How Green Becomes Wood

"Let me know as soon as you can, okay? In the mean time, I'll call my boss to see what days she finds it most convenient so it's already on her radar, and I'm sure we can plan something nice even if you can't figure out what specifically he'd like to get a little bit more information on."

Dark held up the garment and shook his head in mild amusement, "It will confuse her, you are correct. It confuses me, looking at it. I do not think it would work well for its intended purpose, but she cannot crawl yet." He folded it up and handed it back to him, "It may be a little big on her, since it is intended for babies who can crawl, and she is a few months from that still, but for a quick prank it should be fine. Just tell me when you want me to dress her in it."
 
"Sure thing," Xander agreed. "Thanks for being willing to do that. I don't want you to feel, you know, taken advantage of or anything."

"I figured it'd be too big, and that's the smallest we could find," Alec grinned as he took it back. "I think, optimally, it should happen when she least expects it. Like if she lays Ivy down for a nap and doesn't know you swapped it or something. I trust your timing better than mine."
 
"Taken advantage of? This is the first time you've ever asked me to do anything at the museum of your own volition." Daizi replied with a small chuckle, "It's not like you're one of those teens with a new relationship every other week, asking me to pull a few strings every few weeks to impress them. Then maybe I'd feel taken advantage of."

"That is a good idea," Dark agreed, and his eyes darted to the empty pack-and-play, and wished Ivy was napping downstairs so he could watch her. "She will be big enough to wear it properly soon. And crawling. But I think this will not make many reappearances."
 
Xander blushed, looking down, but he did smile. "I think everyone in this family would be exhausted if I was like that. Thank you. I think he'll be at the gymnastics thing tomorrow, so I can talk to him then. Maybe again on Monday at school if I don't get everything I need then. I do know he likes music, the more, I dunno, artsy stuff, and photography. And more indie-type stuff. If that helps."

"If it never appears again, I'll be happy," Alec grinned. "We just got it for the one joke."
 
"I used to know people like that, they were insufferable. I'm not disappointed I don't have to work you through romantic heartbreak after heartbreak." Daizi replied, "and I was never like that myself, because Dark and I decided very early we were for each other. But I'll keep those things in mind... I don't know if we have anything 'indie' in that way, but we have music and art."

Unfolding the outfit and holding it up again, Dark said, "It is still somehow better than that horrible outfit they dressed her in when they pranked us. When she starts crawling we have to sew bells onto all of her clothes. It will be sooner than I am prepared for."
 
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"Perfect," Xander nodded. "Thank you. I'm... kind of... looking forward to it." He glanced at the door. "I should probably go do something now. Maybe work on work, or call Cooger and see if he needs any help this weekend with the neighbor's house."

"I'm looking forward to the bells. I think it'll be cute!" Alec said honestly.
 
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"Good, I'm glad you're looking forward to it. Now go enjoy your Saturday, don't spend all of your weekend talking to your mom, you're cooler than that." She told him and shooed him from the room with a warm, crooked grin.

"It is difficult for her to be anything else," Dark replied, folding the garment once more, "I cannot believe in a week she will be six months old. And in eight days, she will be closer to being a year old than she was to being just born."
 
"I dunno. Most kids don't have a mum as cool as you to hang out with," Xander replied, sauntering out of the room. He returned her grin even if she couldn't see it and headed downstairs.

"You are so adorably obsessed," Alec smirked. "Not to say that's a bad thing, quite the opposite, but it's not something I've ever really gotten to see in person before. It's fascinating!"
 
"I am not obsessed." Dark replied, "It is difficult to raise a baby, making it half of a year is significant. Especially reaching six months after over a decade of infertility and two weeks in the NICU." He looked at Alec with a small light in his eyes, "And she is soon to not be essentially a grub."
 
Alec smiled and patted Dark's shoulder. "Indeed, not at all obsessed, says the man who keeps glancing toward the playpen and crib like he wishes he could watch her sleep. That's all right. Whatever this is, obsession or not, it's a good deal better than the other way!"

Xander texted Cooger, asking if he needed any help with the house next door. If Cooger said no, then he'd head to his own little shop to get some work done with leather goods. Either way, he was staying out of this "Obsession, not obsession" conversation.
 
"We used to have her sleep downstairs if we are downstairs, I am used to her being there. I think it is natural to be accustomed to looking at her when speaking about her. And also..." He paused, shrugging, "Do you know right around 16 pounds? And when she was born she weighed four and a half. She has quadrupled in size in six months, and soon she will not be sleeping in our bedroom at night, she will be sleeping in hers. I do not think you need to be obsessed with a baby to recognize they grow big quickly, so you want to take time to appreciate when they are small."

Eh, today I'm helping Lex drop off some item too big for her trunk, Cooger texted back, We're not working on the actual house today. But next time, kid
 
"Uh-huh. Next you'll try to tell me that you don't have a healthy love obsession with your wife," Alec said dryly. He shook his head. "I'm not saying it's bad. I'm saying it's sweet. Sadly unusual in my personal experience, but not bad." He gestured toward the stairs. "I'm going to go get my sketchpad and sit in the backyard for a while. Let me know if you need anything?"

