Seven year old Taylor sprinted away from her friend, Travis.
"You'll never catch me!", she screeched, running past the parents who sat observing on the deck.
"Gotcha!",exclaimed 9-year-old Travis, tagging the little girl.
"Now you're it", he said, running away from her.
"Wait! It's not fair because you're bigger and older than me", she complained. Taylor was two years younger than Travis.
"We could play something else", he suggested, running back to her.
"Can we play house?", Taylor asked enthusiastically.
"Nooo", complained Travis.
"You be the daddy, I"ll be the mommy. I'll get our baby, Gracie", said Taylor, running inside to retrieve her doll.
Travis groaned, sitting beside the adults in a fold up chair.
"Tough day at the office?", asked Ed, patting his son on the head.
"No. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I don't want to play house", Travis explained.
"Don't worry, it only gets worse. Enjoy the little freedom they allow you to have when you're young", advised Ed.
Donna, Travis's mom, shot Ed a look. "Does somebody want to sleep on the couch? Because by the looks of it, you are", she said, only halfway teasing.
"Forget everything I told you", advised Ed.
Taylor rushed back outside, carrying her baby doll and a blanket for it.
"Let's play house in the woods!", exclaimed Taylor, grabbing Travis's hand and dragging him to the tree area of the backyard.
The adults sat, observing. It was the annual Swift-Kelce BBQ, a huge event in both of their households.
"I propose a deal, Ed", Scott said, standing beside Ed as they flipped burgers on the grill.
"And what's that?", asked Ed.
"Your son will marry my daughter a few years from now. I'd pay for the wedding and you'd pay for the reception. And the first male grandchild would be named after me, and the second after you", proposed Scott.
"Sounds fair, except the first male grandchild will have one of our names as a first name and one of our names as a middle name", offered Ed, flipping a burger.
Scott shook the man's hand, agreeing on it before laughing, patting the man on the back.
Donna and Andrea laughed at their husband's stupid antics. They had been shipping poor Taylor and Travis since they were infants. The mothers had laid their children out to play on a blanket together, and Travis, who was two years old at the time, had played with the little baby, handing her toys and putting her pacifier back in when it fell out. Since then, their fathers had been shipping them in marriage "secretly".
"Scott, she's seven years old. Let's teach her how to tie her shoes by herself before marring her off", laughed Andrea.
"Yeah, I agree with Andrea. And Ed, Travis is two grades ahead of Taylor. Those years really spread them out", said Donna.
"We're not talking about right now. We mean when they get older. Plus, I'd get along with the other set of grandparents just fine", said Ed, causing both men to let out a hearty laugh.
"Can you believe that? These are children and they're talking about them having children", laughed Andrea.
Meanwhile in the woods, Taylor cradled the doll in a blanket, sitting in a pile of leaves.
"Daddy, can you get me our baby's bottle?", Taylor asked Travis, pretending they were married.
"Why did you call me that?", he asked, handing her the magic plastic bottle that's liquid contents disapeared when tipped over and reappeared when placed level again.
"Because you're the daddy and I'm the mommy", she insisted. Taylor was obviously the head in this relationship.
"Fine", he said, sticking his tongue out.
"Hey Trav, do you want to play football with Austin and I?", 11 year old Austin asked, trying to keep the nagging 5 year old boy from playing football with him.
"Sure", Travis answered.
"What? But you're the daddy! You can't leave", exclaimed Taylor, giving him the lip.
"Sorry Taylor, but I want to play football", apologized Travis.
Taylor sat in a little plastic red chair on the deck, huffing while curling her body into a ball.
Taylor softly sobbed, alerting her mother.
"Oh honey, what's wrong?", Andrea asked, crouching down beside the 7 year old.
"Trav quit the game to play stupid football", she sobbed, reaching for her mom to pick her up.
Andrea picked her little daughter up, sitting back down at the chair beside Donna.
"I can tell him to play house with you again if you want", Donna offered, feeling bad that her son had caused Taylor to feel this way.
"It's ok. I think she's just a little tired", whispered Andrea, positioning Taylor on her lap while stroking her blonde curls soothingly.
Travis caught the football and gently tossed it to five year old Austin. He glanced up at the deck and saw Taylor sitting on her mom's lap crying.
Jason threw a spiral at his brother's face, Travis too busy looking at Taylor to catch it.
"What the heck!", stormed Travis, feeling tears form in his eyes. At the end of the day, he was only nine.
Travis curled onto the ground, trying to hide his painful face.
"Oh Travis!", exclaimed Donna, rushing to action.
"Walk it off Trav!", yelled Ed from the deck. Donna and Ed had very different parenting styles.
Donna rushed to Travis's side, crouching down beside him.
"What hurts buddy?", she asked, scooping the boy up onto her hip. Donna's mommy strength was how she was carrying this 9 year old child.
"My face", he sobbed, hiding his face in his mama's neck.
"Ed! Get an ice pack!", panicked Donna, sitting down with Travis's sitting on her lap with his legs hanging off her lap.
"Are you ok?", Taylor asked, perking her head from her mom's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine", sniffled Travis, trying to act cool in front of Taylor.
Long story short, he ended up breaking his nose and got a concussion, so he was out of little league football for the rest of the season thanks to Jason.
Thanks for reading! Part two is pre-written and should be published at 5 AM Chicago time! Don't forget to comment or vote! Seriously, your comments crack me up<3
