The Islands residents settle into a routine, up for the sun rise, eat breakfast together then separate and do their own things. Virgil and Scott spend their days helping their dad with the construction of the main villa, calling on Gordon whenever there is a need to destroy something with the sledgehammer! 8 weeks of working nonstop, excavating the large underground cavern needed to house the thunderbirds. They have made proper progress now though, and there is a deep pit being built into the rock.
Gordon spends most of his days with Alan, Kayo and Lady Penelope down on the beach or in the pool, none of them have any desire to explore the Island further. John sometimes abandons his studying to join them, but still preferring his books and the peace and quiet. Getting lost in the storm put a stop to any thoughts of exploration. Besides, Gordon is finding that life on the Islands main beach is a lot more interesting than he gave it credit for. There are rock pools filled with crabs and star fish, snakes are curled around every tree branch, the spiders and the scorpions are fascinating and the ocean keeps him entertained for hours. Just sitting on the beach looking out at the ever changing body of water. he is sure he saw a glimpse of his first shark too!
Jeff has promised to add a dock with a speedboat and driving lessons next summer. Anything to keep them coming back!
The evenings are always a lively noisy affair with 7 children fighting over the last slice of cake, or playfully teasing each other. The tension between Kayo and the boys has evaporated, much to the pleasure of the adults, and now they are starting to see her and Kyrano as an extension of their family.
"Dad, remember you promised to take tomorrow off?" Virgil reminds him. They are sitting at the kitchen table, Kyrano has cooked a roast chicken with potatoes and peas and carrots.
"I don't remember agreeing to that" His dad replies.
"But daaaaaaaad!" Virgil whines pitifully. Tomorrow is his birthday, and his dad has been promising him for weeks that he won't forget, and that he will take them all over to the mainland to celebrate.
"Stop teasing him Jeff" Grandma tells him sternly.
"Of course I haven't forgotten, you think anyone could forget a birthday in this house? Even grandma still leaves hints about the house in the month leading up to hers!" His dad tells him grinning, putting him out of his misery, and ducking as she goes to thump him good naturedly. His brothers have been wrapping presents for days, presents bought on weekend trips to Australia and New Zealand. Having a private plane can be extremely useful!
Every trip to Australia always includes a visit to see Toes, who has recovered from his tail injury and is now the star attraction at the sanctuary.
"How old are you going to be Virg?" Alan asks curiously.
"13" He replies proudly.
"Wow that's really old, older than Grandma old!" he replies in shock.
"Not quite Allie" Grandma tells him laughing.
"it is still old" Alan insists.
"He is right" Gordon joins in.
"Keep this up Sprout and Squid, Squout? Sprid? and neither of you will live to 13" Virgil tells them.
"Who wants to live that long anyway? You are old" Alan replies shrugging.
"Again, he is right" Gordon tells him.
"Dad? Can I make them sleep in the yard tonight?" Virgil asks. Even though he too is laughing.
"Nope. It is cold out there, and besides, you would miss them" His dad replies. There is an indulgent smile on his face as he looks at his two youngest boys. Even though Gordon is now flicking peas at Alan, who is trying to catch them in his mouth. There are peas everywhere!
"Who is going to clean this mess up?" Grandma asks, unlike Jeff she is not impressed.
"Virgil" Gordon tells her.
"No, you are!" She tells him, as he jumps up from the table and scarpers upstairs.
"GET BACK HERE! GORDON COOPER TRACY!" She shouts at his retreating back, knowing it is pointless, the boy won't be back!
Virgil just quietly gets the mop out and starts cleaning the mushed peas from the floor without a word of complaint.
"You don't have to do that Virgil" Grandma tells him.
"Yeah, I do, it's give in easily, or have him blackmail me into doing it. Either way I will end up cleaning up his mess" He tells her shrugging.
"You're a good kid Virg" she replies, placing her hand on his shoulder. Hoping like Scott that he doesn't turn into a teenaged hooligan, she has enough problems with Gordon, who has been a sassy teenager since he learned to talk!
