Tell Them That You Love Them, Part One: Chris
"Hey, son! Where're you going?"
"Hi, dad! Me, and Jason, and Alex are gonna play basketball down at
the school."
"Hang up a minute, son. C'mere and give your old man a hug!"
"Aw, dad! Do I have to?"
"Oh, it'll only take a minute! C'mere!"
"But, dad! My friends! They're watching!"
"I'm sure their dad's hug them, too."
"Not anymore! We're not babies y'know!"
"I know that Chris, but . . . I really need to hold my son right now,
okay?"
*Sigh!* "I guess so."
"Don't worry, Chris, in a few years, you won't even remember this
moment."
"Sure I will. Alex and Jason'll never let me forget it!"
"Heh, heh, heh!"
"C'mon, dad! It's not funny!"
"Yes, it is, son."
"Dad . . . *gasp* . . . you're holding me . . . too. . . *gasp* . . .
tight!"
"I'm sorry, Chris. I just want you to know how much I love you."
"I already know that, dad."
"Yeah, but I just wanted to say it. I needed to say it. I need you
to know it."
"I know it, I know it, okay? Jeeze! Hey, dad, you're not going to
make me say it back, are you?"
"Heh! No, son, you don't have to say it back if you don't want to.
Course it'd be nice. A man likes to hear his kids say they love him."
"Dad?"
"Mmm?"
"Can I go now?"
"In a minute, Chris."
"You said that two minutes ago!"
"I know, but just one more minute, okay."
"Dad? Are you okay? That bandage . . ."
"Yes, Chris, I'm fine. It's just . . . I just want you to know I love
you, son, and I will always love you. You and your sister and your
mom - I love you all so much! You're my whole life!"
"Dad . . ."
"Don't ever forget that, okay, son?"
"Okay, dad."
"Okay, Chris, go have fun with your friends."
"Alright. Hey, Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you, dad."
***
TBC
~*~*~
Tell Them That You Love Them, Part Two: Jennifer
"Hey, Princess!"
"Hi, Daddy!"
"What's my favourite girl up to today?"
"Playing Barbies."
"Can I play, too?"
"Daddy! You want to play Barbies with me?"
"Sure, why not?"
"I didn't think boys liked to play Barbies."
"Well, this one does. How do you play?"
"Here, you be Ken, 'cuz you're a boy."
"Okay."
"An', I'm Barbie."
"Okay. Now what."
"I dunno. What would you like to do today, Ken?"
"Huh?"
(Daddy, Barbie just asked Ken what he wants to do today. You be Ken,
and say like, 'Let's go to the park, Barbie!')
(Oh, okay.) "Ah, well, Barbie, I was thinking, it is such a lovely
day, maybe we could go to the park?"
"Oh, that's a great idea, Ken! I love to go to the park! Hm hm hm hm
hmmmm . . ."
"Ah, Jennie, honey, what are you doing?"
"Walking Barbie to the park, daddy."
"Do you have to hum when you walk? And make her hop up and down like
that?"
"Of course! That's how ya know you're walking!"
"Oh. Makes sense, I guess. Ah, okay, here goes. Hmmm. Hmmm. Hm.""Here we are at the park, Ken. It's so pretty here!"
"Ah, yes it is, Barbie."
"Let's sit down under this big tree an' have a picnic!"(Daddy, sit
Ken down here by Barbie.)
"Okay. There. Now what?"
"Does your head hurt, daddy?"
"What? Oh, this. No, honey, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Did it hurt before?"
"Yeah, it hurt a little bit, hon."
"Did it bleed?"
"Yes, it did a little."
"Eww! That's gross!"
"Heh! Yeah, I guess it was a little gross. But, it's okay now."
"Did Uncle Johnny fix it up for you?"
"No, sweetie, Uncle Johnny was . . . ah . . . busy."
"Oh. Well, it looks like it was put on good anyways."
"Yeah, it was."
"An' it doesn't hurt or bleed or nothin' no more?"
"Nope."
"That's good. Daddy, what time is it right now? "
"Ah, it's just about 9 o'clock, sweetie."
"Yay! It's time for Miss Twinkle Show! Will you watch Miss Twinkle
Show with me today, daddy?"
"Sure, Princess. Just let me say hi to mommy first, okay."
"Okay!"
"You're the best little girl in the whole wide world, Jennie, you
know that?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Oh, really? Well, do you also know that I love you very, very much?"
"Yes, daddy, I do know that, too, and I love you very, very much,
too! Mmwah!"
"Thank you, Jennie. Now, go turn on the TV, and I'll join you in a
minute."
"Okay, daddy!"
