The kitchen was cozy and inviting. Warm tawny painted walls made the stiffness in one's muscles melt away upon entering the room, evoking a sense of relaxation to all who crossed through it. Aside from the architecture, the simplicity and homey feel of the structure drew people in.

The furniture wasn’t arranged extravagantly. It consisted of a medium, rectangular oaken wood table set with five matching chairs off to the right side of the room (complete with mismatched cushions snuggled atop the chairs, as the family members each had their own color preference), and a sleek, white, electric stove in the front of the kitchen. This was another aspect that drew the eye’s attention, as it was one of the first things a person would notice upon arriving in the room and the last upon exiting.

Gray marble countertops snaked from the stove, connecting to the adjacent sink and slithering around to a curved end near the refrigerator. The shape of the structure was ideal for the young children’s antics, which included sliding across its slick surface when their parents were otherwise occupied, and moving toy cars along the top of it as a makeshift road.

As soon as they were caught, however, their play would cease with a scolding to “not play on the counter,” and a recommendation to resume their merriment in the nearby living room, an area that was appropriate for such activities.

On this particularly calm evening, the chairs were withdrawn from their sheath below the table, a side effect from the meal that had just elapsed. They were empty, lacking the presence of their rightful owners, save for one. Crystal and Camille were snuggled into the chair that bore a red and blue polka dotted cushion. The ten year old was settled on her mother’s lap, smiling as Crystal braided her hair.

It was still bright out and the family quietly watched the light filter in through the sliding glass door that led to their backyard. It shined onto the hardwood floor, which Aaron and Zoe were staring at, transfixed by the beads of light swirling in a dance.       

“It’s almost movie tiiiime,” Crystal crooned in a sing-song voice, suddenly shattering the silence.

“I love family movie nights!” Camille exclaimed animatedly.

“That makes two of us, Cami-boo,” Alex agreed, as he washed off one of the dinner dishes and placed it in the open dishwasher.

“I don’t want to do family movie night. It’s so boring,” Aaron whined, his raven hair swooping into his eyes as he glanced up at his father.

“You don’t have much of a choice. We’ll make it fun, don’t worry. Now c’mere, little man. Wanna help me with the last of the dishes?” His voice was warm and solicitous as he spoke, addressing his son’s insecure and sensitive side.

Aaron’s fragile behavior was the result of being diagnosed with Middle Child Syndrome two years previous. The young boy had resorted to feral behavior at school, which consisted of bullying smaller children and pushing them around when they didn’t listen to him during play. Crystal and Alex weren’t surprised when it manifested at home in the form of competing for attention with his sisters, which included shoving them out of the way when they were talking to their parents and destroying their favorite toys.

The issue at school was nipped in the bud after only a week of Aaron’s reign of terror. The three of them met with the school counselor who suggested that he see a psychologist. After the diagnosis via their pediatrician, Crystal and Alex heeded the school’s advice and found Aaron a source of support. His name was Dr. Freeman and he had biweekly appointments with the boy.

At the psychologist’s recommendation they designated time to spend with each individual child. This would ensure that all three of them received the proper attention. Sometimes the young parents took Aaron to the local aquarium so he could nurture his budding curiosity for marine biology; other times they took Zoe to the zoo where she would press her tiny, pale face against the glass of the polar bear display case and observe their play and habits in a state of perpetual awe.

“We’re just going to watch one of the girly Disney princess movies,” Aaron grumbled, folding his arms over his chest as he snatched a dish from Alex and inserted it into a thin slot on the bottom rack of the dishwasher. “Why don’t we watch a cool one like Atlantis or Treasure Planet? Not The Little Mermaid. The only reason Camille likes it is because she has red hair.”

“That isn’t true! I like Flounder. He’s cute. And we haven’t watched that movie in months,” Camille proclaimed huffily, glaring at her brother and leaning back against her mother’s chest.

“Don’t you two even think about starting anything. This is going to be a peaceful evening. If you do anything to ruin that you’ll both go to your rooms, you won’t have popsicles, and we’ll watch whatever movie Zoe wants,” Crystal piped up, her brow narrowing sternly. “You got that?”

“Got it,” they both confirmed in a peeved monotone, folding their arms over their chest and flicking their eyes away from the other.

