Gumball and Penny both walked behind their kids, as they made their way through the hallways of the vessel. Most of the passengers on board were already en route to the dining hall, which was shaping up to be a wonderful evening of delicious delights and joyful conversation. Penelope and Tristan soon approached Anastasia and Vlad, who were giggling and smiling perpetually since the trip began.
Beside the kids were their parents, Darwin and Carrie, who were now approaching too, with similar expressions of happiness.
"Well, we've just caught a glimpse of the dining hall dude! It is absolutely magnificent and massive in scale, and we have the perfect evening sunset to accompany it!"
Darwin stated, as his tone was reminiscent of his child self who always wore his heart on his sleeve...and still does.
"Well, that sounds absolutely wonderful Darwin, is there a nice table to accommodate our family?"
Penny asked, as the fish's eyes lit up, almost in anticipation to answer the question.
"Funny that you mention that, we actually have the largest table in the room! Turns out that the sweepstakes ticket also allowed us to make a dining hall reservation of our choice on the vessel! How convenient right?!"
Everyone chuckled, as Darwin was almost child-like in his excitement.
"Good job dude! But I can already tell who's REALLY going to enjoy this dinner..."
Just as Gumball uttered this statement, as if it was designed by fate, a slightly voice cracked male voice could be heard approaching, and immediately everyone in the group of young adults recognized who the source of it was.
"Nicole, I've always been conservative in my eating habits for as long as I can remember! There's absolutely no concern as to what my consumption of calories will be, I'll be strictly regimenting myself to a restrictive plan that the dietician stressed to me was of the utmost of importance to maintain! Besides, it's not like I'm going to eat a white whale or a chair!"
Nicole slightly smirked and pinched her nose.
"Right Richard, because it's not like you haven't done that before on numerous occasions, right?"
"Exactly!"
Nicole then bursts out into laughter, along with Anais who was accompanying them.
"Even after all these years of us meeting each other and into marriage, you're still helplessly naïve and adorably asinine...never change honey."
Nicole then gave a quick peck on the cheek of Richard, which in turn caused the pink bunny to blush uncontrollably.
"Well it's nice to finally be able to have a somewhat normal vacation as of recently...erratic shenanigans seem to be a recurring motif with this family."
Gumball chuckled.
"Would you mind repeating that in English for the rest of us sis?"
Anais then rolled her eyes with a slight smile.
"It's just great to actually appear and act normal for once and have fun as a family! We're finally making up for all of those years spent doing...whatever we did as the Watterson's of Elmore."
Everyone let out a series of simultaneous bombastic giggles at Anais remarks, which eventually led to a group hug.
"Yes indeed Anais...it's nice to finally do this, not to mention as a larger family!"
Nicole then checked her watch on her wrist after making the statement.
"Goodness! We better get to the dining hall before the line to enter becomes too long! Come on everyone, on the double!"
The Watterson's were now moving at a much more sped up pace, as they finally reached the entrance to the dining hall, where a waiter was standing at the reservation podium.
"Hello madam! I see that you are carrying along a rather large posse! Would you please provide me your last name so I can check my list to ensure you are marked down?"
The anthropomorphic seagull asked Nicole, as she reached into her purse to present the voucher ticket for the dinner.
"We're the Watterson family, we should have the largest capacity table available if I'm not mistaken."
The seagull waiter soon took out his clipboard to inspect the long list of names.
"Watterson...Watterson...ah yes! Here you are! Please make your way in, and we do hope you all enjoy the dinner upon the SS Venture!"
Tristan, who was walking next to his father Gumball, then tugged on his shirt.
"Dad? The vessel has a pretty ironic name, don't you agree?"
Gumball smiled.
"I guess you could say it has Ventured far and wide!"
Gumball then did a playful wink, that caused the young blue kitten to roll his eyes.
"That was such a dad joke! You're only just entering your early 30's dad, and you're already making jokes like Grandma Nicole!"
Gumball then gasped.
"Mom...actually makes jokes...and has fun?"
Tristan then put on a confused expression.
"I thought you knew her better than I did!? She was absolutely thrilled to try our sock puppet play back at home and was a blast when we were playing tag in the backyard!"
Gumball then smiled.
"Maybe Dad did teach Mom a thing or two when we were away for college, being more welcoming to the prospect of fun must have been one of those lessons..."
