"How was your dinner?"

"That was some pretty good fish and chips, Mom. Better that what we can get in the States."

Abbey took another sip of her wine and sat her glass down. "I know of an even better place. It's a little place near the London School of Economics that your father and I, when we could scrape together a few coins, would treat ourselves to a meal. It was called "The Battered Fish". And I looked it up this afternoon. Believe it or not, it is still there. I would like to show you our flat and we could try that place. The fish was so crispy and the chips were the absolute best. And to this day, I haven't found anything better."

"Mom, it's been at least thirty-five years. Do you really think they cook the same way now that they did back then?"

"Zoey! Back then was not the Ice Age. Thirty-five years wasn't that long ago. Thirty-five years from now you will realize that thirty-five years really isn't that long a period of time."

"Right, Mom," Zoey answered sarcastically.

Abbey shook her head. People Zoey's age really did think thirty years was a long time. She used to think that way too. But looking backwards now, she knows thirty years goes by in a flash. And each year passes by faster and faster. That is why she was determined to enjoy this rare week with her youngest daughter. Because who knew what the future would bring?

"Okay, we're changing the subject. Marks wants to know our requests for at least the new few days. What do you want to do?"

"Do you have the schedule for Wimbledon?"

"It's here somewhere." Abbey took another sip of wine and got up from the table to look for the newspaper. Finding it, she came back and opened it to the sports section.

"Tomorrow, women's semifinals. Serena and Venus Williams are playing separate matches to determine if they meet each other in the Finals. But I thought maybe you would like to go to the National Portrait Gallery tomorrow instead. Or maybe Harrods. I hear they are having a fantastic sale." Abbey did her best not to break into a laugh or, at the very least, a smile. She waited to see how long it would take Zoey to scream her displeasure at the alternate choices she had proposed. And, as she expected, it didn't take but just a few seconds.

"MOM! We have to go see the tennis matches. We have to! Don't you realize how good those women are? I mean they are all top ranked in the whole wide WORLD! We just HAVE TO GO!"

Abbey couldn't keep a straight face any longer. She burst out laughing. "Okay. Okay. Tennis it is. I was only teasing anyway." She walked over to her daughter and gave her a great big hug. "I'm sorry, baby. I was only joking. But we can't see tennis the whole week. We have got to see some other things, okay?"

"Mom, I could see these matches every day. You know that. How about I go see tennis and you see some stuffy paintings? You'll get more out of them than I will anyway."

"Whoa, wait a minute, young lady. That was not the deal we made when it was decided we were coming this particular week. You and I both knew Wimbledon was being played during our visit and we agreed that we were going to see other things than tennis. Remember?"

"Sort of."

"Well, you had better check those memory files of yours. We might see a few matches, but not every day. You can pick two more days at Wimbledon, but the other days we are doing other activities. And those are the guidelines or else we can fly right back home in the morning. Agree?"

Zoey looked at her mom's expression and knew she meant every word she said. Abbey had the 'mom means business' look and Zoey knew that look quite well. 'Might as well not fight it' she thought. 'At least I get two more days of my choice so I had better agree to her rules'. "Yes, Ma'am. I agree."

"Good. Now, I'm going to take a hot bath. Do anything in the suite you want. I think there are some cards somewhere in the desk. When I get out of the tub, if you want to play gin rummy, it's a penny a point. And I'll stake you if you don't have any money."

Zoey smiled. "At least I have a chance with you. Daddy cheats and then denies everything. You play honestly."

"Your father does not cheat." Abbey grabbed her glass of wine and closed the door to her bedroom.

"Yes, he does," Zoey responded under her breath, after her mother closed the door. "Yes, he does."