Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter Thirteen



   This was one of those completely informal occasions, done the way my
family had done it as far back as I could remember.  There was a stack of
bowls by the stove, the big cast iron pot of gumbo was barely simmering,
and there was the requisite pot of rice next to it.  People served
themselves and went to sit at the dining room table.

   That was how evenings with family were supposed to be, food, laughter,
conversation.

   Elise started with Terri.  "Baby, you've grown so much since last time
we saw you."

   "Thank you, Aunt Elise," she said.

   "Did you an' Tina decorate that tree?"

   "Uh-huh.  Yes, ma'am.  I love it.  Don't you?" she smiled.

   "It's very pretty.  Tina, I know that's you an' Terri.  Your husband has
NO sense of style.  Not when it comes to that stuff, anyway."

   "My skills lie elsewhere.  I have two beautiful females in my life to
help me with my aesthetic shortcomings."

   "And it's a good thing," Elise laughed.  "I've watched what he wears. 
Scary!"

   "Did he tell you what we got married in?" Tina giggled?

   "No, what?" Elise asked.

   "Work clothes.  He had a knit shirt with a pocket, cargo pants like
these, THESE exact shoes."

   "Don't leave out the rest of the story, baby," I said.  "You were
wearing that blue and gold rugby shirt that I like, and jeans, and, uh,
these shoes."

   She slid over and kissed my cheek.  "But it still counts, doesn't it?"

   "Yes it does, princess.  And Tennessee won't put me in jail, either."

   "Yeah, about that," Joe asked.

   "I honestly didn't know.  I mean, me and Tina, we were going to get
married when she could sign for herself, and..."

   Tina raised her hand.  "Mister Joe, you need to realize that we'd
already exchanged marriage vows.  It was just a formality."

   "Uh, yeah, so we were rockin' along, and then a friend of ours who's a
lawyer broke the news.  He thought she was my wife.  We acted like that
when we met him and his wife at a concert.  So that was that mad flight
from Tennessee, so we could get the judge who'd given me guardianship to
fix the paperwork.  And he married us."

   "I never got the whole story," Joe said.  "I wasn't prying..."

   "Oh, no, Mister Joe," she said.  "It's okay.  We're kinda like a fairy
tale, happy ending an' all." She stroked Terri's sleek blonde tresses. 
"Complete with our own princess."

   The next day was pretty, one of those clear, crisp winter days.  Terri
and Tina were cooking breakfast.  Terri came running to me.

   "Daddy!  I want Tina to take me flyin'."

   "Can I go with you?" I asked.

   "Of course," she said.

   "Okay, then if Tina wants to take you, we'll go." I smiled and held my
arms to receive my daughter.  She was a giggly feather in them.

   "Thanks, Daddy!" she called over her shoulder, "Tina!  He said yes!"

   That pretty much defined part of our day.  After breakfast, we dressed
for the chilly air and drove out to the airport.  I went into the office
and arranged payment for fuel while Tina taxied the plane to the pump.

   "She's licensed?" the manager asked.

   "Yep!  Seventeen.  Been flying for what, like three or four months. 
Just got her private a week and a half ago." I patted Terri.  This is my
daughter, Terri.  That's Tina out there.  We've been married for a month
now.  We're taking Terri flying.  First time for her in this little plane."

   "Have fun, Miss Terri," he said.

   We went out to the plane and I handed the fuel nozzle up to Tina as she
stepped on a little ladder to reach the wing tanks.  Refueled, we pushed
the plane clear of the pumps.  I buckled Terri in the rear seat and showed
her how the intercom headphones worked so she could carry on a
conversation. Tina climbed in the left seat.  I got in the right.

   "Am I ever going to get to fly the left seat again?" I asked, laughing.
"I created a monster."

   She turned her head, the headphones doing something whimsically alluring
to her hair.  "Uh-huh.  And I'm YOUR monster!" She taxied us to the end of
the runway, completed the checklist, and we were off.

   "Are you okay, Terri?" Tina asked.  I looked back at Terri.  Her nose
was stuck against the window, looking at the ground below.

   "It's like, magical, Tina!"

   "I'll take that as a 'yes'," I said.

   I directed Tina's route, carrying us over the fields of south Louisiana,
over wintering flocks of geese numbering in the tens of thousands, over
marshlands tawny in their winter phase, down to the coastline and then
looped back, heading home.  After landing, we pulled up to the pumps and
topped the tanks off.  Terri sat patiently in her seat.

