Sammy and Ilna- every day is a special day with you. Sammy thanks for the line at the end. Ilna your beautiful scene inspired the steakhouse one.

REALMcRollers and readers as always thanks for the love and feedback! Hugs to all.

Special Days

A very content Elizabeth Rollins cooed as she balanced her granddaughter on her knees. "Look at her, Catherine, standing up and bouncing. Your father and Steve say she's going to walk early, just like you. They may be spot on. She kissed a little cheek. "We're going to have so much fun today, aren't we, sweetheart?"

Angie responded with, "baaa, ah ahhh," and reached out to touch her grandmother's face.

"That's right. Lots of fun on our Angie and Grandma special day." Elizabeth kissed the baby again but caught her daughter's eyes.

Catherine smiled and wrapped her arms around her own grandmother. "I bet you two have as much fun as we do on our special days," she said as she squeezed Ang's hand and moved to kiss her baby. "Take pictures, Mom, okay … wait, look who I'm talking to," she laughed. "Nevermind."

Elizabeth nodded and stood. "Your mommy knows me so well." She winked at the little one. "Let's go have our adventure." She waved the little hand. "Bye, bye, Mommy, we're going to have fun on the beach!"

Catherine waved and blew kisses, grinning broadly when her daughter cooed and giggled. "Do you need anything?"

"Steve set up a giant umbrella and the baby pool, there's a lounge chair, a beach chair and a king size comforter all in the shade and I have my secret fun weapon. We're all good to go." She lifted the baby bag. "And we have Cammie," She glanced at the prancing dog who was ready to accompany her little human on that day's adventure. "Our personal bodyguard."

Holding the baby out so Ang could kiss her namesake goodbye, Elizabeth settled the little one on her hip and headed out the back door to the beach.

Catherine turned with a grin. "Was I as little as Angie when we started having our special days together?"

Grandma Ang nodded and held out her arms for a hug. "Yes, you were. I was so happy Joseph was stationed in Florida when you were born so I could visit for six weeks to help a little and then come back Thanksgiving through Christmas. We had our very first special day out when you were just about Angie's age."

"Awww, I love you, Gram."

"I love you, my girl, and every minute we spend together. The adventures got more and more fun as you got older, too."

Catherine reached for her purse and keys and linked their arms. "That means today should be the best one yet."

Angie sat in her Bumbo seat in the center of the giant comforter her daddy had placed under the largest umbrella he could buy. She was giggling and flailing her arms and legs in pure joy as Elizabeth blew bubbles and said, "get them, sweetheart, there you go!" and "Yay, Angie!" Every time the baby popped one with a hand or foot. When she blew a stream of bubbles in Cammie's direction, the dog leapt and twirled to grab at as many as she could, making her tiny human emit peals of hysterical laughter.

When after the bubble fest and a snack of pears and peaches, Angie started to look sleepy, Elizabeth pulled out a bottle of water and placed the bubbles in her bag. "Grandma's secret weapon," she said with a huge smile as she lifted Angie and snuggled her, placing kisses on her soft hair as she took a few swallows of water. "Your mommy loved bubbles. We'd blow them for her and she'd laugh just like you." She settled her for a little nap and got out a book. "You close your eyes and take a rest and when you wake up we'll have a little time in the very pretty pool your Uncle Danno bought you, how does that sound. Are you going to be a strong swimmer like Daddy? Not that your mommy is any slouch in the water, but I've never seen anybody love the ocean like your daddy." She opened the book as she settled in her beach chair next to her granddaughter, marveling for the thousandth time at how much Angie looked like Catherine at that age.

Smiling softly, she began to read in a soothing voice, "Kitty, where are you?" Mama cat calls. It's time to take a nap …"

Diamond Head Theatre

Catherine looped her arm through her grandma's as they left the theater and crossed the lobby after a performance of Shall We Dance?

"How did it compare to An American In Paris?" She asked about the stage adaptation of the original 1951 version, one of Ang's favorites that they'd seen several times since she owned the DVD.

"It was beautiful. So much talent. Of course I'll always love the Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron movie version best," she said, her blue eyes twinkling. "But these dancers were magnificent. Every bit as good as the broadway version I saw with your mother and Aunt Jean."

Catherine nodded. "They put on wonderful productions. Carrie, Gabby and I saw Evita here with Grace. We all loved it."

"You all saved it for one of your girls' nights?" Ang said knowingly.

"Definitely," she chuckled. "Steve at an operetta with period costumes … yeah, not happening. I mean, he'd go if I really wanted to, but why torture him?"

"And that's part of why you two are perfect together."

"Aww thank you." She kissed her grandmother's cheek as she helped her into the car. "Ready for dinner?"

"Absolutely, all that dancing works up an appetite. Even if you're just watching young people do it."

DK Steakhouse

As the server placed their entrees down, the manager stopped by to greet them.

"Catherine, nice to see you again, and who is this lovely young lady?" He smiled at Ang.

"Keya, this is my grandma," her smile grew as she introduced her. "Ang."

