Lucy came over and sat between her two boys. They were glued to the TV, watching an old movie. It often amused her how involved they became with what they were watching, given that they were only 3 and 2 years old. She snaked an arm around each one and pulled them into her swollen belly. Only another 4 months, thank goodness! They both leaned into her but carried on watching. Pretty soon Lucy had fallen asleep. The boys stayed mesmerised by the film.
'Shh' lisped three-year-old Scott. John nodded absentmindedly, forgetting that his brother wouldn't be able to see him in the dark. The pair had dressed and were making their way downstairs. It was pitch black, and it seemed like the middle of the night. There were no lights on downstairs, so they assumed their parents were both in bed, although only Mommy had come to say goodnight.
Reaching the kitchen, Scott took the tea towel draped over the side and laid it on the floor. 'Right, Johnny, what shall we take to eat?' John pondered the question. Even for a two-year-old he was serious and reserved. 'Cookies and milk!' he almost shouted joyfully, only to be shushed again.
They paused, but no-one seemed to have heard. Scott and John between them manoeuvred the chair to the cupboards and climbed up to the work surface. He couldn't reach the cookies though. Lucy, well aware of her eldest son's ability to climb, as well as his constant searching for food, always placed the cookies right back in the top cupboard, out of reach of ingenious little hands. Opening the cupboard, Scott spied lots of packets of rice and pasta. He knew he liked them from the pictures, even if he didn't know how to make them. He threw four packets, two of each, down to John and climbed down.
'No cookies, Johnny. Sorry. Just these.' John nodded happily enough, placing the packets in the centre of the towel. Scott grabbed two cartons of juice from another cupboard and John added them, then Scott pulled all the corners together and attempted to tie them up. His little fingers found this really hard, but eventually they managed a loose knot. John had brought the mini broom from the room outside of the kitchen and they slid the bundle through. Scott tested the weight. It wasn't heavy; but carrying the stick on his shoulder with the bundle hanging down was weird. Still, it was the right thing to do according to the film they had watched.
It was at this point that the kitchen light suddenly blazed on, blinding the two. Scott let go of the stick and bundle; for a moment the only sound was the clatter of the stick on the floor. It was a toss-up to say who was more shocked – Jeff, who had just got in from work, or his two fully dressed sons. Although, looking closely, he could see that John's top was inside out and back-to-front, while Scott was sporting odd socks and it looked like he was wearing one of John's jumpers judging from the liberal sprinkling of stars across the front.
John and Scott were blinking rapidly in the light, John hiding behind his big brother. Scott drew himself up and prepared to stand his ground. Jeff put his case down on the table and knelt down in front of the pair. He was wary – when Scott drew himself up tall it usually meant a fight or at the very least a tantrum. His three-year-old had quite a temper and an unusually perceptive idea of what was right. And 11pm was not a time he wanted to be arguing with his stubborn eldest.
'You two should be fast asleep by now,' he gently said. 'What's going on?' Before Scott could say anything, John piped up, still hiding, 'we're running away!' Scott rolled his eyes like he had seen his dad do; and folded his arms. 'Well, Scott? What is this all about?' Again, John answered before Scott had managed. 'We're off to look for treasure and pirates,' he happily shouted, still using Scott for cover. Scott merely sighed deeply, another habit he had already picked up from Jeff.
Jeff was sure that his face must have been a picture, he was aware his mouth was hanging open and he was staring. Lucy's voice carried from the doorway. 'What on earth is going on here?' Jeff stood up and pulled her into a one-armed hug. 'Our little rapscallions have decided to run away and look for treasure and pirates,' he informed her. Lucy's face must have been a mirror image of his just moments ago.
Scott finally found his voice. With a glare at John; and moving aside so he was no longer shielding his brother; Scott explained, 'we are going to find the treasure so that Daddy can buy a house for Virgie.' Jeff and Lucy stared at each other. Kneeling back down in front of his remarkably perceptive children, he pulled them into a tight embrace, Lucy placing a hand on each boy.
'Boys, where did you get that idea?' He was worried that Scott and John had misunderstood the current circumstances. He knew that he and Lucy had discussed that having a third child would mean a move to a larger home, and the difficulties with work that would mean. Neither Lucy nor himself had thought that their boys would have picked up on this.
Again, it was John that piped up, quite happy to explain. 'We saw it on the telly, Daddy. We go on a treasure hunt!' John seemed most excited at the prospect, which was unusual for the normally quite boy. It was Lucy who cottoned on to what the boys were referring to. Chuckling softly, she turned to Jeff and explained; 'the boys were watching a movie just before bed. I bet that is where they got the idea from. Scott, do you want to tell Daddy what you were watching?'
'Treasure Island, Daddy,' Scott replied. 'He runs away from home and they find treasure.' Jeff smiled widely. 'And you thought you would do that for us, did you?' Both boys nodded. Jeff was touched. Here his boys were, not even 5 years old and they wanted to contribute to help with things they really didn't understand fully. Running away to find treasure! He could remember planning to do so himself when he was very young, but at least he had been school-aged!
'So, shall we look at what supplies you packed?' Retrieving the bundle from the floor, he opened it up and spread it out. 'Hmm. Two packets of egg fried rice and two packets of cheese pasta with two cartons of juice. How long were you planning to be away for?'
John and Scott exchanged looks. Simultaneously Scott said, 'a week' while John said, 'forever.' Both parents cracked up. Scooping up John with one arm, and holding the other hand out for Scott, Jeff said, 'this adventure needs more planning. How about we get some sleep now and in the morning Mommy and I will help you plan this treasure hunt?'
Letting out a huge yawn, John readily agreed. His yawn set Scott off too, and he nodded. Putting their exhausted children back to bed, Jeff hugged Lucy as they watched both boys succumb immediately to sleep. Jeff went to call his mom while Lucy wrapped herself up in their bed.
The next day after breakfast Lucy packed lunch and wrapped it in three bundles. She put them on sticks, just as Scott had done last night. Then the four of them went to the bigger town, where Ruth, Jeff's Mom, met them. Jeff carried the bigger bundle and to the boys' delight they had a bundle each. Mom and Grandma were excused carrying. Ruth gave the boys a treasure map and all five took great delight in deciphering the clues. Within an hour they had found the treasure – the Pirate Adventure Playground, where they spent the rest of the day, spreading their bundles of a picnic out on the floor for lunch.
Tucking his tired boys in that night, Jeff turned to Lucy and said, 'that was an inspired idea of yours last night.' Lucy smiled. 'I'd planned to take them when they were old enough to appreciate the theme. Hearing them discuss treasure maps and pirates last night made me realise two things. Firstly, our kids are really, really smart for their age. Secondly, they are definitely old enough!' Jeff nodded. 'They really enjoyed themselves.' Ruth chuckled. 'They weren't the only ones!' Lucy replied, with a subtle nod in Jeff's direction. Jeff huffed.
'Definitely going to tell this story at their weddings,' he murmured. Ruth laughed softly. 'Planning their marriages already, Jeff!' Jeff blushed. 'Thanks, Mom, for organising the map and clues,' he said, kissing her on the cheek. Ruth responded by lightly batting his arm. 'Maybe at their weddings I'll tell the story of when you ran away looking for treasure,' she replied. Jeff blushed even deeper.