Gaston headed for home, his rifle in one hand, the day's kill in a sack slung over his shoulder, and his two hunting dogs at his heels. He was in a fine mood. He stored the meat in the icehouse, then headed toward the house.

This was his favorite part of the day. Before his marriage, he'd always pictured this moment: coming home each day to be greeted by a loving wife and a large brood of rambunctious kids. Now he had that scene in reality every day, and it was even better than he had imagined.

"I'm home!" he called cheerfully as he entered the house. The dogs rushed past him into the house, barking for their dinner. Seeing Belle approaching from the kitchen, Gaston grabbed her and dipped her dramatically, making her giggle. He lifted her up and kissed her. "Mmm, you look gorgeous," he said appreciatively. The years had been kind to Belle. At 34, she was still the most beautiful woman in town as far as Gaston was concerned, with her long dark hair and big brown eyes, but giving birth to four kids had also given her a softer, slightly rounder, curvier look that Gaston found absolutely irresistible. He whispered in her ear, "Put the kids to bed early - I'll skip going to the tavern tonight. Okay?" Gaston's ardor for her had not cooled over the years, nor had his ability to make her melt with his kisses.

"Mmm, that sounds good to me," Belle said, kissing him back. After a difficult day, seeing her beloved husband never failed to lift her spirits. She took a moment to admire him. He was just as handsome as he had been in his younger days, but he now had an added air of maturity that she found extremely attractive. "You're looking very handsome yourself, I must say," she told him, smiling.

"Of course I am!" he agreed with a wink, preening. Gaston's limitless vanity was a bit of a private joke between the two of them. Belle loved to tease him about it, which only encouraged him more.

"Did you have a good day hunting?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied. "How was your day?"

Belle sighed, hating to tell him about Mimi's latest caper. "Well—"

But before she could continue, Mimi came flying down the stairs, her hurt ankle forgotten in her glee at hearing her father's voice. She was followed close behind by the others. "PAPA!" The children tumbled into the room with the dogs barking at their heels. Mimi, Alain and Georges immediately tackled Gaston, practically knocking the wind out of him. Laughing, Gaston began wrestling and roughhousing with them as they climbed all over him. "You kids are getting too strong for me!" he said jokingly.

Lili stayed off to the side, waiting patiently. Small and delicate, she had chosen to stay out of the roughhousing after getting bumped and knocked about one too many times by her bigger and more exuberant siblings. After a few minutes, Gaston said, "Okay, that's enough - let's give your sister a turn. Come here, princess." He scooped Lili up and swung her around, but gently, as she giggled. "More, Papa!" Gaston set her on his shoulders. "Now you're a princess on a high tower, looking over her kingdom!" he joked. He gave her a ride into the living room, then put her down.

Alain tugged on Gaston's sleeve. "Pa, I have something to show you!" he said eagerly. He ran upstairs and came down with the wrapped package, which he handed to his father.

Gaston unwrapped it, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, it's that old rifle of mine that wasn't working! I've been meaning to get that fixed. You brought it in for me, son? Thanks."

Alain shook his head. "No, I fixed it myself!" he said proudly.

"Really?" Gaston was genuinely impressed.

"Well, Grandpa helped," Alain added, always honest. "We did it in his workshop. I took it apart, and Grandpa and I figured out what was wrong. The problem was that the ejector spring wore out and lost too much tension, so it wouldn't fire. Grandpa has all kinds of springs in his workshop, so we found one that fit, and I replaced it. Simple as that."

"Clever boy!" Gaston said proudly, ruffling his son's hair. "You can fix just about anything, can't you? Here, let's try it out." He went outside, followed by Alain. Gaston aimed at an apple on a tree in the yard and fired, knocking the fruit off the tree. "Works as good as new! Thanks, son, you saved me some money there!" Alain beamed. They went back in the house.

"Papa," said Georges, wanting attention too. "I wrote a poem today!"

Gaston was taken aback. He hated poetry himself – it was boring, and most poems made no sense to him. And the thought of a son of his doing something as prissy as writing a poem didn't thrill him. He'd always envisioned his sons as big strong manly hunters, like himself.

But Georges looked so proud of himself, and so eager for Gaston's approval. And Gaston wanted to be a good father. "A poem, huh?" Gaston said, a bit reluctantly. "Uh…all right… let's hear it."

Georges cleared his throat and recited his butterfly poem. He looked at Gaston hopefully. "What do you think?"

