It was a warm March 28th. All the snow had melted, and some wildflowers were starting to poke their heads out from the grass, which was starting to get its lovely shade of green back.

"Happy fifteen years," Mr. Carmichael said softly to his wife as they woke up. He kissed her cheek.

"Oh, honey, you're so sweet," said Mrs. Carmichael.

When they went into the kitchen for breakfast, they found that Annie had set the table with plates of chocolate-chip Eggos with blueberries sprinkled on top, sliced strawberries on the side, and coffee to drink. "Oh, cupcake, this is wonderful!" Mrs. Carmichael kissed her daughter's forehead before the three of them sat down to eat.

"So what are you two gonna do today?" Annie asked.

"We didn't have anything planned, really," said Mr. Carmichael. "We figured we were gonna let the perfect idea come to us, but we still don't have any ideas."

"Well," said Annie, "Kira texted me saying her parents and some other families had something nice planned for this evening."

Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael looked at each other. Why, that was nice of them! "Where is it?"

"Down at the burger joint," said Annie. "It's a surprise."


That evening, when dinner time rolled around, the Carmichael family went down to the burger joint for their surprise. When they arrived, they found two tables occupied by the Yangs, the Beauforts, the Bernards, and the Riverses. Annie went to sit with the other kids, while Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael were ushered into the adults' booth.

"Oh, wow, you set this all up for us?" Mrs. Carmichael was extremely flattered.

"You're such good friends to us," said Mrs. Bernard, "as is your daughter to our children."

"Nous voulons retourner la faveur," said Joe. (We want to return the favour.)

They all got their drinks and meals, and shared some great banter. "Mina," said Mrs. Carmichael, "I'm really impressed with the blog your daughter put together. She's a very smart girl."

"We're all very proud of her," said Mrs. Yang. "She's very passionate about her topic."

"So, Frank," said Mr. Rivers, "tell us about your wedding."

"It was sunnier than any day had ever been," gushed Mr. Carmichael. "The roses were the sweetest-smelling and pinkest I'd ever seen. And when I saw Carey walking towards me down that aisle…I knew I was going to have a very happy rest of my life."

All the parents aww'ed at that adorable description. Meanwhile, at the kids' table, Kira was telling the others about the newest book she'd been analyzing for her blog. "I really like the colour symbolism with the carnations," she said, showing them the illustrations. "Lalaina's flower crown changes colours depending on the situation. See how it's pink at the wedding, but black during the hurricane?"

"That's a cool detail," said Jackson, admiring the art.

"I know!" Kira was bouncing in her seat. "The artist did such a good job!"

Luz looked a little closer. "And they made the carnation lose more petals the older Lalania gets. That's really clever, I didn't notice that the first time around."

"You've read it before?" Kira cocked her head.

"Her class read it in Grade 7, said Janet, "and then she read it to me. We both loved it."

As the meal wound down, the kids were distracted as the waiter brought over two slices of chocolate cake for Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael. "A little anniversary treat; on the house." They ate the delectable treat together as they gazed into each other's eyes, while the other adults paid the bill and collected their children.

Just before everyone could leave, Katrina pulled Annie in close. "My dad's getting married soon," she whispered to her. "I'm gonna ask if you can come." Annie nodded excitedly.


That night, when the Carmichaels went home, Mr. Carmichael swept his wife up off her feet, and, after making sure Annie had been shooed off to bed, carried her to the bedroom.

"You're such a wonderful man," said Mrs. Carmichael as her husband tightly embraced her.

"I wouldn't be complete without a fantastic woman like you," said Mr. Carmichael. They held each other and drifted into sleep until the sun came out.

And no, he didn't nail her, that's too naughty for this fic.