"Best two out of three," Peggy says, moving her plate out of reach on the kitchen table around which she and Daniel are seated.
"Right," Daniel replies. "On the count of three. One… two… three!"
Both shake their fists to the count. As soon as Daniel says, "three," she flattens her hand, palm down. He keeps his a fist.
"Yes! Paper beats rock."
He wants to kiss the smug smile off her face. "Okay. Go again. One… two… three!"
He shows two fingers, mimicking scissors, while she flattens her hand.
"One, one," he says, his own smirk in place. "Last one. One… two… three!"
She keeps her hand as a fist. A second behind her, he flattens his hand.
"That's cheating, Daniel! You saw what I was doing!"
"No, I didn't."
"That's not fair," she says with a pout.
"Come on, Peg. It makes sense that you'd teach Michael how to drive anyway. He should learn in your car, and I can't drive it."
"I know Howard made your car with the ability to disable the hand controls. Nice try, though."
"You're the better driver," he says.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Neither will cheating at rock-paper-scissors."
He flips his eyebrows. "Maybe we could wrestle instead."
"I would beat you at that, without cheating," she says, taking his hand.
He tugs at her and she gets up from her chair. "You would but it would be much more fun."
Peggy settles on his lap, 'side saddle,' as he often jokes. She's a perfect fit. She always has been.
His fingers brush through her hair and she leans in for a kiss. Twenty years together and she still has the ability to make his heart race.
"Eww, gross! Do you two always have to do that?"
"It's called true love, Michael," Daniel says, watching his sixteen-year-old son flop down into a chair. "If you're lucky enough, you'll find it, too."
"Yeah, well, I won't subject my kids to seeing it all the time." Michael steals a half-eaten piece of toast from his mother's plate. "So, who's gonna teach me how to drive?"
"Your mother is," he says, then yelps when Peggy pinches his arm.
"Oh. Okay."
Daniel looks at his son, who lets out a dramatic sigh. He learned that from his mother.
"You're not happy with the answer?"
"It's just that…" Michael pauses. Daniel knows he is choosing his words carefully. Something he passed onto his son, besides the big ears. "If I make one little mistake, Mom'll flip her wig."
Peggy jumps up from Daniel's lap. "Michael Daniel Sousa!"
"See?"
"He has a point, Peg. You do have a shorter fuse than I do."
"Fine," she huffs. "Your father will be teaching you how to drive." She leaves the room but not before Daniel catches a small smile between mother and son.
"Wait a minute. I've been had!" He glares at Michael. "What did she bribe you with?"
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
"I was sold out for a Beatles album?"
"Sorry, Dad. It's the Beatles."