Gaston was at a loss. He had no idea if it was good or bad. And a boy writing about butterflies? Couldn't it at least be about hunting or something?

Georges was waiting for his reaction. Gaston wondered what he should say. "Uh…aren't poems supposed to rhyme?"

"Not all of them, Papa," Georges told him.

"Oh. Well, in that case, it's…great, son," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Very nice. Lots of big words. Sounds very smart!"

Belle smiled affectionately at Georges. "He really is incredibly talented," she said proudly.

"Yep," Gaston said. "Oh, and remember, boys! Saturday you're coming hunting with me! We'll have a fine time, won't we?" He grinned at his sons in anticipation.

"You bet, Pa!" Alain said happily.

"Sure," Georges said reluctantly, forcing a smile.

Mimi piped up. "When can I go hunting?" she demanded. "I'm nine already! You started taking Georges when he was nine!"

"You want to come hunting?" Gaston said, surprised, although on reflection, he realized he shouldn't have been. Of all his children, Mimi took after him the most – athletic, outdoorsy, daring, and very competitive."Well…girls don't usually go hunting…"

Mimi scowled. "Why not?"

"Well, most of them aren't interested in it, and wouldn't be good at it," Gaston explained.

"I'd be good at it!" Mimi insisted. "I'd be the best at it!"

Gaston laughed. "You very well might be at that," he said fondly, ruffling her hair. "Okay. You can come with us on Saturday."

"Yes! Oh, thank you, Papa!" Mimi said excitedly, hugging him.

Belle interrupted. "Wait. I don't think that's such a good idea."

Gaston was surprised. Normally Belle was all in favor of letting the girls do whatever the boys did. "Why not?"

Belle hated to ruin the happy family mood, but this was important. "I don't think Mimi should be getting treats and rewards right now," Belle said. "Mimi, tell your father what you did today."

Mimi looked sulky, but didn't answer.

Gaston put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. "Come on now, wildcat," he said, using his pet name for her. "What did you do?"

Mimi sighed. "I went riding," she mumbled.

"She wanted to ride her horse," Belle said. "I told her to wait till you got home, so you could supervise. Instead, she disobeyed me, sneaked the horse out of the stable, and went galloping through town like a madwoman!"

"She did, huh?" Gaston tried to suppress a smile. It was hard for him to be angry, seeing as how it was exactly the kind of mischief he himself might have gotten into as a child. His daughter was one heck of a girl, he thought.

"She practically ran a woman over! " Belle continued.

"Oh – she didn't hurt her, did she?" Gaston asked.

"No, fortunately," Belle said. "But she also tried to jump the brook all by herself!"

"You jumped Tempête?" Gaston asked Mimi, interested. "How did he do?"

Belle was exasperated. "She fell off, Gaston! Came home soaking wet and limping because she twisted her ankle!" she said sternly. "She's lucky she didn't break her neck!"

Gaston looked concerned. "You all right? Let me see that ankle."

"I'm fine, Papa," Mimi insisted. "It was nothing."

"So, I told her she's grounded for a week," Belle finished. "She has to learn to follow rules. No horseback riding, no playing outside, and definitely no hunting!" She fervently hoped Gaston would back her up on this. She hated having to be the bad guy.

"Mama!" Mimi said, aghast. Her papa had finally agreed to take her hunting – the one thing she'd been waiting for her whole life! – and now her mother was taking it away from her? All she'd done was ride her own horse! Why did Mama always want to spoil all her fun?

Gaston looked just as disappointed as Mimi felt. He cleared his throat. "Your mother's right, wildcat," he said apologetically. "Believe me, I know how much you love riding, and you were very brave to want to try jumping! But it was dangerous for you to go out on your own. You haven't been riding very long, and Tempête's not a trained jumper. You could have gotten hurt. And Tempête could have gotten hurt – if he'd landed the wrong way, he could have broken his leg, and then he'd have to be put down. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"No," Mimi said, looking at the ground. Then she looked up at him. "But Papa…couldn't I still--?" she began pleadingly.

Gaston shook his head. "I'm sorry, honey. If your mother tells you something, you have to listen to her. But we'll go hunting some other time, all right?"

Mimi pouted. "Some other time" was so vague - it might never happen. She wanted to go this Saturday! But she could see from his expression that there was no use arguing. "All right," she said miserably.

"And I want you to apologize to your mother for disobeying," Gaston added.

Mimi looked up, startled. "What?"

"You heard me," Gaston said firmly. He was indulgent with his children with most things, but not when it came to showing disrespect to their parents.