Gumball then ruffled the fur of the small blue kitten.
"Well next time I'll join you! I may have a few hiding spots Grandma Nicole may not know of!"
Suddenly Nicole's ears perked up.
"I heard that young man! That's a challenge I'm willing to put to the test when we get back from this vacation...but for now, let's head to our table, the dining room is filling up quickly!"
The Watterson's then moved into the dining area, where Gumball and Darwin immediately noticed some familiar faces.
"Hey! Look who decided to join the cruise!"
Tobias' face lit up, as he stood next to Banana Joe.
"Well I couldn't have been here without Darwin, he made certain that our family won the raffle and sweepstakes to be a part of this cruise."
Darwin smiled at his brother, in which Gumball returned the favor, their brotherly bond still burning strong after all of these years.
"Well I'm glad you guys could be here! I hear the Pina coladas at the resort are just fantastic!"
Tristan and the rest of the Watterson kids soon put on a confused expression.
"Dad? What's a Pina Coloda?"
Nicole and Richard then began to chuckle at the adorable mispronunciation, as well as the rest of the older adults.
"Well...it's a rather colorful drink...but it's not really intended for you kids..."
Tristan put on a slightly pouted expression, one that was very reminiscent of the expression Gumball himself had once used in the supermarket with his mother...when he and his other siblings wanted candy.
"How can a drink be colorful and not be intended for kids too?"
Richard then expressed his agreement.
"He's got a point son! I don't think I have ever encountered a beverage that was colorful that was not intended for kids!"
Gumball then raised an eyebrow.
"Just like the time you drank the windshield washer fluid because you thought it was grape juice Dad?"
This roused a few chuckles out of the Watterson's.
"Well it certainly appeared to be potable!"
Gumball pinched the bridge of his nose, much like his mother did.
"Dad...the label on the container clearly stated that it was windshield washer fluid! We had to visit you in the hospital for a week!"
Richard then scratched the back of his neck.
"Well...at least it had a nice fragrance to it!"
Everyone collectively laughed, including Richard at the remark.
Tobias and Banana Joe's families were soon gesturing to the both of them to rejoin them for the dinner that was about to commence.
"Well it was nice catching up with you Watterson's!"
Banana Joe stated.
"Indeed it was! Don't hesitate to drop on by should you see us in Hawaii! We'll be glad to join you!"
Tobias extended out a hand for a friendly handshake, as well as Banana Joe, as the Watterson's temporarily bid adieu to Tobias and Banana Joe.
Carrie then spoke up for a moment.
"Ah shoot! I forgot about my camera for photos! Darwin, would you mind saving a seat at the end of the table? I usually prefer that spot at the dinner table at home, I'll only be a moment."
Darwin smiled.
"No problem! Take your time, I'll keep watch over Vlad and Anastasia while you're gone."
Carrie quickly teleported out of the room, as the Watterson's moved towards the largest table in the massive dining hall.
Gumball took a moment to observe the surroundings of the room itself.
"This place is enormous! The amount of glass in this room could fill a dozen greenhouses!"
Gumball's observation was not far from being accurate, the architecture was so intricately designed that it provided a beautiful setting for capturing the "Being on a floating fortress in the sea" atmosphere.
There was a jazz band at the far end of the room, that was accompanied by a male anthropomorphic shark who was singing.
(If Bobby Darin- Beyond the Sea is compatible with your device, please press play now)
Darwin began to hum along to the lyrics with glee, which Gumball turned to him at the table and began to hum along with him.
"It's a pretty iconic tune, I must insist!"
Anais remarked as she began to situate herself adjacent to her brothers across the table.
"Wait, you know this song too? I never really knew you were into music Anais!"
Anais smiled.
"I used to love listening to music when I was doing my science experiments in the attic when you guys were gone on your little...endeavors in Elmore. Mom used to join and we'd both sing."
Darwin smiled.
"That sounds awesome Anais! But, you could have told us, we would have loved to have seen your cool experiments!"
Anais put on a rather shy expression.
"Well there were many dangerous experiments I did conduct, not all were too pleasant...remember the bubble bath experiment?"
Both feline and fish looked at each and cringed.
"Yeah...instead of improving the fragrance and smell of bubble bath...you reversed engineered it to become more...unappealing to the senses."
Gumball stated as Darwin nodded in agreement.
