48
"Hey you!" Zoe grinned as Maggie and PJ came around the corner, PJ wheeling a trolley full of luggage, the twins perched on top of the suitcases. Coming to a stop in front of them, Zoe moved around to wrap Maggie in a hug.
"Welcome back!" she grinned, breaking the hug and watching as Joe and Tom slid off the trolley. Tom moved over and stood beside his Mum, looking up at Zoe with blue-eyed curiosity. Joe, meanwhile, had moved to stand slightly behind his Dad, a little more hesitant than his brother, but still watching just as curiously.
Kneeling down, Zoe held her hand out to Tom. "Hello there. You must be Mary"
Tom looked at Zoe, up at Maggie, before looking at Zoe again. "I not Mary! I Tom!!" he said indignantly. "Mummy, I not Mary!"
Maggie grinned, sweeping Tom up into her arms. "I know, Tom. How about we say hello to Zoe? You know how to do it," she said, setting her son back down on his feet. Tom hesitated, glancing up at Maggie, then over at PJ, who nodded. Taking a small step, Tom stood in front of Zoe, who had squatted down in front of him.
"Hello Zoo. My name Thomas David Draper. This," he turned slightly, reaching over and gently pulling Joe to stand beside him. "This is my brother, Joseph Nicholas Draper. We twins." Zoe nodded, going to stand up, but Tom stopped her, putting a small hand on her knee. "This is Mummy, and this" he looked over at PJ, "this my Daddy. He called 'tective PJ and Mummy called Mummy. OK?"
Zoe nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. "Pleased to meet you Thomas David Draper, and you too Joseph Nicholas Draper" she said, shaking each twin's hand gently, before standing up and glancing over at PJ and Maggie. PJ was looking off in any direction other than hers, and appeared to be blinking hard. Maggie, wrapped safely in his arms was scrambling for a tissue in her bag. As Zoe watched, Tom became aware of his parents, and worried, he rushed over to Maggie.
"Mummy? Daddy, why Mummy sad?"
PJ gazed up at the ceiling, blinking back his own tears, before squatting down in front of Tom and Joe, holding out an arm to them, his other hand tightly woven with Maggie's.
"Mummy's not sad, sweetheart, and neither am I. We're not sad. It's just – " he stopped.
"Daddy?" Joe said, confusion written all over his face.
"Happy tears, sweetie," Maggie said. "We're just happy because we love you so much. And because you love your Daddy, and - "
"We do love Daddy, and you love Daddy too, cos you kiss him lots and lots, but why you sad? And why Zoo sniffly too?" Tom was still confused.
"I think it's just a bit of a cold," Zoe said with a smile. It was all so perfect. They were such a family, such a complete little family. Both boys obviously adored their Mum, and it looked like they had accepted PJ as their Dad and loved him too. She felt a small nudge against her leg, and looked down to see Joe standing there.
"What is it Sweetheart?"
Joe beckoned at her, and Zoe knelt down next to him, laughing out loud as he whispered in her ear.
"What?" PJ said, watching as Zoe stood up, a wide smile on her face. "What did you tell her?" he asked Joe. Maggie was curious as well, before she suddenly remembered.
"Very kind of you Joe," she said with a huge smile. Now PJ was really confused, looking between Maggie, his son's and Zoe with an expression that Maggie suddenly realised she had seen time and time again painted across her son's faces when they had no idea what was going on around them.
"I think Joe here, was just giving Zoe some very wise information, weren't you matey?" Maggie said with a grin. "How about you tell Daddy too? He might need to know as well,"
Joe straightened himself up, because, after all, this was very important information.
"If you sniffly, have to blow your nose. But don't eat the green stuff cos it tastes yucky!" he said, and PJ had to clamp down his lips in a Herculean effort not to laugh out loud. He had to look anywhere but at her, his gaze finally coming down on Joe, who stood still looking very proud of himself. Taking a deep breath, PJ squatted down and picked him up, as Maggie did the same for Tom.
"Thanks for that mate. I'll have to remember that," PJ managed, before Joe looked down suddenly.
"Daddy, you hungry. You tummy growly again."
"Its all this talk of green stuff" Zoe said with a grin, her grin turning to laughter as PJ gave her a look. "Look, we've got a long drive ahead of us, so how about we go and get some real food before we get going? Anyone want anything special?"
"Speeza, speeza" was the almost instant reply from both Tom and Joe, bouncing around in their parent's arms excitedly. Zoe looked at them, before her gaze came to rest on Maggie, who translated.
"Spicy pizza. They kind of ran the words together, and I haven't been able to get them to say it properly since. They love their spicy food," she said with a grin. "Didn't get it from me"
PJ beamed with pride at more evidence that his boys were most definitely his. "Got good taste, those boys of mine" he said, plonking Joe down on top of the cases again, and leading them towards the food hall, where, much to Tom and Joe's delight, they found out that their Daddy adored 'speeza' as much as they did.