"Nice to meet you." She shook his offered hand. "Catherine and Steve rave about your steaks. Best on Oahu, they tell me."

"They definitely are," he indicated Catherine's aged bone in rib eye with blue cheese butter. "The usual, I see?"

"I've been excited for this all week, and for Gram to try her favorite." Ang had chosen the 10 oz filet.

"Enjoy, ladies. Very nice to meet you, ma'am." He nodded and added, "Catherine, please tell Steve and that beautiful girl of yours I said hi."

She beamed when she promised she would.

As they settled into their meals, Catherine cut a piece of her steak and placed it on Ang's plate. "Have a taste, Gram."

She smiled and patted her hand. "You know you started doing that when you were about five."

"Did I?"

"Yes you did. You always wanted to share a little so later you could say, "wasn't that yummy what we had?" I think it was your way of making the shared experience even moreso." She smiled softly. "And my girl is a good sharer, just like always." She winked and tasted the steak. "Delicious. Do you remember the first time we went to a steak house? You were in second grade…"

Chicago, Illinois 1985

Steak House

"...and Mrs. Richter said I got an A plus because I had a capital letter to start all my sentences and I used my punctuation marks right." Her big brown eyes were sparkling as she explained while walking hand in hand with Ang into the restaurant. "I told her we were coming to visit you for two whole weeks this summer. Remember when you came to school and saw my classroom?" Seven year old Catherine practically bounced and the maitre de smiled.

"Ang, nice to see you again, and this must be Catherine. Your grandma talks about you all the time." The tall man with a linebacker's build greeted one of his favorite customers. Ang came in often with friends and her family was a favorite topic, especially her grandchildren.

Introductions made, they sat in a leather booth and Catherine opened the menu that was large enough to hide her entire upper body. "I'll have this, okay Gram?" She peeked around the menu to see her grandmother's smiling face and turned it to point out her choice.

"Perfect. I'm going to have the filet," Ang grinned at the waitress. "Catherine, would you like to order yourself?"

"Yes, please. I want the ribs." She pointed to the Kid's Baby Back Ribs.

The waitress nodded. "That's my favorite. Do you want garlic mashed potatoes, mandarin oranges or a salad, honey?"

Catherine tilted her head in a pose Ang recognized as one of her daughter's. Elizabeth had made the same gesture from the time she was a baby and it always made her smile when her granddaughter did the same.

"Can I just get the ribs? Oh, wait, if I can take the mashed potatoes home to grandma's my daddy will eat them. Daddy loves mashed potatoes." She giggled. "Even the ones in the mess hall."

"You sure can, sweetie." She placed her pen in an apron pocket and smiled. "One famous filet mignon and one order of kid's ribs. Mashed to go. And if you can't finish 'em you can take the rest of the ribs to your grandma's, too. And tell your dad I said thanks for serving. My son is in the corps."

Catherine smiled at the waitress. She was pretty and had nice hazel eyes. "My daddy is in the navy. I'm gonna be in the navy, too. And I think I can finish all the ribs if I don't fill up on anything else, right, gram?"

Ang couldn't resist reaching out to squeeze her granddaughter's hand. "Right, my girl. One hundred percent right."

Present

When Catherine and Grandma Ang returned to the beach house, they found Angie giggling wildly as Elizabeth blew bubbles and Steve cheered her on.

"Ohhh bubbles!" Catherine greeted her mother and husband and immediately sat on the play mat next to the baby and Cammie.

"I see she comes by her love of bubbles honestly," Steve laughed while leaning over to kiss her. "How did I not know this about you, Rollins?"

She shrugged. "Who doesn't love bubbles?" Scooping Angie into her lap she took her little hands in her own and caught the next stream Elizabeth blew. "We love bubbles!" She sing songed and kissed the baby. "Angie loves bubbles, Mommy loves bubbles…" she grinned at her mother. "You really brought a secret weapon. Looks like you two had a fun special day with grandma."

"We had the best day," Elizabeth nodded. "Didn't we, Angie? We blew bubbles and went in the pool and read stories and then when we came back, Daddy was home and he had yummy mashed potatoes and peas all ready for dinner."

"How was your lunch?" Steve asked Grandma Ang who was smiling at the whole scene from where she'd settled on the sofa. "Don't they have great steaks?"

Catherine passed him the baby and stood to wrap an arm around her grandma who said, "the play was wonderful and you're right, best steak I've had in awhile."

Elizabeth capped the bubbles and wiped her hands as she stood, tickling the baby's tummy and patting Steve's arm when her daughter said, "best special day yet, right, Gram?"

"Absolutely. It's the best feeling getting to spend time with my girl, just like always. Only now we can do it so much more often." The blue eyes lit from within and when Catherine took her hand and kissed her cheek she squeezed her granddaughter's fingers. "Do you know another best thing about special days as a grandma?"

Elizabeth smiled as her mother reached for her hand with the one that wasn't holding Catherine's.

"Knowing someday my daughter will get to experience the feeling too."

# End thanks for reading

AN: Elizabeth read Nap Time for Kitty by Michael Dahl with illustrations by Oriol Vidal

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