   When we pulled up on the flightline, I exited and unbuckled Terri,
lifting her out of the door to the ground.  Her grin was a mile wide.  She
ran around to the other side of the plane where Tina was tying down the
left wing.

   "Dad had his arms folded the WHOLE time!  You REALLY did fly!" Terri
squealed.

   "I told you I could, didn't I, baby?" Tina returned.  "You dad did that
for me!"

   "Dad's pretty cool, huh?" Terri said.

   "Yeah, he really is," said Tina.  "We're luck y to have 'im."

   "An' he's lucky to have us, huh?" Terri said.  "That's what makes us a
real family."

   We got back in the car and headed to the house.  "What about lunch," I
said.

   "Grilled cheese sandwiches," Tina suggested.

   "Uh-huh," confirmed Terri.  "You must've had Dad's grilled cheese
sandwiches."

   "Uh-huh, we live in his little trailer in Tennessee.  And I've eaten his
grilled cheese.  And maybe we can make some soup?"

   "Chicken noodle?" Terri squeaked.  It didn't take much to impress a
seven year old, and grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of canned chicken
noodle soup was more than enough.

   The remainder of the Christmas vacation followed in much the same vein.
Tina made my two weeks with Terri a much bigger pleasure than previous
sessions where it was me and a seven year old, and two days after Christmas
I actually regretted seeing her depart on the flight back to her mother. 
It was a bit of nasty winter weather, and that was enough to delay me and
Tina from flying back to Tennessee.

   "No sense in pressing our luck, baby," I'd told her.  "My instrument
rating is old and I don't want to have to go that way."

   "I can't imagine it myself," she said.  "And Mister Charlie says that
this isn't the plane to go busting fronts with."

   "Charlie's a retired air force transport pilot.  He knows," I said.  "So
I guess we'll just have to spend a night or two down here with the house to
ourselves, big shower an' all."

   "Oh, I fear I am sooo abused," she tittered.

   My cellphone rang.  Elise.  "Hi, Elise," I said.

   "Well, did you get 'er on the plane?" Elise asked.

   "Yes, and I was crying an' she was crying and Tina was crying and hell,
the flight attendant was sniffling too," I said.  "She really fits in with
me and Tina."

   "I was worried," Elise said.  "Daddy's little girl and all that.  So
when are ya'll comin' over?  I got plenty for dinner."

   I turned to Tina.  "Elise has food, baby."

   "Imagine that," Tina laughed.  "Let's go."

   "We'll be there in a little while," I said.

   "See ya then," Elise said.  Click.

   "Elise was worried about you an' Daddy's Little Girl," I said.

   "Me too, honestly.  But it was actually a lot of fun.  She's a good kid.
A little exuberant at times, but a good kid."

   "I'm glad it went so well," I said.

   "Yeah.  Maybe we can do something special with 'er this summer."

   "Let's think about that some," I said.

   She held my hand as we drove back, ending up in Elise's driveway.  We
walked in.  I sniffed the air.  I looked at Elise.  "Sausage, steak and
gravy?" I asked.

   "Just like Momma used to make," she said.  "Joe'll be here in a few
minutes and we'll eat." I was sitting on the sofa with Tina on my left and
niece Haley was on my right and other niece Deb was between her and the arm
of the sofa.

   Haley was the gutsy one.  "So Tina, my Uncle's a little OLD, don't'cha
think?"

   Elise's face dropped and she started to say something, but Tina jumped
right in.  "Oh, yeah... Old.  Smart.  Stable.  Funny." She paused.  "An' if
you're thinkin' about..." she left the word unsaid.  "Don't.  gosh... Any
better and I'd DIE!"

   Elise said, "HALEY!  I can't believe you..."

   "It's okay, Elise," Tina said.  "If I was in her shoes, I'd have
questions too." She turned to Haley.  "We have a perfectly normal life,
Haley, except that we live in that little trailer.  He goes to work.  I go
to school.  When we get home, we either cook or go out to eat.  On weekends
we have places to go and friends to go with.  Just like everybody else. 
Except I'm seventeen and he's a little older."

   "Mom," Haley said, "She makes it sound normal."

   "It IS normal," Tina said.  "We're partners.  Friends.  Like a marriage
is supposed to be.  It's about love and friendship." Tina drew a breath. 
"Everybody wants to think about the sex, but it's not about sex.  Sex is
easy to find.  Try looking for love and friendship and appreciation between
two people.  We're lucky!"

   Elise said, "I should be taping this.  Joe needs to hear it for damned
sure!"

