Once their mother had done an adequate job of wearing them down, it was Billy's turn to play. He took Alex's hand and guided the boy over, the two of them sitting near the girls and welcoming them over.

"Now why don't you tell me about your day, girls?" Billy would soon come to regret that, of course, as Marina and Shari promptly settled on his legs and started talking his ear off. Shari fell against his chest, laughing about something they'd convinced Boomy to do that morning.

"And your mother believed that?" he quirked an eyebrow. Now he saw how he'd gotten lost on the way home today.