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Chapter or Story
Minding Debbie - by MMB
Chapter 3: Picnic
Cup of hot coffee in hand, Sydney reached out and turned on the radio of the boom box that sat on his kitchen counter in time to catch the mid-morning weather report and found himself hearing a used car commercial instead. Mentally turning down the attention to be given to the broadcast voice, he stepped over to the sliding glass door and looked out over his late autumn back yard. All the towering elders and oaks and maples in the surrounding neighborhood had pretty much lost all their leaves, and only stark, grey branches and twigs stretched up towards an ever-more-chilly sky. The grass had turned brown for the most part. Visually, at least, the day promised to be on the dismal and chilly side.
There. The weatherman's voice boomed from the counter: the weather today would be sunny and brisk, with a chance of light winds during the day, with clouds moving in by mid-afternoon and a threat of light snow by evening. Having heard all he needed, Sydney snapped the controls on the boom box back to CD player and pushed Play to start up one of his favorite Mozart discs, then reached up into the high cabinet over his refrigerator for the tall zippered case of thermos bottles he kept stored there. One ought to do for the amount of hot chocolate that would be needed. He took the one he wanted from the case and replaced the case in the high cabinet, out of the way, then removed the covering cup and threaded stopper and began running hot water into the thermos itself.
There would be only the three of them after all: Debbie, Broots and himself. The plans for the day called for him to provide drinks - hot chocolate, as per Debbie's request - and dessert for their meal. He'd bought the cookies from the bakery the evening before, so that they'd be as fresh as possible. All that was left was to make the hot chocolate and have it packed to carry across the street when the Broots' got there.
He couldn't help smiling to himself as he pulled a larger saucepan from the lower cupboards and wooden spoon from a drawer. Ever since Broots had invited him to join the him and Debbie in a Sunday picnic at the park across the street from him, he'd been anticipating that time with great delight. He'd been a bachelor his entire life, although not entirely by choice, and had no other family ties to speak of at all, as he only recently had discovered he HAD a son, much less had a chance to get to know Nicholas well. He had long since abandoned any hope of joining in a family outing at a park with a grandchild he could claim as his. And yet here he was, with the sweetest little girl calling him “Grandpa Sydney” now, preparing his offering towards a family outing at his own neighborhood park with her and her father in but an hour or so! How life could change, rapidly and unpredictably!
He turned to the refrigerator to bring out the milk, and was warmed yet again by the artwork carefully affixed to the appliance with several inconspicuous magnets. Debbie showed a great deal of artistic talent for one so young, and he had two treasures to prove it of which he was very privately and inordinately proud. He closed the fridge door and turned back to the stove to pour the liquid into the waiting pan. He turned off the running water into the thermos now that the vessel was full of steaming water, then replaced the milk and went in search of the chocolate powder, humming contentedly to himself as he worked.
~~~~~~~~
Sydney was just tightening the stopper on the thermos as his doorbell rang. He walked through the house and was reaching for the doorknob as the bell sounded again. "Grandpa!" Debbie greeted him boisterously with a dive for his middle and a tight squeeze that he immediately reciprocated fully. Beyond her, Broots stood with a large wicker basket in his hands and a pleased smile on his face.
"Hi Syd. Are we early?"
Sydney ushered them into the house so he could close the door against the slight chill of the outdoor air. "I was just finishing up with the hot chocolate. If Debbie would like to help me find some cups and get everything put in a bag, we can be off."
The girl skipped ahead of her elders toward the back of the house and the kitchen. Sydney noted with approval that she was warmly dressed, and the bulge in her pockets suggested that even a set of gloves or mittens had been brought along, just in case. "I keep the disposable cups down there, I think," he pointed to a cupboard near the floor, "but you may have to dig for them. It's been a while since I've had reason to use them, though, so the package may be kinda grungy..."
For his part, he returned to the thermos, giving the stopper one last tightening twist and then reached for the cup cover. Now fully assembled and full of a hot beverage to stave off a chilly day, the thermos was placed very carefully next to the box of cookies in a plastic grocery bag.
"These the ones?" Debbie asked from below, holding up a rather battered and dusty-looking plastic bag within which were a decent number of nested styrofoam coffee cups.
"You found them!" Sydney smiled at her and relieved her of the bag. "Wait a minute - you can put the bag back. We don't need all of these..." He removed three cups from within the dingy plastic and then handed it back down to her. Debbie promptly stowed the bag back where she'd found it and got to her feet.
"Are we ready now?" she demanded, bouncing happily on the balls of her feet.
Sydney's eyes twinkled mischievously in Broots' direction first, then he turned an impish grin on the girl in front of him. "What?! Are we going somewhere?"
"Grandpa!!" Debbie's expression of frustrated indulgence made both men chuckle.
"Oh, that's right," Sydney continued with a feigned rush of enlightenment. "Well, then, let me get my share of the goodies, and you can lead the way."
Broots stood back and shook his head. "Oh man," he muttered to himself in ill-concealed amusement. "You two deserve each other!" To Sydney, however, he directed a far more conversational "Do you honestly think you're going to be able to keep up with her, Syd?" Then he laughed out loud when the psychiatrist turned to look at him over his shoulder with a very continental shrug.
Meanwhile Debbie had relieved Sydney of the three styrofoam cups, dropped them casually into the bag with the thermos and cookies and carefully gathered the handles of the plastic grocery bag together and held it out to Sydney to take. "You carry it to the door, ma petite," the older man said with a gentle shake of the head. "I still have to get my coat and hat on."
The process was taking altogether far too long for the excited girl, but finally Sydney was encased in a comfortably warm overcoat and had his perennial beret perched jauntily back over his balding pate and they were ready to set out on their day's outing. Broots took one of the girl's hands, and Sydney quickly followed suit with capturing the other, and the three of them made their way down his walk and carefully across the quiet, residential street to the park.
"The play equipment is on the other side," Sydney said, letting go of Debbie's hand so he could point, "on the other side of the lagoon. There are some tables over there nearby. We can go there." Debbie smiled brilliantly and was off like a shot.
