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Month 4

“On top of spaghetti!” Elle began.
“All covered with cheese!” Hannah continued.
“There was a poor meatball!”
“Till somebody sneezed!”
Caroline and Frank glanced at each other over their plates of spaghetti and meatballs and sighed.
“It rolled off the table!”
”And onto the floor!”
“And then that poor meatball!”
“Rolled right out the door!”
Elle frowned. “I don’t remember anymore.”
“Never mind,” Caroline smiled. “Eat your dinner before your Daddy takes it.”
Frank looked at the twins menacingly and growled slightly. The two girls squealed and he grinned.
”He’s baaaack,” Hannah murmured.
“Who?”
“Creepy Reappearing Boy,” Hannah said, pointing at the window.
Caroline and Frank groaned.
“Doesn’t this kid have a home to go to?” Frank wondered. “Or better yet, Sharon’s home?”
”Frank,” Caroline chastised.
“Can we play with him?” Elle asked.
“No, you can finish your dinner,” Caroline told her.
The twins pouted.
“But Daddy’s getting up and he hasn’t finished his dinner!” Elle pointed out.
“Daddy’s not playing,” Frank answered.
*******************************************************
“What is this?” Lily asked, poking at the food on her plate.
“I’m sure it’s very nice,” Sharon said. She looked at Gavin. “What is it?”
“Irish stew.”
Lily frowned and turned to her mother. “Why is Daddy cooking?”
”Because he offered.”
Lily sighed. “Next time, don’t accept.” She turned to her father and grinned. “Daddy, I love you, you’re my hero and you’re good at so many things…but cooking isn’t one of them.”
“Thankyou, Lily,” Gavin sighed, sitting down at the table.
******************************************************
Andrea sat at the table, moving her food around the plate.
“Is it okay?” Giles asked. “It should be. I know how much you like fish and this is supposed to be really good fish. At least that’s what the guy at the store told me.”
Andrea smiled. “It’s wonderful. And it’s a very good fish.”
“Then what’s the matter? You’re not usually this glum.”
“It’s silly really.”
“I’m the master of silliness,” Giles grinned, making a funny face.
Andrea chuckled slightly. “I won’t argue with that.”
”So come on,” Giles said, nudging her slightly. “Tell Mr Baxendale what the matter is.”
Andrea rolled her eyes and sighed. “Promise you won’t be mad?”
Giles narrowed his eyes. “Did you kill that goldfish again?”
Andrea shook her head. “No, he’s still alive. As far as I know.”
Giles folded his arms. “Okay, go ahead.”
“I don’t have a dress,” Andrea blurted out. She could almost hear her sisters groaning at her.
Giles chuckled slightly. “Andrea, haven’t we been over this? I know, I’m not supposed to know.”
“No, I don’t have a dress,” Andrea stressed the ‘don’t.’
“Mhm,” Giles nodded. “Whatever you say.” He started his dinner again.
Andrea sighed and let her head fall on the table.
***************************************************************
"Elle," scolded Caroline.
Elle looked up from tying pieces of spaghetti around her wrist. "Yes, Mammy?"
"Stop playing with your spaghetti!"
"Not spaghetti," corrected Hannah. "Worms."
"EW!" cried Elle. "It's not really worms, is it?"
"Yep, Lily said so," said Hannah.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Not everything Lily says is true," she pointed out. "Spaghetti is just pasta."
"Caroline!" called Frank from the yard. "Come here!"
Caroline stood up and moved out to the yard. "What's wrong?"
Frank frowned. "He's gone."
"What do you mean he's gone?"
"I looked away for half a second when Elle said 'ew' and I looked back and he was just gone."
"Did you look for him?"
"Yeah! He's not here."
Caroline frowned. "That is so weird. This kid creeps me out..." She was interrupted by shrieks from the kitchen. Caroline’s eyes widened. "Oh no! I left them alone with spaghetti!"
Caroline rushed back into the kitchen, with Frank at her heels.
