* Chapter 38 *

"Let’s go to the park," I suggested to Stets while he was eating his Spaghettio’s on the floor in front of the TV/stereo. "You wanna go to the park?"

"Yeah!" he yelled out happily.

"Ok! Finish eating your lunch," I instructed from my position on the couch.

I watched him as he excitedly ate his soup and finished off his drink. ‘Roly Poly Oly’ was playing on the TV and he was watching it avidly while I got up and searched the rooms on the main level for his two coveted ‘blankies’. When ‘Oly’ was over I wrapped him up in his blankies and gathered him in my arms. I carried him up the stairs to his tiny room and tucked him in.

"We’ll go to the park when you get up from your nap," I whispered to him before I kissed his cheek.

"Ok," he replied.

After I turned the mobile on above his bed (he can’t get to sleep without it going), I walked to the door and smiled at him as I watched him from the doorway.

"Love you!"

"Wuv you too Wiz," he replied.

I smiled to myself as I shut his door and proceeded down the stairs to find something relaxing to do while he was sleeping. After I fixed myself something to eat, I went back up the stairs to my sister and brother-in-law’s room ‘cause I decided I’d get online and check out how things were going with the station’s site and to check my e~mail. I logged onto one of the many messenger programs that I had and went about my other business, not really paying attention to the messenger until someone IMed me.

blueeyediver: Hi.
elsabeth99: Hi...do I know you?
blueeyediver: Yes.
elsabeth99: I do?
blueeyediver: Yes even though you don’t realize it.
elsabeth99: Oh.
blueeyediver: You should know me...I’m on your computer.
elsabeth99: You’re what?
blueeyediver: I’m on your computer in your apartment... :o)
elsabeth99: Funny Nick...
blueeyediver: Oh no! You blew my cover... ;)
elsabeth99: Funny...*sighs*
elsabeth99: You’re still at my place?
blueeyediver: Yeah. The guys are at a hotel, but I was bored and Melanie let me borrow her key.
elsabeth99: Ugh.
blueeyediver: What?
elsabeth99: I can’t believe you are sitting in my apartment, probably going through my stuff... *rolls my eyes*
blueeyediver: I’m not going through your stuff...unless you want me to... ;)
elsabeth99: Just...don’t touch ANYTHING!
elsabeth99: Not even the papers that you’re looking at on my desk...I know you are looking at them so DON’T!
blueeyediver: Ok ok...geez!
elsabeth99: Hey...don’t even give me that crap! You’re the one in MY apartment.
blueeyediver: I know.
elsabeth99: :oP
blueeyediver: So, when are you coming back?
elsabeth99: *shrugs* When you-know-who is gone.
blueeyediver: Oh come on...you’ve got talk to him sometime!
elsabeth99: I don’t HAVE to do anything...
elsabeth99: And believe me...I won’t.
blueeyediver: Will you at least tell me where you are.
elsabeth99: I already did tell you where I am.
blueeyediver: You did?
elsabeth99: Yeah...remember? I told you I was going to my sister’s...Duh!
blueeyediver: Yeah well...that doesn’t help me much.
elsabeth99: So...
blueeyediver: I don’t know where your sister even lives.
elsabeth99: I know. That’s the whole point!
blueeyediver: Why are you doing this to me?
elsabeth99: ME doing this to YOU? LOL
elsabeth99: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
blueeyediver: Come on Liz...Since you won’t tell me where you’re stayin’ will you meet me somewhere for lunch tomorrow?
elsabeth99: Sorry...can’t. Maybe on Saturday.
blueeyediver: Saturday it is then. What are ya going to be doing tomorrow that you can’t do on Saturday?
elsabeth99: Can’t tell you that.
blueeyediver: Why not? You’re not going to be breaking the law are you?
elsabeth99: LOL...far from.
elsabeth99: Let’s just say that I finally got the opportunity to do something that you used to do on a daily basis when you were younger in Florida.
blueeyediver: Huh?
elsabeth99: Hahaha! I bet you won’t have it figured out by our little lunch date on Saturday.
blueeyediver: Maybe...maybe not... :o)
elsabeth99: I’ll rely on maybe not.
blueeyediver: One question...does it have anything to do with sports?
elsabeth99: Mmmmm...maybe.
blueeyediver: So that’s a yes.
elsabeth99: I didn’t say that.
blueeyediver: :o)
elsabeth99: Don’t look at me in that tone of voice...LOL
blueeyediver: Huh?
elsabeth99: Nevermind.
blueeyediver: Ok.
elsabeth99: Well, I have to go...have to practice for tomorrow. :o)
blueeyediver: Don’t go...
elsabeth99: Have to. Sorry!
blueeyediver: Liz! Stay for a few more minutes!