"I take it she's feeling more like herself?" Sydney asked her father quietly as the two men followed the little girl at a far more sedate pace.
"Oh yeah! God, thanks again, Syd, for all your help," Broots breathed gratefully. "No nightmares last night. And she went with me yesterday afternoon to talk to Mrs. Fielding - the mother of the little boy who scared her so with that snake - and you should have seen that woman's face when Deb showed her the scar on her leg."
"Not something she expected, I take it," the psychiatrist commented dryly.
"Nope. When it hit her what Deb had gone through before, and then what her kid did to her, I think it almost made her sick. I don't think I've heard a more heartfelt apology."
"Good." Sydney nodded. "I hope anything else that pops up out of her past with her mother is as easily handled."
Broots glanced over at Sydney apprehensively. "You think there will be more?"
Again came the continental shrug. "Storms, now snakes. You never know, my friend."
"Ya know, even though I know I'm getting paid to track Jarod down, I owe him for helping me get Deb away from Maggie before she did any real damage to her." Broots paused and looked across the semi-barren park to where he could see Debbie was already enjoying herself on one of the swing-sets.
Sydney smiled softly, letting his mind rest briefly on his missing protégé as he followed Broots' gaze to Debbie's flying figure. "If I know Jarod at all, knowing that you and Debbie are doing well and putting yourself a little family together will be all the thanks he'd want."
"Do you miss him a lot?" Broots asked carefully, not knowing whether any questions into Sydney's very private personal life were allowed him now. Certainly the scientist had made his reluctance to answer such questions while at work clearly understood for a very long time. But this wasn't work, and there was a new and personal bond of sorts between them as a consequence of their shared feelings for Debbie; perhaps now one or two of the niggling questions might get satisfying answers at last.
The psychiatrist nodded gently. "Veerrrrrry much," he added to his gesture.
"What about Nicholas? I thought after Jarod helped you put the pieces together about that, you'd have been back and forth to Albany all the time." Broots saw the older man glance in his direction. "I mean... if you don't mind my asking... I hope I'm not getting too personal..."
"Relax, Broots. I've been getting quite the earful about your ex-wife. Seems only fair that you get to know me a little better too - especially if you're willing to trust me with your little girl." Sydney put a friendly hand on his colleague's shoulder. "Truth be told, Nicholas had a hard time adjusting to the idea that George Stamatis wasn't his real father. Between wanting to keep the Centre as far away from Michelle and Nicholas as I can, and wanting Nicholas to be the one to set the tone for any relationship between us in the future, I have to be patient."
"Man!" Broots shook his head and looked over at Debbie again. "I don't know how you do it, Syd."
"Sure you do," the Belgian contradicted his friend gently. "You did it yourself for years, thinking you were doing the right thing by letting Debbie stay with her mother until you figured out that things were just not right there. It has to do with putting THEIR welfare and interests ahead of our own - because we love them."
"If you believe that, how can you still help Miss Parker and me track Jarod down?"
Sydney breathed in deeply and didn't answer for a long moment, and Broots wondered if he'd gone too far. Then, "My part in the effort to bring Jarod back gives me plenty of ethical paradoxes to keep me up late at night searching my soul, I assure you," he admitted with rare honesty, deciding to trust in his colleague and friend just a little. "On the one hand, being able to resume my work with Jarod is a wish I hold to this day. In so many ways, the research we were doing held the real potential to help a lot of people, it's just that the Centre tended to make more money on it using it to harm instead. The trouble is that on the other hand, I have to weigh the injustice of what it would take to bring him back where we COULD resume our work. I can't plead ignorance to the fact that Jarod was a virtual prisoner, taken against his will; or that if he were to come back, it would be as a prisoner. I can't ignore it anymore, and I won't."
The older man led his friend to a picnic table not far from where Debbie was still swinging high in the air and, putting his bag of food on the table, settled himself on a bench and watched the child play. "But what you have to understand, Broots - and what Miss Parker hasn't quite figured out yet - is that Jarod KNOWS I'm participating to one extent or another. Not only does he take that into account, but he actually COUNTS on my figuring things out within such-and-such a timeframe. So by the time I get the clues to put two and two together for Miss Parker, Jarod has already moved on two or three steps ahead of us again - or has a reason for running the risk of letting himself get close enough to be caught. Either way, for all practical purposes, I neither really help OR hinder the hunt; I merely do as both the Centre and Jarod intend for me to do in the timeframe one or the other or both intend for me to do it."
"Daddy! Grandpa!! Watch me!!"
Debbie's triumphant shout caught the men's attention, and they each watched with breath held as the girl swung herself high into the air and then launched herself flying forward to land feet-first in the soft sand some distance from the swings and then fall back on her behind. Laughing gaily, she picked herself up, dusted the sand from her bottom and trotted over to her father and new grandfather. "Did you see?"
"Practicing to be Super Woman, are you?" Sydney asked her with an indulgent smile and a welcoming hug.
"That was something, Deb," her father nodded vigorously, more than willing to wait his turn for a hug from his daughter. "Are you ready to eat?"
"Yeah!" Kneeling on the bench, Debbie opened the flaps on the wicker basket and pulled out the paper plates and began setting the table.
~~~~~~~~
"Daddy, Grandpa Sydney and I are going to feed the ducks. You gonna come?" Debbie had the bag of uneaten potato chips firmly in one hand and her grandpa in the other.
Broots shook his head indulgently. "I'll put things away here, Deb - you go have fun with Sydney." He looked up at the older man's face with an understanding expression. "Its his turn to help you feed ducks today, I get to watch from here. It'll be my turn next time." Sydney's face eased and he nodded his appreciation.
With a full tummy and yet another boisterous play session on the swings and slide behind her, Debbie was no longer bouncing quite as highly or quickly as she had. She contentedly kept her hand firmly in that of her new grandpa and settle back to amble across the brown grass toward the edge of the lagoon at a comfortable walk. Then Sydney patiently held the bag of chips for her while she scattered the crumbs slowly until she had the entire mob of ducks milling at her feet. Sydney was glad that they had come today - he was frankly surprised that the ducks hadn't already headed for warmer climes.