Mimi looked away. "I'm sorry," she said glumly.

"Thank you, Mimi," Belle said. She thought for a moment. "I think you should apologize to Madame Grognon too."

"But she's so mean!" Mimi protested. "Do I have to?"

"I know she's not a very pleasant person, but you could have seriously hurt her," Belle said. "You do owe her an apology for that."

"I'll go with you," Gaston offered. "Give you a little moral support. We'll go together after dinner, all right?"

"All right," Mimi said. At least if her father was with her, it wouldn't be as bad.

Belle was relieved that Mimi wasn't putting up an argument. She stroked her daughter's hair. "Honey, please understand. We make these rules for your own good. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Mimi didn't want to be understanding. She wanted to be grumpy! She didn't say anything. Belle sighed. "Let's all sit down to dinner, shall we?" Maybe some food would improve everyone's mood.

Over dinner, Gaston regaled them all with his latest hunting stories. Belle mentioned some news about their mutual friends in the village, and they chatted about that for awhile. Then Gaston looked at the children. "How about you kids?" he asked conversationally, taking a forkful of venison. "How was school today?"

"Mimi punched a boy!" Lili piped up eagerly.

Mimi glared at her. Great. Now she would be in trouble again. The story of her life. Could she ever get through just one hour without being scolded for something?

Lili saw the look. "What's wrong? Papa asked about school. That was the most exciting thing that happened at school today!"

Gaston looked at Mimi sympathetically. His girl had had a rough day, it seemed. "What happened? Tell me about it."

Mimi rolled her eyes. "This new boy, Luc, said that no one could beat him at arm wrestling. I told him I could. He said girls can't arm wrestle – that girls can't do anything! So we arm wrestled, and I beat him."

Gaston laughed out loud. "Good girl! I bet that shut him up!"

"No, it didn't," Mimi said, getting angry all over again. "He said I cheated! But I didn't! And he said I'm a 'dumb girl' and I could never be as good as him! So I punched him."

Gaston nodded. "Good for you, wildcat!" he said approvingly. "Stick up for yourself and teach that little scamp not to mess with you! I'd have done the same thing."

"Gaston!" Belle said, appalled. That was all she needed – Gaston encouraging Mimi to get into more fights! "I'm trying to teach Mimi to control her temper. Hitting people is not the right answer!"

"But that rascal said she cheated! He was insulting her honor! Is she supposed to just sit back and take it?" Gaston protested. "That's how kids get bullied – they just let other kids push them around and don't stand up for themselves." He shook his head in disagreement. "No, Belle. Someone tries to push you around, you have to let them know right away that you're not going to let them get away with it. Otherwise they'll just keep doing it."

"Look, I agree that she should stand up for herself, but with words," Belle insisted. "I'm running a school, Gaston – I can't have Mimi going around punching people and getting into fights! I had to bring Luc home and tell his mother what happened. The same woman Mimi almost ran over later, I might add. A horrid woman - you should have heard her! Telling me the council obviously made a mistake in hiring a woman when I can't even keep control of my own kids…"

"She said that to you? How dare she! Who is this woman?" Gaston said, incensed. No one talked to his wife like that! He'd put a stop to it, that was for sure.

"That's not the point! The point is…what could I say to her? I'm in charge of the school, Gaston. I'm supposed to be keeping order and discipline, but my own daughter is going around punching other children!" Belle pointed out.

Gaston considered this. "Mmm, that is a good point. You do have your reputation to think about." If there was one thing Gaston understood well, it was the importance of a good public image and reputation. He'd practically made a career out of making himself look good. He turned to Mimi. "Listen, Mimi. You're old enough to understand this. Your mama's the village schoolteacher – that's an important job, one of the most important jobs in town! And she's a darn fine teacher, the best this town's ever had. We're all proud of her, aren't we? We want everyone to know what a great job she's doing.

"But if kids are fighting in her school, it makes your mama look bad. Next thing you know, the council fires her, and you kids end up with some boring, dried-up old prune of a teacher who makes you read dull lesson books and whacks kids with a ruler." He made a face, and Mimi giggled. "That's what my teachers were like, and believe me, you don't want one like that! You're darn lucky you've got your mama to teach you. She's a great lady. You don't want to mess everything up for her, do you?"

"No," Mimi admitted.

"All right, then," Gaston said. "So when you're in school, you behave as good as you possibly can, and don't get into fights. Show everyone what a great teacher your mama is. Make me proud. Okay?" He chucked her under the chin.

