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Chapter or Story
See Part 1 for disclaimer.
A/N: This is short, I know, but it's kind of sweet! By the way, thanks for all the fabulous feedback. I'll say it again, I love you guys!
Brand New Year, Part 11
By Ginger
"Ready to go, kiddo!" Jarod intoned as he lifted his son into his arms.
"How can you possibly be this energetic at such an ungodly hour?" Parker grumbled as she stepped behind him to recheck the items in the zipper pockets of the backpack baby carrier.
Turning to hand Michael to her, he replied with a wag of his eyebrows, "I'm energetic at any hour."
Smirking but otherwise ignoring his remark she advised, "You've got plenty of water for a four-hour hike. I've also packed banana chips and some dried mango and papaya and, of course, Cheerios, for my little man. That should tide you both over until lunch."
"Extra diapers?"
"Of course. And make sure he wears his hat and sunglasses."
"Yes, mommy, and we'll be back before it gets too hot. Are you sure you don't want to come along? The squirrel monkeys are not to be missed."
"Mo-no!" Michael exclaimed excitedly.
"That's right, kiddo, we'll see monkeys," his father assured then noted to his mother, "His Spanish vocabularly is really expanding."
She nodded then said, "After chasing one 'mono' around for years, I've had my fat fill. Besides, I'm going back to bed."
"Tired, are you?" Jarod inquired with a cheeky grin.
Narrowing her eyes she responded, "It's this hot, humid climate; it makes me lazy. Now turn around so I can put Michael into his carrier and the two of you can get out of here."
"Yes Ma'am," he replied in a low, silky tone then shot her a searing look before turning around.
Unable to contain her smile any longer, Parker grinned then planted several kisses to her son's face before placing him in the carrier and patting Jarod's shoulder to signal that they were good to go. Following them outside, she stroked her son's head and gave him one more kiss then uttered softly, "Be a good boy."
"You too," she added to his father.
She was about to step back in the house when Jarod grabbed her hand and inquired, "Hey, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Can't think of anything," she replied with a grin as he pulled her into his arms.
"Béseme," he whispered as his lips descended on hers for a sweet, lingering kiss.
"Be-sa," Michael observed.
"Mmmm..." Jarod moaned then pulled back slightly to murmur, "Indeed," before leaning in again.
Placing her hand over his mouth Parker glared playfully at him and ordered, "Go!"
"Okay," he sighed then added with a smirk, "But I'm looking forward to a nice, long siesta after lunch. With all the fresh air and sensory stimulation he'll get this morning, Michael should sleep like... well, like a baby. Then his father can enjoy a little sensory stimulation of his own." Jarod wagged his eyebrows, his smirk evolving into a full-blown grin.
"Haven't you had enough?" she teased.
"Never," he purred then slid one hand down her back to her derrière and gave it a playful smack. Chuckling at the warning look she gave him he let go of her and offered a cheerful, "¡Hasta pronto, Mama!"
With that father and son were on their way. Folding her arms at her chest, Parker shook her head and smiled as she watched them proceed down the dirt road. Something dawned on her and she called out,
"Jarod!"
He turned and called back, "What?"
"I got up at the crack of dawn to pack you more than enough healthy snacks! If I get so much as a whiff of dulce de leche on either one of you, you're a dead man!"
"Got it!" he replied with an impish grin before turning around to continue on his way.
Parker rolled her eyes then turned to step back into the house. Pausing a moment she muttered, "Look at me; I'm June Fucking Cleaver," then ambled indoors shaking her head.
True to her word, she headed straight for the bedroom where she peeled off her robe and slipped, naked, between the sheets. Grabbing the pillow next to hers, she buried her face in it, inhaled deeply, and hummed with contentment. Shoving her own pillow aside, she rested her head on it, closed her eyes and smiled serenely as she pictured Jarod and Michael out exploring together.
Jarod loved taking their son to work with him, seizing every opportunity to bring Michael along on his hikes into the forest to observe the habits and behavior of the squirrel monkey, and to see various other forms of animal life including iguanas and several varieties of sloth. They'd been out together on numerous occasions in the two months since their arrival in Quepos, a city of about 14,000 in the province of Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
Upon their arrival in town, Jarod had made quick work of passing himself off as a biologist, talking himself onto a team conducting a privately funded study of the rare squirrel monkey living in the forests of Manuel Antonio National Park, just a few miles south of town. They moved into a lovely house at the end of a dirt road off the main road between Quepos and the Park, which was perfect because Jarod could easily hike to work while it was only a few minutes from town by car so Parker didn't feel marooned.
The salient feature of the house was the large, screened-in back porch. Roomy enough to easily accommodate a couch and two chairs, it was really more of a room than a porch and, like the other rooms in the house, featured a beautiful and very effective ceiling fan made of dark wood with tightly braided wicker blades. The family spent most of their time there: eating meals, reading, or just gazing out at the colorful plants, flowers, birds and other wildlife comprising their little slice of paradise. For Michael, it was just one big play pen and also the place where he took his afternoon nap. He loved to be in the open air, a preference his father supported with near fanatical enthusiasm.
Not that Parker could blame him. She understood that Jarod wanted to give his son the things he never had as a boy: the feel of the sun on his face, the sound of the wind rustling in the trees and bird calls, the smell of the ocean. On nights when stifling heat and humidity didn't drive them indoors to the air conditioning, the whole family would often sleep out there.
She sighed, feeling relaxed and sleepy. As soon as her little man's erratic sleep patterns started to moderate, her not-so-little man replaced him as a regular cause of sleep deprivation. He would exhaust her with an admirable combination skill and enthusiasm, as he'd done last night... twice... and once more this morning before hopping out of bed to start the day.
"Hyperactive little monkey," she muttered with a sly smile before snuggling deeper into bed and drifting off.