"Remember that we are leaving Sunday, so start sorting out your packing tonight as you won't have much time when we get back from New Zealand"
"I know, I can't believe we have been here for the whole summer already. As amazing as it is here, I can't wait to get home." He tells her smiling at the thought of late summer in Kansas, the last of the warm lazy evenings in the garden with his brothers before the winter hits. Virgil loves the fall. Watching the leaves change colour. The rusty reds and burned oranges are an artist's dream. He has spent many hours looking at leaves, trying to create their immortality on paper, and he can't wait to get started on this year's crop.
*TB*
"How did you know that Virgil would agree to clean up that mess?" Kayo asks. She's impressed that Gordon was able to carry off that part of the plan.
"I know my brother!" Gordon replies slyly. "Grandma was great at acting out her part, she really made me cower and I knew the script!"
"Finish stoking your ego later Squid, lets get the rest of these presents wrapped" Scott tells him laughing.
The 6 of them are gathered in the attic, with the presents that they have yet to wrap.
"Next time, can you throw chocolates at me and not peas, I almost ate one of those disgusting green bogeys" Alan requests shuddering.
"Nope, you have to learn to eat your veggies Al, or you will be the short one forever!" Gordon tells him poking his tongue out at him.
Alan replies by hitting him over the head with the tube of wrapping paper, which is quickly confiscated by Scott.
"Be serious, both of you or you will be both be made to eat peas!"
"I like peas" Gordon replies, missing Scott's point completely. And deliberately!
"Do you have any idea how annoying the pair of you are?" Scott asks rolling his eyes. They have been up here for 15 minutes and they haven't even got the presents out of the bag yet.
"Actually Scotty we do, we used you as our role model" Gordon fires back.
Kayo, John and Lady Penelope roar with laughter.
"This is getting us nowhere. Gordon go and take a bath; Alan go and see if the cookies are ready" Scott tells them impatiently.
"Bye" Gordon grins running into the bathroom before Scott has the chance to change his mind.
"Now the gruesome twosome has disappeared, let's get to work"
Without the interference of Gordon and Alan, the present wrapping process speeds up considerably. And they have everything ready for tomorrow before Virgil comes up stairs, Alan and a plate of Kyranos freshly baked cookies in tow.
"Where is Gordon?" Virgil asks looking around the room, which in the absence of the blonde seems a lot more subdued than normal.
"Having a bath" Scott replies. "He was annoying me, so I bribed him with a bath for some peace and quiet, honestly Virg I have no idea how you share a room with him all the time. 10 weeks is my limit!"
"You get used to it, and he's only really annoying when he's got someone to bounce off. Give him ammunition and he won't hesitate to use it against you" Virgil tells him.
"So you are saying him annoying me is my fault for letting him?!" Scott replies horrified.
"Yep" Virgil nods. "We had better get packing. Grandma said we won't have much time before we leave on Sunday. And I want an early night, it's an incredibly special day tomorrow and I need my beauty rest"
Biting back a comment that there is not enough rest in the world for that, Scott nods in agreement, the girls say good night before leaving for their room on the floor below.
"GORDON GET OUT THE BATH" Scott shouts through the closed door an hour later. The splashing of their fish brother as he plays in the water reassures him that he hasn't drowned.
"NO!" He shouts back happily.
"I give up" Scott replies, glad Gordon is not in the room to see his face palm.
"I will go" Virgil tells him.
He is back with Gordon wrapped in a big fluffy towel less than 5 minutes later.
"How do you do that?" Scott asks, half irritated that he has no control over his brother and half awed at the bond between Virgil and Gordon.
Virgil just grins at him, before turning to Gordon, "Shall we tell him?"
"Nah!" Gordon replies a near identical grin on his face.
"I don't even want to know!" Scott lies.
*TB*
"VIRGY WAKE UP!"
The shout is vaguely heard, and not understood. It feels like it is still the middle of the night and he has only just fallen asleep. Pulling the blanket up over his head, desperate for more sleep, knowing that it is not going to be possible.
"COME ON VIRGY! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY" The voice shouts again.
Opening one of his eyes he finds Alan and Gordon both sitting on him.
"Ready Allie? Like I taught you!" Gordon tells him.
Alan nods, this he has been practising for weeks. The pair burst into song.
"Happy birthday to you
You belong in a zoo
You look like a monkey
And you smell like one too!"
"Want me to get rid of these two so you can get up?" Scott asks, laughing along with Alan and Gordon.