“Aaron, even if the girls do pick The Little Mermaid we can all sit down and watch your movie next week. Or tomorrow if you’d like. You can’t always get your way, but you’ll always get your turn in this family. It’s all about being fair, remember?” Alex rejoined.

“I know, I know,” he sighed. “Hey, Dad, can we go somewhere tomorrow after I see Dr. Freeman?”

“Sure, kiddo. Where do you wanna go? We should bring mom with us since that’s what the doctor suggested.”

“Can it be just the two of us? Please, please, please?” he beseeched, tugging on Alex’s shirt.

“If it’s fine with your mom, it’s fine with me.” He cast his glance in his wife’s direction, setting the last dish down in the sink.

“I don’t have a problem with that. The girls and I will go see Bebe. Would you two like to visit Aunt Bebe and her kids?”

Camille nodded. “Yes, I’ve missed Adina. She’s a lot of fun, but sometimes she’s too quiet.”

“CLANCY!” Zoe shrieked in joy from her spot on the floor, bursting up from her sitting position and spinning around in circles on the slick floor. “Clancy, Clancy, Clancy!”

“Awww. I think little Zoe has a crush on Clancy,” Crystal laughed, grinning at her daughter.

“He’s a nice boy and it’s only puppy love. I don’t think it’s time for me to go into “protective dad mode” just yet.” Alex winked at her. He turned back to Aaron. “All right, Aaron. We’ll hang out tomorrow after your appointment. What’d you have in mind?”

“David said there’s a barbecue at Avalon Skate Park and I really want to go. David’s dad is taking him and he said the food’s gonna be really good.”

“Good idea. That sounds cool. We can eat barbecue and chill. What are you ladies going to get up to with Bebe?”

“I was thinking we could all rent a boat for a few hours and go out on the beach after spending some time at her house. What do you say? Do you girls want to do some boating?”

“YES!!” came the simultaneous cries of excitement. Then –

“Can Clancy come on the boat?”

“Yes, Zoe, Clancy can come on the boat. And so will Aunt Bebe, Adina, and Uncle Jerome.” Crystal smirked.

“YAY!!” Crystal, Alex, Camille, and Aaron all laughed in unison at the ardor of the youngest child’s emotion.

“Hey, Aaron?”

“Yes, Dad?”

“How about a hug?”

Aaron smiled, crooking his arms around Alex’s stomach, his lips widening when his father pulled him close. He pressed a kiss to his son’s head. He was sure to let Aaron make the move to end the embrace a minute or so later. “Do you mind taking care of the last dish, son?”

“No. I’ve got it,” he said agreeably, picking up the plate and giving it a rinse before placing in it the dishwasher. He shoved it closed, leaning up against the counter beside Alex.

“So, what movie do you want to watch?” Crystal inquired. She coaxed a mauve elastic tie around one of the two plaits in Camille’s hair.

“The Little Mermaid!!” Camille enthused.

A long groan escaped from Aaron’s mouth. “I knew it!”

“I want to watch The Little Mermaid, too. I like Ariel. And I want a Flounder like Cami,” Zoe affirmed, her sweet, childlike voice conveying that she was serious.

“But Daaaddd!!”

“Aaron, we got to watch The Rescuers Down Under last week and that was your pick. Let the girls have theirs and we’ll watch your movie tomorrow after dinner,” Crystal reasoned, answering for her husband. “I promise. We can break out the popcorn and everything.”

She tucked a wayward lock of Camille’s hair behind her ear and softly nudged her to get up. Camille obeyed, occupying a seat on the ground next to Zoe. Crystal strode over to Aaron, ruffled his hair, and gave him a benign smile. “I promise,” she repeated.

“Okay. Whatever.” He sighed in exasperation. Aaron took a few deep breaths. After a minute, his expression became calm and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I’ve always thought Eric was cool and I like Scuttle. I guess watching the mermaid won’t be too bad.”

“That’s the spirit, Aaron,” Camille approved, giving him a thumbs up.

“All right, everybody. Who wants snacks? Dad and I will make them.” Crystal surveyed their pack of children.

All three of them supplied answers in the affirmative and their parents got to work on microwaving popcorn, fixing bowls of ice cream, and selecting gummy worms. Once they were set, the family retired to the living room.