   "Oh, yeah, Mom," Deb interjected.  "Like you an' Dad have a horrible
marriage..."

   "Your dad is a beast, I tell you," Elise laughed.  And that's where Joe
walked in.  He knocked, actually, and Elise let him in, and when he entered
the living room, we all looked at him and laughed.

   "What?!?!  Do I have toilet paper stuck to my butt?" He asked.

   "No, dad," Deb said.  "Mom was just tellin' us how horrible it was being
married to you."

   "Was not, baby," Elise said.  "Your elder daughter was nosing into Alan
an' Tina's private business and Tina gave 'er both barrels.  You should've
heard it.  And when I SAID you should've heard it, YOUR daughters gave me
crap about how horrible you treat us."

   Haley giggled.  "Dad, you KNOW how we are about you an' Mom.  I was
curious about Tina an' Uncle Alan.  They look different, is all."

   It was my turn.  "Believe me, ya'll, Tina and I talked about this before
we came down here.  I know some folks can't handle it."

   "But we CAN handle it, Uncle Alan.  I was just curious..." Haley said.

   Joe looked at her, "So you just popped up and asked in general
conversation?  You got your momma's sense of tact."

   Elise huffed.

   "I would've asked her in private, but I never got a chance," Haley said.
"Tina, I wasn't tryin' to be nosy.  I'm sorry if it came out like that."

   "I didn't think it was tooo nosy, Haley.  It was a good question,
really. Mister Joe, she wanted to know how things work between Alan an'
me."

   Joe looked at his daughter.  "I thought your mom gave you that whole
'Tab A - Slot B' speech."

   "Daaaa-aadddd!" Haley whined, "That's not what I was wondering about.  I
mean, like music.  You an' Mom are stuck in the Eighties..."

   Tina jumped in.  "Oh, Haley, that's the easy part for us.  We're
hopelessly lost two or three centuries ago."

   Deb caught the inference.  "You mean he's still on that classical music
thing?"

   "And I discovered it on Day One, before we even started thinking about
an 'us'.  What are the chances?" Tina smiled.

   "Pretty slim," Deb admitted.  "Although I do like some of it.  Just not
a steady diet."

   "Bottom line is, Haley, we KNOW each other.  We don't have to escape or
take a break or whatever."

   "And that's a good thing in a thirty-something foot trailer," I
injected.

   "Yeah," Tina said.  "Like that!" And she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

   "Yeah, but like I said before," Joe said, "before you get any ideas,
Alan's got a job an' Tina's got a plan that doesn't involve magic like
winnin' the lottery."

   "Are we gonna talk or are we going to eat the meal that's sittin' on the
stove?" Elise asked.

   "Put me down as voting for eating," I said.

   The food was good.  Elise managed to replicate the dish we'd grown up
on, and I said so.  The conversation continued.

   "I'm sorry about my nosy daughters," Elise said.

   "Oh, don't think anything of it.  It's not the first time I've been
asked.  I go to high school, you know, and everybody there knows I'm
married now."

   "Yeah, how's that working," Deb asked.

   Tina finished chewing a forkfull.  "The best ones were like this...  But
you don't have any idea how many times I've been asked if I was pregnant.
And how many times I just smiled and walked off, because I knew somebody
wanted lurid details or a chance to go off on me about my morality."

   I'd heard all this before.  Sometimes it was related to me with giggles
and laughter, a few times sadly.

   "One of the teachers wanted to know if I needed to go to a shelter for
troubled girls and victims of domestic violence." Tina smiled.  "It was so
hard for me not to laugh when she said that.  But I just told her that I
was very happy and wasn't being beaten or exploited..." she looked at me.

   "Much," I said, getting giggles.

   "See," Tina said.  "Exploited!"

   "I got the same thing," I said, "except some of 'em weren't very subtle
at all."

   "Yeah, I can imagine," Joe said.  "Guys on a construction site?  Not
exactly noted for sensitivity."

   "Uh-huh.  And sometimes all I do is smile... But I have HER picture on
my desk.  And Terri.  And the few of them that have actually MET Tina, they
stopped asking questions." I smiled at her.  "She doesn't fit that whole
'teen bimbo' mold very well."

   Tina giggled.  "An' I offered to bleach my hair and wear a push-up bra
an' a mini-skirt to the Christmas party..."

   "You're bad," Haley said, giggling.

   "Nope," I said.  "I think she's pretty much perfect as she is."

   Tina's nose crinkled with her grin.  "Yep!  That's pretty much us!"

   Elise said, "Just wait, babe!  The 'new' will wear off."