"Look at my hair!" exclaimed Hannah happily.
"We had a spaghetti fight," giggled Elle sheepishly.
Hannah had Elle's entire plate of spaghetti dumped on her head, dripping down onto her face, arms, and shirt. Hannah had thrown her serving at Elle's face.
Caroline sighed deeply. "Come on," she murmured. "Let's get you two in the bath."
********************************************************
“I should be getting paid for this,” Jim groaned.
“Oh hush,” Nea told him, giggling. “I’m your wife. I can do whatever I like.”
Jim sighed. “You better not take any photos.”
Nea fixed the pink ribbon in his hair. “I promise.” She bent down and kissed him gently. “Thankyou.”
”You’re a very strange woman,” Jim told her. He grinned slightly and pulled her into his lap. “But I love you.”
“James Steven Ignatious Corr, you’re just trying to distract me!” Nea cried. He kissed her. “Okay, so it works.”
*********************************************************************************
Frank stood in the doorway to his room and watched his wife read in bed. She peered over her book.
“What?”
“What?”
“Why are you watching me?” Caroline inquired.
“Aren’t I allowed to admire the view?”
Caroline smirked. “Nice save. But what is it? Is it the twins?”
“I can’t believe I’m getting interrogated for watching my wife. Why is that?”
Caroline chuckled. “Because I know you and I know me. And we both know that watching inevitably ends with you next to me.”
Frank smiled smugly. “That is true.”
“So what is it?”
“I have something for you.”
Caroline put her book down. “Should I be worried?”
He wandered over and casually sat in the bed beside her, folding his arms. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”
Caroline pouted and kissed his cheek. “Please?”
Frank rummaged in his shirt pocket and handed her a small packet. “That’s for you. I remembered that when you were pregnant with the twins you were addicted to these. I thought I should start the supply early.”
Caroline glanced at him strangely and opened the packet. A wide smile broke out on her face. “Red frogs.”
“Mhm. Notice I picked out all the green ones. I put them in a packet for Andrea.”
Caroline grinned. “Want to know a secret?”
“Go ahead,” Frank said warily.
“I always love red frogs. Not just when I’m pregnant.”
“So I should keep that in mind?”
Caroline nodded. “Absolutely.” She offered the packet to him. “Frog?”
********************************************************************
Sharon sat on the floor, cleaning out Lily's Barbie school bag. After she had removed her lunch box, drink bottle, skipping rope and reading book, she got to the makeshift compost heap.
"Lily!" she complained.
Lily poked her head around the door, eating a lollipop. "What is it mammy?" she asked.
"Doesn't your school have bins?" asked Sharon.
Lily looked over her mothers shoulder in her bag, at the collection of plastic wrap, banana peels, sandwich crusts, apple cores, and orange peel. "Well... yeah, but..." Lily shrugged.
"Your bag stinks!" exploded Sharon. "There's stuff decomposing in there! You've created a damn ecosystem!"
Lily blinked. "A what?"
"If you're not careful it will develop a mind of its own and turn on you."
Lily's eyes widened. "It will?"
"Well, no. Except that it will smell absolutely putrid. Why don't you go to the bin?"
Lily wrinkled her nose. "I don’t like the bin, all the boys put their rubbish on the lid. It's icky."
"You're worse," pointed out Sharon. "You let it all decompose in your bag. In your bag!"
"What’s that mean?"
"What’s what mean?"
"Decomdoze."
Sharon smiled. "Decompose. It's when food goes yucky."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Well why couldn't you just say that?"
"I did! I just used different words, is all."
"You used big words."
"I used big words."
"Why do you use big words?"
"Because I have an extensive vocabulary."
"You're doing it again!" cried Lily.
"Doing what?"
"Using big words!"
"What did I say?"
Lily paused. "I don’t remember."
Sharon frowned. "What was I talking about again?"
Lily shrugged.
Sharon shrugged back.
