Part 384

Brian was the first to venture out into the living area, or so he thought. He had just finished stirring his first cup of coffee when a tiny body streaked past him, headed straight for Sarah and Howie's bedroom. Acting on pure instinct, he leapt off the sofa and grabbed Jesse, who was just inches away from bursting through the bedroom door.

"Whoa there! What have your mommy and daddy said about interrupting them in the mornings?" he grinned, holding Jesse around the middle and razzing her neck.

"Stop that, Uncle Brian!" she giggled. "Let me go!"

"Shh, not until you quiet down." Finally she stilled and he relaxed his hold on her, not completely, just a bit.

"I want to go see mommy and daddy!" she pleaded.

"Jesse, it's still really early, sweetheart. Why don't we let them sleep just a little longer, okay?"

Jesse sighed, but seemed to realize she'd been outwitted, at least for the time being. Her eyes sparkling, she asked, "Can I have some coffee?"

"No way!" Brian grinned. "You’re like this without the caffeine, I can just imagine you ON it. How about some chocolate milk? That’s not quite so bad."

"You can make me chocolate milk?"

"Can I make chocolate milk?! Squirt, I am the primo, numero uno chocolate milk maker in the entire Backstreet family." He stood tall, or tried to, puffing out his chest and looking important. He was holding his breath for effect, and as Jesse watched him, he let it all out dramatically, sounding very much like a party balloon that was deflating. As

Jesse giggled at him he crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

"You're silly," she laughed.

"And you're silly, too. It takes one to know one," he grinned. "Come on, let's go see what we can find."

Together they looked through the well-stocked fridge and found milk and chocolate syrup. Brian looked at his watch and saw that breakfast was still a long ways off, so he made her a tall glass.

"That's a LOT," she commented, her eyes wide.

"Well, squirt, you get a treat. We can't have breakfast until everyone is up, so this should hold you for a while. And this morning we have a surprise for your mommy."

"A surprise?" her eyes lit up. "What kind of surprise?"

Brian tweaked her nose. "I can't tell you, then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"I won’t tell, I promise!"

"Nope, not this time," he laughed. "Come on, let's go watch TV. I wonder what's on this time of day?" They both settled onto the sofa and Brian picked up the clicker, surfing for something kid-approved. "Hmm …. News, news, infomercial, movie …"

"Wait! Go back!" Jesse squealed.

"What, Jess?" Slowing down, he found what she was looking for. "Who’s this guy?" he asked, pretending ignorance.

Jesse sighed with delight. "That's Elmo, Uncle Brian."

"Elmo? He's funny looking."

"No, he's just different, like people are all different. He's a small monster and he still makes friends with all the big monsters and people too."

Brian smiled and gently ruffled her hair. If only things were that simple in the real world, he thought to himself. They sat together in companionable silence, enjoying Elmo's antics with Dorothy, his goldfish, and all the other Muppets. The final credits were rolling when the phone rang. Stretching out his arm, Brian answered quietly.

"Hello? Howie? No, this is Brian, who is this?" He paused to listen. "Oh. Sure thing, hang on just a sec."

*******************

Stepping out of the shower, Howie wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the bedroom to get dressed. As he pulled his jeans on, there was a faint knock at the door. Glancing over at the bed to make sure that it hadn’t woken Sarah, he moved quickly to answer it.

"Yeah," he said softly as he opened the door.

"There’s a phone call for you, ‘D’."

"Thanks, Bri. Let me grab a shirt."

Going back to get his shirt, Howie smiled as he watched Sarah sleep. She truly was an angel and he loved her beyond belief. Pulling his shirt on, he leaned to kiss her and went out to take the call.

Part 385        Index