Finally the chip bag was depleted, and as Sydney folded the cellophane into a compact square that would fit in his overcoat pocket, Debbie bent over and searched on the shore for a flat rock. She gave an "Ah-HAH!" when she found what she was looking for and, having caught her companion's attention again, threw the rock and watched it bounce four times across the lagoon's smooth surface before sinking.
"You remembered," Sydney said contentedly as she came back to his side and slid her hand back into his.
"I remember everything about up there," she replied happily. "I love it up there."
"I haven't forgotten that I'm taking you and a friend or two up there this summer," he reminded her. "You'll have to think about just who you want to invite to go with us."
"OK," she said gently. "You know what?"
"What's that?"
"I'm really very lucky." She looked up at him with wide, blue eyes.
Sydney looked down at her with a very soft expression on his face. "How?" he asked.
"Most of the other kids who don't have grandparents don't get chances to have one after all. Even then, you don't always get to CHOOSE your grandpa." She smiled in satisfaction. "I did."
"Yes, you did," he smiled, remembering the hesitant look on her face that night she'd asked if she could pretend he was her grandfather until the end of her visit to his cabin. "Of course, you realize that this makes me just about as lucky."
The blue eyes looked up in surprise. "You?"
He bent down to look her straight across in the eye. "How many people my age get chosen, do you think?"
Her response was to throw her arms around his neck and hug him tightly. "I love you," she stated firmly, resting her head on his shoulder.
Sydney immediately wrapped his arms around the girl and straightened, then settled her slight frame comfortably on his hip. "I love you too, ma petite," he murmured with eyes closed in pure enjoyment. "You are the nicest thing that has happened to me in a long, long time."
Debbie lifted her head and gave him a soft buss to the cheek, then twisted her head as something caught her eye. "Grandpa? Isn't that Miss Parker?" Without waiting for an answer, she waved her arm vigorously over her head.
Sydney turned with the girl in his arms; and sure enough, ambling around the far edge of the lagoon with hands buried in her pockets was a warmly bundled Miss Parker. She hesitated in her pace as she recognized both the child and her perch, then waved back briefly and redirected her ambling in their direction.
"Wandering a little bit afield, aren't we, Parker?" Sydney asked gently as she approached them.
"Hi, Miss Parker," Debbie's greeting was far more carefree.
Miss Parker pulled a hand from her pocket and reached up and caressed Debbie's cheek gently. "Hi there yourself, kiddo. What have you been up to, huh?"
"Grandpa Sydney and I just fed the ducks," Debbie smiled against the gentle hand and then tightened her hold around Sydney's neck as the hand dropped away a little quicker than she'd expected.
"Grandpa?!" Miss Parker's eyebrows flew upwards, and she turned interested grey eyes on her old friend. "Am I missing something here?"
"Parker, please..." he began softly, wishing that for once she could just play along.
Debbie, however, took care of the problem her own way. "I adopted him," she announced firmly with a wide smile, "and then we adopted each other." She looked into Sydney's face. "Right?"
"Right!" Sydney agreed with a chuckle, then turned a playfully defiant expression on Miss Parker. "We adopted each other."
"What does Broots have to say about this arrangement?" she asked with lips beginning to curl in an amused smile at the very similar looks on the faces in front of her.
"I think its pretty neat that my little girl now has someone else who loves her too," Broots voice sounded from behind her. He came up from where he'd been sitting at the picnic table, observing Debbie with Sydney. "Hi, Miss Parker."
"Hey." She studied the three of them standing there, the two men clustered protectively around the little girl. "This is quite the family portrait. I must have intruded on a private outing. I should let you get back to what you were doing..."
"You can join us," Debbie piped up immediately. "You belong too."
Miss Parker stared incredulously from Broots' face to Sydney's, neither of whom were in the least bit taken aback at Debbie's suggestion. "That's..." She blinked and smiled sadly at Debbie. "That's a very sweet thought, Debbie, and I really appreciate the gesture, but..."
"Join us, Miss Parker," Broots added his voice to Debbie's. "Debbie's right. You belong too."
Miss Parker's eyes turned to Sydney, who had watched the exchange with quiet interest. "Sydney? Maybe you can explain it to them..."
"Uh-unh, Parker. I'm with them," he said with a soft shake of his head. "Join us. We're adopting you too. You belong." He smiled at her, knowing where her hesitation was coming from - she'd been standing on the outside of normal family life for far too long. "Just go with it, Parker. It won't harm you to be a part of us."
"We don't bite, honest," Debbie tried to joke with her. "We even have some hot chocolate left."
"I was just taking a walk in the park," she said in stunned bewilderment.
"Think of it as serendipity," Sydney suggested encouragingly.
Debbie peered into her Grandpa's face with obvious confusion. "Sarah Who??"
That did it. Miss Parker tried with all her might to keep from chuckling and failed miserably. First she cut loose with a giggle, then gave in to a full-throated laugh. "This isn't fair," she complained through a chuckle as she reached out a fond hand to Debbie in Sydney's arms. "You're making it awfully difficult to say no."
"Good." Broots' voice had a dry tone to it. "At least you'll listen to SOMEbody..."
"Does that make her my cousin, or an aunt?" Debbie asked with an impish grin, looking to her father and “grandpa” for an answer.
"I think “Auntie Parker” has a nice ring to it, don't you Broots?" Miss Parker glowered at Sydney, who seemed to be enjoying his own wit far too much.
It didn't help when Broots started nodding vigorously. "You're right Syd, it does have that certain..." She shifted her glower to the technician. "...Uh... Then again... maybe “Cousin Parker” will cater to the need to be young forever..." His subsequent snicker at his own contribution to the verbal parley, combined with his playful nudge of Sydney's arm, spoke volumes about how much he WASN'T intimidated by the glower that normally had him quivering.
