Gumball groggily opened his eyes to the bedroom window, his arm still wrapped and snuggled with his wife Penny. Slowly he turned to his end of the bed, as to not wake her up, and slid both of his feet onto the carpet floor of the bedroom. He stretched and let out a massive yawn, his claws sinking into the carpet in the process.
He made his way to the washroom to wash his face in the sink and to manage any of the loose fur follicles he had, knowing full well he was active in his sleeping state. He changed his night time attire into his regular vacation clothes, which consisted of khaki shorts and a t-shirt. He opened the door and exited the washroom back into the bedroom.
"That's strange, there's no rays of sun shining through the curtains this morning...wait a minute..."
He quickly drew back the curtains of the patio window to reveal pelting rain that was hitting against the window.
"Ah! Of course, the forecast did say there would be at least one day of rain on this vacation. Well, that doesn't mean we're not going to enjoy the day!"
He opened the sliding patio door to the outside. The fresh smell of rain and grass instantly hitting the feline in a cooling sensation. Rain pelted onto him and caused a sense of tranquility, there was something rather calming about it in fact. As a kid in Elmore Junior High, he remembered hating water, not to the point of hydrophobia, but rather as an inconvenience or pestilent annoyance...it also did not help that he was a cat.
But over the years he had grown an affinity for it, providing him a sense of escape and calm that enveloped his surroundings, whether it was a nice shower after a long shift, or going to the local beach with Penny and the kids. Ultimately, he concluded that physical education class with coach Russo made him dread the swimming drills and diving, mostly because of her arbitrary and ludicrous expectations of students.
Gumball continued to look out onto the lake and surrounding wilderness, even on a dreary and rainy day, the fog hovering over the water and the calm and soft chirps of the morning birds created a picture of beauty in front of him.
"Man, why did I wait so many years to do something like this? I'll be kicking myself for not doing this sooner..."
Suddenly, the sliding door behind him was opened, with a yellow fairy in her pajamas and bathrobe walking out with a cup of morning coffee in her hands.
"Kind of a miserable day weather wise don't you think?"
The couple turned to each other to provide one another with a kiss.
"Not really the weather we were looking for, but we've been very lucky thus far. It could have been a lot worse...plus there's an alluring beauty to the rain don't you think?"
Penny smiled and laid her head on the blue cat's shoulder.
"You're right, it is rather calming..."
The couple were now taking in the sounds of nature and the tranquility of the atmosphere around them.
Gumball then turned his head to face the fairy.
"Say, what are you doing up so early? It's vacation after all and we don't have to worry about the morning commute and routine we usually adhere by back at home!"
The fairy looked up into the face of the blue cat. The stress lines prominent underneath his eyes told a thousand words. Quite the opposite of when they were kids, indicating that adulthood had taken a toll on the feline, and the responsibilities with it. But when she gazed deeper into the eyes of her soulmate, they sent a different message to her. That he was still the vibrant and outgoing, scheming cat she had fell in love with for what seemed like ages ago.
"Well I guess the same reason as you honey...didn't want to miss one more second of enjoying each day we have on this vacation lying in bed. Also, how does the saying go? "The early bird catches the worm?". Yeah, that sounds like it!"
Gumball smiled.
"Well that is a fair point that you have just made...So did you brew a pot of coffee?"
Penny took another sip of her coffee, the hazelnut flavor provided a warm and comforting feeling combined with the cool rain.
"No actually, it was your Mother; Nicole!"
Gumball's expression then shifted to one of contemplation.
"Is she aware that I get up this early? I beat her to the kitchen last time...goodness even Dad beat her to the kitchen last time, granted food is always a great motivator for him..."
"Gumball?"
The fairy was now confused as to why the cat was being unresponsive, little did she know his vanity and ego have pretty much blocked any distractions in his surroundings; allowing him to devise why his Mother was in the kitchen before him.
"No, there must be another reason...wait, is this about her inquiring about my conversation with Penelope and the magic fridge last night? Clever girl..."
Penny then snapped her fingers in front of him.
"Gumball?! So are you going to get some coffee from the kitchen?"
Gumball then looked and smiled to the yellow fairy.
"Of course! What flavor is the roast?"
"Hazelnut!"
This now confirmed Gumball's suspicion, hazelnut was his favorite flavor when he was studying for exams with Darwin and Anais in high school; Nicole made sure her and him had a fresh brew every morning and evening.
