“Just one request… some place outside of Seaport,” he added.

“Have they ever been to Boston? It’s not too far of a drive from here. There are some things we can do in Providence too,” I suggested, thinking it would be easy to take day trips and still work the bar at night.

“I know what I’d like to do this weekend.” His tone was mischievous.

“And what would that be?”

“I’d love to take my parents up to the lake.” He looked over at me and raised his eyebrows. “I’d love to take my dad out on the boat. Can we do that?” He was so excited.

“Ryan, it’s Halloween. I have bands scheduled. It’s one of my biggest weekends of the year. Let me see if I can rearrange coverage for the pub

first, okay?”

We drove up the coast for almost a half-hour, then turned into a gated beachside community. I was relieved to see the security guard on duty and a huge metal gate blocking the rest of the world from entering. I never knew we had gated communities so close.

The homes were typical three story beach houses, all placed very close together. The house that Cal and Kelly had rented was only three homes away from the beach. “This must be really neat in the summertime.” I smiled over at Ryan.

“Yeah, too bad it’s October,” he said in agreement. I was glad to see that he was almost himself again.

He opened my car door and held my hand as we walked up the sidewalk to the front door.

“Hey guys, come on in!” Cal greeted us and took our coats.

Behind him, the most adorable little girl with long blond hair came running down the hallway. She hid behind her daddy’s legs.

I peeked behind Cal and smiled at the little cutie. “Hi,” I said softly, crouching down to her level. “You must be Cami!”

She giggled at me and hid her face. “Cami, are you being shy?” Cal asked, tickling her head.

“Hi!” Kelly said as she joined us at the door. “Glad you could make it!” She gave me a big hug.

“Thank you so much for inviting us.” I returned her hug.

“Whyin!” Cami pointed at Ryan. Slowly she came out from behind Cal’s legs.

“Come here you!” Ryan scooped her up and kissed her on her cheeks before spinning her around in his arms to tickle her belly. Her giggles were precious. They obviously knew each other very well.

We walked through the front entryway and down the hall to the large family room that bordered the enormous kitchen. Something smelled wonderful. The house was decorated in shades of white, blue, and beige with hints of seashells and starfish; typical for a beach rental home.

“How was your ride over?” Cal asked Ryan.

Ryan set Cami down and looked at me before answering. “It was a bit crazy, but we made it. Taryn’s car was covered with notes.” He looked at me like he was guilty of something.

“You’re kidding?” Cal said. “How the…”

“The pop were waiting for us when we got back from the marina last night - they were at both doors. And then when we left to come here, the fans were waiting as well. The paparazzi even chased us for a couple of miles.”

Cal inconspicuously looked over at me. “How’d she do?” he whispered to Ryan, but I could still hear him.

“She did great. I was the one who flipped out!”

Even though I was interested in their conversation, I was distracted by a pair of big blue eyes and a naked Barbie doll staring at me.

“Is that a Barbie doll?” I asked Cami.

“Uhuh, wanna see?” She held the doll out to me.

“Hello Barbie, my name is Taryn. It’s very nice to meet you!”

Cami giggled. “Her name not Barbie! Her name Dora!”

“Dora? What a pretty name! It’s nice to meet you, Dora. Dora, Dora, Dora, the Explorer.” I sang, making Cami giggle at me again.

“How do you know the Dora song?” Kelly asked as Cami ran back down the hallway.

“There’s not much else on at two o’clock in the afternoon. Sometimes I’d rather watch cartoons than the other choices.”

Two minutes later, Cami came running back with another naked Barbie in her other hand. “Here, you be Beauty and I’ll be Dora.”

I took the Barbie into my hands and danced her around on my leg.

“Cami, don’t be a pest!” Kelly announced from the kitchen.

“Come on Cami, let’s take our dollies on an adventure.” I danced the doll over to the kitchen counter where several large chairs were poised.

“So Beauty, does mommy need help in the kitchen?”

“No thank you, Beauty. Dinner is almost ready,” Kelly replied. “Does Taryn need a glass of wine yet?”

I answered with a wink and a nod.

“What about G.I. Joe over there? Do you and Malibu Ken need drinks?” Kelly teased.

I pulled out one of the chairs and my little friend was right by my side. “Would you like to sit on my lap? We can play dollies up here!”

Cami just nodded her head at me like she was in a trance.

We played with the two dolls on the counter. “You know Cami, when I was your age I loved playing with Barbies too. I would sit in my room for hours, building houses and taking my Barbie for a ride in her car.”

“You did?”

“Uhuh! But my Barbie had clothes. What happened to your clothes, Dora?”

“Dora gonna take a bath,” she told me, matter-of-factly. “And then, and then, and then, and then, she gonna brush her teef. See? Like dis. Open wide.” Cami opened her mouth.

While the adorable little girl was showing me her teeth, a little squeaker of a toot slipped out of her bottom. “Oops!” she giggled.

“Did you sit on a mouse?” I asked her.

“No, I farted,” she announced to everyone.

I couldn’t stop laughing. Cal took her off of my lap.

“Say you’re sorry to Taryn!” he said in between laughing.

“Sorry,” she said in her beautiful little voice.

“That’s okay sweetie.”

“Come on. Let’s see if some little girl needs to go potty.” Cal led her down the hallway.

Ryan stood behind me, rubbing my shoulders and laughing that I got tooted on.

“She got me good once. You remember that Kelly? When we were filming the first movie, I had her sitting on my lap and I was tickling her and she peed all over me.”

“Ryan, that was so funny, none of us could ever forget that. And believe me, it’s a rite of passage once you become a parent. I don’t think there’s a mom or dad on the planet that hasn’t gotten peed, pooped, or puked on.”