" what's for dinner mommy?" Asked Junior. " I was thinking that I'd just do some hotdogs tonight" replied Inez. " don't you need a fire to cook hotdogs?" Asked Junior. " that's what a stove is for, and why I don't want you to try and use it, or touch it" replied Inez. " how can i help?" Asked Junior. " can you get the hotdogs from the fridge, and a can of baked beans from the shelf?" Replied Inez.
" ok, mommy" smiled Junior. " I hope you stay my sweet little helper. Once you get to be a teenager, you'll want to drive, and spend time with girls. You'll also be embarrassed by your parents" said Inez. " that sounds like it won't be fun" frowned Junior. " well, if you're anything like your dad, you might not have to worry much about girls. They definitely stayed clear, and your dad wasn't sure why. I know why, he smelled bad, was clumsy, and wasn't the smoothest talker" said Inez. " so, why did you marry daddy?" Asked Junior. " despite those 3 issues, your daddy is a very loyal, and sweet person. He only drinks a little at home, never goes to a bar, or gentleman's club, and he's a hard worker" replied Inez. " what's a gentleman's club?" Asked Junior. " no place for an innocent person like you" replied Inez. " so it's not a good place?" Asked Junior. " some people like it, but they're usually shady or immoral" replied Inez. " what does that mean?" Asked Junior. " it means you're not exactly a good moral character, and you do alot of bad things" replied Inez. " I promise to never be like those people" said Junior. " that's because you were raised by loving parents, and practiced good virtues" smiled Inez.
Meanwhile, Matt was watching the news. He was also making sure not to wake up Ernest and Leroy. After a few minutes, Ernest started to wake up. " hey, little guy, did you enjoy that quick nap?" Asked Matt. Ernest smiled at his father and proceeded to crawl up to Matt's face. Matt smiled and started a game of " beep" with him. First Matt poked Ernest's nose and said " beep" then Ernest poked Matt's nose and said " beep"
This went on for 10 minutes, then Leroy woke up. Soon, it was a 3-way game. 10 minutes later, Inez walked in to let everybody know that dinner was ready. " why do I feel like I missed something adorable?" She smiled. Matt handed Ernest to Inez, and the infant beeped her nose. " is that what you three were doing? Junior loved doing that as a baby" smiled Inez. " I did?" Asked Junior. " it was one of your favorite games" replied Matt. " who played it with me the most?" Asked Junior. " that's an easy one, it was your dad" replied Inez. " did you not like the game?" Asked Junior. " no, I liked the game, but you typically wanted your daddy to play" replied Inez. " yup, and even though I was exhausted after a long day of work, I didn't want to disappoint you" smiled Matt. " yup, he'd play with you for a while after dinner, tuck you in, then he fell asleep the second he was comfortable in bed" smiled Inez.
What's for dinner?" Asked Matt. " Junior helped me make hotdogs and baked beans" replied Inez. " I poured the beans into the bowl" smiled Junior. " ok, let's get you up in your booster seat" smiled Inez, as she picked up Junior. Soon everybody had their dinner. Ernest was using a fork to pick up the hotdog pieces, while Leroy was shoving them into his mouth with his hands.
" it feels good to hold down solid food again" said Matt. " yeah, I missed it to" agreed Junior. " and I'm happy to have a germ free family again" smiled Inez.
At that moment, Ernest sneezed. Inez was worried until she discovered Ernest was fine and just had a tickle in his nose. After dinner, everybody decided to watch a movie since it was Friday night. " you know, Friday night used to be date night for us" said Matt. " we have kids now, so a regular date night probably won't happen until all 3 kids are adults" said Inez. " yeah, I guess we should enjoy them being small. Unfortunately, it doesn't last" said Matt. " yeah, Jackie sent a picture of Laura and Franklin having a pillow fight" smiled Inez. " that's a good one" agreed Matt.
Halfway through the movie, Inez noticed her three children and her husband yawning. " let's get the kids ready for bed" suggested Inez. " mind if I just sit for awhile?" Asked Matt. " I'm sure Junior won't mind missing 1 story" smiled Inez. Matt watched as she managed to grab both Ernest and Leroy. " impressive, I didn't know you could still do that" said Matt. " 7 years of farm life really helps with muscle" smiled Inez. " see? I'm not fat. I just have lots of muscle" said Matt. " muscle doesn't hang over a waistband on a pair of pants" said Inez. Matt decided he was too tired to argue anymore and dropped the subject.
" hey, can I sit on your lap daddy?" Asked Junior. " of course you can. You're not heavy enough to hurt me yet" smiled Matt. Junior felt safe with his father, and was just happy to be sitting in his lap. " want me to read to you? I have this TV guide on the table" Asked Matt. " can we read tomorrow? I'm tired" replied Junior.
" I'll let you in on a secret, I'm tired to" smiled Matt. After a few minutes, Junior was fast asleep and softly snoring. Inez came back downstairs and smiled. " how long has he been asleep? Inez whispered. " probably 5 minutes. I don't want to wake him up, so let's try to be quiet" replied Matt.
" I'll go get his bed ready, and you can tuck him in" suggested Inez. " ok, sounds good" agreed Matt. Inez left the room, so Matt just sat holding Junior. After a minute, Matt had to keep catching himself, as he didn't want to fall asleep before getting to bed. Unfortunately he was wrong and was soon snoring. Inez came back down, and smiled at Junior and Matt sound asleep on the couch. After taking a picture, Inez grabbed a blanket and turned off the light.
" that's so sweet" she smiled as she walked upstairs. Things were definitely getting back to normal, and Inez was happy that the flu was out of her house, and was done with her family.