# # # #
A/N: This is short, I know, but it's kind of sweet! By the way, thanks for all the fabulous feedback. I'll say it again, I love you guys!
Brand New Year, Part 11
By Ginger
"Ready to go, kiddo!" Jarod intoned as he lifted his son into his arms.
"How can you possibly be this energetic at such an ungodly hour?" Parker grumbled as she stepped behind him to recheck the items in the zipper pockets of the backpack baby carrier.
Turning to hand Michael to her, he replied with a wag of his eyebrows, "I'm energetic at any hour."
Smirking but otherwise ignoring his remark she advised, "You've got plenty of water for a four-hour hike. I've also packed banana chips and some dried mango and papaya and, of course, Cheerios, for my little man. That should tide you both over until lunch."
"Extra diapers?"
"Of course. And make sure he wears his hat and sunglasses."
"Yes, mommy, and we'll be back before it gets too hot. Are you sure you don't want to come along? The squirrel monkeys are not to be missed."
"Mo-no!" Michael exclaimed excitedly.
"That's right, kiddo, we'll see monkeys," his father assured then noted to his mother, "His Spanish vocabularly is really expanding."
She nodded then said, "After chasing one 'mono' around for years, I've had my fat fill. Besides, I'm going back to bed."
"Tired, are you?" Jarod inquired with a cheeky grin.
Narrowing her eyes she responded, "It's this hot, humid climate; it makes me lazy. Now turn around so I can put Michael into his carrier and the two of you can get out of here."
"Yes Ma'am," he replied in a low, silky tone then shot her a searing look before turning around.
Unable to contain her smile any longer, Parker grinned then planted several kisses to her son's face before placing him in the carrier and patting Jarod's shoulder to signal that they were good to go. Following them outside, she stroked her son's head and gave him one more kiss then uttered softly, "Be a good boy."
"You too," she added to his father.
She was about to step back in the house when Jarod grabbed her hand and inquired, "Hey, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Can't think of anything," she replied with a grin as he pulled her into his arms.
"Béseme," he whispered as his lips descended on hers for a sweet, lingering kiss.
"Be-sa," Michael observed.
"Mmmm..." Jarod moaned then pulled back slightly to murmur, "Indeed," before leaning in again.
Placing her hand over his mouth Parker glared playfully at him and ordered, "Go!"
"Okay," he sighed then added with a smirk, "But I'm looking forward to a nice, long siesta after lunch. With all the fresh air and sensory stimulation he'll get this morning, Michael should sleep like... well, like a baby. Then his father can enjoy a little sensory stimulation of his own." Jarod wagged his eyebrows, his smirk evolving into a full-blown grin.
"Haven't you had enough?" she teased.
"Never," he purred then slid one hand down her back to her derrière and gave it a playful smack. Chuckling at the warning look she gave him he let go of her and offered a cheerful, "¡Hasta pronto, Mama!"
With that father and son were on their way. Folding her arms at her chest, Parker shook her head and smiled as she watched them proceed down the dirt road. Something dawned on her and she called out,
"Jarod!"
He turned and called back, "What?"
"I got up at the crack of dawn to pack you more than enough healthy snacks! If I get so much as a whiff of dulce de leche on either one of you, you're a dead man!"
"Got it!" he replied with an impish grin before turning around to continue on his way.
Parker rolled her eyes then turned to step back into the house. Pausing a moment she muttered, "Look at me; I'm June Fucking Cleaver," then ambled indoors shaking her head.
True to her word, she headed straight for the bedroom where she peeled off her robe and slipped, naked, between the sheets. Grabbing the pillow next to hers, she buried her face in it, inhaled deeply, and hummed with contentment. Shoving her own pillow aside, she rested her head on it, closed her eyes and smiled serenely as she pictured Jarod and Michael out exploring together.
Jarod loved taking their son to work with him, seizing every opportunity to bring Michael along on his hikes into the forest to observe the habits and behavior of the squirrel monkey, and to see various other forms of animal life including iguanas and several varieties of sloth. They'd been out together on numerous occasions in the two months since their arrival in Quepos, a city of about 14,000 in the province of Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.
Upon their arrival in town, Jarod had made quick work of passing himself off as a biologist, talking himself onto a team conducting a privately funded study of the rare squirrel monkey living in the forests of Manuel Antonio National Park, just a few miles south of town. They moved into a lovely house at the end of a dirt road off the main road between Quepos and the Park, which was perfect because Jarod could easily hike to work while it was only a few minutes from town by car so Parker didn't feel marooned.
The salient feature of the house was the large, screened-in back porch. Roomy enough to easily accommodate a couch and two chairs, it was really more of a room than a porch and, like the other rooms in the house, featured a beautiful and very effective ceiling fan made of dark wood with tightly braided wicker blades. The family spent most of their time there: eating meals, reading, or just gazing out at the colorful plants, flowers, birds and other wildlife comprising their little slice of paradise. For Michael, it was just one big play pen and also the place where he took his afternoon nap. He loved to be in the open air, a preference his father supported with near fanatical enthusiasm.
Not that Parker could blame him. She understood that Jarod wanted to give his son the things he never had as a boy: the feel of the sun on his face, the sound of the wind rustling in the trees and bird calls, the smell of the ocean. On nights when stifling heat and humidity didn't drive them indoors to the air conditioning, the whole family would often sleep out there.
She sighed, feeling relaxed and sleepy. As soon as her little man's erratic sleep patterns started to moderate, her not-so-little man replaced him as a regular cause of sleep deprivation. He would exhaust her with an admirable combination skill and enthusiasm, as he'd done last night... twice... and once more this morning before hopping out of bed to start the day.
"Hyperactive little monkey," she muttered with a sly smile before snuggling deeper into bed and drifting off.
# # # #