"Can I watch TV again?"
***********************************************************************
Andrea burst through the front door and almost tripped over assorted clothes, bags and hats on her floor as she lunged for the phone.
“Andrea Corr speaking,” she said, trying to catch her breath.
“Hello Andrea, it’s John here.”
“Hi,” she said.
“You sound like you’ve been running.”
”Well, I just got in,” she answered.
“Right. Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you. Jim’s answering machine is broken again and Caroline and Sharon aren’t home.”
“Congratulate us on what?”
“You are all receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Andrea was silent. “We’re what?” she stammered out.
“You and your brother and sisters are receiving a lifetime achievement award,” John repeated, syllable by syllable.
“Oh my god,” Andrea said. She started squealing and jumping up and down with excitement.
John held the phone away from his ear. “Andrea, please.”
“Right, sorry,” Andrea replied, calming down a bit.  “When is it?”
“Three months,” John informed her.
“Oh,” Andrea said. “Caroline and Sharon aren’t going to be happy.”
John was confused. “Why on earth not? You’re receiving a lifetime achievement award! That’s pretty big.”
“Oh, they’ll be happy about that,” Andrea assured him. “I think the bit that will annoy them is going to an awards ceremony when they’re seven months pregnant.”
It was John’s turn to be silent. “Ah. I didn’t think of that.”
Andrea smirked. “Remember when Caroline was pregnant with the twins and went to an awards ceremony?”
John groaned. “Yes, Thankyou Andrea. I’d rather not.”
“Sorry.” She sighed. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell them. They’ll probably take it better from me.”
********************************************************************************
“You have got to be kidding!” Caroline cried.
Andrea edged away slightly. This was not going as well as she had expected. “Um, we’re receiving a lifetime achievement award! Aren’t you happy?”
“About the award, yes,” Sharon affirmed. “About going to an awards ceremony when we’re seven months pregnant…I don’t think so!”
“But it’s a big deal. You have to go!”
“We’ll go, we just won’t be happy,” Caroline replied.
“Exactly,” Sharon nodded.
“But you went to an awards ceremony when you were pregnant with the twins,” Andrea reminded her sister.
“That was different. I wasn’t seven months pregnant,” Caroline replied.
Sharon nodded. “Exactly.”
Andrea sighed. “Stop saying that.”
*********************************************************************************
Hannah and Elle sat entranced, watching their mother sing and play the piano. They were completely silent, their eyes focussed on their mother. Frank leant in the doorway of the recording room and smiled. Caroline caught his look and smiled at him. She took of the earphones and glanced at him. “What?”
“That’s the only time that they are ever completely silent. Whenever you sing, or play, there is no sound. It’s beautiful.”
“My singing or the silence?”
”Both.”
“Keep going, Mammy!” Hannah cried. “It’s bewdiful.”
“Is it our turn yet?” Elle inquired.
“Your turn for what?” Frank asked, watching her dubiously.
Hannah pointed at the two children sized drumkits that sat beside Caroline’s stage one. “Mammy said we could record a song with her.”
Frank raised an eyebrow at his wife.
“It’s not going to do any harm,” Caroline said, shrugging.
Frank glanced at his watch. “Uh…I just remembered I had to be somewhere.”
“Daddy could sing,” Elle giggled.
Caroline giggled too, but at Frank’s look she covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
Frank rolled his eyes. He walked over and kissed his daughter’s on the cheek and then kissed his wife. “I’ll see you later. Have fun.”
Caroline nodded tiredly. “Okay guys, get ready to play.”
The twins scrabbled to their drumkits. Hannah’s was a sparkly blue and Elle’s was a sparkly red. They took up their child-sized drumsticks and stared at their mother.
“Ready when you are!” Elle grinned, preparing her hi-hat.
Caroline smiled to herself and sat at her drumkit. She pressed a button to activate the recording system. “Go ahead.”
And so the house was filled with drumming.
