As Emi filed all the paperwork, Staas introduced Ira to some of the staff, then to some of the teachers that might be teaching Theo and Alida when Ira came to get them. He told them all that Ira was a new emergency contact and that he now had authorization to pick the kids up should Staas be unable to make it on time. Eventually they returned to get Theo, who waved a cheerful goodbye to his friends and teachers, and they bundled the kids up, put on their shoes, and set off home.
Alida started skipping her way down the sidewalk, and Theo immediately joined in, and Staas couldn't help but think what an adorable picture they must make, two adults, each with a kid attached to a hand, walking (or skipping) along, and even singing. For Theo had started humming quietly to himself a half a block away from the daycare, and Staas had tilted his head to listen carefully. Eventually he pulled "Be Our Guest" from the disjointed melody, and he decided to join in.
"Tonight you'll prop your feet up, but for now let's eat up." He swung Theo's hand in his, jostling his son into singing it out loud with him.
Theo grinned up at him and indulged him, singing at the top of his lungs, "Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest." Alida, too, had piped on on the second repetition of the phrase, grinning and adding extra bounce to her skip.
That bit of the song was near the end, of course, and that wouldn't do, so Staas picked a part closer to the beginning and carried on. "Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres, why, we only live to serve. Try the grey stuff, it's delicious. Don't believe me? Ask the dishes."