"Okay, Papa," Mimi said. She adored her father; she would do anything to make him proud of her. "I will."

"That's a good girl," Gaston said, patting her on the head. "I'll tell you this, though: I'm proud of you for sticking up for yourself. No one messes with my girl! Right?"

She grinned. "Right, Papa."

Gaston went back to eating. Mimi did too, looking much more cheerful. Belle stared at them both in amazement. How did he do that? she wondered. She tried so hard to be a good mother, but sometimes it seemed almost impossible to get Mimi to behave. But Gaston came in, and with just a few words, he got Mimi do whatever he asked – and agreeably, with no arguing or talking back. He seemed to have a natural rapport with her that Belle could only envy.

Belle went back to eating. Well, at least he'd gotten Mimi to promise to behave. She supposed that was one of the advantages of marriage – each partner had strengths to balance out the other's.

After dinner, Gaston said, "Well, I guess we're not going riding tonight, after what happened. Tell you what…let's all take a walk instead. I'll carry you on my shoulders, Mimi. You need to rest that ankle. We can go by that woman's house on the way back, get that apology over with."

Belle agreed, so they went outside to stroll through town. Gaston beamed with pride at the sight of them all as they walked. They certainly were an impressive family, he thought: Belle, the most beautiful, smartest, most important woman in the whole village; Alain and Georges, his two tall, handsome boys, the spitting image of himself; Mimi, who had more spirit and courage than any other kid in town, boy or girl; and Lili, his little princess, so sweet and pretty that all the adults they passed couldn't help smiling at her. No man in town had a finer family, he thought proudly. He was sure everyone in the village envied him.

As they reached the outskirts of town, Belle pointed at a house. "There – that's the Grognons' house." Gaston put Mimi down. Belle paused a moment. "Mimi, I think it would look better if you went up to the house yourself. Tell Madame Grognon how sorry you are about almost running her over, and that it won't happen again. If I go with you, it looks like I'm making you do it."

"But you are making me do it," Mimi pointed out.

"Well, that's true," Belle admitted. "But still…"

Gaston laughed. "What your mother means is, if you're going to do this, you want to make yourself look as good as possible. It's all about the image." He winked at her.

"I wouldn't exactly put it that way," Belle protested. "I just don't want to give that old…I mean, Madame Grognon any more ammunition. Just go up and apologize as nicely as you can, Mimi, all right?"

Mimi nodded reluctantly and went up to the house. She knocked on the door.

Madame Grognon answered it. Her lip curled distastefully when she saw who it was. "Yes? What do you want?" she said rudely.

Mimi took a deep breath. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm very sorry I almost ran you down before. And I won't do it again."

"Well, I should certainly hope you're sorry!" Madame Grognon snapped. "A little girl tearing down the street on horseback and getting into fights like a hooligan!" She shook her head in outrage. "Running around wild, acting like a boy – it's nothing short of sinful, that's what it is. Your parents should be ashamed of themselves for allowing such shenanigans! You should be practicing your embroidery, not riding horses! You need to learn your place in this world, missy."

Belle was fuming as she listened to the diatribe. What kind of nasty, heartless person would yell at a little girl who was apologizing? And her insistence that it was wrong for girls to do the things boys did made Belle's blood boil.

She was about to go over there and give that wretched woman a piece of her mind, but Gaston beat her to it. He stormed up to the door, his face dark with fury.

"I'm Gaston Avenant, Mimi's father," he announced, towering over Madame Grognon. "And no one talks to my daughter like that! You want to say something, you say it to me!""

Madame Grognon, taken by surprise, could only gulp as she looked up at him. Yelling at a little girl was one thing, but a big, powerful man was something else. Intimidated, she could only stammer, "Well…uh…I mean…"

"Mimi said she was sorry. If someone tells you they're sorry, you accept it," Gaston said firmly. "Anything else is very rude. Don't you think?" he added, looking at her menacingly.

"Well…I…yes, of course, monsieur," Madame Grognon said meekly. She looked at Mimi. "I accept your apology, child."

"Good," Gaston said. "And I'll tell you something else: I've taught my daughter to stand up for herself. She's not going to let any bullies call her names or push her around. So you'd better make sure that boy of yours watches his step."

"Yes, I'll tell him," Madame Grognon said submissively.

"All right then. Good night." Gaston put his arm protectively around Mimi and led her back to the family.

