Hanging the last string of tinsel, Gordon kissed the tips of his fingers, then opened them with a flourish.
"Et voila!" he said. "Decorating complete!"
Virgil gave him a withering look as he struggled to unfurl the branches of the enormous, fake fir tree.
"I wish," he grumbled. "Get your butt down here and help me."
Gordon leapt from the small stepladder he had been using and landed heavily at the base of the tree.
"Make way for the expert," he said.
Virgil rolled his eyes.
It was December 23rd and the boys had been awakened at the crack of dawn by their grandmother. All of them had been hard at work ever since. The villa was, slowly but surely, becoming a Christmas paradise. Just as they had for the Christmas when Nicky from the children's hospital stayed, the Tracys were pulling out all the stops for their visitors. Over the course of the day, the halls had been decked, the air had been filled with the smell of cinnamon, and Virgil had even practiced a carol or two at the piano – with no singing, of course. He shuddered. He didn't want to experience that again.
Now, he and Gordon were about to trim the brand new tree, Scott was on his way back to Earth with Alan in tow, and Tin-Tin and John had flown to the mainland to pick up their guests. Jeff was babysitting; Grandma and Kyrano were cooking; Brains was monitoring the progress of Thunderbird Five's automated protocol. The twins were…somewhere. Grunting as he finally jammed the main stalk of the tree in its stand, Virgil recapped his thoughts. Oh, and Penny and Parker will be arriving in Penny's new private jet. Whew! Talk about a full house!
"Success," Gordon said as the tree clicked into place. "Now for the branches…"
"Ugh," Virgil groused. "I hate this part."
Now it was Gordon's turn to roll his eyes.
"Leave it to me, Grinch," he said. "Go and play some good ol' fashioned Christmas music on the piano. It vill help me vith my masterpiece!"
"With pleasure," Virgil said. He jogged to the piano and settled himself on the bench.
Gordon grinned at the sound of a familiar tune but he stopped and looked up when Virgil began to sing.
"Wreck the Malls this Christmas Season, fa la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la."
Gordon guffawed and slapped his thighs. Virgil continued.
"Blow your cash for no good reason, fa la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. Push your charge card to the limit, fa la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Gordon butted in with his own line.
"Your account has nothing in it, fa la-la-la-la, la-la-la-laaaaaaaaaa."
Laughing, Virgil continued playing, the music underscoring their conversation.
"Speaking of present-buying," he said casually, "what did you get me?"
The look on Gordon's face told him that, in truth, he didn't want to know.
"Oh, mon frère," Gordon said, one eyebrow raised, "you'll love it."
"I'm not so sure I will…"
Gordon's smile was shark-like; Virgil suppressed a shudder and switched to a jazzed up version of 'Jingle Bells.' Gordon was unfurling the last few branches.
"What time should we expect the onslaught?" he asked.
Gordon spat out a few fake pine needles and looked at his watch.
"Scott and Alan will be back any minute now. Tin-Tin and John within two hours. Penny and Parker will be arriving from Bongo-Bongo at around five. Then it'll be all hands to the pumps and action stations as Operation Christmas is go!"
~oOo~
"Stop wringing your hands," Tin-Tin said. "You look so nervous!"
John looked down to see he was doing just that. He forced his arms to hang limply at his sides.
"I feel nervous," he said. "I know I shouldn't but I do!"
Tin-Tin patted his arm and gave him a smile. They were waiting in arrivals in Sydney airport for the appearance of Ameila and Georgie. Quite why he was so trepidatious, John didn't know. Maybe it was the thought that Amelia might not enjoy herself. Maybe it was the thought that she might shun him.
Maybe it was the idea of breaking down in front of her.
Tin-Tin must have sensed his worries as she turned to him and grasped his hand.
"You'll be fine," she said, her dark eyes molten with compassion.
"Thanks, Tin-Tin," John replied. "I sure hope so."
He glanced up at the arrivals board; Fireflash was finally posted as 'landed.' Within ten minutes, the passengers had disembarked and were collecting their luggage.
"JOHN!"
As he found himself on the receiving end of a hug that threatened to squeeze the stuffing out of him, John realised that he needn't have worried at all.
"Amelia!"
He returned the hug as tight as he dared.
"That Fireflash is amazing," another voice said.
John rose as Georgie appeared, trailing two wheeled suitcases. He reached out to shake her hand as Amelia hung on to one of his arms.
"Nice to finally meet you in person," John said.
"Same," Georgie replied.
