Chapter 29

"Did you miss us?" By the time they make it back it is in the afternoon of Monday on the fourth of June.

"Very much!" says Sarah from Christopher's loving arms.

"How's Nana?"

"She's tired a lot."

"Well, tomorrow is the baseball game. Maybe it will cheer her up. Then Wednesday the three of us will go to the ocean. We saw a cute short and top outfit where we went, and Cathy just had to get it for you."

"Really?"

"I hope it fits," says Cathy, handing her the bag.

"Thank you."

"We have to unpack, but we'll come back over in a little while and all of us will go to dinner."

"Okay," says sweet little Sarah, hugging both of them again.

Again Nan is too tired to join them for dinner. "Maybe I shouldn't go tomorrow."

"No, Nana, you got to go see your beloved Red Sox."

"Yes, Nan, you are going. Don't worry, you will be comfortable. It is an early game, so we are going to want to leave here by eight in the morning. Make sure Karen is already here by then." Christopher is trying hard to have Karen feel a part of them.

It may be an odd thing for a warrior to enjoy buying pretty things for his girls, but he doesn't just enjoy it, it brings him all kinds of levels of contentment. Not just because he loves to see his girls pretty and happy, but because it is an intimacy shared by very few men with their girls. It is wonderful.

"Sarah."

"Hmm."

"We got one more gift for you."

"You did! What is it?"

"Come on." He takes her by the hand and all three of them go up into his bedroom.

It is another pristine white cotton dress, and not only that, but Cathy has the exact same one. Without even thinking about it, Sarah drops her other dress right there on the floor. "It's beautiful."

Cathy and Christopher smile at each other, and Cathy shrugs her shoulders and drops the dress she has on. They put on their exact same dresses and they look like goddesses. The feelings that are radiating from Christopher's heart are overpowering and wonderful.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Now Cathy and Sarah look at each other with smiles.

When they come down stairs Christopher is armed and dangerous with his camera. He proceeds to take about a dozen pictures. Then he decides Sarah needs a brushing. Again she sits between his legs and he brushes her hair. Cathy picks up the camera and takes a dozen pictures.

"You going to brush my hair, too?" Christopher pats between his legs and Cathy comes over and sits down. This time Sarah picks up the camera and takes some pictures. "You are very gentle with this."

"Isn't he? I love it when he brushes my hair."

Christopher steals the camera back from them and takes another four memory sticks full of pictures. The last ones are of Sarah and Cathy spinning in unison, and as their dresses flare out Christopher is sure he has found Heaven on Earth.

Christopher couldn't take his glowingly beautiful girls to just anywhere looking so pretty, so he takes them to the finest restaurant in Hartford. Of course they are offended that someone would think they could just walk in off the street without a reservation made a month before, but one of the servers recognizes Christopher as a successful writer, and the manager then recognizes him from a newspaper clipping that talked about him coming to the rescue of that woman and boy. It puts a momentary frown on Christopher's face, but he doesn't let that get in the way of him showing his girls a wonderful time.

Eventually all things must come to an end, and the evening of the girls being absolutely pampered and spoiled draws to a close. "Sarah, be up and ready by six fifteen, that way we can all have a huge pancake breakfast before we take off."

"Six fifteen! It's summer time."

"Oh, that's okay, then, I'll eat your pancakes."

"No, no, no, I'll get up. I'll get up," she says, bouncing up and down in a half prayer fashion.

"That's not nice." smiles Cathy.

"This girl loves her pancakes."

"Can me and Cathy wear our new dresses tomorrow, too?"

Christopher looks to Cathy and she smiles and nods. "Sure, it doesn't look like we got them dirty, so they should be good to go."

"Thank you," says Sarah, basically bounding over to Cathy in a single hop and hugging her.

"Goodnight, babygirl." Sarah once again is wearing her divine smile.

Sarah walks into her house and Cathy and Christopher go back to his house.

With Christopher in his brown and cream pajamas and Cathy wearing one of his Harley shirts, they again cuddle on the couch while sipping on their beers and watching a movie.

This time Christopher doesn't fall asleep, and when he turns the TV off and extricates himself from Cathy's grasp he stands up and holds out his hand to her. When she stands up and looks in his eyes she sees a glint there that makes her smile shyly, and she gets closer to him and grabs on with both hands. The night is a loving one.

The morning is a special one, because when the alarm wakes them up at five Cathy is in his strong arms. They take their time stretching and yawning awake. Not caring about the dreaded morning breath, they kiss and cuddle as they linger in this special moment for just another second longer.

"It's going to be a long day," says Christopher. Cathy nods her agreement as she is resting her pretty head on his chest.

They start getting dressed, and by the time it is six Christopher decides he will be the one to wake Sarah up. He goes over and Nan has already been up for a bit. Christopher quietly goes up the steps and peeks in Sarah's room. She is still asleep. She is under her covers with only her head sticking out. Her face is facing towards him. The light from the hallway is creating an angelic glow. Christopher stands there for a minute admiring one of the true great creations of the universe, and tears come to his eyes again. He is not ashamed or embarrassed of them, because if you could look at something or someone so pretty and special and not be moved by it there is something wrong with you.

Christopher walks into her room and gently sits down on the bed. Sarah stirs and blinks her eyes open as she looks up at him and smiles. Christopher is just one hundred percent sure that every time Sarah, Katie or Cathy smile at him he has another year added to his life. "Good morning, princess," says Christopher, bending down and kissing her ear and cheek.

Sarah squirms a little from the pleasure, and with a big stretch and smile she says, "Good morning, Christopher. Is it six fifteen already?"

"Actually it is only six. I wanted the honor of waking you."

Sarah moans, stretches again and then kicks off her covers. She is wearing one of his Harley shirts. "What are you smiling at?"

"Cathy wore one of my Harley shirts last night, too."