   "Maybe so," Tina retorted, "But it's darned good right now."

   "Gets better every day," I added.  "Seeing her with Terri, that was a
revelation.  Like they connected."

   "Terri's a good kid," Tina added.  "We had fun!  I held her up to put
the star on the Christmas tree and Alan took the picture.  Ya'll saw it..."

   "Yeah," Elise said.  "It's cute!  Of course, her momma's gonna die..."

   "Her mom's crazy," I said.  "She bounces from one extreme to the
other... I think the lady has issues."

   "Yeah," Tina said.  "She almost went off the deep end when we wanted to
keep Terri an extra couple of days.  Alan...uh...  we were going to pay the
fee to get the ticket changed and everything."

   "Sweetie," I told Tina, "Don't sweat it.  Terri knows what went on.  She
asked her mom and her mom acted like we put her up to it.  Terri knows
better."

   "Still," she said, "I feel bad for Terri..."

   "That's a battle for another day, little one," I said.  "When her mom
left with her, I was not exactly in a stable place in my life.  And right
now we're in a travel trailer in Tennessee..."

   "Won't always be that way," Tina stated.

   "No it won't, baby doll,' I said.

   Elise looked back and for the between the two of us.  "Ya'll are
thinkin' about Terri living with ya'll?"

   "It's been discussed," Tina admitted.  "When Alan finishes this project
and I get out of high school, we're talking about moving back here so I can
go to college.  And that'll be more stable.  Real house an' all..."

   Joe checked in.  "Hah!  That's a battle you can't win, Alan.  I know
guys who've tried to get custody of kids, and you could have film of mommy
dearest givin' blow-jobs for a dollar apiece on a street corner downtown at
noon, and the judge'd still give 'er custody."

   "JOE!" Elise blurted.  "Your LANGUAGE!"

   "Daaa-aadddd!" Deb squealed.

   "It's true," he said.  "Dads get a bad break in the courts."

   "Yeah, but if Mommy Dearest agreed..." I said.

   Elise spoke, "This is the same person that wouldn't agree to let her
daughter spend two extra days..."

   "And I'm thinking that she's going nuts.  You never know..." I said. 
"Her mom called me..."

   "And..." Elise prodded.

   "We'll just leave it at that for now," I said.

   "If it happens, I get a little sister an' a stepdaughter all at once,"
Tina smiled.  "Not what I expected.  Just a possibility of a pleasant
surprise."

   "Wow!" Haley said.  "Havin' Terri full-time won't cramp ya'lls
marriage?"

   "Oh, come on, Haley," Tina said.  "People HAVE kids.  Your mom an' dad
survived havin' you an' Deb..."

   "And YOU didn't sleep a whole night until you were three," Elise tossed
in.

   "Yeah," Joe laughed.  "We could've been world travellers..."

   Deb spoke up, "But instead you ended up with two spectacularly beautiful
daughters..."

   "For which I am truly blessed," Joe said.  "Now, if you'll take your
Uncle Alan and Aunt Tina's model for your weddings, I would be much
appreciative."

   "Mom, d'you have the video of Princess Di's wedding?  I wanna look at
some ideas..." Deb giggled.

   "Owwww!" Joe feigned pain.

   We finally got up to leave.  "We're gonna look at the weather tomorrow,"
I said.  "If it's good, we may fly out."

   "If you don't, we'll get together tomorrow evening, then," Elise said.
"Either way, I'll empty out your fridge for you..."

   "Okay," Tina said.  "We had a good evening.  Thanks for dinner!"

   "Oh, hon, thank YOU for draggin' him over here," Elise said.

   We were on the road for the ride to the house, Tina's hand holding mine
on the console of the car.

   She was giggling.

   "What?!?!" I said.

   "I just enjoy sitting there with that bunch.  The conversation.  It just
jumps around."

   "I'm glad you like 'em, baby," I said.  "I thought you'd decide they're
insane."

   The weather was clearing when we woke up in the morning and we both
looked at the forecast maps.  I had an opinion.  I wanted to hear hers. 
"What'd'ya think, Miss Pilot?"

   "We're going northeast.  Looks like we'll parallel the back of the
frontal weather.  Our destination shows medium level overcast, but the
visibility is good, and the ceiling will probably raise by the time we get
there.  I say we go for it."

   "You don't see a risk?" I asked.

   "No... Am I missing something?"

   "Not that I can see," I admitted.  Her thoughts mirrored mine.  "Let's
see if Elise can get us out of here."