                                                     ***


The Williams family had been settled in the living room for about fifteen minutes. They were spread out in various spots. Crystal and Alex were on the couch along with Camille. Crystal was sitting with her legs stretched out comfortably; Alex, who was lying down, had his head resting on her thigh. She idly ran her fingers through his hair as they watched the film, and every so often she would plant a kiss on his forehead. Camille was nestled on the opposite end of the long sofa, her body pressed against the arm for support. Aaron was beneath her on the ground, and Zoe sat directly in front of the screen, her eyes glued to the animated characters in deep absorption.

The film was at the point where Eric had seen Ariel for the first time and Camille couldn’t help but grin at the enamored expression that her sister wore. Once the scene ended Zoe whipped around, peering at her father with a look of astonishment and zeal on her face.

“Daddy, Daddy!! You look just like Prince Eric!”

“Yes, I do, baby girl.” He chortled and smiled.

“He’s handsome. Just like you.” Zoe abandoned her post, strolling over to the sofa. Crystal gently tapped the pause button on the remote, watching as the two interacted. The girl reached out her hand, tenderly gripping Alex’s hand with her tiny fingers. He returned the affection by squeezing them.

“Thank you, Zo. That’s sweet of you,” he said graciously.

“I agree. Your daddy is handsome. Very handsome,” Crystal said. She glanced down at Alex with a lighthearted visage and an affectionate grin.

“Oohh! Mom has a crush on Dad,” Camille joked, smirking.

“What can I say? I just can’t resist him. He’s so good looking and he’s such a charmer. Forget Prince Eric! I’ll take Alexander Williams any day.”

Aaron and Zoe laughed, the vocal reaction causing their eyes to crinkle as they listened to him respond. “Thank you, honey. You’re as beautiful as Ariel and then some.”

“Such flattering words! Be still my heart!” she said melodramatically, resting her hand on her chest.

Camille groaned impatiently and rolled her eyes. She shot Crystal a pointed look. “Are you, Dad, and Zoe gonna continue to be sappy or are we going to watch the movie?”

“We’ll put the movie back on. I only paused it for a minute, Cami.”

“Good. Now do it. Or else,” she taunted playfully, raising a clenched fist.

“Yes, ma’am.” And with the faint click of a button, the film resumed and Zoe went back to her spot.

The next half an hour passed as they watched the movie in peace. The silence was periodically punctured by giggles, or “awwws,” or yelps of, “Run, Sebastian, run! The evil chef is gonna get you!”

Crystal and Alex found themselves joining in on the antics, but they did so in a way that didn’t severely distract their children from the film. Their few interruptions came to a halt when Alex’s fatigue made its presence known. His eyes felt heavy, as if they might close at any second. The sensation of Crystal’s fingers in his hair only made it worse, but he fought to keep them open for a minute so he could tell her something. He stared up at her pale neck, moving a hand to his head and lacing his fingers with hers. He squeezed her hand, pulling her out of her movie induced reverie.

“What’s up?” she looked down and met his eyes.

“I’m exhausted and want to be awake for our bath once the movie’s over. So no offense if I nod off, ‘kay?”

“That’s fine. You should rest. We both worked hard at the pet shop today, so take it easy. The kids’ll understand.”  

“Thanks, lovely. We’ll have a nice bath later. Promise. No rose petals, right?”

“No, I didn’t get any roses. Did you?”

“Nah. We’ve had a pretty good week, wouldn’t you say so? Those are only for the hard ones.”

“Yeah, we did. If we don’t have them it’s a good sign.”

“Mmhmm.” He yawned, dropping her hand. “Wake me when the movie’s over.”

“Will do. Sleep well.” She pressed a light kiss to his temple, watching as his eyes fell closed.


                                                            ***


Crystal allowed the credits to scroll so Zoe and Camille could sing along with the songs as they played, but this didn’t entertain the girls for long, particularly Camille, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that her father had fallen asleep on her mother’s lap. His cheek was firmly pressed into her thigh as he slept soundly, and Camille couldn’t help but pity her mom’s potential lack of comfort.

“Dad fell asleep, huh?” she inquired about the obvious, her eyes still fixed on his slumbering figure. “Doesn’t that hurt your leg, Mom?”

“No, but if we don’t wake him up soon it’ll fall asleep and go numb. He told me to wake him up once the movie ended.”

“Out of the seaaaa, wish I could beeee part of your worrrld,” Zoe sang, attempting to do pirouettes on the carpet. She spun in the direction of the couch, her singing coming to an abrupt end. “Daddy’s sleeping? I didn’t even notice.”

