The Park on Sunday morning - picnic.

[hernando_fuentes]

The puddle of children had woken in the morning and asked to go to the park. After feeding them - and shooing the teenager out of his kitchen so he could have the privilege of making breakfast - Hernando walked them all to the park.

The children knew the way and it wasn't that Hernando was any sort of helicopter parent except yes, perhaps today a little bit, he was. Sparkle was making a quick dash into town to put a 'closed today on account of children' sign on the door of his store but planned to join them later.

Hernando had packed an entire antique picnic basket full of food and snacks and put Quinn to work hauling a rolling cooler behind them. The children had acted as if this were a usual thing and that made Hernando smile a bit. Abney was wearing the folded picnic blanket as a superhero cape and was running ahead with her arms out, making zooming plane noises.

There was way more food than the children would need, even if one was a growing teenager. To his rueful chagrin, Hernando found that the store had decided to help when he spread the blanket out and began to unpack. The basket never seemed to empty. He set out only enough plates of sandwiches and baskets of fruit for the moment and let the children go run. There were thermoses of tea and sodas and waters in the cooler as well.

Once free of her superhero cape, Abney lead the way to the playground and commenced burning off the energy. Quinn was more interested in reading a book but he, too, occasionally joined his sister in playing.

[Open park with picnic food! Come let the kids play together!]

Comments

[forever_family]

It really was an appropriate word for her. "You are AbuelJono because I wasn't gonna just call you Jonothon like you were a stranger." She fidgeted, "But sometimes it's just Jono because it's fun to say. Hi! You get to meet me now instead of when you really meet me, when I was very little, and I'm glad you weren't in New York this week!"

Beat.

"Little sad for your New York kids because they don't get you this weekend but they get you all the other times, so this weekend you can be mine and Quinn's too!"

[furnaceface]

//They get me all the other times,// Jono agreed easily. //It isn't every weekend I get to meet little sunbeams from the future, after all.//

And this one was every bit the delight.

[forever_family]

"Not here, I suppose," Abney agreed, "I'm not from the future back home, I'm from the now. How are you, AbuelJono? Is it nice back in this time for you?"

[furnaceface]

//Well, I'm certainly having a nice time right now,// Jono offered her, settling in to that eye-level crouch because it somehow seemed wrong to stand around towering over a kid with this much personality. //Music to sell, students to teach. I'm still teaching in your now, am I?//

[forever_family]

"Sooooometimes you teach," Abney said uncertainly, "Mostly you and LeeLee are in charge right now. It's why you and senelis had to move to New York. It's closer to Boston so you could take care of both schools."

A beat and she said frankly, "I miss you. I can always talk to you but it's not the same as having you here. I hope you can come home soon."

[furnaceface]

Jono blinked, processing all of that. LeeLee was definitely Jubilee, 'in charge' could have meant any one of a million things with that lot, Boston sounded like maybe a return to the old Academy...

He shrugged off that train of thought. What would be would be, whatever it was.

//Well, you'll have to get on my case about visits, either you coming to us or vice-versa. Lord knows I hate being away from my people as it is, Sunshine.//

[forever_family]

"We do visits," Abney assured him. She bit her lower lip a little bit. "But they need you right now, your school kids. You've explained. It's ok. It's only until the mean Bill is dead."