I closed the IM and logged off before he could IM me anymore. After going downstairs, I turned on the TV to see what was on. Nothing of particular interest was on so I put a few CD’s in the stereo and played them rather loudly. I sang along half-heartedly as the music blared from the large speakers placed on each side of the entertainment center that held the stereo and TV. The time passed by quickly as I cleaned up the things that were scattered all over the floor.

"Wiz! Wiz! Let me out!" Stets called from his room as he tried to open the locked door.

Heidi and Shane had to put eyehole locks on the three doors upstairs because Stets had been known to get into things. I went up and unlocked the door for him and carried him down the stairs in my arms.

"You still wanna go to the park?"

"Yeah! Let’s go outside ok?" he exclaimed.

"Ok! We have to get some shoes and socks on you first."

I sat him down on the couch while I went upstairs to get his socks and shoes from his room. I put them on him and we hopped in my truck and headed to the park that was on the same street about 6 blocks down. The kids from school were already gone for the day so it was only us.

"I’n gonna get you," Stets warned me as we approached the small structure made of a tunnel, a few platforms, and a few slides.

"Oh no!" I said in a high pitched voice so it seemed like I was scared while I ran up one of the ramps.

He chased me around for a few minutes until I turned around and started chasing him. He seemed to like that because every once in a while when he’d turn back and see me lagging behind him a little he’d stop and say ‘You can’t get me...’ before he started laughing and screaming as he ran off. After he was all pooped out from running around, I picked him up and went over to the swings. I sat down on one of them and put him on my lap in the ‘spider’ position so he was hugging me while we swung back and forth.

"Weeeeeee!" he squealed in delight even though we weren’t going very high.

A car honked as it passed so I told him to wave.

"There’s Audree. Wave," I said when I noticed who’s car it was.

He waved excitedly as the car passed by. The park was right along the street so every once in a while a car would pass by and he’d wave to it even if he didn’t know who it was. We stood up and I watched him as he played on the playground for a few more minutes until he came back up to me.

"Let’s go silly," I told him after he wrapped his arms around my legs in a hug.

"Look..." he said as he pointed to a limo that passed by on the main street of town. "Big car."

"Yep. That’s a big car," I said with a laugh as I picked him up and carried him to my truck.

It was starting to get dark by the time I got him in and was ready to go back home. I wasn’t really in the mood to fix dinner or anything so I opted to go to one of the two fast food places in town. When we pulled up to ‘George’s’ (author’s note ~ I changed the name) he insisted on going in with me.

"I wanna Pooh bear," he said after we went in the tiny building.

He pointed to a stuffed Pooh bear that was in a claw machine along with a Blue’s Clues stuffed dog.

"Blue skadoo...I can too," he sang happily as he admired the toys while I ordered our food.

"Do you wanna eat here?" I asked him after he ran up and grabbed my hand when a man walked in the door.

"Yeah," he answered.

"For here," I told the girl behind the counter.

With Stets in my arms I walked over to the claw machine and let him point out all the different stuffed animals to me.

"You want one?"

"Yes," he replied with a cute shy smile.

"You’re such a QT!" I told him while I set him down and fished in my pocket for two quarters.

After two tries, I finally managed to get one of the Blue dogs that he had been eyeing before. I handed it to him, set him down at one of the few tables, and went to get our food from the counter. When I walked back to the table, I could hear him singing softly to himself.

"Here’s the mail it never fails it makes me wanna wag my tail..."

He stopped singing and put his hands over his face in embarrassment when he saw that I was watching him.

"Silly kid!" I said as I set the food down on the table and took a seat on the opposite side of him.

He smiled at me and dug into his food after I set it in front of him.

"Sanks..." he said while he picked up a fry and stuck it in his mouth.

"Welcome."