"Alright! That's it! Either I get hot chocolate, as promised, or the adoption's off," she demanded suddenly, surrendering to the ridiculous nature of the repartee flying around her and deciding to show them what following Sydney's advice to just “go with it” meant to her. She arched an eyebrow at them. "I mean, I either get a rich family or rich chocolate..."
The men broke out in laughter, Debbie cheered and then squirmed in Sydney's arms to be let down. She grabbed Miss Parker's hand in hers and began dragging the woman in the direction of the picnic table with the wicker basket and grocery sack. "Over here," she urged, and looked over her shoulder to make sure the men were following them.
Sydney unpacked the thermos again and shook it to see if there actually was anything left. He removed the cap cover, unscrewed the stopper and poured what turned out to be about half a helping of hot chocolate into the cap and handed it over. "Had you gotten here earlier..."
"Excuses, excuses..." she said with a smile that disarmed the dry tone in her voice and took a sip. "Mmmmm... I should have come earlier, I think..."
Sydney raised his overcoat collar about his neck as a strong, cold breeze whipped through the trees. "Well, considering that I think our nice picnic weather is getting ready to abandon us here, how about we adjourn to my house." He turned to Miss Parker. "I'm sure I can be convinced to make you your fair share of the hot chocolate, if you ask nicely."
"Got any games, Syd?" Broots asked, taking up the wicker basket and putting the handles over an arm.
"I'm sure I can find something," the psychiatrist replied, repacking the thermos, sans cap, into the grocery sack.
"Can we have a fire, Grandpa?" Debbie asked, sidling in closer to her father as the wind whipped her hair around her face.
"That can be arranged as well." Sydney straightened and stepped over to Miss Parker. "What do you say?"
She handed him the cap, which she had drained. "Hot chocolate, a warm fire, and a game with good company? I haven't had a family afternoon like that for a very long time." Her voice was soft. "You'll have a hard time keeping me away."
~~~~~~~~
"I think I'd better take Debbie home," Broots said softly as he helped Sydney pack away the Scrabble game that had kept them entertained since mid-afternoon. When the psychiatrist glanced up at his young friend, Broots jerked his head in the direction of the fireplace and the leather easy chair that sat to on side of it. Following his lead, Sydney turned to look and his face softened immediately.
At the end of an afternoon of lively gaming, Sydney had brought out some homemade soup and bread and cheese for a warm and substancial evening meal for the four of them, after which they had all re-congregated in the livingroom in front of the fire for a final game. As the game ended, Miss Parker had relocated herself to the easy chair near the fire to watch her old friend restoke the flames. Debbie, her energy now fairly well spent for the day in fresh air and play and time with her favorite people, had followed, had climbed into her lap and settled down for a very quiet and private girl's chat.
Obviously both females had caved in at about the same time. Miss Parker had simply leaned her head back against the winged back of the chair, and Debbie had simply nestled down against her chest. Miss Parker's arms were gently looped around the girl, supporting her. Both were definitely dozing.
"I hate waking them," Broots continued, "but it's a school day tomorrow."
"Not to mention a work day for the three of us," Sydney nodded. "Leave this sit. I can put it away later. I'll get Debbie's coat, you see if you can pry her away from Auntie Parker." The two men snorted together in muted amusement. The playful name had caught on, much to Miss Parker's chagrin.
"I heard that," Miss Parker growled sleepily from her chair. She shifted slightly and then tightened her arms around the girl. "Debbie, c'mon now. Time to go home."
The little girl roused, blinked around her sleepily while rubbing her eyes, then gave Miss Parker a tired hug before letting her daddy draw her to her feet. Sydney held out her coat and helped her bundle up and then turned her so he could make sure all her buttons were fastened.
"Thank you for spending the day with me," Sydney told Debbie as he gave her a big hug when the bundling up was finished. "It was a lovely idea."
"And thanks for having us in later, Syd," Broots added, having shrugged into his own coat and now extending a hand to his colleague. "This has been one of the best Sundays we've had yet." Broots turned to where Miss Parker was slowly rising from her chair. "I'm glad you agreed to be adopted, Miss P.," he said with a smile.
Surprising even herself, she leaned forward and pressed her cheek against Broots'. "Thanks for the offer I just couldn't refuse," she smiled tiredly back at him, then folded her brows into a mock glower. "I just don't want to hear even a HINT of “Auntie Parker” at work tomorrow."
Broots chuckled, far more at ease with his normally touchy boss than he'd ever been before. "I think we can keep that one just between us," he agreed easily, "a family in-joke." Then with a hand at his tired daughter's back, he waved. "'Bye."
Sydney waved and then closed the door. It had gotten downright cold outside since they'd come in, and the weatherman that morning had actually had it right that there was the beginnings of a light snow fall already starting. The psychiatrist reached for Miss Parker's overcoat, handing it to her, and then for his own. "Bundle up, Parker, it's freezing out there. I'll drive you home."
"You don't have to, Syd..."
Sydney pulled himself up to his full height. "Listen to your elders."
"I think you're taking this “Grandpa” stuff altogether too far," she relented grudgingly, donning her coat obediently nonetheless as Sydney led her through the house to the kitchen and into the garage and his car.
"I didn't see you minding the “Auntie” stuff all that much when you thought we weren't paying attention," was the crisp retort as Sydney gallantly closed the car door for her after she was in.
She waited until Sydney had climbed in behind the steering wheel and was buckling himself in. "Something happened today, didn't it, Syd?" she asked softly.
"Uh-huh," he nodded, putting the key into the ignition. "We had a family outing - the first of many like it, I imagine." He looked over at her as he pushed the garage door opener to begin cranking his garage door open. "Who knows, in a few months, maybe “Auntie Parker” will be willing to help “Grandpa Sydney” host a couple of little girls up at a fishing cabin in White Cloud?"
In the dim light of the garage overhead he could see the disbelief spread across her face. "In your dreams, “Grandpa” - in your dreams!!"
Sydney nodded sagely and backed the car carefully down the drive. "We'll see, Miss Parker. We'll see."