"Please" Virgil replies, lying back against the pillow. "And come and get me about midday!" he adds, his eyes already closing again.
"No can do. Get up Virg. There is cake downstairs. We forgot to get you any presents though if that's okay?" Scott tells him, his poker face perfect.
"You did not, Alan already told me what you got me!" Virgil tells him laughing, as Scott drags Gordon and Alan off Virgils bed, and out of the room, followed by John after he hastily wishes Virgil a happy birthday.
The dinning room as been decorated for the occasion, and as promised a large cake is in the middle.
"Cake for breakfast?" Lady Penelope asks confused.
"Tracy family tradition" Grandma tells her laughing, "the boys grandfather started it when Scott had his first birthday. Even I can't remember why he started it, but I doubt the boys will ever let us end it!"
"I like it" She replies smiling, as they all sing happy birthday and he blows the 13 candles out.
"Wow, so many candles and it didn't set the smoke alarm off!" Gordon tells him.
"Gordon!" Scott warns
"Scott!" Gordon replies.
"Presents now Virgy!" Alan tells him keen to stop another argument.
There is a book of piano music from Scott, a new water colour set from Lady Penelope, a sketch book from Kayo, more paints from John, a build your own submarine kit from Gordon which once fully assembled works under water, and a toy car from Alan.
His dad shows him a photo of his main present, which is waiting for him at home. Shocked Virgil can't stop stuttering.
"B-b-but I h-h-have w-wanted this f-f-for years!" He cries out, almost in tears as he fingers the photo of the grand piano. It is bigger than the one in the longue his mom used to play, the one he was bought up on.
"What about moms' piano?" John asks stricken, he knows that Virgil has outgrown the instrument and that his brothers have no interest in learning. But he can't see it being thrown out. Every day it seems like they are leaving her in the past.
"That is going to go in the library, which is the perfect room for it. Don't worry John there is no way we would get rid of your moms' piano, but this one is the one Virgil needs for the next stage of his development as a musician" His dad reassures him. "We also bought you a new bed Virg!"
"Oh good" He replies laughing, having gotten over the initial shock of being presented with his dream piano.
"Can we go to New Zealand now?" Alan asks, growing bored with the conversation.
"Sure, and while we are at it I think we need to have a conversation about buying people presents that they actually want" Grandma tells him.
"But Virgil loves his toy car" Alan tells her, looking at his big brother for confirmation.
"Of course I love it, and yes you can have it back to play with later" Virgil tells him, scooping him up into his arms for a cuddle. Which they all join in, Alan and Gordon getting crushed in the middle, before being herded into Tracy 1 for the short hop over to what the boys have already started to refer to as the mainland.
"Where too first birthday boy?" Jeff asks once the plane is safely tucked away in the hangar.
Luckily it is not raining, the end of the winter is in sight and there is a weak sunlight prodding its beams through the clouds now.
"Theme park!" Virgil replies with a grin. He wants his dad to ride the roller coaster again, even though he vowed never again!
"Well it is your birthday" he replies groaning, knowing exactly what Virgil is angling for.
They split into groups once inside, Gordon and Alan being too small to ride the bigger rides, go with Grandma and to their surprise Lady Penelope joins them.
"Why aren't you going with dad? You aren't short?" Alan, blunt as ever asks her.
"Because Alan, I will let you into a little secret. I hate roller coaster rides!" She tells him, taking his hand in hers and together the 4 of them join the queue for crazy golf.
A combination of both the early morning and the cold means that they have the course to themselves.
"Look Penny, the clown looks like Scotty!" Alan declares, as he hits his ball into the clown's face, the ball bouncing back and almost landing exactly where it started.
Stamping his foot, "This game is rigged!" he declares. As Grandma expertly hits the ball through the mouth of the clown and the ball falls through the other side and straight into the hole for a hole-in-one.
The first hole takes Alan 38 shots, and he is getting more and more frustrated with every attempt.
"Allie, why don't we team up" Grandma suggests, knowing that they will be here all day unless drastic action is taken.
"No I can do it on my own" He insists.
"Mrs Tracy? Why don't I take Gordon and we will play on and meet up at the end?" Lady Penelope suggests helpfully.
