After enjoying an evening in the lake, the Watterson family headed back indoors.
The night was spent playing board games, cards, enjoying snacks, and conversing.
The kids soon fell asleep on the couch, with adults taking them up to their room and tucking them in; each parent gently giving a good night kiss on their foreheads.
Once the younger and older adults were back downstairs, they began to converse for a bit.
Gumball slowly descended the oak staircase to the living room of the lake house.
"Well, I must say that was the most fun we've had in years!"
"It truly was Gumball, the kids really know how to put on a surprise eh?!" Darwin responded with enthusiasm in his voice.
"I could really see us in them today, it really reminded me of the good ole days you know? Although I also saw a part of Mom and Dad in them too!"
Nicole's ears perked up when she heard this, with a curious smile stretching across her face.
"Oh how sweet Gumball, would you mind divulging into the details of how you saw your father and I in your kids?"
Gumball's expression then turned to one of cautiousness and anxiety. He knew he would have to tread carefully on how he chose his next words, ESPECIALLY when complimenting his mother.
The blue cat was holding his arm, still in his t-shirt and beige khaki shorts; now began to speak.
"Well uh-um...I saw a lot of the fun and easygoing side of our kids in Dad, it reminded me of how he was able to resolve tense and competitive moments with the clarity of enjoying the moment, rather than being caught up in petty arguments and quarrels. Like, how we did the board game!...after accidentally making Mom crash the car into the house..."
The blue cat was looking down in a bit of shame, but soon the room was filled with chuckles and laughter, even Nicole was chuckling at the memory! Gumball then realized something, his mother really had changed in almost 20 years. The stress and worry were almost gone from her face when she was in her thirties; taking care of three rambunctious kids. Gumball began to feel more comfortable in recollecting on past events, and describing the good traits of his parents that were passed on to their grandchildren.
"Penelope shows the kind and loving side of her mother Penny, but also Mom and Dad! She always knows how to put situations into perspective, and to always enjoy the simple things in life!"
Everyone was touched by these remarks, beginning to listen more intently to the blue cat's kind words. Penny especially loved when Gumball gave these moments more frequency, it reminded her how much her high school sweetheart had grown and matured over the years they were together.
"And Tristan... heh, well he really has reminded me a bit of Mom and I. It's almost as if the best parts of us were put into him! He really has reminded me of the fun in life, and brought out the inner kid that I once possessed all those years ago. He's always able to come up with a meticulous plan that sounds ridiculous and outlandish at first, but somehow manages to work out with unexpected results...and other times not so much..."
Everyone chuckled at that remark, knowing full well Gumball was the same way at that age.
"And then there's another side to him. A stronger, and more courageous side that is unyielding in resolve and willing to do everything he can in his power to help and protect his family!"
Nicole soon had a loving expression on her face, knowing that not only her grandson had inherited her traits, but her son had recognized all that had been done to support her family over the years.
"Oh and he's also very competitive and assertive!"
Nicole smiled.
"The little man is competitive is he?"
"Oh yeah Mom, you should see him when he was on his elementary basketball team! He will not give up on defense and loves being aggressive to the net. He just has that fiery spirit!"
Nicole was proud to hear this. Soon shifting her head to look at the time on the clock display: It read quarter to 12.
"Oh look at the time! We better get some shut eye! We don't want to waste the beautiful day away that awaits us tomorrow!"
The adults quickly made their preparations for bed, switching to pajama attire and cleaning themselves in their respective bathrooms in their bedrooms.
Gumball was reading an adventure novel he had been reading for the past week, thoroughly enjoying the contents of its pages.
Penny had stepped out of the washroom in her night dress, and slowly crept alongside her husband; putting her head on his shoulder.
"You know Gumball, I was very proud of you today..."
Gumball then folded the page he was reading, placing it on the nightstand.
"Why are you proud of me? I never did anything of praise!"
"That's what you believe, but I saw something that you mentioned when talking down in the living room with the rest of us."
Gumball was tilting his head to the side, now face to face with his fairy wife.
"You showed me a glimpse of how you acted when you were a kid when we were playing water polo. Tristan and Penelope told me in private afterwards. They were amazed to see that side of you and they loved it, and so did I. Gumball, you need to let go of the stresses that you've been having in regards to our life, your fun side really brightens our day! Your Mother told me in the kitchen back home, that she was worried that you were going down a path she had with you guys. If she had the time back, she would have been more lenient on your misadventures with your brother, because when you went away to college; she noticed the house was a lot more empty with you guys gone..."
Gumball was stunned, she was right, they were all right! He forgot about the best part of himself that he let go of all those years ago.
"There is a difference between being a grown up and a kid, but that doesn't mean you have to be consumed by the responsibilities every waking moment! That's what made you the special blue cat I fell in love with..."
Before the fairy could talk any further, the blue cat moved in to engage in a long lasting kiss; supporting her neck.
"I promise, from here on out, I'm going to make things right. I haven't been there before, but I'm here now, and starting tomorrow; I'm going to plan something the whole Watterson family will enjoy!"
With that, the couple shut off the lights on their nightstands. Gumball then placed his arm over the waist of Penny, both fairy and feline slowly drifting off to sleep...
Gumball woke up to an early sunrise, with Tristan also waking up early.
Tristan slowly crept from the kids room, meeting his father in his signature pajama t-shirt and shorts.
"Hey little man, wanted an early start to the day as well?"
"Yeah, plus Vlad Jr. was snoring so I decided to get up as I couldn't get back to sleep!"
Gumball let out a small chuckle, as to not wake up the rest of the house.
Gumball then knelt down to meet his son face to face.
"Say hey about we prepare breakfast for everyone? Plus I can teach you how to prepare some classic pancakes!"