"Oh! That's my favorite coffee flavor! Thanks for telling me Penny!"
The blue feline gave the fairy a quick peck on the cheek and made his way back into the bedroom, then proceeding to the hall that led to the main staircase. As he walked through the hall he could still hear most of the family snoring in their bedrooms, which was to be expected since it was 7:00 A.M. As he approached the main staircase, he made sure to be discreet and quiet as he descended, being certain to place his feet carefully on each step. As he made it to the ground floor he turned to face the kitchen, where he could hear a low but soft humming.
He recognized it instantly as the voice of his Mother, as he entered to see her at the counter; mixing her coffee with a spoon.
Nicole's ears piped up, and she turned to face her son with a grin.
"Good morning Gummypuss! Did you have a comfortable night's rest after the events of our early 4th of July celebration?!"
Gumball returned a smile.
"Well it will certainly be remembered for years come!"
Both cats chuckled, as Gumball made his way over to the kitchen cabinet and grabbed a mug. He then proceeded to the coffee machine to pour a nice brew of fresh coffee. Nicole leant against the counter holding a mug in her hand, watching as her son was finding sugar and milk to add to his coffee.
"So...how is Penelope? Are her injuries still causing her discomfort?"
Gumball began stirring the added milk and sugar he just placed into his mug.
"Oh don't worry Mom, she's very resilient and tough, she's really handling it well! Also, she didn't ask for any more help throughout the night with easing the pain, so I'd say that's a good sign that the healing process has started!"
Nicole smiled at hearing this.
"That's great to hear! I was thinking about her all night. Say, didn't you want to stop playing the medic on this vacation?"
This caused both to let out soft chuckles as they sipped their coffee, as Gumball stood next to his Mother.
The silence of the house was met with the still dropping rain from outdoors.
Nicole then looked to her son, who had drifted into deep thought.
"I was heading off to bed last night and we were all tired. It might have been my imagination or my mind playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn hearing a voice shout something about a "Magic Fridge" in the upstairs bathroom..."
Gumball froze just as when he was about to take another sip from his mug, slowly turning to face his Mother again who had her eyebrow up; and was looking at him with a grin.
"You heard that?"
Nicole chuckled.
"Of course I heard it! Why else do you think I approached the washroom door!?"
Gumball was hoping that she wouldn't confront him on the matter, but now he was truly in the thick of it.
"Look, I was trying to explain to Penelope not to go to the awesome store without someone accompanying her, like a responsible adult or guardian. I accidentally slipped and mentioned the magic fridge we had as kids and she got excited!"
Nicole patted her son on the shoulder.
"Gummypuss it's okay! That fridge was rather...archaic in design, but it did the job for us for many years. Unfortunately, you will have to explain to Penelope that we recently got rid of that fridge and we purchased a new one!"
Gumball looked at his mother with a shocked expression.
"Wait! You got rid of the old fridge? How was dad able to let go of his sentimental value he had for that thing?"
Nicole smirked.
"Well we worked out a deal with the salesman of the awesome store, and he was able to give a discount price on a new fridge, with an actual useful feature instead of storing memories!"
Gumball gave a curious look.
"Oh yeah? What would that be?"
Nicole chuckled under her breath a bit before explaining the new fridge.
"It's like any other fridge, but if you pull out the main trays, it has a back panel that slides open to reveal a larger freezer component to store even more food!"
Gumball was especially confused.
"What the what? What's the point of having an extra feature that requires you to remove another compartment of the fridge to access it?"
Nicole sighed and then gave a defeated expression.
"Don't worry, I tried to explain the exact same thing to your Father, but once he heard extra food storage he was sold on the product; no matter how inconvenient or inaccessible it was. But it's not all a complete loss, I use it mainly to store extra food for winter and Christmas time!"
Both cats chuckled at this.
Then Nicole's expression lit up with a thought she forgot to mention.
"Oh! Another thing, your Father mentioned that you wanted us to come over for the rest of the summer after we return to Elmore. You know without a shadow of a doubt we'd be happy to spend more time with you guys! What happened to the no questions asked Gumball? You'd usually just demand something than just ask permission, like candy at the supermarket!"
Gumball held his arm, he had been trying to revive that old part of him the whole trip but his Mother's words shot him right back down to the ground; like an anti air battery to a fighter plane.
"I know Mom, I'm trying to bring back that part of me and I've shown myself glimpses of that throughout the vacation so far. But I promise I'll be more of that kid that you raised all those years ago!"