********************************************************************************
Andrea sat down on the couch next to Giles. “What are you watching?”
Giles grinned. “Party at the Palace.”
Andrea groaned. “And why are you watching that?”
“Well, it has two things to recommend it. Firstly, it’s the only decent thing on at the moment and secondly, you feature in it.”
”Thanks, I think,” Andrea said, frowning slightly.
“I have to say though, the sound quality in that pagoda is pretty dreadful. Sharon’s violin sounds like a shagging cat.”
Andrea wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never heard a shagging cat. And frankly, I don’t think I want to.”
“Probably quite true,” Giles nodded, smiling slightly. “So, who’s having the Halloween party this year?”
“Caroline,” Andrea replied. “She thought it would be easier to have it at her place because the twins were likely to either destroy everything or eat so much chocolate that they made themselves sick.”
Giles nodded. “Fair enough.”
*********************************************************************************
Caroline leant back on the sunchair. “Thank God that we have an indoor heated pool. It’s the best way to get rid of all that energy,” she told Sharon.
Sharon nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for letting me bring Lily over. Gavin is at work and I was exhausted.”
Caroline waved a hand. “No problem. The twins love playing with Lily and it doesn’t bother me at all.”
“Where’s Frank?” Sharon asked.
Caroline shrugged. “Absolutely no idea.” She frowned slightly. “Perhaps I better go and check. Can you keep an eye on the kids for a moment?”
Sharon nodded. “Sure. I might hop in with them actually.”
Caroline wandered downstairs and into the main part of the house. She heard the faint hum of the television and walked into the lounge. “Frank?”
The television was immediately paused. “Hmm?”
Caroline folded her arms. “What are you watching?”
“Nothing.”
Caroline peered at the TV. “Not that again.”
Frank grinned slightly and let the tape play. “I’m sorry, Caro. But that moment with you leaning up against the wall in Runaway is just…well…sexy.”
Caroline rolled her eyes. “I never saw it as that when I did it.”
“You may not have. But I’m sure thousands of guys around the world did.”
“You mean this?” Caroline asked, leaning against the wall and then pushing herself off it.
“I am so incredibly lucky that I am the only guy in the entire world who can get you to do that on command.”
Caroline shook her head in amusement and sat down beside him. “You’re a very strange man.”
“You know the other bit I like?” Frank asked.
“I’m worried.”
He fast forwarded the video to Irresistable and pointed at the screen. “That one.” Caroline’s face came up on the screen singing “the way I want you”. “Now you can’t tell me that you didn’t know you were being sexy there.”
She grinned slightly. “I have to admit, I had a slight inkling.” She patted him on the arm. “Come swimming. I’m sure the girls would like it.”
“Do you really want to swim?” Frank asked, kissing her.
“Yes,” she replied firmly.
****************************************************************************
Lily flipped through her book on The Muppets and glanced at her mother. “Mammy?”
“Mhm?”
“Where do babies really come from?”
Sharon stood stock still. “Um, what makes you ask that, Lily?”
“Well, Auntie Caroline thinks they come through your bellybutton and Auntie Andrea said something about tunnels. And a kid at school said something about storks, another one about diamonds and cabbages and then one said something about Mammy’s and Daddy’s and bedrooms.”
Sharon’s eyes widened.
“Maybe Auntie Caroline and Auntie Andrea have been misinformed,” Lily said. “And if that’s where babies come from, I don’t wanna eat cabbage anymore.” She frowned. “What do Mammy’s and Daddy’s do in bedrooms?”
Sharon tried to think of the best way to waylay her daughter until she could talk to Gavin. “Um…well…they play Scrabble.”
Lily looked confused. “Scrabble?”
Sharon nodded and resumed stirring the dinner. “Right.”
“Why can’t I play too?” Lily asked, her lower lip trembling.
“Well, uh, it’s a special type of Scrabble that only big people can play. When you’re Mammy’s age you can play too.” She frowned. “Perhaps a little older.”