Chapter 3: Picnic
Cup of hot coffee in hand, Sydney reached out and turned on the radio of the boom box that sat on his kitchen counter in time to catch the mid-morning weather report and found himself hearing a used car commercial instead. Mentally turning down the attention to be given to the broadcast voice, he stepped over to the sliding glass door and looked out over his late autumn back yard. All the towering elders and oaks and maples in the surrounding neighborhood had pretty much lost all their leaves, and only stark, grey branches and twigs stretched up towards an ever-more-chilly sky. The grass had turned brown for the most part. Visually, at least, the day promised to be on the dismal and chilly side.
There. The weatherman's voice boomed from the counter: the weather today would be sunny and brisk, with a chance of light winds during the day, with clouds moving in by mid-afternoon and a threat of light snow by evening. Having heard all he needed, Sydney snapped the controls on the boom box back to CD player and pushed Play to start up one of his favorite Mozart discs, then reached up into the high cabinet over his refrigerator for the tall zippered case of thermos bottles he kept stored there. One ought to do for the amount of hot chocolate that would be needed. He took the one he wanted from the case and replaced the case in the high cabinet, out of the way, then removed the covering cup and threaded stopper and began running hot water into the thermos itself.
There would be only the three of them after all: Debbie, Broots and himself. The plans for the day called for him to provide drinks - hot chocolate, as per Debbie's request - and dessert for their meal. He'd bought the cookies from the bakery the evening before, so that they'd be as fresh as possible. All that was left was to make the hot chocolate and have it packed to carry across the street when the Broots' got there.
He couldn't help smiling to himself as he pulled a larger saucepan from the lower cupboards and wooden spoon from a drawer. Ever since Broots had invited him to join the him and Debbie in a Sunday picnic at the park across the street from him, he'd been anticipating that time with great delight. He'd been a bachelor his entire life, although not entirely by choice, and had no other family ties to speak of at all, as he only recently had discovered he HAD a son, much less had a chance to get to know Nicholas well. He had long since abandoned any hope of joining in a family outing at a park with a grandchild he could claim as his. And yet here he was, with the sweetest little girl calling him “Grandpa Sydney” now, preparing his offering towards a family outing at his own neighborhood park with her and her father in but an hour or so! How life could change, rapidly and unpredictably!
He turned to the refrigerator to bring out the milk, and was warmed yet again by the artwork carefully affixed to the appliance with several inconspicuous magnets. Debbie showed a great deal of artistic talent for one so young, and he had two treasures to prove it of which he was very privately and inordinately proud. He closed the fridge door and turned back to the stove to pour the liquid into the waiting pan. He turned off the running water into the thermos now that the vessel was full of steaming water, then replaced the milk and went in search of the chocolate powder, humming contentedly to himself as he worked.
~~~~~~~~
Sydney was just tightening the stopper on the thermos as his doorbell rang. He walked through the house and was reaching for the doorknob as the bell sounded again. "Grandpa!" Debbie greeted him boisterously with a dive for his middle and a tight squeeze that he immediately reciprocated fully. Beyond her, Broots stood with a large wicker basket in his hands and a pleased smile on his face.
"Hi Syd. Are we early?"
Sydney ushered them into the house so he could close the door against the slight chill of the outdoor air. "I was just finishing up with the hot chocolate. If Debbie would like to help me find some cups and get everything put in a bag, we can be off."
The girl skipped ahead of her elders toward the back of the house and the kitchen. Sydney noted with approval that she was warmly dressed, and the bulge in her pockets suggested that even a set of gloves or mittens had been brought along, just in case. "I keep the disposable cups down there, I think," he pointed to a cupboard near the floor, "but you may have to dig for them. It's been a while since I've had reason to use them, though, so the package may be kinda grungy..."
For his part, he returned to the thermos, giving the stopper one last tightening twist and then reached for the cup cover. Now fully assembled and full of a hot beverage to stave off a chilly day, the thermos was placed very carefully next to the box of cookies in a plastic grocery bag.
"These the ones?" Debbie asked from below, holding up a rather battered and dusty-looking plastic bag within which were a decent number of nested styrofoam coffee cups.
"You found them!" Sydney smiled at her and relieved her of the bag. "Wait a minute - you can put the bag back. We don't need all of these..." He removed three cups from within the dingy plastic and then handed it back down to her. Debbie promptly stowed the bag back where she'd found it and got to her feet.
"Are we ready now?" she demanded, bouncing happily on the balls of her feet.
Sydney's eyes twinkled mischievously in Broots' direction first, then he turned an impish grin on the girl in front of him. "What?! Are we going somewhere?"
"Grandpa!!" Debbie's expression of frustrated indulgence made both men chuckle.
"Oh, that's right," Sydney continued with a feigned rush of enlightenment. "Well, then, let me get my share of the goodies, and you can lead the way."
Broots stood back and shook his head. "Oh man," he muttered to himself in ill-concealed amusement. "You two deserve each other!" To Sydney, however, he directed a far more conversational "Do you honestly think you're going to be able to keep up with her, Syd?" Then he laughed out loud when the psychiatrist turned to look at him over his shoulder with a very continental shrug.
Meanwhile Debbie had relieved Sydney of the three styrofoam cups, dropped them casually into the bag with the thermos and cookies and carefully gathered the handles of the plastic grocery bag together and held it out to Sydney to take. "You carry it to the door, ma petite," the older man said with a gentle shake of the head. "I still have to get my coat and hat on."
The process was taking altogether far too long for the excited girl, but finally Sydney was encased in a comfortably warm overcoat and had his perennial beret perched jauntily back over his balding pate and they were ready to set out on their day's outing. Broots took one of the girl's hands, and Sydney quickly followed suit with capturing the other, and the three of them made their way down his walk and carefully across the quiet, residential street to the park.
"The play equipment is on the other side," Sydney said, letting go of Debbie's hand so he could point, "on the other side of the lagoon. There are some tables over there nearby. We can go there." Debbie smiled brilliantly and was off like a shot.