***
TBC
~*~*~
Tell Them That You Love Them, Part Three: Joanne
"Hey, Jo!"
"Well, hey yourself, Roy! How was wor . . . Oh my God, honey, are you
okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine. It's just a little scratch."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, baby. Mmm. What smells so good?"
"It's dessert. For tonight. Chocolate fudge brownies with Cool
Whi . . . hey, get your finger out of there! Roy DeSoto, I
swear, sometimes you're as bad as the kids!"
"I just took a little from the side of the bowl! You'll never miss
it."
"Roy! What are you . . . mmm . . .hey!"
"I love you, Joanne!"
"I love you, too, Roy. Roy?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I just love you all so much. You and Jen and Chris.
I don't know what I'd do without all of you."
"Roy . . ."
"No, Jo, please . . . "
"Shhh! Let me hold you."
"I'll never forget the look on that man's face, Jo. Never. His whole
family was gone: his wife, his son, his daughter. "
"Shhh, Roy . . ."
"We tried, Jo. We really tried. But it was . . . the fire was . . .
out of control. It was too much. We tried to go in for them, but the
whole thing just collapsed on us. The whole thing just came down
right on top of us. We couldn't get to them, Jo. We tried."
"Oh, God!"
"They were . . . they were . . . just gone, Jo. Just gone. His whole
family."
"Oh, honey!"
"That's why I have to tell you I love you, Jo. That's why I had to
tell the kids. That's why I had to embarrass Chris in front of his
friends. Hell, I even played Barbies with Jen."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I did. I had to, you know? I had to do it while I had the
chance. Chris won't let me get away with hugging him like that much
longer. He and I will just be shaking hands soon . . . "
"Oh, Roy . . ."
"My little Princess won't be playing Barbies much longer. She'll be
wearing make up and hanging out with her girl friends, having crushes
on rock stars, and she won't want her old man around anymore."
"Stop it, Roy!"
"No! It's true, Jo, and you know it. The kids are growing up. Fast!
They'll be gone soon. Off having their own lives. They won't have
time for us."
"Well, that will just give us more time alone with each other!"
"Mrs. DeSoto, you have a one-track mind, you know that?"
"Mmm. Yes, Mr. DeSoto, I do! Now, get out of here while I finish
these brownies!"
***
TBC
~*~*~
Tell Them That You Love Them, Part Four: Johnny
"Hello?"
"Hey, hi, Johnny."
"Roy! Hi! How're you doing?"
"Me? I just have a little scratch on my head, junior, you were the
one unconscious for two hours yesterday!"
"Oh. Well. Yeah. I'm fine, Roy. You?"
"I'm fine, Johnny."
"Good."
"Ah, I was wondering if you needed a ride home from Rampart, or
anything."
"Oh, ah. Thanks, but no. Uh, Krissy . . . she's the nurse who did my
neural checks all last night . . . she's getting off work soon, and
she volunteered to drive me home."
"Oh, she did, did she?"
"Uh, yeah. You don't mind?"
"Why would I mind?"
"Oh, I don't know. Hey, Roy?"
"Yeah?"
"How are you, really?"
"I'm fine, Johnny. Really."
"Really?"
"Really. Why?"
"Oh, I don't know. It's just that yesterday . . . you know. It was
pretty bad, and all."
"Yeah, it was."
"And, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm okay. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But, I gotta tell you, Roy, as soon as I was able, I
picked up the phone and called my folks. You know. To tell 'em I
loved 'em."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I practically attacked my family when I
got home yesterday. I embarrassed Chris by hugging him in front of
his friends, I played Barbies with my daughter, then watched the Miss
Twinkle Show with her, and I very nearly ravished my wife in the
kitchen."
"Ah, Roy?"
"Yeah, Johnny?"
"I, uh, really didn't need to know that last part. In fact, I didn't
need to know the part about playing with Barbies an watchin' Miss
Twinkle, either."
"Heh! Sorry. Guess I got carried away, there."
"Yeah, I know."
"So, you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"And, you don't need anything?"
"Nope. I got everything I need!"
"Yeah, I bet. Well, I'll let you go, junior."
"Okay, pally!"
"Hey, ah, Johnny?"
"Yeah, Roy."
"You know I . . . well, what I wanted to say was . . . um . . . Well,
you and me, we've been working together for a while, y'know,
an . . .I just wanted you to know that. . . "
"Hey, Roy?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, yeah. I know. Me, too. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Alright! Oh, hey, Roy, Krissy's here, so I gotta run. See ya next
shift!"
"Okay. See ya then, Johnny!"
***
The End
