TIME-TO-SEE-43
No sooner had the garage door slammed shut than the headlights from Jake's Bronco shown through the windows in the door behind us.
"Kev, I've got to get a few things from the backseat here, stuff left over from the exhibit at the Marriott. Will you let the guys in the front door?"
"Sure, Babe. Take your time... If you need help, just let me open the front door, and then I'll come back out here," Kevin said.
"No,no, Hon," I said. "I'll be able to take care of this stuff myself. There's nothing very heavy."
"Okay...." Kevin called out to me from the front hallway.
Kevin opened the front door and the boys came thundering in taking the steps upstairs two at a time... 'Do they EVER go ANYWERE at just walking speed?' I thought.
"Dad, did you wash my good jeans?" Jilder called out from upstairs.
"Yes, Jilder. Both of you guys have clean jeans in your closets; shirts are in the drawers... Check em out. Get clean underwear and socks too. You'll need to take a shower tonight over at Jake and Craig's," Kevin said.
"Aw! Do we HAVE TO..." Nicky called from upstairs....
"YES! You can't be pigs just because you're gonna sleep over at Jake and Craig's..." Kevin called up to them quickly, lest anybody could say they "misunderstood"... "And get your pajamas and toothbrushes too!" he said.
"Okay" echoed from both boy's rooms...
In just minutes they came tromping down with their clothes in plastic shopping bags.
Nicky said, "We don't have a suitcase, but we found these bags. They'll do OK."
"Oh, my God. I forgot about that!" Kevin said, sounding a little distressed that he'd forgotten about this detail, not recalling, I'm sure, how MANY details he DOESN'T forget! The guy is uncanny how he anticipates EVERYTHING... Maybe it's his mathematical mind.
Jilder said, "Now we can go feed the dogs... Come on Nicky. I'll feed and water two, and YOU feed and water two of em," at which point he was already half-way to the kitchen.
"Don't let them in until you've got the food dished out for all of them. Otherwise, you'll have a dog fight in the house over who get's to eat first..." Kevin called back to them.
"Okay, Dad," Nicky yelled.
By now, Kev and I were allowing the boys to set out the food and manage the dogs pretty much on their own. They were very good about avoiding unnecessary chaos.
In short order there was the scratching of toenails and paws on the kitchen ceramic tile as the dogs ran in, slipping and sliding on the slick surface, but there were only one or two barks... Not bad at all...
Craig walked into the kitchen, "Can I do anything to help?"
"Naw! We got it," Jilder said. "Down boy, down boy..."
A couple of the dogs were sniffing and jumping up on Craig... Nicky said, "He doesn't know you, Craig. He's just being friendly."
"That may be true guys," Kevin said coming back into the kitchen too. "But don't let them jump up on visitors... They need to be trained not to do that..."
"OK, Dad...," Nicky said. "DOWN BOY, DOWN!.." And he grabbed Douglas around the neck and pulled him away from Craig.
As the dogs finished eating, Jilder began letting them out in the back yard to go poop. Nicky sent the last one out when Craig finished playing with it.
Nicky turned to Hugo and said, "Now, Dad. We're finished. Can we go now?"
Jilder was lined up with Nicky, "Yeah! I'm ready to go too."
"Okay. Good Job, guys. You're free to go when Craig and Jake are ready. And listen, please, do what Craig and Jake ask you to do-- no complaints. You will be guests in their house; so their rules trump our house rules..." Hugo lectured.
"Sure, Dad. We'll do what they say... no problem," Nicky promised. Jilder was eager to be cooperative too, "Yeah! Hugo, we won't cause em any trouble, I promise."
Kevin went over to Hugo and put his arm around his shoulder, pulled his head over to his, and said with a smile, "OOh, Babe, they're takin our kids! I'm missing the boys already..."
Hugo said in a stage whisper, "Shhhh! Don't let the boys know you care that much..."
"I'll miss you too, Dad," Nicky said giving Kevin a hug....
Then he came over to me and put his head on my chest and gave me a hug too saying, "And I'll miss you too, Dad. I love you."
Jilder said, "I'll pass..."
I reached over to Jilder and swatted him on the head with my newspaper and said, "I love you too, Turkey."
Jilder laughed and lunged at me and gave me a hug that was not at all done grudgingly, "Hugo! YOU'RE a Turkey...."
Kevin checked the boy's bags, gave Jilder a hug, and certified that they were both okay to go. "Okay, Craig, Jake, don't say we didn't try to prepare you... Everybody have fun."
The tail lights on Jake's Bronco lit brightly when he stopped for the stop sign at the end of our street, then the Bronco turned right and disappeared out of sight.
When they got home, Jake said, "Okay, boys. You can sleep as late as you like in the morning. We'll eat breakfast when we're all up, and then we'll try to catch a late morning performance of Shamo, The Killer Whale over at Sea World. We can eat lunch and walk around to visit all of the exhibits after the show."
"You boys can bring your things in here," Craig indicated as he headed to the back of the house.
Jake said, "We've got two twin beds in the extra bedroom. Jilder, how about you taking the one on the right."
Then he turned to Nick and said, "Nicky, you get the one on the left."
Craig picked up there, "And both of you can hang stuff up in the closet if you want too... and use the drawers in the chest of drawers to put your things away when you like."
"OK, great. Thanks, Craig," Nicky said.
"Thank you," Jilder added.
Jake said, "You guys can come in and play monopoly with us in the T.V. Room if you feel like it. You don't have to go to bed until you're ready... We'll leave you to get settled now. Come on in to the T.V. Room when you're ready."
"Super!" Nicky said.
"I'll beat all of you," Jilder threatened.
"Oh, yeah! You wish. You don't even know how to count to 12!" Nicky teased.
