All In The Family (16 page)

Berry
pulled Callie into the house.  “Uncle William, Paw Paw, Miss Callie’s here.”

William hurried out to meet Callie and kissed her hello. Heat burned Callie’s cheeks. Darn,
she hated when that happened. And why did William have to kiss her in front of Berry and his father?

“Dad,” William said, “this is Callie Johnson, Chief Callie Johnson to be exact. Callie, my father, Bill Kane.”

Callie gave William the wine and reached her hand out to Mr.Kane. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Kane.”

Bill Kane shook Callie’s hand. “The pleasures mine and it’s Bill, please. Come in sit down. Can I get you something to drink?”

Callie followed him into the living room. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Berry
jumped around. “Can I open my present now? Please?”

“Sure.” Callie sat next to
William.

Berry
tore open the package. “Ohhhh, it’s beautiful!”  She ran from the room and came back a moment later with a hairbrush. “Will you fix my hair and put it in for me, please?”

“Sure. Come here.” Callie brushed
Berry’s unruly curls into some semblance of order. Not an easy task. The child had the curliest hair she’d ever seen. Definitely needed conditioner or tangle free spray.

“I hate to interrupt,” Bill said, “but dinner is ready. Callie can finish your hair after dinner,
Berry.”

Berry
crossed her arms and pouted. “But I want to wear the bow now.”

“
Berry,” William warned. “Your grandfather said after dinner.”

Understanding
Berry’s wish to wear the hair bow, Callie inserted it quickly on the side of her hair. “There. I’ll fix it better after dinner, okay?”

Berry
ran to the mirror, touched the hair bow and smiled. “Thank you, Miss Callie. I love it. It’s the best gift I ever got.”

William put his arm around Callie and led her to the dining room table. “You scored points,” he whispered.

Callie smiled. What could she say? The child needed a woman’s touch. Nothing wrong with being a tomboy, but she’d bet her last dollar the child didn’t even own a dress. Although someone thought to get her a doll.

“So you were raised here in Smytheville?” Bill asked after grace.

“Yes, I was. I left to attend the police academy and couldn’t wait to get back.” Finally her nerves were beginning to settle down.

“Are you going to marry
Uncle William?” Berry held her fork mid air and pointed it at Callie.

Callie almost choked on her salad.

“Berry!” William sat upright in his chair. “Mind your manners.”

“But I saw you kiss her. Julia said her mommy and daddy kiss all the time.”

Bill Kane stifled a chuckle. “Other people kiss, also Berry. I kiss you, Uncle William kisses you. In fact, he kisses me. We’re not married.”

“Yeah, but we’re lated. He’s your son and you’re my paw paw. Miss Callie isn’t lated.”

“You mean related. Yes, we are, but friends kiss all the time, too. Doesn’t mean they’re getting married.” William glanced at Callie. “Sorry.”

“But I want you to marry Miss Callie. She’s nice and she could live here with us and fix my hair all the time.”

Callie coughed and slid down into her chair. Why didn’t the ground open up and swallow her? Poor William, if he turned any redder, he’d bust a blood vessel. 

“Enough talk about marriage,
Berry, you’re flustering your uncle. No one’s getting married.”

“Is that why Uncle William is red? He’s flustered?”

“I’m afraid my granddaughter needs to learn some manners. You’ll have to excuse her. That was my wife’s department. William and I aren’t too good at some things.”

“I bet Miss Callie could teach me manners.  Couldn’t you, Miss Callie.”

Callie smiled. “I’m sure I could. The first lesson would be to listen to your elders, especially your grandfather.”

Berry
crossed her arms and stuck her lip out.

“The second thing is not to pout when you don’t get your own way. You’re much too pretty for such a face.” Callie couldn’t believe she was taking such liberties. A quick glance at William and his father showed their approval.

“You think I’m pretty?” Berry sat up straighter in her chair.

“Of course. You’re a very pretty little girl.”

“See, Uncle William. You should marry Miss Callie and she could teach me some manners.”

“
Berry!” William slapped his napkin on the table. “Enough talk about marriage. Do you understand? Miss Callie is here for a nice dinner, not to be embarrassed.”

“It’s not fair!
All my friends have mommies and daddies.” Berry threw her napkin on the table, jumped off her chair, and ran from the room.

William stood to go after her. “I’m sorry, Callie. Sometimes she gets a little out of hand.”

“Stay here with your guest. I’ll go.” Bill stood.

“Do either of you mind if I go?” Callie had no idea what prompted her to suggest it, but
Berry didn’t need to be scolded.

“Are you sure?” William sat down.

“Yes, please.”

“If you insist.” Bill sat down also.

***

Callie knocked on the bedroom door.

“What?” a small voice answered.

“Can I come in?” Callie opened the door and peeked inside.
Berry lay across the bed, sobbing.

Berry
sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Aren’t you mad at me, too?”

Callie went inside and sat next to
Berry. “No one’s mad at you.”

“Uncle William is.”

“He’s not angry at you. He’s just…” How to explain to a child talk of marriage isn’t proper when she couldn’t even keep her aunt from fixing her up with every Tom, Dick, and Harry. “Your uncle and I haven’t known each other long enough to talk about getting married, so it embarrassed him.”

“But why?”

Callie laughed. Why indeed? “When men and women first meet and start to date, they don’t talk about marriage. First they need to spend time together, get to know each other, and fall in love.”

“You and Uncle William spended time together. Are you falling in love?”

Callie reached over and took Berry’s hand. “Sweetie, we’ve only seen each other a few times. It’s much too soon.”