Both cats then hugged, as footsteps from the floor above them prompted their attention.
"I guess the others are waking up from their deep slumbers..."
Nicole then moved out of the kitchen and into the living room that gave a view of the grand staircase.
Four children rushed down the stairs and hugged their Grandmother and moved to their Dad/Uncle.
"Dad it's raining today! What are we going to do to entertain ourselves?"
Nicole then chuckled at Tristan's remarks and crossed her arms with a smirk to her son Gumball.
"Well Mr. Watterson, what great mischievous plan can you conjure to end the perpetual boredom that is a child's attention span?!"
Gumball smiled and rolled his eyes simultaneously, which was returned by a wink from Nicole.
"Come on Gumball, think! You used to be so quick to the draw on things to do with Darwin, and now your mind is suddenly blank...wait! It's a rainy day, and that usually translates to wanting to do something comforting and relaxing, like reading a book, telling stories, or having snacks...I GOT IT!"
"How about we create some makeshift forts! We can collect whatever we need from around the lake house, more specifically blankets and pillows, and create a massive fort that has connected tunnels and routes for us to use as a family! It would be a great way to spend the rest of the day, and we can bring in snacks, watch movies inside our fort, or a whole bunch of other things! What do you kids say?!"
Suddenly the four Watterson kids jumped up and down in excitement and ran off to collect anything that could be made into a fort.
Nicole walked over to greet her son once again, and placed her paw on his shoulder.
"There's the Gumball I know."
As she disappeared back into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Gumball ascended the staircase to find Penny walking through the hallway, with other family members passing by.
"The kids certainly seem excited this morning, they were rushing to every room like they had just been told they were going to Daisyland! You wouldn't happen to know anything about their excitement would you?"
Gumball then smiled.
"I told them that we were going to be building a fort in the living room! It's a rainy day and it sounds like the perfect way to pass the time and forget about the weather!"
Penny then smiled.
"Gumball that's a great idea! Remember when we were in that tree fort all those years ago?"
Gumball blushed.
"Yeah I remember, that's where we truly confessed our feelings for one another..."
Penny then returned with a flushed face from the memory.
"Well I better go help the kids with their fort, I'll see you after though!"
"Yeah, I'll go help your Mother with breakfast!"
With that, the two lovers continued on, but not before providing a hug before departing one another.
Gumball moved into the hallway, where he saw Darwin and Tristan conversing with one another.
"Oh hey bro! Tristan was just explaining to me how you were going to help the rest of the kids build a fort. Mind if I join in?"
Gumball smiled.
"Of course you can join Darwin! It'll be just like old times when we built forts with Anais!"
With that, the three moved further into the hallway.
"You know, I bet the attic has some cool things that we can bring into the fort. How about you guys help me scrounge around up there with me and put our investigational skills to the test?"
Darwin and Tristan nodded their heads, as Gumball pulled down the lever to the attic, with Darwin climbing up first.
"Alright Tristan you go next, I'll be right behind you, be sure to watch your step and be careful!"
"I will Dad, don't worry!"
With that, the three emerged to stand on the wooden floor of the attic; scanning to see what they could find in their surroundings.
"While we're at it, we could clean this place a bit."
Gumball quickly suggested, prompting Darwin to hold out his fin.
"Hold on I got this, I'm the expert at cleaning messes!"
Suddenly, the orange fish was swerving and cleaning every nook and cranny of the attic; ensuring everything was sparkling.
Gumball and Tristan were amazed.
"Darwin! I didn't know you could do that, why didn't you use that when Mom told us to clean our rooms as kids?"
Darwin gave a smile.
"It only really works when I'm motivated to do it or save time. I used it at that party in Junior high at Tobias' house. Plus, it taught us the responsibility of being mature kids by cleaning our room by hand, instead of shoving it underneath our bed!"
Gumball scratched the back of his head as Tristan giggled.
"Fair point, Darwin, fair point. But still, must you always have a moral compass?"
"That's who I am!"
The fish smiled, with Gumball firing one back at him.
"Alrighty then, let's see what secrets this place has to offer!"
The two cats and lone fish then scrounged the surroundings of the attic, looking to locate anything that could be fun or useful for the fort experience.
Lava lamps, books, coloring books, and some extra pillows and blankets were just some of the things that were found in the attic.
"Woah Dad, you got to see this!"
Gumball quickly turned to walk over to the small feline who was standing over a box filled with comic books.