"I take it she's feeling more like herself?" Sydney asked her father quietly as the two men followed the little girl at a far more sedate pace.
"Oh yeah! God, thanks again, Syd, for all your help," Broots breathed gratefully. "No nightmares last night. And she went with me yesterday afternoon to talk to Mrs. Fielding - the mother of the little boy who scared her so with that snake - and you should have seen that woman's face when Deb showed her the scar on her leg."
"Not something she expected, I take it," the psychiatrist commented dryly.
"Nope. When it hit her what Deb had gone through before, and then what her kid did to her, I think it almost made her sick. I don't think I've heard a more heartfelt apology."
"Good." Sydney nodded. "I hope anything else that pops up out of her past with her mother is as easily handled."
Broots glanced over at Sydney apprehensively. "You think there will be more?"
Again came the continental shrug. "Storms, now snakes. You never know, my friend."
"Ya know, even though I know I'm getting paid to track Jarod down, I owe him for helping me get Deb away from Maggie before she did any real damage to her." Broots paused and looked across the semi-barren park to where he could see Debbie was already enjoying herself on one of the swing-sets.
Sydney smiled softly, letting his mind rest briefly on his missing protégé as he followed Broots' gaze to Debbie's flying figure. "If I know Jarod at all, knowing that you and Debbie are doing well and putting yourself a little family together will be all the thanks he'd want."
"Do you miss him a lot?" Broots asked carefully, not knowing whether any questions into Sydney's very private personal life were allowed him now. Certainly the scientist had made his reluctance to answer such questions while at work clearly understood for a very long time. But this wasn't work, and there was a new and personal bond of sorts between them as a consequence of their shared feelings for Debbie; perhaps now one or two of the niggling questions might get satisfying answers at last.
The psychiatrist nodded gently. "Veerrrrrry much," he added to his gesture.
"What about Nicholas? I thought after Jarod helped you put the pieces together about that, you'd have been back and forth to Albany all the time." Broots saw the older man glance in his direction. "I mean... if you don't mind my asking... I hope I'm not getting too personal..."
"Relax, Broots. I've been getting quite the earful about your ex-wife. Seems only fair that you get to know me a little better too - especially if you're willing to trust me with your little girl." Sydney put a friendly hand on his colleague's shoulder. "Truth be told, Nicholas had a hard time adjusting to the idea that George Stamatis wasn't his real father. Between wanting to keep the Centre as far away from Michelle and Nicholas as I can, and wanting Nicholas to be the one to set the tone for any relationship between us in the future, I have to be patient."
"Man!" Broots shook his head and looked over at Debbie again. "I don't know how you do it, Syd."
"Sure you do," the Belgian contradicted his friend gently. "You did it yourself for years, thinking you were doing the right thing by letting Debbie stay with her mother until you figured out that things were just not right there. It has to do with putting THEIR welfare and interests ahead of our own - because we love them."
"If you believe that, how can you still help Miss Parker and me track Jarod down?"
Sydney breathed in deeply and didn't answer for a long moment, and Broots wondered if he'd gone too far. Then, "My part in the effort to bring Jarod back gives me plenty of ethical paradoxes to keep me up late at night searching my soul, I assure you," he admitted with rare honesty, deciding to trust in his colleague and friend just a little. "On the one hand, being able to resume my work with Jarod is a wish I hold to this day. In so many ways, the research we were doing held the real potential to help a lot of people, it's just that the Centre tended to make more money on it using it to harm instead. The trouble is that on the other hand, I have to weigh the injustice of what it would take to bring him back where we COULD resume our work. I can't plead ignorance to the fact that Jarod was a virtual prisoner, taken against his will; or that if he were to come back, it would be as a prisoner. I can't ignore it anymore, and I won't."
The older man led his friend to a picnic table not far from where Debbie was still swinging high in the air and, putting his bag of food on the table, settled himself on a bench and watched the child play. "But what you have to understand, Broots - and what Miss Parker hasn't quite figured out yet - is that Jarod KNOWS I'm participating to one extent or another. Not only does he take that into account, but he actually COUNTS on my figuring things out within such-and-such a timeframe. So by the time I get the clues to put two and two together for Miss Parker, Jarod has already moved on two or three steps ahead of us again - or has a reason for running the risk of letting himself get close enough to be caught. Either way, for all practical purposes, I neither really help OR hinder the hunt; I merely do as both the Centre and Jarod intend for me to do in the timeframe one or the other or both intend for me to do it."
"Daddy! Grandpa!! Watch me!!"
Debbie's triumphant shout caught the men's attention, and they each watched with breath held as the girl swung herself high into the air and then launched herself flying forward to land feet-first in the soft sand some distance from the swings and then fall back on her behind. Laughing gaily, she picked herself up, dusted the sand from her bottom and trotted over to her father and new grandfather. "Did you see?"
"Practicing to be Super Woman, are you?" Sydney asked her with an indulgent smile and a welcoming hug.
"That was something, Deb," her father nodded vigorously, more than willing to wait his turn for a hug from his daughter. "Are you ready to eat?"
"Yeah!" Kneeling on the bench, Debbie opened the flaps on the wicker basket and pulled out the paper plates and began setting the table.
~~~~~~~~
"Daddy, Grandpa Sydney and I are going to feed the ducks. You gonna come?" Debbie had the bag of uneaten potato chips firmly in one hand and her grandpa in the other.
Broots shook his head indulgently. "I'll put things away here, Deb - you go have fun with Sydney." He looked up at the older man's face with an understanding expression. "Its his turn to help you feed ducks today, I get to watch from here. It'll be my turn next time." Sydney's face eased and he nodded his appreciation.
With a full tummy and yet another boisterous play session on the swings and slide behind her, Debbie was no longer bouncing quite as highly or quickly as she had. She contentedly kept her hand firmly in that of her new grandpa and settle back to amble across the brown grass toward the edge of the lagoon at a comfortable walk. Then Sydney patiently held the bag of chips for her while she scattered the crumbs slowly until she had the entire mob of ducks milling at her feet. Sydney was glad that they had come today - he was frankly surprised that the ducks hadn't already headed for warmer climes.