"Sorry Anais, but that experiment really caused Mrs. Mom to become more of a clean freak than she already was!"
Gumball then had a thousand yard stare.
"She bought out the entire scented candles section just to remove the smell..."
Nicole at the end of the table chuckled.
"Oh no worries Anais, it gave me something to be busy with! Besides, it taught you an important lesson of valuing fresh air!"
Anais smirked.
"You can say that again Mom!"
These warranted a confident expression from Nicole.
"Mother's always know best!"
Gumball chuckled a little before turning to Tristan to whisper in his ear.
"Sometimes Dad's need to help them out on that front, but don't let your grandmother hear that!"
This caused Nicole's ears to perk up.
"I already heard little man!"
Gumball soon froze with fear, as Nicole gave the death glare to her son, before chuckling.
"You're not the only one who can do pranks Gummypuss!"
The Watterson's soon burst out into a round of laughter, Tristan then looked to his father who was nervously chuckling.
"Was that a glimpse of Grandma Nicole's..."fury"?"
Gumball nodded ever so slightly, causing the kitten to cuddle next to him.
Nicole was chuckling for a bit, before noticing her grandson next to Gumball with a slightly terrified expression.
She arose from her seat, sensing that something was on the little blue kitten's mind.
She knelt down to Tristan and wiped away a single tear from his eye.
"Oh Tristan sweetie...I know that might have been a bit scary, but there's absolutely nothing to worry about. Most mothers lose their temper sometimes, but in the end they always care for the ones they love unconditionally. I've...actually received a bit of knowledge in controlling my anger ever since your father departed for college all those years ago, your grandfather improved his health and so did I."
Nicole then noticed Gumball, still with a lingering fear remaining in his facial expression. She turned to him.
"Gummypuss...whatever I put you guys through as kids with my anger...know that it was only due to the immense stress I was going through in our lives...plus the late night shifts and lack of sleep."
This caused a warm smile to engulf Gumball.
"I understand Mom no worries! You were...a better mom than anyone could ask for."
This caused Nicole to become a little emotional before finally opening her arms, with the three Watterson kids embracing their mother in a group hug, Richard joining shortly after.
The rest of the Watterson family smiling ear to ear with the original Waterson's so happy.
Suddenly Carrie teleported back.
"Found it!"
This caused the five Watterson's in the group hug to be startled for a moment.
"Oh! Uh...sorry about that, I didn't realize you were in the middle of a family moment...but I found the camera! Yay!"
Everyone chuckled at the timing, and soon got positioned back into their original seats.
A waiter soon approached the family at the table, and was another one of the anthropomorphic staff on the ship.
"Good evening Watterson family! We wish to inform you that the dinner tonight is family oriented, so as such we have an all you can eat buffet being prepared in our kitchen for you and the rest of the passengers aboard the SS Venture!"
Richard was soon salivating at the prospect of an all you can eat buffet, but Nicole quickly snapped her fingers in front of him.
"Honey, I know this sounds very enticing and delicious for you right now, but please, you must remember what the dietician said! You have to try to eat in proportion to your weight!"
Richard soon smiled.
"Thanks Nicole, I don't know what I would do without you!"
Nicole returned a smile.
"Nor I Richard."
The Watterson's soon finished their meal and began to have their evening dinner conversations.
"I'll never forget the time Gumball and I sent Mr. Dad on a raft in the middle of the ocean for a prank once! He was absolutely fuming when he returned!"
Nicole soon gasped with a slight smile.
"Oh my goodness, why did you guys do that to your own father?"
Gumball and Darwin soon scratched the back of their necks.
"Well...to be fair he got his payback on us, and we also had to help you clean up the damage he caused from chasing us around the house."
Everyone erupted in laughter as Gumball said this, including Richard, who was now wiping away a tear from the exertion and force of the laughs.
"Well...I just hope everyone here does not have to experience being stranded, it's very desolate and isolating...not to mention lonely."
Gumball soon waved his paw forward.
"We're basically on a moving fortress in the middle of the ocean heading for Hawaii Dad! I'm sure we're going to be just fine!"
Everyone began to nod in agreement, as Anais spoke up.
"With the advances in safety technology, as well as radar and armored lifeboats, I'm sure we do not have anything to fret over!"
Penelope soon began to speak, sitting next to her mother Penny.
"Auntie Anais is right! They've made major strides in ship building, I actually saw how many life boats there are! It's absolutely mind blowing!"