Grandma barely nods as she is stopping Alan from having a full-blown temper tantrum in public.
"Let's get out of here" Gordon tells her quickly before Grandma can change her mind.
They move onto the second hole, which is a windmill. Gordon lets Penelope go first, so he can study her technique. Imitating the way she holds the club, but changing the angle he hits the ball which sails through to the other side and stops just short of the hole, which he chips in easily.
"You're good at this" She compliments him, it isn't often that she gets matched at crazy golf, but this kid is real competition! They continue through the course, getting more and more competitive as they go, Gordon edging slightly ahead as they come to the final hole. They are barely speaking to each other as they eye up the finale. Gordon walking around the whole playing area, trying to figure out the secret to its success.
It has three parts. You have to first hit a ball into one of three holes and hope that you get the right one. Which if Gordon has calculated correctly is the one on the left. This will then bring you out on the middle section where you have to knock the ball uphill into the mouth of a dragon, which is continuously moving up and down. The ball then falls down into the final part of the hole, which has a zigzag pattern to navigate with the hole at the end.
"Ladies first" Gordon encourages his opponent. Knowing that by letting her go first he can check his theory about the hole.
She gives him a scathing glance, sets up her ball and knocks it into the middle hole. Where it gets stuck. 'Damn' she thinks, adding a shot to her score card, realising that she is now 4 shots behind.
Gordon tries not to gloat, just in case he is wrong, but the ball falls into the left hole and reappears in the middle, just like he predicted it would. There is no smirk on his face, he knows that this is not over yet.
Lady Penelope's ball joins his, knocking it to one side.
While she is taking her shot, Gordon is counting how long each movement of the dragon's mouth takes and using it to try and guess how hard and when he needs to hit the ball. But his luck is running low as his shot doesn't make it through in time. Neither does Lady Penelope's.
Hitting his second attempt slightly harder pays off and he is through the hardest part, now he just needs the right angle for the zigzag maze, and he is done. Bending down next to the club, he looks at the problem very carefully.
"Your turn Tracy" Lady Penelope tells him stiffly, having got her ball through too.
Standing up quickly and lining his club up at the entrance, he knows he has a 4 shot lead he can take his time and get the job done. They are neck and neck through the zigzag zone, but Gordon gets there first. Jumping up and down in delight at his victory, Lady Penelope tries to be pleased for him but her own competitive streak holds her back.
"Good game Tracy" She tells him with an air of formality holding her hand out for him.
"You too" He tells her, and he means it. She played well, just not well enough!
They return their balls and clubs and look around at the park which is starting to fill up now it is mid-morning, and a lot warmer than it was when they arrived.
"Where do you think Grandma and Alan got too?" he asks.
"I don't know, I think we should go and see how they are getting along" she replies, stiffly and clearly not over losing yet.
They find Alan and Grandma on the 10th of the 18 holes. The process speeded up by Alan declaring that he hates crazy golf and is only keeping going to keep grandma company.
"I won" Gordon tells her proudly.
"Well done Squid", she tells him ruffing his hair.
Lady Penelope is still in a bad mood when they meet up with the others for lunch.
"What's wrong princess?" Her dad asks, knowing that she rarely sulks.
Nothing" She tells him sullenly.
"I beat her at crazy golf" Gordon informs him, earning him a dagger stare from her, which he doesn't pick up on as he continues to eat his hotdog.
"Ah" realisation dawns on her father. His daughter hates to lose and losing to a boy 5 years younger than her is not going to put her in a good mood!
"Crazy golf is a stupid game" Alan tells him, backing her up.
"You only say that because you are rubbish at it" Gordon insists.
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"BOYS!" Grandma shouts, silencing them both instantly. "That's better, what is the plan for this afternoon Virgil?"
"Can we please go to the art museum again?" he asks.
"Of course we can, it is your birthday" She tells him happily glad that there can be no arguing over something so pleasant.
Virgil is enraptured by the abstract art on display and doesn't even notice Gordon and Lady Penelope clearly ignoring each other as he loses himself in the world of Picasso, knowing one day that one of his paintings will be in a gallery like this one, and admired by millions.
This has been Virgil's best birthday ever, and the perfect end to an almost perfect holiday.