“But it’s not fair, Miss Callie. All my friends have
mommies and daddies. Why can’t I?”

“I know, sweetheart. But you have Paw Paw and Uncle William. They both love you very much.”

“It’s not the same. Will you fix my hair now and put my bow in right?”

“Sure. Give me the hair brush.” How quickly children went from one thing to another. It wouldn’t take much to fall in love with William, but she was definitely falling in love with this little girl.

A few minutes later with Berry’s curls tamed and the bow securely in place, Callie stood. “Let’s go finish dinner. I bet Uncle William and Paw Paw are wondering what happened to us.”

Berry
took Callie’s hand. “Are you and Uncle William going to get to know each other?”

Callie smiled. “I hope so.”

“Then you’ll fall in love and get married.”

“One never knows.” A warm feeling spread through Callie’s body. She could only hope.

Of course her phone rang just as they sat down to finish dinner. “Johnson,” Callie answered. “I’m on my way.” Callie set her napkin on the table and pushed back her chair. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Thank you, Mr. Kane,
uh Bill, for the dinner. It was very nice meeting you.”

Bill stood. “I hope we can do it again sometime and you can stay longer.”

William stood and walked Callie to the door. “Sorry you have to leave. Thanks for talking to Berry. I…uh…heard what you said to her. I hope we get to know each other better, too.” He leaned down and kissed her. A long, tender kiss.

Epilogue

“Miss Callie, Miss Callie!”
Berry burst into the room. “Is it true? Are you and Uncle William getting married? Are you gonna live with us? Are you, Miss Callie? Are you?”

“Whoa, calm down. Yes, it’s true. Your uncle and I are getting married and yes, we’re going to live with you.”

“Yay!” Berry danced around the room. “I know you won’t be my mommy, but it will feel like it. Will you fix my hair every day?”

Callie laughed. Never had she seen
Berry so excited. In the year she and William had dated, she’d come to love Berry as her own. No, she wouldn’t be her mother, but she’d be the next best thing. She’d already taken Berry shopping and bought her several dresses. And she enjoyed their lunches together. Already, Berry was playing with dolls, except for the one that sat on the chair. That one was special. It was the last doll her parents bought and Berry didn’t want anything to happen to it.

Not that
Berry wasn’t still a tom boy. Oh no, you’d never take that out of her. She could climb a tree, hit a ball, and play football as well as any of the other boys her age in the neighborhood.

But little by little,
Berry’s feminine side was coming out. She loved getting dressed up and used any excuse to do it. Wednesday dinners always presented an excuse and the dinners had become more and more formal. Table cloths, the good china and silverware. All at the insistence of Berry. Even William and his father dressed for the occasion, donning suits. The last couple of weeks, Callie had floral centerpieces delivered Wednesday morning to add to the elegance of the table. Berry was becoming quite the little hostess and insisted on setting the table herself.

“
Berry, I need to ask you something.”

“What?”
Berry stopped dancing around.

“Will you be my flower girl in my wedding?”

“What’s a flower girl?”

“A flower girl walks in front of the bride and scatters rose petals.”

“Really, Miss Callie, you really want me in your wedding?”

Callie took
Berry’s hands. “Of course I want you in my wedding.”

Berry dropped her hands, put them behind her back and swayed back and forth. “But what will I wear?”

“Ah, that’s the best part. You and I get to go shopping for a very special, very fancy dress.”

Berry
jumped up and down. “Oh I can’t wait.”

“Good, because we’re going tomorrow. The wedding’s in six months, so we have to get busy. Will you help me plan it?”

“Really? You want me to help you?”

“Well, I need help picking out a dress, and I thought you’d like to come with my mother, sister, and me.”

Berry twirled around and clapped. “Oh boy. Thank you, Miss Callie.”

“One more thing.”

“What?” Berry got a serious look on her face.

“I think it’s time you stopped calling me Miss Callie.”

“What should I call you?”

“How about Aunt Callie? After all that’s what I’ll be.”

“Aunt Callie. I like that. I’m so glad you’re marrying Uncle William.”

“Me too.” Callie smiled. Now if she could just keep her aunts from trying to take over the wedding. She and William wanted a small reception. Just family, a few close friends. Nothing like the grand wedding her sister had. Besides, six months wasn’t time enough to plan anything that large. She’d leave her mother and grandmother to deal with her aunts. If nothing else, Gram
would handle them.

***

The six months flew by in a whirl of activity. The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch. Berry looked adorable in a white dress similar to Callie’s. The child took her role very seriously and stood before Callie, waiting for her turn to walk down the aisle.

Just before her turn, she turned to Callie. “Thank you, Aunt Callie. I love you.”

Callie brushed a tear. “I love you too.” Funny, how this little girl with the bare feet and coveralls had wormed her way into her heart. Funny, how she and William came together after that first confrontation. In part they owed a lot to Berry. Wasn’t she the one who set up that first real date?

“It’s time.” Her father nudged her into awareness.

Callie took her place at the entrance of the church. William stood up front, waiting for her. Thankfully, Gram had taken her aunts in hand, and they stayed out of the planning.

Aunt Beatrice Lulu tried the hardest to change Callie’s mind about the size of the wedding. “Really, Callie,” she’d said. “How can you even think to have such a small
affair?”

“Now, Beatrice,” Gram said, “Callie and William want a small, intimate wedding and it’s none of your business. You had your wedding, let Callie have hers.”

Thankfully, that’s all it took.

“Ready, princess?” Her father adjusted her veil. “You look beautiful.”