See you then. Xander headed for his shed, wondering vaguely what kind of item would be too big for the trunk of the car but quickly forgetting all about it.

Meanwhile, Lex and Toby were wrestling the second half of a pair of wrought-iron gates out onto the driveway. The first half already sat leaning against the fence and waiting to be loaded up. The second half was proving to be unwieldy and slippery. The fact that the garage door refused to stay fully open was not helping. Lex swore up a storm as she tried to get it through the sagging garage doors without hitting anything.
 
"Maybe one day you will be in a position to understand," Dark said simply. Admittedly, the jokes about his 'obsession' did bother him, a little. He loved his daughter, and it felt about equal in his heart to how he loved his sons, but it was different, also, because she could not attend to any of her needs on her own. It just seemed natural to be more attentive to her. And she looked so peaceful and content when she slept. It mattered to him to see her so safe. If either of the twins ever fell asleep downstairs, he would probably watch them, too. At least for a little while. But he was happy, he liked where his home life was at. Everytime he was called obsessed, it felt a little like he was doing something wrong, or being weird, when he was just. Happy. And fascinated.

But since he knew it wasn't said to make him feel worse, he said nothing about it.

Cooger pulled up while they were struggling, which allowed him to approach without notice, and he caught the garage door and held it up for them. "Not even the garage works properly at this place, huh?" He commented, "Are you sure you had an appraisal done?"
 
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"Yeah, but this stupid thing conked out two days ago," Lex grumbled. "Thanks. Left, Toby."

Toby obeyed the directions, and soon they set the second half of the gate next to the first. The polished black metal glinted in the sunlight, and when put together, the pattern revealed itself to be two delicately designed Asian dragons facing each other, each one holding the gate's knob in one claw. Red polished glass glinted for the dragon's eyes. Highly decorative, yet also looked like it could stop a charging car. Not even half of the gates would have fit in her tiny Toyota car.

"When I took this commission, I warned him three times that I couldn't do deliveries. Then what I get?" she grumbled, checking the gates one last time for any flaws.

"A call from the client asking if you could deliver," Toby said with a sideways grin at Cooger. "Hey, Mr. Cooger! Nice seeing you again."
 
"Good to see ya, Tobey," Cooger nodded to him, flipping the back of his truckbed down so they could load them in, "You're kinder than me, I would've told the client to figure it out." He paused as he helped to lift the gates in, and frowning said, "No, I would've brought them over. But Dark? He would've told the client to figure it out---unless they were disabled. He's who you need if you ever need someone told off, because he's nice to kids, but unless the client is disabled or has another very good reason to not show up as promised, he's not letting that slide."
 
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"I don't need a pair of custom-sized gates sitting around, so I arranged for a delivery and inconvenience fee," Lex said with a tight smile. "He's not showing up because he 'accidentally' mismanaged his schedule. Again." She shook her head. "Not taking him as a client a second time, that's for sure."

Lex and Toby heaved the gates up into the truck - Toby needing help from Cooger to get his end up high enough - and Lex wrapped an old mover's blanket around them to keep them safe from scuffs. Then Lex strapped them down and patted the side of the truck.

"Good to go!" she said cheerfully.

"Alright, I'm going to head to the park," Toby grinned. "See you later, Mom!"

"Wait!" Lex called. "Home for dinner?"

Toby considered the question. "I dunno. An hour enough time for an answer?"

Lex nodded. "I'll assume you're coming unless you text me. Thanks for your help."

"Sure thing! Bye, Mr. Cooger!" Toby grabbed his board and gave a running start before hopping up on his board and gliding away.

Lex turned to Cooger. "Ready?"
 
"That's a fair point," Cooger said, checking to make sure the straps were tight. It wasn't that he doubted Lex or thought she couldn't do it, but considering it was his truck, and he was driving, if on the off-chance something was missed, he would be culpable for these heavy iron gates flying out of the truck bed. "But I still think you're underestimating the fear of god that man can instill in a person. He doesn't even yell. You should see it, sometime." He walked to the driver's side of his truck, holding up his hand to wave goodbye to Tobey, "At least it isn't too long of a drive. It could've been a lot worse."
 
"Oh, I can imagine," Lex chuckled, hopping up into the passenger seat. "I've only seen one other guy like your friend - as in quiet and brooding - and he made quite the impression. Wasn't nearly as big as Dark, though. Your friend is something else." She buckled up and leaned back. "Thanks for being willing to play moving van for me. I've been thinking about getting a small pick-up for instances like this, but I haven't decided."
 
"He is something. He's a complicated man." As he drove to the client's house, he took a quick glance at Lex, "If you do get one, you've gotta be sure not to buy one of those modern pick-ups. Those giant ones... People buy them and think they're really someone, but they make the truck beds smaller and smaller, and they're so far off the ground it's hard to load anything into the bed. They're just for looks. Like getting a French Bulldog as a guard dog. Except in one of those trucks, you can't even see the dog because the visibility is crap."
 
Lex laughed at his description. "And at least the dog is a yappy little thing, so maybe you might possibly be alerted," she chuckled. "Yeah, I know those trucks you're talking about. Everyone thinks they're a big man in those wastes of space, don't they?"
 
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