She walked over and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Yuck, Auntie.” He groaned, rubbing his face.
“What about me? I caught two you know.” Thomas stated, with a wink at Mack as he pointed to his cheek.
She grinned before she walked over to Thomas and placed a kiss on his weathered cheek as well. “Thank you for taking him fishing. He obviously had a really good time.”
“That he did. I certainly did. Don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much before.”
“Yeah, he can have that effect on folk. Come on, Thomas; show me how to cook this fish because I have no idea.”
Mack quickly cleaned the mess up in the kitchen so she could get cooking; she turned and found Lucas standing behind her. “Auntie Mack, I want to help. I caught one of them, you know?”
Mack laughed, ruffling his hair. “Okay, Lucas. I think we both need an apron on because fish can be smelly.”
“Yeah, it stinks in here.” Lucas held his nose.
Mack started opening the windows and the kitchen door to try and get rid of the malodorous smell.
“Okay, I think we’re ready now, Thomas.”
“Well, I have one more to gut,” Thomas informed them with a grin.
“You’re kidding, right? Because I can see three fish lined up on the block.”
Thomas and Lucas both started giggling.
“Okay, guys, enough. We’re never going to get any dinner at this rate.”
Dinner had gone well considering Mack had a few extra hands in the kitchen to make it. The fish had tasted delicious with the seasoning Thomas had asked Mack to mix. Lucas had cleaned his plate as well, which had surprised Mack, because, in the past, he had always turned his nose up at fish.
“Auntie Mack?”
“What’s up, Lucas?”
“Will you show me some of the places Mommy and Daddy are visiting?”
Mack glanced at Lucas, who stood in the doorway to the kitchen in his favorite Power Ranger pajamas, holding his new children’s atlas.
He brought a lump to her throat. “I sure will. Come over here.”
Lucas walked over to her as Mack lifted him onto her lap while he placed the book on to the table.
“Okay. Let’s find Italy first. If I remember right, they’re due to arrive in Nice sometime in the next few hours, and Italy is usually easier to find than France.”
“I’ll find it.”
She sat and watched him flip through the atlas, and had to bite her tongue when he went past the page.
“Found it!”
Mack leaned forward and kissed him on the top of
his head. “Are you sure that’s Italy and not, maybe, South America?”
“Oh, Auntie Mack. Are you sure that’s South America?” he whined.
“Well, you tell me what these letters are.”