The seven-year-old shrugged, giggled, and made a comical expression.
“Just happy today?” Daniel asked, smiling.
“I was thinking about Dad losing to Lulu last night; that was funny,” the little girl remarked, giggling again at the memory of Lulu out-mastering their older father in a game of checkers. Jack had actually attempted a 'triple king' setup, making it up as he went along to try and help his cause. “Dad sure likes to make his own rules.”
“Uh, sometimes,” Daniel agreed.
“And when he lost, he lay on the floor, kicking his legs in the air,” Chenoa giggled, remembering the whole family having gathered round, laughing at Jack’s antics. “He looked like Bij and Katie when they scratch their backs.”
“Yeah, I guess he did,” Daniel chuckled. “He did throw a little ... tantrum, too,” he acknowledged, laughing as he stood across from where the child was seated. “How's your report coming? You know it's due today,” he reminded.
Chenoa smiled. She knew she'd been goofing off a little and procrastinating on doing the report, but she was eager and ready to write it now.
“Piece of cake, Daddy,” Chenoa said confidently, grinning.
Daniel chuckled. The curly-haired blonde was in such a good mood today, smiling and giggling almost non-stop.
“Need any help?”
Looking at the computer, Chenoa asked, “I don't remember which websites you said I could use.”
“Okay, let's take a look,” the archaeologist spoke, walking around the table and kneeling down beside his daughter. He called up the bookmarks he'd helped her find a few days ago. “You can go to any of these in this folder.”
“But I can't click on any of the links, right?”
“Right. Just use this. There's enough information on these pages for you to do your homework,” Daniel stated.
“Thanks, Daddy,” Chenoa replied, still smiling.
Daniel checked his watch and said, “Okay, one hour, Noa, and then it's time for your dance lesson.”
“'Kay,” the little girl acknowledged, her eyes focused on the computer even as she laughed some more.
“What's so funny now?” Daniel asked, smiling again.
“This pop-up, Daddy!” the girl exclaimed, excitedly pointing at the screen. “It says, ‘spinning around’. It reminds me of Bij and Katie in the garden yesterday. They were both chasing their tails and looked like two spinning tops. It was funny! Jonny and I tried to do it, too, but we got dizzy and fell down.”
“Yeah, they love to do that,” Daniel agreed, quickly and quietly taking the mouse and turning the pop-up blocker on, just in case something inappropriate were to pop up on screen while Chenoa was on the computer.
“Why don't Bij and Katie get dizzy?” Chenoa asked, looking up at Daniel expectantly.
“You know, I don't know. You’ll have to ask Dad; he’s the doggie expert,” Daniel replied, getting another giggle from the young girl. ~She's so giggly today,~ he observed as he walked to the door.
Chenoa interlocked her fingers together in a flexing motion, then exclaimed happily, “Okay, Mister Essay, prepare to be written!”
Daniel immediately put his hand over his mouth to stifle his own giggles and looked back for a moment, seeing Chenoa's bright smile. Quickly, he moved away, finally breaking out into laughter as he walked downstairs.
“What's so funny?” Jack asked, seeing his lover approaching.
“Noa. Gawd, it was funny.”
“Well, are you going to share?”
“Yeah, walk with me to the kitchen, and I'll tell you what happened. I need coffee.” Daniel said, still giggling.
====
A few hours later, after returning from her dance lesson with Lulu, Chenoa was again working on her report in the small library. Daniel walked in, replacing a book he'd taken out earlier. He smiled at Chenoa, who was busy listening to a retrospective on racing, and started to walk out.
As Daniel reached the door, all of a sudden, Chenoa laughed, “Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd.”
Daniel turned around and asked, “What?”
“Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd,” Chenoa giggled. “That's a funny name, Daddy. Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd.”
“Uh, right,” Daniel replied, a small smile on his face. Shaking his head, he thought, ~Who's Ricky Rudd?~
“Hey, Daddy, it rhymes with mud, too!” Chenoa called out excitedly. Seeing her father's confused expression, she explained in one very long sentence, barely pausing for breath: “It was funny, Daddy. Little Danny and Jonny were in the garden yesterday, and Little Danny was digging and said he was an arch'logist like you, and he was excavating, and Jonny said he was protecting Little Danny from the en'my, while he just played with rocks and mud, and Little Danny said he was looking for art'facts. He said he found one, but Jonny said he didn't. They were saying ‘Did', 'did not', 'did, too', 'did not'.” She took a huge, gigantic breath, then laughed excitedly, adding, “They sounded just like you and Dad.”
“I must have missed that one,” Daniel laughed as he imagined the scene. ~But just hearing that makes me tired.~ He walked over and gave Chenoa a hug, placing a kiss in her hair, too. “Love you, Noa. You keep laughing, okay, Sweetie?”