Finally the chip bag was depleted, and as Sydney folded the cellophane into a compact square that would fit in his overcoat pocket, Debbie bent over and searched on the shore for a flat rock. She gave an "Ah-HAH!" when she found what she was looking for and, having caught her companion's attention again, threw the rock and watched it bounce four times across the lagoon's smooth surface before sinking.
"You remembered," Sydney said contentedly as she came back to his side and slid her hand back into his.
"I remember everything about up there," she replied happily. "I love it up there."
"I haven't forgotten that I'm taking you and a friend or two up there this summer," he reminded her. "You'll have to think about just who you want to invite to go with us."
"OK," she said gently. "You know what?"
"What's that?"
"I'm really very lucky." She looked up at him with wide, blue eyes.
Sydney looked down at her with a very soft expression on his face. "How?" he asked.
"Most of the other kids who don't have grandparents don't get chances to have one after all. Even then, you don't always get to CHOOSE your grandpa." She smiled in satisfaction. "I did."
"Yes, you did," he smiled, remembering the hesitant look on her face that night she'd asked if she could pretend he was her grandfather until the end of her visit to his cabin. "Of course, you realize that this makes me just about as lucky."
The blue eyes looked up in surprise. "You?"
He bent down to look her straight across in the eye. "How many people my age get chosen, do you think?"
Her response was to throw her arms around his neck and hug him tightly. "I love you," she stated firmly, resting her head on his shoulder.
Sydney immediately wrapped his arms around the girl and straightened, then settled her slight frame comfortably on his hip. "I love you too, ma petite," he murmured with eyes closed in pure enjoyment. "You are the nicest thing that has happened to me in a long, long time."
Debbie lifted her head and gave him a soft buss to the cheek, then twisted her head as something caught her eye. "Grandpa? Isn't that Miss Parker?" Without waiting for an answer, she waved her arm vigorously over her head.
Sydney turned with the girl in his arms; and sure enough, ambling around the far edge of the lagoon with hands buried in her pockets was a warmly bundled Miss Parker. She hesitated in her pace as she recognized both the child and her perch, then waved back briefly and redirected her ambling in their direction.
"Wandering a little bit afield, aren't we, Parker?" Sydney asked gently as she approached them.
"Hi, Miss Parker," Debbie's greeting was far more carefree.
Miss Parker pulled a hand from her pocket and reached up and caressed Debbie's cheek gently. "Hi there yourself, kiddo. What have you been up to, huh?"
"Grandpa Sydney and I just fed the ducks," Debbie smiled against the gentle hand and then tightened her hold around Sydney's neck as the hand dropped away a little quicker than she'd expected.
"Grandpa?!" Miss Parker's eyebrows flew upwards, and she turned interested grey eyes on her old friend. "Am I missing something here?"
"Parker, please..." he began softly, wishing that for once she could just play along.
Debbie, however, took care of the problem her own way. "I adopted him," she announced firmly with a wide smile, "and then we adopted each other." She looked into Sydney's face. "Right?"
"Right!" Sydney agreed with a chuckle, then turned a playfully defiant expression on Miss Parker. "We adopted each other."
"What does Broots have to say about this arrangement?" she asked with lips beginning to curl in an amused smile at the very similar looks on the faces in front of her.
"I think its pretty neat that my little girl now has someone else who loves her too," Broots voice sounded from behind her. He came up from where he'd been sitting at the picnic table, observing Debbie with Sydney. "Hi, Miss Parker."
"Hey." She studied the three of them standing there, the two men clustered protectively around the little girl. "This is quite the family portrait. I must have intruded on a private outing. I should let you get back to what you were doing..."
"You can join us," Debbie piped up immediately. "You belong too."
Miss Parker stared incredulously from Broots' face to Sydney's, neither of whom were in the least bit taken aback at Debbie's suggestion. "That's..." She blinked and smiled sadly at Debbie. "That's a very sweet thought, Debbie, and I really appreciate the gesture, but..."
"Join us, Miss Parker," Broots added his voice to Debbie's. "Debbie's right. You belong too."
Miss Parker's eyes turned to Sydney, who had watched the exchange with quiet interest. "Sydney? Maybe you can explain it to them..."
"Uh-unh, Parker. I'm with them," he said with a soft shake of his head. "Join us. We're adopting you too. You belong." He smiled at her, knowing where her hesitation was coming from - she'd been standing on the outside of normal family life for far too long. "Just go with it, Parker. It won't harm you to be a part of us."
"We don't bite, honest," Debbie tried to joke with her. "We even have some hot chocolate left."
"I was just taking a walk in the park," she said in stunned bewilderment.
"Think of it as serendipity," Sydney suggested encouragingly.
Debbie peered into her Grandpa's face with obvious confusion. "Sarah Who??"
That did it. Miss Parker tried with all her might to keep from chuckling and failed miserably. First she cut loose with a giggle, then gave in to a full-throated laugh. "This isn't fair," she complained through a chuckle as she reached out a fond hand to Debbie in Sydney's arms. "You're making it awfully difficult to say no."
"Good." Broots' voice had a dry tone to it. "At least you'll listen to SOMEbody..."
"Does that make her my cousin, or an aunt?" Debbie asked with an impish grin, looking to her father and “grandpa” for an answer.
"I think “Auntie Parker” has a nice ring to it, don't you Broots?" Miss Parker glowered at Sydney, who seemed to be enjoying his own wit far too much.
It didn't help when Broots started nodding vigorously. "You're right Syd, it does have that certain..." She shifted her glower to the technician. "...Uh... Then again... maybe “Cousin Parker” will cater to the need to be young forever..." His subsequent snicker at his own contribution to the verbal parley, combined with his playful nudge of Sydney's arm, spoke volumes about how much he WASN'T intimidated by the glower that normally had him quivering.