Lily’s eyes widened. “Mammy! I’ll be old by then! That’s like a hundred million billion years away!”
“Thanks,” Sharon said, frowning slightly. “Hey, how about you go and talk to Barbie about Scrabble?”
Lily nodded and left the room. “Gee, Auntie Caroline and Uncle Frank must play a lot of Scrabble,” she muttered, as she went to her room.
Sharon raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.
****************************************************************
“So, have you two decided what you want to be for Halloween?” Caroline asked the twins as they played with their Lego.
Hannah put her finger to her chin. “Hmm. That’s a very good question.”
Elle nodded. “Indeed it is.” She looked at her mother. “Mammy, what did you and Daddy and Uncle Jim and Auntie Sharon and Auntie Andrea and Auntie Nea and Uncle Gavin and Uncle Giles go as when you went?”
“Well, Auntie Andrea once went as a cat. Your Uncle Jim once went as Frankenstein. Auntie Sharon once went as John Paul Young and I went as Larry Mullen.” Caroline beckoned her children to come closer. “And one of your dad’s brothers told me that your Daddy once went as a pumpkin.”
The girl’s widened their eyes. Hannah crept over and clasped her mother’s hand. “Please don’t make me go as a pumpkin.”
Caroline smiled. “I promise I won’t.”
Elle’s eyes gleamed. “Can we see a picture of Daddy as a pumpkin?”
“I’ll see what I can find,” Caroline replied. “But what do you girls want to be?”
Elle looked at her sister who shrugged.
“We could be you,” Elle suggested.
“Me?” Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow.
Elle nodded. “Yeah. We look like you.”
"But you guys always pretend to be me," pointed out Caroline. "Maybe you could go as something different."
Elle looked thoughtful. "What could we go as?"
Hannah resumed stacking the Lego. "On top of spaghetti...all covered in cheese," she murmured.
"That's it!" Elle cried, as if a lightbulb was above her head.
"What's it?" Hannah asked.
"I'm gonna go as spaghetti!"
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Spaghetti?"
"Just a can, Mammy," Elle grinned. "Can I go as SPC? Then I can sing the song...SPC BAKED BEANS AND SPAGHETTI!"
Caroline rubbed her forehead slightly. "Sure honey...don't sing so loud though." She turned to her other daughter. "I'm begging you to pick a character from a TV show."
Hannah rubbed her chin, looking deep in thought. "Don't wanna go as the creepy purple dinosaur....or the strange people with weird t-shirts....or those weirdo ones that jump up and down and talk to us like we're idiots....I got it!"
"What? What?" Elle asked, excited.
"I'm gonna go as Animal from the Muppets," Hannah said, grinning broadly.
Caroline's eyes widened. God, she wished her kids could go as ghosts or witches...just for one year.
*********************************************************************************
"Jim, come out here," Nea called. "We're going to be late!"
"I'm not coming out!" Jim called back.
"James Steven Ignatious Corr...you've told me at least five times in the past few hours how much you're looking forward to helping take your nieces trick or treating. Out here now!"
"That was before I got in this costume," Jim replied.
"Jim, if you're not out here by the time I count to three I'm going by myself and telling your nieces that you didn't want to come."
"That's emotional blackmail!" Jim cried.
"Yes, fun isn't it," Nea said. "Two!"
Jim walked out, and looked at his wife. "I look like an idiot." Jim wore a blue tight bodysuit (complete with leotard) and red underwear. He had a yellow cape and a yellow belt. "I can't believe you're making me wear this."
Nea rolled her eyes. "You were the one who told me that I could pick what we wore this year. I wanted to go as Lois Lane, so naturally you would be going as Superman."
"Naturally," Jim groaned, as she dragged him out the door.
******************************************************************
Caroline stared up and down at Sharon, who stood in the doorway staring back at her.
"Uh, Sharon, what are you supposed to be? I mean, I thought you would have come up with something more original than a female barrister," Caroline replied, pointing to the wig.