"You really hit the jackpot on this one Tristan! I can probably read some to you in the fort before bed!"
"That sounds awesome Dad!"
The young feline jumped to hug his Dad.
"Hey uh- Gumball? I think you should see this!"
Gumball, a bit concerned with the tone of the orange fish; moved over to his brother's corner of the attic to see the fish point his fin to a box.
Inside the box were none other than their childhood puppets of Frank, Howdy, and Grady.
Both brothers stared at each other, before Darwin quickly closed the box when Tristan became curious and walked over.
"What are you guys looking at?"
Both brothers were now bearing nervous expressions.
"Oh absolutely nothing little man! Just some old relics that are in no way connected to kids! As a matter of fact, we better get back to the others with the stuff we found!"
Gumball now carrying a box full of objects they collected for the fort, motioned Tristan for the exit; but not before quietly turning to face his brother and whisper.
"Take them out back and burn them with fire..."
"Duly noted..."
(If Jim's Theme by John Rzeznik is compatible with your device, please press play now)
The day progressed as you would expect from the Watterson family, one million things going on at once; but somehow in complete harmony. Darwin, Gumball, Carrie, and Penny were helping the kids to build the fort in the living room, with Anais setting up the movie system that they would use tonight for their family horror flick called "Nightmare on Elmore Street".
Soon the fort was complete, each part being intricately made to support the kids and adults inside. Gumball was organizing the comic books with Tristan while Nicole and her Mother Mary were conversing, along with Richard and Frankie. Even relationships that were rocky in the past, were finding new ground on this vacation for the better. Soon evening approached, with everybody piling into the fort, while Anais prepared the DVD player.
Gumball then thought of a tease for Anais.
"Hey sis, if it becomes too much there's always a barf bucket in the corner or a cuddle pillow!"
Anais rolled her eyes.
"Please Gumball, if you haven't noticed I'm an adult now, not a little girl. I'm not afraid of silly horror movies anymore!"
Gumball then whispered into Tristan's ear.
"She's saying that now, but wait until we get to the "scary" parts!"
This prompted Tristan to chuckle next to his dad, with both sitting on top of their sleeping bags.
"Oh! I almost forgot!"
Gumball quickly crawled out of the tent, excusing himself with each person he passed.
He then went into the kitchen to grab some snacks and placed them all into bowls.
"Alright guys! I got a variety of snacks, all carefully selected to avoid any potential allergies any of us may have! Also Dad, no you cannot have one of the bowls of snacks for your own enjoyment!"
The pink bunny's ears then drooped and a sad face then stretched across his face.
Gumball then smiled and pulled a bag of Huggy Bites he had been keeping in a safe stash from the cabinet in the kitchen, and walked back out into the living room.
"But, you CAN have this!"
The pink bunny's expression then changed to one of jubilation, but not before turning to Nicole.
"This won't affect my diet plan will it honey?"
"Not at all Richard."
This prompted the entire family to laugh.
"Alright guys, let's start the movie or we'll be here all night deciding what snacks to eat!"
Anais then took the remote and pressed play on the main T.V, beginning the movie.
"That was an awesome movie, a little bit violent, but still totally awesome! You were right about Aunt Anais though, she really couldn't handle the scary bits! ha! ha!"
Both cats then chuckled, as Gumball and Tristan had both of their sleeping bags next to one another.
"I heard that!"
Anais could be heard saying in an annoyed tone.
Gumball then winked to Tristan.
"If it makes you feel any better, you lasted a whole ten minutes longer than last time as kids!"
Anais then let out a groan at the far end of the fort, and turned over in her sleeping bag.
"Hey Dad! Would you mind reading me one of the comics from the attic today before bedtime?!"
"Sure thing little man!"
Soon the two cats were the only ones left awake, Tristan gently dozing off on his fathers shoulder; as Gumball quietly read ahead before realizing that everyone was asleep but him.
Gumball smiled at the sight of his son, fur ruffled just like him when he slept.
Slowly, he turned off the flashlight in which they had been reading with and gave a goodnight kiss on the forehead of Tristan.
Both cats drifted off to sleep, Tristan still cuddled into his father's neck and shoulder.
The only sounds that could be heard, were the owls outside and the quiet tranquility of the moon in the clearing sky; as the rain clouds slowly drifted off in the horizon.
"You're doing a good job Mr. Watterson, keep it up..."
*END OF CHAPTER*