Disclaimer: I don't owe Raising Hope. All characters belong to their rightful owners; I'm just using the characters.
Enjoy
"…And they lived happily ever after," Sabrina was standing right on the threshold of Hope's room, listening to Jimmy finish the bedtime story he had made up for Hope. Hope had fallen asleep just about the time the story finished and Sabrina couldn't help but smile. She had never liked children, had done her best to avoid them but then Jimmy and Hope had come into her life. Afterward, she hadn't had a chance. She fell in love with Hope and thought of Hope as her own.
Jimmy gave Hope one last kiss on the forehead and got up. As soon as he saw Sabrina he smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the lips.
"So, how'd it go with Hope?"
"Good, she didn't fight as much as last week when I told her it was time for bed, just ran around until she got tired."
Sabrina smiled as she remembered Hope trying to avoid Jimmy. She had thrown a ball and had hit Jimmy right on the nether regions.
"You're remembering last week, aren't you?"
"What, it was hilarious."
"Tell that to my balls."
Sabrina gave a laugh before they both left Hope's room. They went straight to their room.
"So, Jimmy, want to have some fun?"
"Do I ever," he said excitedly. Sabrina crooked her finger and he jumped right on the bed, which made it break.
"Ahh, Jimmy!"
"Sorry, sorry, ow." They both got up and saw that the legs of the bed had broken.
"How is that even possible," Sabrina asked, rhetorically. Well, it was until she saw Jimmy trying to avoid looking at her.
"Jimmy, what did you do?"
"Nothing, I swear!"
"Jimmy," she said, warningly.
"Okay, maybe Hope and me may have jumped on the bed this afternoon."
"Jimmy!"
"I know, I know, sorry."
"You're the adult; you have to set the example."
"Sorry."
"Great," she flopped back down on the bed, not caring that it was broken.
"So, no adult time," Jimmy asked; Sabrina glared at him. "Yeah, didn't think so."
Jimmy went to lie down beside Sabrina on the broken bed.
"Guess we'll have to buy a new frame tomorrow, huh?"
"You think, Jimmy. I don't know why you didn't find another way to entertain Hope. Play some games, jump outside on the trampoline you bought, against my wishes or maybe make up a new story, you're good with that.
"Really, you think I am?" Sabrina turned on her side and propped her head on her arm to look at Jimmy.
"Yeah, you're good with the illustrations and have a way of making the stories come to life."
Jimmy mimicked Sabrina's posture and asked, "Remember during that fake pageant you made us do in Howdy's and I had drawn the hippos?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, I mentioned about you publishing books and me drawing the illustrations."
Sabrina sighed and laid back down, "Jimmy, do you have any idea how hard that'd be? First, we have to come up with the stories, write them down, illustrate it, make a transcript and if we're lucky we have maybe can find a publisher. It's a nice idea but I don't think it'll be possible."
"Oh come on, I already have illustrations and stories to go along with it. You took a writing class and have good grammar skills. I think between the two of us we could come up with something and think how this will be great for Hope. If we do sell she'll be reading her parents' work and with the money, we make we could secure her a better future."
"Well, it would be better than just getting a grocer's salary and if we get published the first time we could continue writing, even make a series!"
"So is that a yes?"
"It's a yes."
OoOoOoOo
Jimmy, Sabrina, and Hope were on their way to Maw Maw's house with a pizza in their hands. A year and a half had passed since they had decided to publish their stories and a lot had happened since then. After obsessing and losing sleep they finally came up with one. They had sent it to many publishers and got discouraged while rejection letter after rejection letter was mailed to them.
Then one day they finally got a letter to send more of the book. After that, it had all been a whirlwind. They got a publishing agent, contracted to make a series after the first book, and got a good advance for signing up with the publishing company. They already had three books out, finished the fourth one and were working hard on the fifth one. They've been so busy that they actually had to cut back on hours at Howdy's. Right now they were negotiating tour dates. They wanted a summer tour so they could take Hope with them.
They knocked on the door and it was answered by Virginia.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite writers. And you brought pizza! Come in."
All three entered to come face-to-face with Mawmaw in nothing in a bikini while eating a from a jar of pickles, "Hey Mawmaw," Jimmy and Sabrina said, unfazed with Mawmaw's antics.
"Jimmy, Jimmy's husband."
"For the last time, Mawmaw, I am a woman."
"Whatever," she continued eating her pickles.
"We brought pizza."
"Uhh, Pizza, I love it," Burt got off the couch and ran towards the table just to trip and fall. He quickly got up and sat down, "bring over the pizza, Jimmy!"
They sat down and ate pizza while Virginia kept talking, "So I finally got around to reading your books and I got to tell you I loved them," she kept waving the pizza around while she talked, "and unlike other books I can understand them. That makes me smart," she emphasized the word 'smart' by pointing at herself forgetting she had the pizza in her hand and getting dirty with sauce.
"Oh, crap."
They all laughed at Virginia's expense, "I'm glad you liked it Virginia, Jimmy and I wrote it so that anyone of any age could enjoy them."
"Well, I enjoyed it when Virginia read them to me," Burt said before kissing his wife, "This sexy thing has a beautiful voice."
"Oh Burt, stop it."
"Grandma, grandpa, mommy and daddy are taking me with them this weekend."
"Yeah, we have another signing a few towns over and we want to take Hope, do you guys want to come?"
"I don't know," Virginia started.
"They'll come pick us up on an RV."
"We'll be there," Virginia said before taking a bite of her pizza.
They finished dinner and talked and laughed. Sabrina couldn't have been happier.