My 500th chapter has kind of snuck up on me but I've thought of a way to mark it with a bit of family fun.
Well done to all of you who have made it this far and fear not there is still a lot more story to tell.
Please note - This milestone does however coincide with a two day conference I have to attend this Tuesday and Wednesday, so I must warn you that chapter 500 will not appear until Thursday!
(PS - I also realise I forgot my spoilers last week - sorry)
SPOILERS – this week - The Montgomery-Tasker-Chandler clan have a bit of fun, Madison decided to talk to Erica and Adam gets settled at home.
…
That night at the dinner table AJ was taking the lead on the over dinner conversation. He and Reggie had caught a TV programme about monkeys on the Discovery Channel yesterday while Miranda was with Dr Stanhope and he was busy trying to explain how clever they were.
"Rabbits are clever too." said Gabby, "They have big ears for hearing and twitchy noses for sniffing and they dig lots of holes to live in!"
"No they're better than rabbits. Rabbits are boring," said AJ.
Gabby pouted at that statement.
"Some monkeys use tools," continued AJ, "And they teach each other stuff too and orang-tangs copy people. This one had a saw and was sawing wood and teaching its baby!" AJ was waving his fork for emphasis as he spoke and was threatening to send his potato croquet flying across the table.
"That sounds like an amazing programme." said Marissa, happy to see his enthusiasm.
"Um… sorry to interrupt the awesomeness of monkeys but there is actually something Marissa and I need to talk to you guys about." said Bianca, a seriousness in her tone subduing the previously cheerful atmosphere. All three children turned their heads in her direction and fell silent.
"As you know, now that Marissa working at Chandler, she works a lot later and we see less of her."
The kids nodded solemnly.
"Well, we thought it would be nice if we find a way to make the most of the time we do have together." explained Bianca, was wearing a small grin now because clearly her being all serious at the start was just a way to tease them.
"…So Bianca and I have talked…" added Marissa, smiling too.
"… and we thought that we should make every other Saturday, family day; where we all go and do something together as a family…"continued Bianca
"…starting tomorrow." finished Marissa.
AJ, Miranda and Gabby all shared a look. That sounded like a great idea!
"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Miranda asked.
"Ah," said Marissa with a grin. "That is for you to decide, we can go to a movie, the park… whatever you want."
AJ sat a little straighter; he had clearly had an inspired idea.
"Can we go to the zoo?" he asked, his eyes shining.
"Yeah! The zoo!" exclaimed Miranda. "I love the zoo and we haven't been forever!"
"I can show you how smart monkeys are!" said AJ excitedly.
"And will they have bunny rabbits too?" Gabby asked, just as excited.
Marissa and Bianca shared a look. The zoo was a bigger day out than they were initially planning to arrange.
"That will mean a very early start." said Marissa, a hint of warning in her voice.
"We don't mind." said AJ, happy to act as spokesmen for his siblings.
"It looks like we are going to the zoo!" said Bianca with an amused smirk.
The kids ate the rest of their dinner in a cloud of excited chatter at the thought of all the fun they were going to have tomorrow. Marissa smiled as she tried to marshal their delight, but she did catch a note of worry in Bianca's eyes as she briefly looked down and rubbed her leg. A day at zoo meant a lot of walking. The question was… was she up for that yet?
…