“That’s because you were too busy watching the movie,” Aaron commented, plunking down in the cushions next to Camille. Zoe followed suit.

“Want to wake him up?” Crystal smirked, eying her children.

“Sure.” Camille grabbed Alex by the side of his face, her mouth hanging open in surprise when she noticed the sensation of his short facial hair against her skin. “Woah, he’s got stubble. Lots of it. No wonder he’s felt all scratchy when he’s kissed me goodnight. Does it scratch when Dad kisses you, too, Mom?”

“No, it tickles. It’s annoying, but if he wants facial hair there’s nothing I can do to stop him. It’s his right.”

“You could always bug him to shave.”

“It’s his face. He can do what he wants with it, Cam.”

“Yeahhh. Hmmm… Let’s see here…” she roughly moved Alex’s face back and forth, shaking it in her grip.

Nothing. He was unaffected by the jostling, still deeply entranced in his sleep.

“Mom, why isn’t he waking up?”

“Because your dad is a very heavy sleeper, honey. Not even the alarm clock wakes him up. I have to shake him until he finally gets up.”

“Then what will we do?” Aaron questioned, casting Crystal a confused glance. “He wants to be awake, but we can’t wake him up.”

Crystal leered as a mischievous but brilliant idea formed in her mind. “We could always have a little fun. Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Aaron?”

“Uhh… Maybe. We could dump cold water on his face. That’d work. Or we could wipe an ice cube across his forehead... Or we could push him off the couch,” he supplied, his eyes alight with devilry.

“No. My idea’s a little bit better. Y’know Jigglypuff?”

All three children nodded in acknowledgment, their faces bore expectant looks.

“Y’know how she draws on her victims after she sings them to sleep? You could draw on your father’s face.” Her sneer widened, spreading from cheek to cheek.

“You are the coolest mom ever! Not that you weren’t before.”

Camille and Zoe giggled, giving Crystal a thumbs up in agreement.

“So here’s the deal. There’s markers in the kitchen in the bottom of the pantry. Aaron, you can go get those. Zoe and Camille, there’s lipstick in my bathroom. It’s in the cabinet beneath the sink in a small, black pouch. I never use it so knock yourselves out. Ready, team?” Crystal effused.

“Ready, Mom!” They rejoined with grins on their lips.

“Aaand break!”

The children scattered in various directions that would lead to them to their resources. Aaron sprinted back into the room in a matter of seconds with a large gallon bag of scented markers in tow. Zoe and Camille bounded down the stairs not too long after that with Crystal’s makeup bag. They withdrew several tubes of lipstick.

“Zo, would you mind handing me one of those lipsticks?”

Zoe obliged, handing her mother a sleek blue tube. Crystal uncapped it, smiling slyly at the sight of a cherry red hue. “First thing’s first. Let’s give your father a Rudolf nose.”

She touched the product to the tip of Alex’s nose, drawing a small circle and filling it in. She pulled away, inspecting her work. It was perfect. The girls crowded around his face, emitting loud chortles and covering their mouths with their hands.

“Hey! Let me get in there. I wanna draw something!” Aaron pushed his way into the group clutching a purple, grape scented marker. He set to work on drawing arbitrary objects on Alex’s jaw line. They appeared to be swords of some sort.

Camille and Zoe seized their own open lipstick containers and began to draw on his left cheek. Zoe etched squiggly lines and dots onto his skin and Camille became immersed in inking an ornate rose in pink directly above her sister’s doodles.

After a few minutes of drawing with lipstick and growing irate with how much the product smeared whenever they would steady their hands on another part of his face, they ditched the cosmetics, raiding the art bag and extracting orange, red, and blue markers. Camille redrew her fancy rose, this time in red, and Zoe made rain drops on Alex’s forehead. They trailed down his nose, ending at Crystal’s crimson dot.

The children turned his face into an artistic masterpiece, complete with Aaron’s flimsy basketballs, tetherballs, and hockey pucks. He even drew a few pieces of pasta, a guitar, and a dog in honor of Alex’s favorite hobbies and his parent’s profession. These were all along his jaw line working up to his ear. Then there were Camille’s polka dots, lines, and random written sayings on his left cheek, and Zoe’s lightning bolts, clouds, and ocean waves on the opposite one.