The small eyes of the younger kitten lit up.
"Pancakes! That sounds awesome Dad!"
Gumball then dawned a pretentious expression.
"Alright then my little sous chef, onwards to my gourmet kitchen where we will make le pancake magnifique!"
The little cat let out a hearty laugh, but was sure to be silent about it.
The two moved down the oak staircase, and towards the kitchen adjacent to the living room. Tristan retrieved the supplies needed to start the pancakes, while Gumball started to heat the burner on the oven. The kitchen being much larger than what they were used to, allowed both to move freely. Gumball then taught his son how to crack an egg properly, prepare a proper pancake mixture; and how to flip a pancake properly. Soon, an entire batch of pancakes were ready to be served for everyone. Gumball also found a package of maple sausages to be served as a side dish to compliment the pancakes.
Soon, footsteps were heard upstairs that were slowly making their way towards the oak staircase.
"Dad, who else could be up at this hour in the morning?"
"If I had to guess, my intuition will tell me it's-"
A pink bunny soon could be heard coming down the steps.
"Is that pancakes I smell?"
Gumball looked back at his son standing next to him, smiling.
"Grandpa..."
The pink bunny now moved towards the kitchen area.
"Hey Dad! We decided to take the liberty of making breakfast for the family, Tristan here is quite the chef!"
"That's great to hear! Maybe I could teach him my classic spaghetti recipe?"
Suddenly multiple footsteps were heard approaching down the oak staircase, the aroma coming from the kitchen was attracting the whole family to the area to inspect what the source of the smell was.
Nicole soon came to hug her grandson, who was next to Gumball.
"Wow Tristan, did you make these for us?!"
"Yes Grandma Nicole! Dad helped out in teaching me how to do it though!"
Nicole then looked to her son, smiling.
"That was very kind of you Gumball!"
"Oh it was just a bit of father-son bonding Mom, it was no problem. But the appearance of these pancakes are sure making me hungry! Everyone grab a plate and help yourself!"
Soon, the entire Watterson family was digging into the soft, fluffy, golden pancakes; with everyone complimenting Tristan and Gumball's cooking skills.
Suddenly there was a knock on the front door.
"I'll get it!" Carrie rose from the table to answer the door.
The ghost turned the doorknob to be greeted by a pink bunny.
"Oh Anais! Glad you could come!"
"Sorry I'm late, I had to complete some reports on the samples of the beetle dung in the area! We found unusually high levels of mercury!"
Darwin then smiled at the table.
"Yep, that's our sister Anais alright!"
The pink bunny then greeted everyone at the large dinner table.
She then turned to the kids.
"How are my favorite nieces and nephews doing?!"
All of them came to greet their only aunt.
Anais soon grabbed a plate and helped herself to breakfast.
"So what are we doing this July 4th weekend?"
Everyone at the table stared around in unison.
"It's July 4th weekend?!" they all asked.
Anais gave a laugh and facepalmed.
"Oh my goodness, you haven't all become that busy that you forgot what month on the calendar it was?!"
Gumball then looked a bit sad.
"I-I guess we did, wow! Perhaps that's why the music festival is going on!"
Anais noticed her older brother's expression and quickly felt sympathy.
"Oh I was only joking! I understand we're all busy with things in our lives that we lose track of time!"
Gumball then got up to announce something.
"Well I do have something planned today; which was inspired by the kids idea to do water polo!"
Everyone looked to the blue cat with curiosity, anticipation, and excitement.
"I packed some paintball equipment and I figured we'd split into teams! The woods offers some great cover, and should be perfect for a game of elimination paintball!"
Everyone cheered in unison.
"I also wanted to spice up the excitement by doing names in a bowl, and drawing randomly for teams!"
Gumball then called out the teams, as the family continued to eat their breakfast; still listening to know what teams they were going to be on. Soon it had been decided on Penny, Darwin, Penelope, Gumball, Richard, Mary, Daniel, and Frankie; versus Granny Jojo, Louis, Carrie, Vlad. Jr, Anais, Anastasia, and Tristan. One roster spot was left: Nicole.
Gumball then looked over to his Mother, who was sitting next to Tristan.
They were both smiling with competitive intent, Gumball knowing full well what lay ahead in the paintball game.
Everyone soon got dressed and ready for the upcoming family event.
Colored bands were worn, to signify what team each person was.
Soon, both teams spread out to cover their corner of the woods; with Gumball noticing Tristan and his mother sticking close together.
(If the Good, Bad, and the Ugly theme is available on your device please press play now)
The game was hectic, the older adults were eliminated quickly, Gumball noticed his team dwindle to a few remaining survivors; along with his Mother's team. Eventually, it was just him versus his Mother and son.
Gumball understood how competitive both of them could be, and would no doubt see Nicole coaching Tristan on how to get the upper hand against the opposition. Instead of searching for them, knowing he was outnumbered, he continued to the flag that was placed in the middle of a field. For whoever retrieved it, their team automatically won. Gumball slowly crept from the outcropping, and noticed in the middle of the field was his Mother slowly approaching the flag.
Slowly, he crept up behind her, and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hi Mom..."
"You fell right into our trap..."
"I know..."
Soon his mother whistled, and a smaller whistle came from behind him; and a shot was fired into the tall cat's back.
Gumball then turned around to see Tristan walk next to his Grandmother, and claim the flag; smiling as the two hugged one another.
Nicole and Tristan then had a confused look on their faces.
"I don't understand Gummypuss, why did you let us win?"
Gumball looked at his mother.
"Well Mom, it's the memories you create with your loved ones that count the most...plus this was 20 years overdue..."
Nicole then smiled and came to hug her son, Tristan soon joining in with the two.
"Well done Mr. Watterson..."
*END OF CHAPTER*