   Two hours later, two hours that gave the cold front additional time to
move off to the southeast, and we were taxiing to the departure end of the
runway.  With Tina in the left seat.  The trip back north was a little
slower as we flew into headwinds the whole way, but we were lining up for
landing before dusk.  The setting sun was a spectacular view from our
altitude.

   That put us driving into the trailer park in the dark on New Year's Eve,
our trip punctuated by fireworks from celebrating families all along our
route.

   We unloaded bags into our little nest and turned the heat up from a
"keep things from freezing" forty degrees to a more comfortable sixty-two.

   "Ya know, guy," she said, throwing arms around my neck, "it's New year's
Eve an' Grandma used to say whatever you were doing on New Year's Eve at
midnight, you'd do for the rest of the year..." And she kissed me.

   "Am I to understand that you wish to stay up until midnight?"

   "Uh-huh.  Old movies.  Hot chocolate.  Me.  You.  US at midnight, and
then we can start the New Year off in each other's arms.

   "I can't think of a better way," she said, her blue eyes sparkling.

   We got up in the beginning of a new year the next morning, me looking at
the tousled auburn hair next to me in bed.  I got up and hit the toilet and
was headed back to bed when she stood.

   "You think we could find us a breakfast somewhere, baby?" she asked.

   "After you kiss me, anything is possible," I said.  I got my kiss. 
Fifteen minutes later we were walking out into the crisp winter air,
shivering in the front seat of the truck until the heater kicked in, and
soon we were nursing steamy mugs of coffee, waiting on breakfast to show
up. Afterward, back in the truck, I turned in a different direction than
the park.

   "Where're we going?" she asked.

   "To satisfy the old folks, cutie," I said.

   "Huh?"

   "I don't know about YOUR grandma, but MY grandma said you had to eat
cabbage and blackeyed peas for prosperity in the New Year."

   "Uh, I wasn't gonna say anything, but you're right.  Wal-mart's open."

   "That's where we're heading," I replied.  "No sense crossin' tradition,
you know..."

   "I just wonder what I did LAST year to end up like this," she giggled.
"Somethin' with Chee-tos, no doubt..." My baby liked her Chee-tos.

   "Ooooo-kay, then," I chuckled, "Cabbage, black-eyed peas, and Chee-tos."

   And that was Saturday.  New Year's Day.  With the sun out, the afternoon
was pretty, although a little on the brisk side, but we donned coats and
walked a couple of circuits around the park in the mid-afternoon sun,
meeting a few of the other denizens, stopping on the leeward side of
trailers to chat.

   Back in the trailer, we called Elise to exchange New Year greetings.

   "Ya'll did your blackeyed peas an' cabbage," she asked.



   "Yep," Tina said.  "Your brother makes horrible noises, though..." She
giggled.



   "Oh, yeah, and you, like, whistle little happy tunes and smell like rose
petals on a summer day," I countered.

   Elise laughed at the two of us.  "Ya'll are beginning to SOUND married,"
she tittered.

   "Well, I'm familiar with him eating beans and rice, but this is beyond
the limit, Elise."

   I said, "That's why you do it on New Year's Day.  Makes the rest of the
year SMELL better, at least..."

   After a few more minutes of banter, we hung up and pulled out computers
to check email.  Seeing nothing earth-shattering there, the computers were
turned off and we searched for something to occupy a little time.  TV had
nothing, but iPods did, and we settled in for a little music while we
played cards before retiring for a happy coupling and then restful sleep.

   Sunday morning marked an official 'lazy day': breakfast at a restaurant,
sandwiches for lunch and a drive around the countryside for the afternoon.
Dinner was a mid-scale restaurant an hour away from home.  Home was a walk,
then early showers and a head-to-head battle of Trivial Pursuit.

   "We'll never get anyone to play against us again," I laughed.

   "I notice they NEVER cut you any slack," she giggled.

   "Yeah, and my cutie-pie wife is a sleeper." I had to work to beat her.

   We crawled into bed before nine-thirty, curled up in each other's arms.

   "You know," she said, "I'm not a person to dread school, but I don't
remember ever wishing tomorrow wasn't the end of vacation like I do now."

   "I'm like that about work.  I've enjoyed our time together, sweetie. 
It's gonna be hard getting back in the groove after these two weeks."

   She rolled atop me.  "Just maybe we should have a really GOOD one
tonight to help us sleep, huh?" She tilted her head as if to listen for my
answer, her auburn hair swinging, eyes aglitter.

   "They're always good ones with you, little one," I answered, drawing her
down to me for kissing.