They studied their work, three devious smirks showing that they were proud of their accomplishments. That was when they noticed that Crystal had only drawn one thing. “Mommy, you should draw something else,” Zoe suggested.

“What do you want me to draw? I’m not exactly an artist.”

“You don’t have to be. You could, ummm….” Aaron trailed off, resting his head on Zoe’s shoulder.

“Write something!” they said simultaneously, which was followed by two separate exclamations of, “JINX!”

“What will I write?”

“You could write that you love him. I dunno,” Zoe mused, wrapping an arm around Aaron’s waist in a half hug.

“That’s mushy, Zoe,” the older boy retorted, grimacing slightly.

“So? It’s true. Mommy loves Daddy.”

“No duh! I’ve noticed. She was being all lovey dovey with him during the movie when he was still awake. Petting his hair and kissing him when she thought we weren’t looking -”

“Hey, mister, it’s not that I didn’t think you were looking. How many times have I told you that it’s important to show your family that you love them?”

“Many.”

“Exactly.”

“I guess it wasn’t all that bad,” he surrendered, a sheepish smile on his face. “Okay, Mom. If you want to write that you should. There’s still a spot on his left cheek.”

“Camille, should I use markers or lipstick?”

“Markers. Lipstick will smear.”

Crystal obliged her daughter, grabbing an orange, a red, and a green. With orange she carefully etched, “I,” drew a heart in red; then came “you,” “Alex,” and three exclamation points in green. The words were on a spot at the center of his cheek.

When she was done, she withdrew so the flock could inspect it. All four troublemakers chuckled at the sight, confirming in lively voices that it was perfect. To top it off, Crystal slicked on some of the pink lipstick and pressed her mouth to a patch of skin below her declaration of love, sealing it with a kiss.

That was when Alex unexpectedly stirred, his face shifting beneath her lips. He emitted a groan. “Baby, don’ get ahead of yourselfff,” his words were pierced by a yawn, “we’re nowhere near the bathtub. Still in bedroom. Can kiss and cuddle in waaaaterrr,” he drawled, his voice thick with sleep.

Shocked, Crystal pried her lips away from his skin, staring at him with wide eyes as he writhed, grinning slyly. Next to her, Camille, Aaron, and Zoe exchanged bemused glances and erupted into gales of laughter. Zoe’s and Camille’s heads collapsed onto Aaron’s shoulder in the midst of their hilarity.

Alex opened his eyes at the sound of his children’s giggles and he looked from them to Crystal in confusion. When the reason for their amusement registered, the exposed areas of his skin turned red. Crystal chuckled nervously before recovering and forcing a wide smile. “I take it you were dreaming about me.”

“You could say that,” he groaned again. “Ohhh. This is embarrassing.”

“Awww. It’s not the end of the world,” she reassured. “Now would you mind getting up? My leg feels like pins and needles.”

He complied, slowly curling into a sitting position, and sighing in humiliation. “No, it’s not.”

The Williams youngsters got to work on subtly organizing their makeshift torture weapons. Zoe tucked markers into the craft bag and Aaron gave it a swift kick to the side of the couch. Camille slid the cosmetics tote stealthily behind her back without her father’s notice, for he was far too busy recovering from his mortification. Alex raked his hands through his hair, taking a few sound breaths until he was calm.

“What’d you all do when I was sleeping?” he asked, his tone steady.

“Not much. We talked and took it easy. We tried waking you up, but it didn’t work. So we gave up and we’ve just been chillin’,” Camille provided a clever half lie.

“Cool, Cam. I’m glad you all enjoyed yourselves.”

“Oh we did, believe me,” Crystal giggled, observing his ornately decorated face as he yawned.

“What did you do, my sneaky family?”

“Nothing, love. I swear,” she fibbed.

“Daddy, Mommy wrote she loves you on your cheek,” Zoe said, unraveling her mother’s cunning web of deceit.

“What on earth are you talking about?” He rose, narrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“I said, Mommy wrote she loves you on your cheek. Or do I need to repeat it again?”

“Okay,” he replied, shrugging. Curious to see what she meant, Alex crossed the carpet to the bathroom door branching off from the right side of the room. A few moments passed before he exclaimed in a loud, good humored tone, “Crystal, what did you and the kids do to my face?”

“Nothing,” she sang. “The kids wanted to get some art practice in and your face just happened to be the perfect canvas.”