“Okay, Daddy.”
====
A little while later, Chenoa giggled as she reviewed her report thus far on the computer. As she sat, she fidgeted a bit in her chair.
Glancing covertly into the room, curious how the little girl was doing, Jack grinned as his daughter sang to her work.
“When I think about rain, I think about singing. When I think about singing ...” Chenoa sang cheerfully.
Chenoa had a good voice, though not as naturally talented as Aislinn, but then Aislinn was the premier singer of the family. Still, it was pleasant and in tune, and she sang with a happy spirit.
**Danny, do you think Noa might want to take singing lessons?** Jack asked via the couple's non-verbal communication.
**Singing lessons? Uh, probably not, but ... why?**
**She's singing at the computer,** Jack stated.
**Oh, well, ask her.**
**I don't want to interrupt her now, but maybe we should later,** Jack communicated, smiling one last time at the hardworking songstress.
“When I think about angels ...” Chenoa continued vocalizing. “I think about Daddy,” she added, changing the lyrics and giggling, knowing that her older father often called Daniel an angel.
~That was good.~ Jack peeked in, seeing Chenoa looking at him. He smiled, replying, “I couldn't agree more, Princess.” ~But I need to brush up on my covert skills; she knew I was here.~
====
A couple of hours later, Jack went upstairs and walked into his lover's den, asking, “Angel, how's it coming?”
“Just about done. I think we have a good shot at getting the job,” Daniel commented. He swung his chair around to face his Love, who was standing just inside the doorway of the den, and said, “Three weeks in China, Jack. I wonder how the children would do with that.”
“It would be a great experience,” Jack noted. “Did Noa give you her report?”
The younger man glanced at the clock on his desk and answered, “No, not yet, but she still has twenty minutes. Shall we go check on her together?”
“Yeah.”
The couple went into the library, then to their daughter's room, finding both empty. Their other children were all occupied in their rooms or the playroom downstairs.
“Maybe she's practicing her dancing,” Daniel offered as the lovers headed downstairs.
Having crossed through the kitchen, Jack and Daniel stopped in stunned silence upon seeing the recreation room. There, in front of them, was Chenoa, giggling happily at what she had created. She had taken a large case of plastic cups and spread them all over the room. The couple had bought the cups to take to a company get-together, and these were the leftovers that hadn't yet been put away.
Chenoa had lined up the cups everywhere. She'd made a cup house, a cup racetrack, a cup pyramid, and a cup castle, not to mention another big pile of cups that were in the middle of the floor. Cups were also scattered randomly over the floor, just for the fun of it.
“Noa? What are you doing?” Daniel asked curiously, once he'd regained the use of his voice.
The little girl raised her arms, palms up, and said, “Playing,” as if it was obvious.
“Uh, why are all the cups out?” the younger man asked as he approached their daughter.
“Because!” Chenoa answered, giggling again.
“Makes sense to me, Danny,” Jack said as he pushed forward into the room.
“Why ... why are all those cups in a big pile?” Daniel questioned, pointing to the cup mound in the center of the room that didn't look like anything at all to him.
“That's Cheyenne Mountain,” Chenoa informed her younger father with a giggle.
“Yeah, Danny, isn't it obvious?” Jack teased as he walked away from the younger man and sat down next to their daughter.
“What are *you* doing?” Daniel asked.
“Playing!” Jack exclaimed in the same tone Chenoa had used. Enthusiastically, he suggested, “Noa, let's build a cup bird cage.”
“Okay!” Chenoa giggled.
~He *is* my oldest child,~ Daniel lamented, sitting down on the sofa to watch the building of the cup cage. “It beats Ricky Whoever,” he mumbled, not really intending for anyone to overhear.
“Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd,” Chenoa laughed.
“You know who Ricky Rudd is?” a surprised Jack asked.
“Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd, Dad!” the young girl answered. She shrugged, saying, “He's some *really* old man with white hair.”
“That's ... informative,” Daniel laughed from the sofa.
**Danny, the guy’s only a few years younger than me.**
Daniel laughed a bit harder.
“Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd,” Chenoa giggled again.
“Ricky Ruuuuuuuudd!” Jack imitated as he tickled her.
~Yep, he's a child all right,~ Daniel thought wryly as he threw his head back against the sofa.
====
“It's more fun to get them out than to pick them up,” Chenoa admitted as she put the last of the cups back where they belonged.
“Oh, yeah,” Jack agreed, giving the little girl a pat on the back. “Now, where's your report?”
“On your desk, in the study, Dad. I finished it on time,” Chenoa answered, letting out yet another giggle.
**She's a giggle factory today, Jack.**
**Complaining?**
**No, but it's infectious,** Daniel replied, laughing out loud as they headed for the study.
====
“Okay, what do we have here?” Jack asked, sitting down in his chair.