"You wish, Turkey!" Jilder retorted. "I'll buy up Boardwalk and Park Place and then charge you so much rent you'll have to borrow money to stay in the game!"
"Big Talker! Big Talker! Don't listen to him, Jake. He's just bluffing. Like I said, Jilder can't count!" Nicky kept the banter going.
"I can so...." Jilder protested.
Maybe Nicky was getting to Jilder, but they'd both have to be darned good to beat Jake and Craig. They played with friends all the time; so they had lots of practice...
Three hours and two bowls of popcorn and refills on lemonade later, everyone was slowing down and getting a bit tired of their board battle of finances.
"Seeee!" Jilder bragged. "I can too count past 12! I've got more houses than you do, Nicky."
"Yeah! But I've got more cash than you do," Nicky countered.
"How do we tell who wins?" Nicky asked Jake and Craig.
Jake lays out a choice for the boys. "We can count up our cash and the value of all of our property and houses and hotels right now. The one worth the most money wins. Or...." Jake went on, "we can just leave the game where it is now, and continue it tomorrow when we get back from Sea World. We can count up the value of everything tomorrow and see who wins then... What do you guys want to do?"
And he looked from Nicky to Jilder and back again... "What do we do?" He asked again...
Craig sat back smiling and enjoying the competitive spirit of the boys playing out in their enthusiastic execution of the game. Maybe having kids around all the time would be kinda nice, Craig thought. They're really sort a like big, intelligent pets. (Humm? Maybe I'd better not make that comparison to Jake just yet, and Craig smiled even more...)
Jilder, ever the competitor said, "Let's keep the game going; so I can get some more houses, and then I'll be sure to beat you all!"
"Oh, yeahhhh!" Nicky derided Jilder. "You'll just lose em all; so yeah, let's keep goin..."
"Okay. Guys. Then we'll leave it right here. Nobody will bother it. And we'll get back to it later," Jake said.
"How about you guys going on back to your bedroom now. You can stay up as long as you like, just keep the noise down. Us old people will probably end up falling asleep before you do...Oh, yeah. And don't forget to brush your teeth after all that popcorn," Craig said.
"Okay, Craig. We'll keep it quiet," Nicky said.
Jilder asked, "Do we have to take a bath tonight?"
Jake started speaking, "Well.... (he took a long pause) I suppose it's a special night, and you're visiting; so maybe we can make an exception tonight, and you can get a shower before we go to Sea World in the morning??? That sound okay to you guys...."
"Yea!!!!!" They both cheered. "We have to follow YOUR HOUSE RULES; so NO bath tonight! Whoppie!"
The boys were giving each other high-fives and smiling and just enjoying being away from the tight supervision of their two dads... Which, of course, was why they were such great kids: realistic, vigilant parents! No pansies in THAT house... You can't afford to be pushovers or absent while raising boys.
And the boys called out, "Good night, Craig. Good night, Jake. We'll see you in the morning..."
"What'cha thinkin, Hon?" Jake inquired when the boys were out of earshot.
"Oh, Nothin really. I was just fascinated with how intense Nicky and Jilder get when they're doing things: playing Monopoly or most everything else. They really throw themselves into life with amazing interest and enthusiasm. Have you noticed, Jake? Or maybe I'm just imagining all this," Craig said.
"No, Hon. You're right on. They really are amusing," Jake replied.
The morning arrived before Jake or Craig were quite ready for it... The late night of Monopoly with the boys and all that popcorn-- yuuuuuuk!--registered with the "over-11" set...
"Uuummmm! Oh, Craig, I could sleep another two or three hours, Hon..." Jake said.
"Suuure! Jake. But YOU promised we'd take in a morning Shamo show. And I for one won't go back on that promise. So, get your ass outta bed and look cheery," Craig said as he swatted Jake on the butt through the bed covers.
"Oh! I never though I'd be the object of Domestic Abuse," Jake said playfully.
"You'll get more than a swat on the butt the next time I get to examine it more carefully, but that little love-tap will have to do for now,' Craig answered.
"Yes, Sir," Jake said after which he lunged at Craig and planted a kiss right on his lips.
"And what's for breakfast?" Jake asked...
"Oh, good grief, I didn't think about that... Maybe we can stop at Coco's?" Craig suggested. "The boys seem to do pretty well eating out there."
"Sure. It's okay with me. Whatever you think... We can eat here tonight. Maybe we can pick-up some Chinese take-out; so you won't have to do a lot of cooking?" Jake replied.
"Sure. I never considered that "being in a family way" requires more forethought than normal.
Then there was a "tap, tap, tap" on Jake's and Craig's bedroom door.
Before they could respond there was another "tap, tap, tap."
"Come on in, guys," Jake called out.
"Is it Okay to come in?" Nicky said.
"Sure." Craig answered.
Both boys were dressed neatly in their newest jeans. They had both taken a shower, brushed their hair, and put on those cool tee shirts that Kevin found for them.
"Good grief!" Jake spoke out in surprise!
"You guys put us old guys to shame. Look how you're showered, dressed, and ready to go, and we're still in bed!" Jake said again.
"Yeah! We thought we'd remind you about seein the whale show this morning. We're ready to go when you are." Nicky said.
Now Jake was feeling embarrassed that the boys were all ready to go, and he had his lazy ass in bed still. So he bound out of bed having on just a pair of boxer shorts and headed into the bathroom. "Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be ready to go," Jake called over his shoulder.
"We won't be long, boys. Maybe 15 minutes," Craig said as he joined Jake at the double sink in the bathroom to shave...
"Oh, sure," Jilder said. "We'll wait in the T.V. Room."
"Hey! But no fair touching the Monopoly game... No cheating, Guys!" Jake called out.
"Weeee won't," both boys called back together...