"Do female barristers go around carrying violins?" Sharon asked, holding up her violin.
"Okay, fine, ECCENTRIC female barrister?" Caroline guessed.
"Let me save you some trouble," Gavin said, appearing in the doorway. "She's Johann Sebastian Bach."
"Hi Dr Evil," Caroline said, giggling slightly at his silver costume. She turned back to Sharon. "Johann Sebastian Bach played the piano."
"Well who are you supposed to be smarty-pants?" Sharon asked, scowling.
“Melody from Josie and the Pussycats," Caroline replied. She grinned as Lily ran up to her. "Let me guess...Barbie?"
"Not just any Barbie," Lily replied. "Air Hostess Barbie."
"I hate using starch," Sharon muttered, as they went inside.
"Auntie Andrea!" Lily cried, as Andrea and Giles walked through the door.
"Fairy princess...big surprise," Caroline said, rolling her eyes.
Andrea poked her tongue out. "Let me guess...Melody from Josie and the Pussycats?"
Caroline nodded.
The group all fell about laughing as Giles walked in the door.
"Oh my god!" Sharon said through fits of laughter. "Giles...is Lurch!"
"You rang?" Giles boomed.
Andrea twirled around. "Like my wings?"
"Hello everyone!" Elle cried, toddling out.
Her arms stuck through to holes in a large round piece of cardboard with SPC Spaghetti painted on it. She wore a silver foil hat with a little pull ring on her head.
Sharon turned to her sister and raised an eyebrow. Caroline shrugged.
"You look gorgeous honey," Andrea smiled. "Can you guess who I am?"
Elle rolled her eyes. "Easy, Auntie Andrea. You're a fairy princess." She turned to her mother. "Again."
"Where's Hannah and your Dad?" Caroline asked her.
"That's right, I 'most forgot. Daddy needs help with his costume and Hannah won't stop sticking words on it."
Caroline disappeared and Hannah came out.
She wore a pair of shorts that had jagged edges on the bottom and a t-shirt that was the same. Her hair was all mussed up and she had a toy nose stuck on. She had toy teeth in and a pretend dog collar with spikes around her neck.
Hannah waved to everyone and turned to her sister. "Mammy and Daddy are doing it again."
"Doing what?!" Sharon cried.
Elle rolled her eyes. "Sticking things here, there and everywhere!"
"I stuck poo poo back on though," Hannah informed her sister.
The room was aghast. What kind of strange things were Caroline and Frank doing?
There was a crash, a cry of "Caroline!" and some very Caroline-like giggling.
Hannah groaned. "They've been at it all afternoon."
"Right, that's it," Sharon said. She handed her violin to Gavin and headed for the bedroom door.
"Wait!" Andrea cried, taking her sister's arm. "You can't go in there! What if they are...doing it?"
"I need a beer," Giles said, heading for the kitchen.
"Right behind you," Gavin nodded, following him.
Sharon gestured for the kids to follow them, which they did. She turned to Andy. "You're right. I really don't want to see...hang on." She knocked on the door. "Caroline Georgina Corr Woods! I understand that pregnancy can do very strange things to a woman's hormones but do you really think this is an appropriate time to give in to said hormones? With guests and children around?"
Caroline flung open the door and glared at her sisters. She took Frank's hand and presented him to them. "He's a bloody scrabble board! I was sticking words to the board! I tried to stop Hannah from sticking the word poo poo to the board! Get your minds out of the gutter!"
Subdued, Andrea and Sharon wandered into the kitchen, followed by Frank and Caroline. Frank waved to everyone and grinned at Lily. "Hey honey. Do you want to stick a word on the board? Except poo poo. Hannah took that one."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lily screamed, disappearing out of the room.
Gavin got up to follow her and Sharon raised an eyebrow.
"What did I do?" Frank asked, looking worried.
"It's not your fault," Sharon assured him. "I kind of told her that...well....Mammy's and Daddy's played scrabble in the bedroom."