"Alright! That's it! Either I get hot chocolate, as promised, or the adoption's off," she demanded suddenly, surrendering to the ridiculous nature of the repartee flying around her and deciding to show them what following Sydney's advice to just “go with it” meant to her. She arched an eyebrow at them. "I mean, I either get a rich family or rich chocolate..."
The men broke out in laughter, Debbie cheered and then squirmed in Sydney's arms to be let down. She grabbed Miss Parker's hand in hers and began dragging the woman in the direction of the picnic table with the wicker basket and grocery sack. "Over here," she urged, and looked over her shoulder to make sure the men were following them.
Sydney unpacked the thermos again and shook it to see if there actually was anything left. He removed the cap cover, unscrewed the stopper and poured what turned out to be about half a helping of hot chocolate into the cap and handed it over. "Had you gotten here earlier..."
"Excuses, excuses..." she said with a smile that disarmed the dry tone in her voice and took a sip. "Mmmmm... I should have come earlier, I think..."
Sydney raised his overcoat collar about his neck as a strong, cold breeze whipped through the trees. "Well, considering that I think our nice picnic weather is getting ready to abandon us here, how about we adjourn to my house." He turned to Miss Parker. "I'm sure I can be convinced to make you your fair share of the hot chocolate, if you ask nicely."
"Got any games, Syd?" Broots asked, taking up the wicker basket and putting the handles over an arm.
"I'm sure I can find something," the psychiatrist replied, repacking the thermos, sans cap, into the grocery sack.
"Can we have a fire, Grandpa?" Debbie asked, sidling in closer to her father as the wind whipped her hair around her face.
"That can be arranged as well." Sydney straightened and stepped over to Miss Parker. "What do you say?"
She handed him the cap, which she had drained. "Hot chocolate, a warm fire, and a game with good company? I haven't had a family afternoon like that for a very long time." Her voice was soft. "You'll have a hard time keeping me away."
~~~~~~~~
"I think I'd better take Debbie home," Broots said softly as he helped Sydney pack away the Scrabble game that had kept them entertained since mid-afternoon. When the psychiatrist glanced up at his young friend, Broots jerked his head in the direction of the fireplace and the leather easy chair that sat to on side of it. Following his lead, Sydney turned to look and his face softened immediately.
At the end of an afternoon of lively gaming, Sydney had brought out some homemade soup and bread and cheese for a warm and substancial evening meal for the four of them, after which they had all re-congregated in the livingroom in front of the fire for a final game. As the game ended, Miss Parker had relocated herself to the easy chair near the fire to watch her old friend restoke the flames. Debbie, her energy now fairly well spent for the day in fresh air and play and time with her favorite people, had followed, had climbed into her lap and settled down for a very quiet and private girl's chat.
Obviously both females had caved in at about the same time. Miss Parker had simply leaned her head back against the winged back of the chair, and Debbie had simply nestled down against her chest. Miss Parker's arms were gently looped around the girl, supporting her. Both were definitely dozing.
"I hate waking them," Broots continued, "but it's a school day tomorrow."
"Not to mention a work day for the three of us," Sydney nodded. "Leave this sit. I can put it away later. I'll get Debbie's coat, you see if you can pry her away from Auntie Parker." The two men snorted together in muted amusement. The playful name had caught on, much to Miss Parker's chagrin.
"I heard that," Miss Parker growled sleepily from her chair. She shifted slightly and then tightened her arms around the girl. "Debbie, c'mon now. Time to go home."
The little girl roused, blinked around her sleepily while rubbing her eyes, then gave Miss Parker a tired hug before letting her daddy draw her to her feet. Sydney held out her coat and helped her bundle up and then turned her so he could make sure all her buttons were fastened.
"Thank you for spending the day with me," Sydney told Debbie as he gave her a big hug when the bundling up was finished. "It was a lovely idea."
"And thanks for having us in later, Syd," Broots added, having shrugged into his own coat and now extending a hand to his colleague. "This has been one of the best Sundays we've had yet." Broots turned to where Miss Parker was slowly rising from her chair. "I'm glad you agreed to be adopted, Miss P.," he said with a smile.
Surprising even herself, she leaned forward and pressed her cheek against Broots'. "Thanks for the offer I just couldn't refuse," she smiled tiredly back at him, then folded her brows into a mock glower. "I just don't want to hear even a HINT of “Auntie Parker” at work tomorrow."
Broots chuckled, far more at ease with his normally touchy boss than he'd ever been before. "I think we can keep that one just between us," he agreed easily, "a family in-joke." Then with a hand at his tired daughter's back, he waved. "'Bye."
Sydney waved and then closed the door. It had gotten downright cold outside since they'd come in, and the weatherman that morning had actually had it right that there was the beginnings of a light snow fall already starting. The psychiatrist reached for Miss Parker's overcoat, handing it to her, and then for his own. "Bundle up, Parker, it's freezing out there. I'll drive you home."
"You don't have to, Syd..."
Sydney pulled himself up to his full height. "Listen to your elders."
"I think you're taking this “Grandpa” stuff altogether too far," she relented grudgingly, donning her coat obediently nonetheless as Sydney led her through the house to the kitchen and into the garage and his car.
"I didn't see you minding the “Auntie” stuff all that much when you thought we weren't paying attention," was the crisp retort as Sydney gallantly closed the car door for her after she was in.
She waited until Sydney had climbed in behind the steering wheel and was buckling himself in. "Something happened today, didn't it, Syd?" she asked softly.
"Uh-huh," he nodded, putting the key into the ignition. "We had a family outing - the first of many like it, I imagine." He looked over at her as he pushed the garage door opener to begin cranking his garage door open. "Who knows, in a few months, maybe “Auntie Parker” will be willing to help “Grandpa Sydney” host a couple of little girls up at a fishing cabin in White Cloud?"
In the dim light of the garage overhead he could see the disbelief spread across her face. "In your dreams, “Grandpa” - in your dreams!!"
Sydney nodded sagely and backed the car carefully down the drive. "We'll see, Miss Parker. We'll see."
