Page 29 of Daddy’s Little Secret

“Daddy, why is the playground taking so long? The wedding is only a month away.” My boy was not happy about this. But Chuck and Tae were working on the other surprise I had for him and could only do that while we were in town.

“Be nice, Angel. Uncle Chuck has more than just a playground to work on. He has a whole business to run. Now, help Daddy set the border so the sand doesn’t slide out.” We used railroad ties to outline the play area first. Then the plan was to build the jungle gym and set up the other components before we filled it with sand.

Aside from Sabrina, Trey had never chosen a favorite toy or theme. His Little loved and appreciated everything he got. I had no clue how to decorate his playroom, but Tae said he had it under control and I wasn’t allowed to peek.

As soon as they got back from their Vegas trip, they got to work on Trey’s playroom. Samian’s old bed was wrapped and stored in the garage. The plans Chuck and I came up with for the playground included an adult-sized slide, swing set with two swings, a two-story castle playhouse, and an overhead bridge that ran from the castle and around the immediate trees that surrounded the area. I hoped it wasn’t too high for Trey, but we wouldn’t know until it was done. I thought as long as it stayed around the twelve-foot mark, we’d be okay.

Still trying to figure out how to add an outdoor cattery to it.

A wooden trunk was being constructed to hold all their outdoor toys so they didn’t get ruined or disappear. Teeter-totter and a couple random riding toys were added as well. These boys would have the time of their lives out here.

“Trey, where were you thinking of having the wedding?” Details we probably should’ve nailed down already.

“Hmm.” He glanced around the land. “The biggest area is in front of the houses. Can we park the vehicles behind the cabins? Maybe have our guests park along the gravel driveway?”

“Good idea. That shouldn’t be a problem.” Might be a good idea to build a garage just for our vehicles or at least carports for them. I’d mention it to Chuck and add it to the list. “Would you be opposed to having picnic tables for everyone to eat at after the ceremony?”

“That’s a good idea. We can leave those up year-round and use them. What do you think about building a big barbeque area in the middle of them?”

“All great ideas. I’ll add it to the list Uncle Chuck and I have.” At least the picnic tables wouldn’t be hard to move wherever we wanted them. Maybe make a few extras and list them for sale to the locals. I was sure once word got around about our playground, we’d get a couple requests for those as well.

It was amazing what your business could do when you didn’t limit it. Chuck and I were more than happy to take on small projects such as playgrounds and such just as much as interior renovations and specialty lifestyle rooms. We enjoyed having a variety of jobs to do.

Monotony was the death of creativity.

Chuck pulled up just as we finished the perimeter. “Looking good, guys. What’s next?”

“I was thinking the castle,” I said. “Anything new going on in town?”

“Well, word got around about the wedding.” Chuck rolled his eyes. “And now parents are asking if their kids can still trick-or-treat here.”

“Aren’t we a bit too far out of town for that?” Were they really willing to drive their kids out here just for a piece of candy?

“There aren’t too many neighborhoods that close together, and with you guys getting married at two, we could let the parents set up an area where the kids could play games and get candy. Maybe even share the playground with them?”

I didn’t know what to think. That was our wedding day. “Oh, um, I’m not sure. I mean, it is our wedding. Trey?” I wasn’t about to make this decision for us. Trey was the one who came up with the date and the theme, this was important to both of us.

“Does Tae know about this?”

“Does Tae know about what?” the man himself asked as he wandered over. Where in the world was he anyway? Huh, that boy always did have a knack for appearing out of nowhere, silent as a ninja.

“Daddy got ambushed by a few parents in town that basically want to have a Halloween party for their kids here—on Halloween.”

“We have a wedding that day, Daddy,” Tae reminded him.

“I know, but I guess it hasn’t been much fun for the kids in town given how widespread all the shops and homes are.” Chuck shrugged. This was tugging at his heartstrings for some reason.

“Spill it, Chuck.”

“What’s there to spill? We have all this land, a soon-to-be-better playground than the local park has, and two boys with no friends up here. I thought it would be a great way for the locals to get to know us.”

“On our wedding day?”

“Um, yeah?”

“I think it’ll be fun,” Trey said, and Tae’s head bobbed up and down. “The wedding will be over by then, and we’ll already be dressed. Maybe we can play games with them too.”

“Is that what you want, Angel?”