Caroline's head hit the table. "Great, now the kid is scarred for life."
"Hey! I didn't know Frank was going to dress up as a Scrabble board!" Sharon retorted.
Andrea narrowed her eyes. "Uh, why did you dress up as a Scrabble board?"
Frank and Caroline exchanged glances. "Private, personal joke," Frank replied.
"Very personal," Caroline stressed.
“You're sick," Andrea told her.
"I'm sick? You left one of your goldfish in its tank for three months without cleaning it! The only reason you cleaned it was because you could smell it!"
"In all fairness, she did clean it very well afterwards," Giles pointed out.
"Yeah, but what was the point? The fish was dead!"
The children all gaped at their Aunt.
"You killed a fishy?" Elle asked, her lower lip trembling.
"Perhaps we should go trick or treating now," Gavin suggested.
**********************************************************************
Elle frowned into her trick or treat bag. "I don't have anything!"
"Me neither," whined Hannah.
"That's because you've been eating it the second you get it," pointed out Caroline.
Hannah quietly slipped her hand into Lily's bag while she was distracted by some older kids dressed in realistically scary costumes.
"Hannah!" scolded Frank.
"It was Lily!" cried Hannah.
Caroline rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile, Elle busied herself with the back of Franks scrabble board. Giggling, she ran back to her spot next to Hannah.
Frank frowned. "What did she write on me?" he asked, trying to see the back of his board. "I can’t see! Caroline, what does it say?"
Caroline chuckled. "What do you think?"
Lily hid behind her mother as they passed another group of high school aged kids.
"Mammyyyyyy," she whined. "I wanna go home."
Sharon held Lily's hand. "Why? Are the big kids scaring you?"
Lily shook her head.
"Uncle Frank's costume..."
Sharon sighed. "Don't worry. I won't let the scrabble board get you."
"Look!" shrieked Hannah. "That big girl has the prettiest fairy princess costume I ever sawd!"
Andrea threw her niece a look.
Elle turned to see, but tripped over a rock on the pathway. "Oof!"
"Elle! Are you okay?" asked Caroline, rushing over.
Elle waved her arms and legs around in her spaghetti can costume. "Mammy, I cant get up," she whined.
Caroline went to help her daughter, realising that Frank would be no help, considering he was too busy trying to get Gavin to help him rearrange some of the words on his board.
"There you are," Caroline said, pulling her daughter upright.
They continued on their way, the girls all accumulating candy, after Caroline reminded the twins that they wouldn't have any left if they kept eating it.
*************************************************************************
"How was trick or treating?" Nea asked, as the group came back. "Sorry we couldn't come, but Jim was slightly reluctant.”
It was then that Caroline, Andrea and Sharon first glimpsed their brother's costume. And they burst out laughing.
"Oh my God, oh my God!" Caroline said, tears of laughter streaming down her face. "You're wearing tights!"
"Not just tights, but tight tights!" Andrea giggled.
Caroline and Sharon giggled for a moment and then turned to their sister. "EWWWWWW"
"No more information from your dark mind," Sharon told her.
"Who are you, Uncle Jim?" Elle asked.
"Superman," Jim replied.
"Prove it," Hannah said.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, if you're really Superman, prove it," Elle echoed.
"Prove it? How the hell am I supposed to prove it?" Jim mumbled.
"Jim!" Caroline chastised.
Nea glanced at the children. She nudged her husband. "You better prove it."
Jim's eyes widened and he gulped. Resigned to his fate, he took off down the garden path, running like the wind. Unfortunately, he missed the last three steps and flew headfirst into the rose bushes.
************************************************************************
Sharon put an icepack on her brother's head and one on his ankle. The three children sat on the other side of the room, watching intently.
"We're very proud of you, Uncle Jim," Hannah grinned.
"Yeah, you flew."
Jim smiled wanly and leant back on the couch.
*********************************************************