Madame Grognon watched them go. "Well, I never!" she muttered, but quietly enough to make sure Gaston didn't hear. Huffily, she went back into her house.

"Who was at the door, Mathilde?" called her husband, Eugène, a mild-mannered balding man, entering the room.

"That crazy girl who punched Luc and almost trampled me with her horse!" Madame Grognon said. "She came to apologize."

"Oh, that was nice of her," Eugène said approvingly.

His wife sniffed. "Well, it was the least she could do! I took the opportunity to give her some sound advice."

Eugène sighed. "Mathilde, you didn't scold the poor child, did you?" He knew well that his wife was the type to hold a grudge.

"I hardly had the chance! Her father suddenly appeared and told me not to talk to his daughter that way. I've never been spoken to so rudely in all my life!"

Eugène rolled his eyes. "Mathilde, we've only been in this village for one day! Are you making enemies already? Can't you just try to get along with people?"

"Is that all you care about? Other people? What about me? I'm the one who was almost trampled today!" she wailed dramatically.

"But you weren't," he pointed out. "And you just said the girl came to apologize. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that a man spoke very rudely to your wife! What are you going to do about it?" she demanded.

Eugène shook his head wearily. "All right, fine, I'll talk to him. What's his name?"

She thought for a moment, trying to recall. "Gaston something."

"Gaston Avenant?" Eugène said, startled.

"Yes, that was it. Why, do you know him?" Mathilde asked, surprised.

"I haven't met him yet, but every man in town mentioned him to me today. He's the most important man in the entire village!" Eugêne said, vexed. "Did you have to go starting trouble with him?"

"He started with me! Well, his daughter did," protested Mathilde.

"But she apologized!" Eugêne threw up his hands. "Oh, forget it. I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'll try to smooth things over with him."

"Hmmph! Fine way to stand up for your wife!" Mathilde grumbled, and went to make herself some tea to calm her nerves.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Back with the family, Mimi hugged her father. "Papa, you were wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"He certainly was!" Belle agreed, smiling.

"Aren't I always?" Gaston said with a grin. He patted Mimi's head.

"Mimi, I'm very proud of you," Belle said. "That was a beautiful apology you made. I'm sorry Madame Grognon was too mean-spirited to appreciate it. She had no right to yell at you like that!" She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe anyone could be so rude!"

"That's okay. Papa showed her! Didn't you, Papa?" Mimi said, looking up at him, her eyes shining. He was her hero.

"That's what I'm here for, wildcat," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "No one talks to my family like that!"

"Our papa is the biggest, strongest man in the whole world!" Lili piped up.

"You know it, princess," Gaston agreed. "Come on. Let's go home."

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o oo o o o o oo o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Back at home, Belle made hot chocolate for everyone. Then came Belle's favorite part of the day: the magical time each evening when she read aloud to her husband and children. No matter what had transpired during the day, all worries and problems seemed to fade away as she opened the book and took her family on a journey into an imaginary world.

She went to the bookshelf and smiled with anticipation as she drew out the handsome, leather-bound volume of 1001 Arabian Nights that Gaston had given her for her last birthday. Book in hand, she went to sit on the couch. George sat next to her on one side while Lili snuggled up to her on the other, leaning over to look at the pictures. Alain sat in a nearby chair. Gaston settled comfortably into his huge overstuffed armchair, while Mimi sprawled on the bearskin rug on the floor, hating to be restricted even when sitting. On the rug, she could stretch out and move around as much as she wanted. The two hunting dogs curled up on the rug on either side of her, and she petted them as she listened.

Belle opened the book and began to read "The Enchanted Horse," a story about a mechanical horse that could instantly take the rider anywhere he wished to go merely by turning a screw in its neck. It was a marvelous tale with something to appeal to everyone. Alain was intrigued by the ingenious mechanical invention; Gaston and Mimi enjoyed the action, adventure, and danger; Lili liked the romance between the handsome prince and the beautiful princess; and Georges loved the whole story, the fanciful twists and turns and the vivid descriptions. He wished he could write something that good someday. Belle loved it all too, especially the fact that the princess was an intelligent girl who cleverly tricked her kidnapper, instead of passively waiting to be rescued.

As Belle read, she glanced around at her family, all listening with rapt attention, and smiled. Reading was such a different experience these days, she thought. When she was younger, reading had been a solitary activity. Everyone in the village had thought she was odd, and books had been her escape, her way of shutting out a world where no one understood her. She had loved the world of books, but it was a world that isolated her. She had felt so alone back then.