Daniel was leaning over his husband's shoulder, reading the report. Chenoa sat on the comfortable sofa, laughing as she held a white sofa pillow to her face and tried to make pillow impressions with it. She laughed a bit harder, falling to her side on the sofa and gripping the pillow to her aching belly.
Jack and Daniel both looked over, wondering what was so funny about a pillow.
“What’s so funny now, Noa?” Jack queried.
“The pillow!” Chenoa managed to answer between giggles. In a repeat of her earlier performance, she once again explained at lightening speed, “It looked like a fluffy cloud, which reminded me of when I was with Jen, Bri, Jenny, Ash, and Lulu the other day, and we were all lying on the grass and looking at the sky and trying to see shapes in the clouds, and I saw Bij, and Lulu said she could see a bear, which she said looked like Dad, and Bri said she could see a teepee. That’s a funny word, too, isn't it?”
**Geez, she's sounding a lot like you today, Angel. She hasn't even taken a breath yet; and what does she mean -- a bear that looks like me? ** Jack questioned.
**Grizzly bear, Babe!** Daniel replied, putting his arms around his husband’s shoulders as they listened to the rest of Chenoa's tale.
“... and Ash said she could see a race car, and Jen said she could see a blanket. How can a cloud look like a blanket?” Chenoa asked, ending her story.
“Cloud cover,” Jack answered, pleased with his own quick wit.
Daniel groaned, while Chenoa gave her silver-haired father a doubtful look.
“Right!” Jack began to read the report, saying random sentences out loud, “'I love Jeff Gordon because he is a careful driver.'” He smiled, opining, “That's a good start. 'He has blue eyes and has nice dark shiny hair'.”
**Babe, calm down,** Daniel communicated having felt Jack stiffen.
**She's only seven! What is she doing noticing his eyes and hair? The man could be her father!**
**Jack, it's just a report. Read!**
The older man grumbled, reading on about the race car driver, Jeff Gordon -- 'Jeff Gordon's nicknames are Wonder Boy and Rainbow Warrior'. “Wonder Boy.”
Chenoa giggled, watching her father grimace.
**I'll take his wonder away,** the protective father groused.
**Jack, we don't even know Jeff Gordon. She's not that big of a racing fan, not like the Munchkins. She's just seen him on TV, and she thinks he's cute. Get over it.**
Jack laughed, realizing his lover was right. He tilted his head back, and Daniel leaned down for a brief kiss.
When the parents finished reading the report, they talked to Chenoa about her paper. They pointed out that she had a lot of facts about the famous driver and explained that it could be improved a little with more emotion and commentary. Then they gave her a new assignment that would be due on another date, so she could resubmit the report from a different angle.
The little tap dancer giggled her acceptance of the challenge and vowed to make her parents proud.
====
“Ready for bed?” Daniel asked Chenoa as he made his rounds that night. Looking around the room, he asked, “And where's your sister?”
“She's in the bathroom,” the little girl answered as she stood by her closet. “Daddy, I need new shoes.”
“What?” Daniel asked, walking over to stand near the girl and looking into her closet with a confused expression on his face. “Sweetie, you have eight pairs of shoes in there.”
Chenoa sighed, put her hands on her hips, and, with all the feminine attitude she could muster, responded, “They're shoes.” She stared at her clueless father for a full five seconds, tapping her foot. “I'm a girl,” she added with sparkling eyes, as if she shouldn't have to say another word. She did, however, speak again, instructing, “Do the math.”
~Gawd.~ Daniel let out a tiny snort before managing to suppress his laugh. Kneeling down, he said, “Listen, Little Miss Diva, eight pairs of shoes for a girl your age is sufficient for now. If you have a *real* need for a new pair, let Dad and me know.”
“Okay,” Chenoa said, releasing a giggle. “But I like shoes,” she added, laughing even louder. “And Jen said you can never have too many pairs of shoes.”
“We'll remember that,” Daniel chuckled. ~Thanks, Jen.~ “Into bed.”
====
“She's still laughing, Jack,” Daniel reported as he walked into their bedroom after having completed his nightly check on their children.
“Well, you know what they say, Love. A laugh a day keeps the doctor away,” Jack responded.
“That's an apple,” Daniel corrected.
“Laughter is good for the soul, and it makes me feel good to hear her laugh like that,” Jack stated, suddenly speaking seriously.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. She was just happy to be ... happy today. It was nice.”
“Speaking of nice ...” Jack said, tapping Daniel's side of the bed invitingly.
“Oh. Yeah, nice ... definitely nice,” the younger man laughed, feeling quite happy himself as he joined his lover for a 'healthy' coupling, feeding their souls and strengthening their nation of two.
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