He guffawed sonorously, emerging from the bathroom and sauntering over to the couch. “Whose idea was this?”

“Mom’s!” Aaron pointed to Crystal.  

“Oh was it now?”

“Uh huh.”

“You want art practice? I’ll give you art practice,” Alex let out a smooth, blithe growl, settled himself on top of Crystal, and gently eased her into the cushions. “Kids, grab hold of your mom’s wrists. She’s going to be punished.” A devilish grin crossed his handsome features.

The trio scattered; Aaron and Zoe nestled themselves into mushroom chairs on the opposite side of the room so they could watch. Camille obeyed, gripping Crystal’s wrists and holding them above her head. “You’re going to get it real bad, Mom. I hate to break it to you.”

“Tickle torture. This should be fun,” she said dryly, but not without a trace of a shy smile and then a wince in anticipation. She didn’t bother fighting the hold on her arms.

“Do you know what happens when you mess with me, my fire angel?”

“I have no clue. Do I, oh… I don’t know... get tickled until my sides hurt from laughing?”

“Mmhmm.” He smoothed her hair away from her face and caressed her cheek. His lips moved to her ear, crooning to her, “I love before I torture.” Alex captured her mouth in a staccato length, saccharine kiss, smiling against her when she returned it.

“Blecch! They’re kissing!” Aaron uttered in repulsion, sticking a finger into his mouth to mime vomiting.

“It was a quick kiss, doofus! Now grow the heck up!” Camille spat back.

Alex ignored their vitriolic remarks, knowing they would abate. He poised his hands above Crystal’s abdomen for dramatic effect and to increase the sense of anticipation. She bit her lip and he lowered his fingers, gently tickling her stomach, and grinning at the sound of her cheery laugh.

Crystal squirmed beneath his strong legs, attempting to get free. This provoked Alex, causing him to tickle her harder, laughing along with her as she wiggled. “Aaaalexx! Stop iiittt!” she gasped breathlessly.

Opting to ignore his wife’s pleas, he continued for a few more minutes. His chuckle vanished and was replaced with a smirk while his fingers fluttered, ascending and descending the length of her tummy in a consistent pattern.

It was only upon hearing her increasingly rushed breathing and continual gasps that he released her, shifting off of her body. Camille dropped Crystal’s wrists. Her eyes met his as she recovered, taking large gulps of air. When her breathing was normal, his antics earned him a half glower that transformed into a smile. She backed away from him, scooting to the other end of the couch when his lips curled into another leer.

“Don’t worry. I’m done with you. You’re safe. Now I’m gonna get them one by one…” he emphasized his words cunningly, pausing for dramatic effect, “from oldest to youngest.”

At these words Camille flitted in the direction of the bathroom with Alex in pursuit. His arms enveloped her waist and he carried the squealing and flailing girl back to the sofa now turned torture chamber. He laid her down, pinning her the same way he had pinned Crystal, who now acted as her daughter’s shackler.

He engaged in the same preemptive routine. Alex brushed Camille’s stray vivid red locks out of her face, tucked them behind her ear, and murmured something into it that made her arch an eyebrow. She gazed up at him, widening her azure blue eyes pleadingly, hoping that the appeal would convince him to reconsider her tickle torture. He gave her an affectionate look, stroking her cheek and touching his lips delicately to her forehead. Then he began his attack.

Alex used the same trademark with the remaining children after he was done with Camille. When they had all been thoroughly tickled, they gathered on the couch. They arranged themselves around him in a pile. Crystal pulled him in between her straddled legs, hugging him from behind, Camille leaned her tired head against his shoulder, Zoe curled up in his lap and rested her head on his chest, and Aaron snuggled his head in the crook of his unoccupied arm.

“We love you, Alex,” Crystal whispered, pressing her cheek to his.

“Yes, we love you, Daddy.” Zoe nuzzled her nose against his chest, winding her small arms around his waist and clinging to him.

“I love you guys, too. But I do have one question.”

They waited patiently.

“Did you enjoy drawing on me?”

They all nodded and grinned in response. Instead of initiating another rousing game of tickle torture, he gave them all kisses on the cheek, easing away from little Zoe last with a sly smile. “Just wait ‘til I draw on your faces.”

The entire pack broke into laughter and Alex couldn’t help treasure his family for their love, the joy they brought him, and most importantly, their ability to engage in mischief that kept him feeling like a kid at heart.