Guess what?!" MJ yelled as she threw open the door to Gayle's home.

"Mom?" Annie said, running down the stairs.

"MJ, is that you?" Peter said, looking up from his laptop. He was set up at the dining room table, which was completely covered in books and papers. He had that wild look in his eye that could only mean he was working on revisions for his dissertation. She wondered again what his topic was on. She had asked him about a dozen times, and each time he rattled off some complicated topic that had to do with biophysics and engineering. MJ was no slouch, but Peter's intellect was at another level.

Annie ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. She came back out with a plate of pizza. She sat down at the table with her dad, and unclipped her pump from her jeans to punch in the bolus.

MJ joined her family. "Where's Gayle?"

"She's got the closing shift, she'll be back around 10:00. We ordered pizza before she left."

"I forgot she was closing today," MJ said as she peeled off her coat, and draped it over a chair. She was hoping Gayle would've been home to hear her news, but she could always update her sister later. She knew the first week of December meant an influx of costumers at the store. MJ wished she could poach Gayle and have her work at her own store. But with how tight things were, and how she refused to cut back on her employees' pay, she couldn't afford her sister. She knew Gayle would help out if asked, but MJ was not about to ask her sister for free labor.

"So, what're we guessing?" Peter asked.

"Yeah mom, what's going on?"

"Well," MJ began, enjoying the moment. "During my lunch break, my old agent contacted me, said he heard I've been teaching acting. So we started talking, and he got me gig!"

"What?!" and "Really?!" Peter and Annie squealed.

MJ beamed as she nodded. This was a great way to bring in some extra cash, and it would be nice to reconnect with her roots.

"What kind of gig?" Peter asked.

"Modeling. It's a catalogue job. Swim suit."

"Mom, congrats!" Annie gave her a hug.

"Swim suit," Peter said with a devilish grin. "If you need some practice, I've got a camera!"

"Ew, gross." Annie scoffed. "Just lost my appetite."

"Finish your pizza young lady, you have insulin on board," Peter said.

Annie rolled her eyes.

"We gotta celebrate!" Peter said. "You think we can swing a dinner at a slightly upscale restaurant tomorrow? We can bring Gayle, it'll be fun!"

"Ryan and I are going to Jermaine's after school."

"What? When did this happen?" Peter said.

"I already told you guys yesterday."

"You did?"

"She did," MJ responded. "We said yes. Besides, I'm closing at the store tomorrow."

"Did you tell me?" Peter asked sheepishly.

"I did," she kissed him on his head. "You've got a lot on your mind," she said, indicating the explosion of paperwork.

Peter laughed. "Okay. We'll figure something out. Congrats Red." Then he gave her look that said his practice session was still on. MJ gave him a look that said hell yes!

Annie grabbed her plate. "I'm going upstairs," she said sounding annoyed. Guess she caught them making eyes at each other.

"We gotta be more subtle," MJ said as Annie ran up the stairs.

"Come here, you!" Peter said, wrapping his arms around his wife and pulling her onto his lap. "I'm proud of you," he said, and she beamed, enjoying the moment. Who knew where this opportunity could lead?