Yeah, I mean, yeah…” Jesse mumbled.
“So what do you think?” Andrea asked.
Jesse looked up at Mike, biting his lip.
“I don’t see why not,” Mike said, smiling at him. “I’m not selling my house though.”
Jesse crawled over the quilt and hugged Mike.
“Welcome to the family,” Andrea said enthusiastically.
***
Brock and Kaylee were playing with the Frisbee in the open grass. He was having some trouble sending the Frisbee in Kaylee’s direction. It usually either turned and rolled on its side along the ground or flew in the opposite direction. Brock retrieved it for the sixth time and walked over to Kaylee, looking at his feet.
“Sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Kaylee said. “You know the worst Frisbee thrower I’ve ever seen hit this one girl in the face and she lost a tooth.”
“Really?” Brock asked, eyes stretched wide.
“Yep…he’s lucky she got a whole dollar from the tooth fairy, or he would have been in real trouble.”
“Whoa,” Brock said, not feeling so bad now.
“Did anyone ever teach you how to throw?”
“Yeah, but it was a long time ago.”
“I can show you,” Kaylee said, taking his hand. She molded his fingers around the edge of the disk and curved his arm towards his body. “Okay, now tilt this side so it’s even.”
“Okay,” Brock said, doing so.
“We’re aiming for that spot…right between those two little trees, okay?”
“You think I could make that?” Brock asked shyly.
“You can, trust me. Now on the can’t of three, throw it okay? One, Two, Three.”
Brock flung the Frisbee fast and was surprised to see it go straight and far.
“It’s gonna make it!” Kaylee said excitedly. “It’s gonna make it!”
The bright red Frisbee shot right between the trees and landed a little further beyond them.
“YEAH!” Brock shouted, raising his hands into the air. “We did it!”
“High five!”
They slapped their palms together, grinning.
“So, are you ready go on the swings?”
“I think so…I gotta go get my Frisbee first though.”
“Oh, don’t worry I’ll get it. You went to get it a bunch of times. I’ll see you at the swings,” Kaylee said, running over to get the Frisbee.
***
The sky turned a bright orange before any of them were ready to go home. Mike, Andrea, and Jesse had spent most of their time talking about their plans for the future and watching the children play. Brock had learned how to properly throw a Frisbee and climb a tree. Kaylee had broken a personal record in swinging height. They had also managed to fit a game of tag and hide-and-seek in on the playground with some other kids. They returned to the quilt tired, thirsty, and in need of baths.
“I think it’s time to go home.”
“Ahh, Mom, can’t they stay with us?”
“Well, now that you mention it,” Andrea said. “We do have some news for you.”
“Your PopPop will be living at our house for a while.”
Kaylee turned to her PopPop.
“You’re staying with them?”
“Yes, but I’ll still see you a lot, Kaylee.”
“Yeah but, why can’t you stay with me and Mommy?”
“Ahhh, Junebug,” Mike said, hugging Kaylee. “You know your Mom wouldn’t be happy about that.”
“Why’s she so mad at you?”
“PopPop did some not so nice things a long time ago, Kaylee. Your Mom has her reasons.”
Kaylee was still pouting.
“I won’t go if you don’t want me to.”
Kaylee looked from her PopPop to Brock, and then at Uncle Jesse and Aunt Andrea. Spending time with all of them these past few months had been really fun. Aunt Andrea was really nice to her and made really tasty snacks. Uncle Jesse was funny and reminded her of PopPop. And Brock…Brock was just a shy little kid. Kaylee could tell he needed help with a lot of things.
“I guess,” Kaylee said to Brock. “If you need him more…you can borrow him. Just remember to share, okay?”
“I will,” Brock said with a smile. “Thanks Kaylee.”
“Come on, Kaylee,” Mike said. “I’ll drive you home. And Kid? I’ve got some packing to do, but I should be there in a day or two.”
“Okay, we’ll see you soon, Mike.”
“Later PopPop,” Brock said softly, staring up at him.
Mike knelt down and gave him and hug.
“See you soon.”