Patrick who was sitting at the end of the table next to Judith, soon saw a concerned expression overcome the tall pink bunny.
"Something wrong Richard?"
Richard nodded.
"It's fine...just recounting some bad memories of being stranded...it's a scary feeling being out there...alone with the waves and endless blue expanse in every direction you look...luckily a cargo ship was passing by and spotted me and I was brought back to Elmore. I'm sure Gumball and Darwin had no idea the stream led to the ocean, and I don't blame them for what happened...but I wouldn't wish that experience on my worst enemy."
Patrick was taken aback from the sincerity and monotone tone that Richard had incorporated into his voice, and slowly sunk back into his chair, Judith next to him rubbing his hand.
"Don't worry honey, everything is going to be alright! You heard Anais and Penelope! We're on a world class cruise ship with some of the safest protocols! Relax and enjoy the memories we're making with our family!"
Patrick smiled towards Judith, as she leaned against his shoulder.
At the end of the table Tristan was talking to his father Gumball.
"So Dad, what are we going to do first when we arrive to the hotel in Hawaii?"
Gumball smirked as he was about to give a satire remark.
"Hmmm, perhaps go to the hotel first and unpack our things?"
This roused a soft punch from Tristan.
"Oh very funny Dad! I meant what are going to do for fun first?!"
Gumball gave a smile which exposed his prominent canines.
"Well...perhaps we could visit the volcanoes? Go to the beach, and enjoy basking in the sun, snorkeling, scuba diving, the list really is endless little man!"
The optimistic and go lucky tone in his fathers voice, caused Tristan to become more and more in anticipation to arrive.
Soon a microphone was turned on by an anthropomorphic Walrus.
"Attention! Attention please! Thank you all for joining us on our cruise, I'm Captain Blubber-"
This roused a few apprehensive chuckles from the room, as the walrus rolled his eyes with a frown.
"Yes I am aware of my humorous name, thank you for reminding me. Anyway, I would just like to extend my deepest thanks for joining us on our cruise, and we hope you enjoy the various amenities our vessel has to offer. She's a seasoned vessel and has made many voyages to and from the Hawaiian islands."
The walrus' English accent was conveying a sense of sophistication and professionalism to the rest of the room.
"We should arrive at the port of Honolulu at dawn tomorrow, from there you can enjoy the many wonders the islands have to offer! We will be closing the dining hall in half an hour, so I'll leave you to the rest of your evening, and please, be sure to gaze at the wonderful stars tonight on one of our many observation balconies just outside your rooms, it's a one of a kind experience! With that said, here is a toast to you all! Let us hope for safe passage!"
Everyone cheered and raised their glasses in the room, as everyone finished talking for the evening, before vacating the hall.
Gumball and Penny walked along the open deck at the top of the ship under the moonlit night sky, not a cloud in sight.
"The kids really enjoyed the evening dinner honey, we sure had some great laughs too exchanging stories of our past."
Gumball smiled to Penny, as he had his paw wrapped around her hand as they walked along the boardwalk.
"Yes it was...say did you notice anything off about our fathers when we were talking?"
This caused Penny to give a confused look, but soon a contemplative expression overcame her.
"Hmmmm...not that I had noticed, why?"
Gumball briefly put his head down and then turned to look at the yellow fairy again.
"I don't know...something just seemed off when we spoke about the story about Dad being stranded...like an aura of uneasiness had enveloped them both."
Penny soon leaned against Gumball's shoulder.
"Oh Gumball, don't be so superstitious! I'm sure everything is okay with our fathers, it's just that Richard went through a traumatic experience being stranded, but it wasn't your fault! Don't kick yourself over that, okay? You're an amazing father, son, brother...and husband. I couldn't' have imagined that the first time I laid eyes in that little blue cat boy all those years ago, that he would have turned into the loving husband and center of my world."
Gumball smiled.
"I knew as soon as I laid eyes on you Penny..."
This caused the yellow fairy to blush uncontrollably as they both embraced each other in a kiss.
"I'm sure this is going to be a vacation we never forget as a family Gumball...just like last year."
Gumball smiled.
"I think you're right Penny."
The two now looking out towards the full moon over the calm sea.
"It more than likely will be a great vacation Mr. Watterson...but will it be for the right reasons?"
*END OF CHAPTER*