But now, reading was a shared experience with her family, a communal ritual that bonded them together. Every night, she drew them into her world of stories. Seeing the pleasure on her children's faces as they marveled at the story filled her with happiness, knowing that they felt the same magic she did.

In his armchair, Gaston grinned as he watched Belle read aloud. It was still so amazing to him, the way that his wife could make a story seem so real with just her voice. He himself still had no appreciation for the printed word; on one or two occasions he had tried to read aloud just to make Belle happy, but the tedious effort of deciphering the words took all the fun out of it for him. On the page, the words were just lifeless black scratches. It took Belle's expressive voice to make them come alive and make him feel like he was really there in the story. He'd never known books could do that, until he met her. She was so talented, so special, so much better than any other woman in the village. No other man had such a smart, beautiful, gifted wife, he thought with pride.

After the story, Belle and Gaston put the children to bed. Then they retired to their own bedroom.

"So, that was quite an adventure our little Mimi had today," Gaston said with a smile as they entered the room.

"Yes...I worry about her a little sometimes," Belle confessed.

"Mimi? She's a terrific kid!" Gaston said, sitting down on the bed and pulling off his boots. "Never gives up, never lets anyone push her around."

"I know. She's brave and independent, and that's wonderful," Belle said, going to the dresser and opening a drawer. She rummaged through it. "But she's so reckless. She doesn't think before she acts, and it gets her into trouble. I'm afraid she'll get hurt one of these days."

Gaston shook his head dismissively. "Nah. She's just full of spirit. Takes after me," he said proudly. "And if she gets into a scrape, she's spunky enough to get out of it, too."

"I hope so," Belle said with a sigh. She took out a nightgown, and began getting changed for bed.

"Tell you the truth, it's Georges that I worry about," Gaston went on.

Belle turned in surprise. "Georges? Why?"

"A boy writing poems about butterflies?"Gaston shook his head. "Something's not right there."

Belle frowned. "Gaston, who do you think writes poems? Most of the great poets of all time were men: Shakespeare, Dante, Petrarch, John Donne, Christopher Marlowe...It's a wonderful gift to be able to write poetry. Georges is incredibly talented. You should be proud of him."

"I guess," Gaston said, unconvinced. He remembered the one man he'd ever met who liked poetry: Hervé Liseur, a timid, spineless coward who hid at the first sign of danger and fainted at the sight of blood. He'd shoot himself if a son of his turned out like that. "I'd just hate for him to become some prissy little weakling."

Belle rolled her eyes. She loved Gaston, truly, but he could be so...primeval sometimes. "Why would he? Just because he likes poetry? What does one thing have to do with the other? I think it's wonderful that he has different interests. Besides, haven't you taught him how to fight, and ride horses, and shoot, and all those 'manly' things that are so important to you?"

"That's true," Gaston said, brightening. "And we're going hunting on Saturday."

"How is he doing with hunting?" Belle asked, sitting at the mirror and brushing her hair.

"Oh, fine," Gaston said. "He's great at tracking – he notices every little thing. He hasn't bagged anything yet, but he's young. That'll come in time."

"There you go," Belle said, putting the brush down. She turned and looked at her husband coyly. "And you shouldn't be so negative about poetry, considering what it did for you! Remember when you memorized that poem for me to win my heart?" She came over to the bed and sat down next to him, sighing reminiscently. "It was the most romantic thing I'd ever heard."

"How could I forget? It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life!" Gaston laughed. Affectionately he ran his fingers through her hair. "You never did make it easy for me, did you?" he said fondly.

"Oh, admit it - you loved it," Belle teased. "If I'd fallen at your feet like all the other girls, you never would have given me a second glance. Sometimes I think the only reason you went after me was that I didn't like you!" she added with a laugh.

"Well, I always did love a challenge," Gaston said, grinning.

She put her arms around him and looked up at him. "And what about now?" she asked playfully. "I'm all yours, we've been married 14 years...are you tired of me yet?"

"Tired of you? Never!" he said, gazing into her eyes. ""The first day I saw you, I knew you were the one. You're the best woman in town. Always have been and always will be."

She kissed him. "I'm the luckiest woman in town, too."

"Of course you are! You married me, didn't you?" Gaston agreed.

She smiled and lay down on the bed seductively. "Yes. In fact...why don't you show me again why I'm the luckiest woman in town?" she said invitingly.

Gaston grinned. "You don't have to tell me twice," he said, putting his arms around her.