Tin-Tin extended her hand.
"Tin-Tin Kyrano," she said. Georgie returned the handshake warmly. "I'm John's soon-to-be sister-in-law."
"Are we really getting a private jet?" Amelia asked.
Georgie rolled her eyes, though she was smiling; John chuckled.
"Yes, you are," he said.
"This one hasn't stopped harping on about the trip for weeks," Georgie said.
Amelia relinquished John's arm and gave her cousin a cheeky grin.
"I've never been on a holiday before," she said, "unlike some people."
"Oi!" Georgie said, wagging her finger in a mock threat.
"Okay, okay," John said, reaching for Amelia's suitcase. "Let's go before someone gets killed."
"Will I be able to see Lyra when we get there?" Amelia asked as they started to make their way towards the private departures lounge.
John nodded.
"I'm sure you will," he said.
"Yessss!" said Amelia. "I can't want to spend some time with my baby sister."
John looked over his shoulder to Tin-Tin and Georgie. The latter was rolling her eyes again.
"That's another thing she's been harping on about, as well," she said.
Amelia pouted.
"Well, I've never had a sister before either!"
John closed his eyes for a moment, half-smiling and half-wincing. I hope this trip was a good idea…
~oOo~
"So how are we going to get the star on top?" Virgil asked.
He planted his hands on his hips and tilted his chin upwards. The new tree was enormous; its top branch scraped the ceiling.
"Do what I did when you were kids," Jeff said. He had arrived with the two babies a few minutes before and was settling Lyra into her bouncer and Adam on the floor at an activity centre. "Lift your brother onto your shoulders. Then he'll be able to reach."
The look of delight on Gordon's face made Virgil blanch.
"Oh, no. Not a chance."
"Please, Virgie?" his little brother asked, all round eyes and quivering lower lip.
"Seriously?" Virgil asked, crossing his arms. "You are seriously using the puppy-dog eyes on me."
"Why is he using the puppy-dog eyes?" Scott entered the lounge, freshly showered after his return from Thunderbird Five. He let out a low whistle of approval. "Nice work, guys."
He made a bee-line for his niece and nephew, kissing them on the forehead one after the other. Virgil shook his head.
"Dad has suggested that I lift Gordon onto my shoulders so he can put the star on the top of the tree."
Scott glanced up.
"It is a very tall tree."
"I know that, Scott," Virgil said. "I can see it."
"So," Scott said, reaching in to tickle Adam's chin. The little boy giggled. He was babbling excitedly, delighted at always at the presence of his uncle. "Lift Gords up. Simple."
Virgil shook his head.
"You do it if you think it's such a good idea!" he said. "How do I know he won't pull some kind of trick and I'll end up on top of the tree?"
Gordon grasped the glittery star and waved it at Virgil.
"Look, if you don't lift me up within the next ten seconds, you're going to end up in the tree. That's a promise. Now lift me!"
Muttering under his breath about things being unfair and feeling taken advantage of, Virgil hefted his brother onto his shoulders.
"Whee! Lookit, Dad. I'm flying!"
"Gordon!" Virgil growled. "Just put the damn star on the damn tree."
"Language," Scott warned. "There are children present."
He placed his hands over Adam's ears; the child giggled.
"You're not helping, Scott," Virgil said as he shimmied over to the tree. Gordon may not have been big, but he wasn't light. "Can we get this over with?"
"Are you saying I'm fat?" Gordon asked.
"Seriously! Get. On. With. It."
"Good gravy," Gordon said. "You really are the Grinch."
Virgil looked up to see his brother reach out and place the star at the top of the tree.
"There. Beautiful," Gordon said. "Oh, and the tree's pretty, too."
Virgil knelt down to allow his brother to clamber off. Gordon looked at him with innocent eyes.
"See? I didn't do anything bad."
"Yeah," Virgil said, rolling his shoulders, "except destroy my back muscles. Lay off the mince pies, would you?"
Gordon pulled up his shirt to reveal his washboard abs.
"You're just jealous of all this," he said.
"Yeah, well –"
Just then, the comm. sounded.
"Simmer down, boys," Jeff said as he crossed to his desk. He opened the channel. "Tracy Island here. Go ahead."
Tin-Tin's voice rang out. Adam looked around at the sound of his mother's voice.
"Mr Tracy, we're on final approach to the island with our visitors. Permission to land?"
Jeff smiled.
"Permission granted," he said. "There are two young men who are looking forward to seeing you."
