Monday again!

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SPOILER - this week - Gabby has her own plans for cheering Miranda up, Marissa accepts Caleb's job offer and Erica continues to scheme...

...

Marissa was busy preparing the tomato topping for their pizza while Gabby and Ayesha were using the step from the dining room into the kitchen as a little stage. They were preparing a show to perform for Miranda when she got home, to cheer her up. The two girls were singing the 'Wheels on the Bus' song over and over, working out a little routine. It would have been annoying if they weren't being so adorably serious about it.

Marissa turned down the hob, leaving the sauce to simmer, when she realised the singing had stopped.

"Mamma," Gabby asked, suddenly appearing to lean against the counter, "Can we make the pizza yet?"

"Not yet." said Marissa, smiling at the way Gabby was calling her just mamma now. "We have to wait another half an hour."

Gabby moaned,

"But that's ages!"

"You can go watch a cartoon." Marissa suggested.

Gabby pulled a pout,

"But cartoons are boring!"

"I thought you loved 'My Little Pony'!"

Gabby's expression changed to a look that said 'Okay, that might have been true, I just don't wan tto do it now!".

"I tell you what." said Marissa, ducking into the craft cart they kept parked by the kitchen table. "Why don't you and Ayesha draw the designs for your pizza? You can draw round a plate and then put on all the toppings you want to add."

"We want to make a smiley face." said Gabby.

"Well, then get drawing!" said Marissa putting the crayon tin between two sheets of paper, while the two girls climbed onto the bench seat.

…

"Mamma!"

The pizza design activity kept Gabby busy for a whole ten minutes. Ayesha was still busy colouring away with a yellow crayon; clearly her pizza was going to need a lot of cheese.

"Yes Gabby," said Marissa, looking up from chopping peppers; what didn't go on the pizzas could go in the salad.

"How do you stop boys following you?" Gabby asked. She had clambered up into the stool opposite the counter and was leaning on her hands like a customer talking to her bartender. It was kind of cute.

"Boys follow you?" Marissa asked amused.

"One boy; Timmy. He always follows me and wants to hold my hand."

"Have you told him you don't want to hold his hand?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah." said Gabby. "But he says he's going to maw-y me."

"Marry you!" corrected Marissa, making a point of rolling her 'r's to try and train Gabby from her lisp. "Isn't he a little young to want to get married?"

"Yeah," said Gabby. "He's five! I only played with him because he let me use his sparkly pencils. Now he won't go away."

"Isn't it nice that someone likes you?"

"But I don't want to marry him! He's a boy! E'sha and I are never going to get married. We are going to be pwin …princesses!" she said, remembering to pronounce her 'r'.

"I think you will have to marry a prince to become a princess." said Marissa with a laugh.

"No," said Gabby, her expression all serious, as this was something she had clearly though about. "Not if you're a Disney Princess. If you are a Disney princess you get to live at Disneyland and wear pretty dresses and have your picture taken every day!"

"That does sound like the perfect job for you!" exclaimed Marissa, enchanted by the little girl's determination.

"Yeah, that's what I'm going to do when I gw-ow up." said Gabby with a nod.

"But only if you can stop boys proposing to you." concluded Marissa thoughtfully. "Tell you what!" she said leaning closer to Gabby over the counter. "Next time Timmy tries to hold your hand why don't you tell him that you don't want to marry him, you just want to be his friend and see what happens."

"But what if he still follows me?"

"Then you help him find a friend who will want to play with him. There are lots of kids at play tots, I'm sure you can think of someone to be his friend!"

"Okay." said Gabby, resigned, clearly not convinced that suggestion would work.

"I've finished!" Ayesha cried from the kitchen table and came running over with her yellow picture with red, pink, green and blue squiggles all over it.

"It's wonderful. I'm not sure what we can use for the blue but we will do our best." Marissa said with a smile.

"I want to make a pw-incess pizza." said Gabby, giggling at the thought as she leaned further over the counter to see Ayesha's drawing.

Then Gabby froze as a thought struck her. Then she smiled.

"We could have a pw-incess party!" she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry?" said Marissa, surprised by Gabby's sudden glee.

"We could have a Pw-incess… Prrr-incess…" she corrected, "…Pizza Party, with crowns and dresses and sparkly stuff for M'anda!"

"For Miranda?" said Marissa raising a sceptical eyebrow, because it was clearly more for Gabby. But it might be a good idea.

Gabby and Ayesha were already bouncing with excitement.

…