Tin-Tin chuckled.
"Don't tell Alan that," she joked. "He'll be awfully jealous."
Chuckling, Jeff shook his head.
"See you soon, Tin-Tin," he said.
He ended the transmission and looked around the room. Virgil watched as his keen eyes evaluated every last detail of their work. Eventually, he nodded his approval.
"Great work, boys," he said. "I think Christmas has officially begun."
Virgil flopped down onto the couch as Scott settled himself on the floor beside Adam. Looking from his nephew to his niece, it was difficult to tell they were related at all. Adam favoured his maternal grandfather's complexion, with tawny skin and pitch-black hair. His eyes were his mother's, a hazel flecked with gold. Lyra, on the other hand, was identical to pictures he had unearthed of John as a baby. Milk-bottle pale, with a smattering of blond – almost translucent – hair on her head.
The two kids were built differently, too. Since birth, Adam had been burly and big, whereas Lyra was lean and long. Virgil reached out to stroke Lyra's pink cheek.
"Little cutie," he said.
"Why, thank you," Gordon quipped.
"Not you, you baboon," Virgil said.
Alan appeared at the back of the couch. Virgil huffed out a breath.
"Another monkey," he said.
Alan held up his hands.
"What did I do?" he asked.
Virgil waved him off. As he did, his ears pricked. He could hear voices coming towards the lounge.
"I think we have company," he said.
Sure enough, the little band of travellers appeared in the lounge. Virgil and the others stood to greet their guests; Alan picked up Adam and went to give Tin-Tin a peck on the cheek. Virgil scanned the crowd. That must be Amelia, he thought, smiling at the young teen. And that must be Georgie…
She was an older woman – hardly old, somewhere in her mid-thirties – had poker-straight hair, dark as ebony and cut into a sharp bob at her jawline. She wasn't a thin woman, but rather was curvaceous. She had prominent cheekbones and a strong chin, and bright grey eyes that rounded as she smiled.
"…and this is another of my sons, Virgil."
Suddenly realising he was being introduced, Virgil stuck out his hand.
"Nice to meet you," he said.
"And you too," Georgie replied. "Whew, somebody get me a fan. I'm boiled alive! How do you lot survive here?"
Virgil shrugged.
"You get used to it," he said.
"Oh my goodness! She's gorgeous!"
Virgil stepped back as Amelia squeezed past him, heading straight for her half-sister.
"Hey there, Lyra," she cooed. "I'm your big sister."
She reached out to grab the little girl's hand and started to babble. Virgil caught John's eye and smiled. Then, in unison, they both turned as their grandmother's voice sounded across the room.
"Welcome, welcome!" she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "There are a few snacks for you weary travellers downstairs. Come, come!"
"How many people are here? A hundred?" Georgie asked.
Virgil shrugged again.
"We're a big family," he said. "It's another thing you get used to."
The group were herded downstairs towards the mountain of food that Grandma Tracy had prepared. It was as if she really did think there were a hundred people on the island.
"Lucky you're here," Virgil said, nodding at Gordon. "At least we know all this food won't go to waste – though it might do to your waist."
Gordon already had a cookie in his mouth.
"Again with the fat jokes," he said, spraying crumbs. "I'm the one who's out every morning burning calories in the pool while everyone else is still asleep in their pits."
"You have your own pool?" Amelia asked, mouth agape. "That is so cool."
"Yeah," John said, placing his free hand on her shoulder. The other arm was holding Lyra. "You can use it whenever you like. You're here for a vacation, so whatever you want, you get."
"Pinch me. I must be dreaming!" she said.
Georgie leaned over and pinched her cheek. Amelia scowled.
"Hey!"
"Just checking," Georgie said.
Virgil leaned in to snatch a sandwich and stepped back, surveying the scene before him. There was his father, doting over his grandchildren. All of his brothers were there, Alan and John clutching their respective progeny. Then there was his grandmother, Tin-Tin, Kyrano, and even Brains had emerged from his lab for sustenance. Then there were their two guests. He counted. That makes fourteen people in this room. All we need is the twins to appear and we'll all be assembled – and then Penelope and Parker are coming later!
"Do I smell food?"
As if they had been summoned by Virgil's thoughts, the Lynch brothers appeared at the kitchen door. Grandma Tracy waved them in.
"Grab what you can, boys," she said. "I don't think this will last long!"
Virgil took a bite of his sandwich, savouring the flavour of his grandmother's slow cooked ham. Life is good, he thought. Life is good.