A Birth day

"Now, wait a second," Angus said. "I've already got five. Khaat's already called dibs on having ten. I am not signing up for having to add another five bedrooms onto the duplex."

"What if Ruby has other ideas?"

"She can figure out how to have the next five by herself," Angus laughed, teasing. "I refuse to do ten."

"She needs to shoot for sextuplets then," Marcus teased, and Angus looked at Marcus as if he'd lost his mind. "You said you weren't having five. What about having six or maybe octuplets?"

"She would be telling you right now to go get your head examined because your cheese didn't just fall of your cracker, it's completely gone, Mate," Angus said, as the servers arrived with breakfast plates.

Breakfast were really inventive breakfast tacos, stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, and topped with a fresh pico de gallo. It was served with cheesy hash brown potato casserole, and with fruit salad alongside, and a most unusual s'more version of a danish. It was tasty and healthy and filling. The servers delivered plates to the tables, refilled coffee and tea and brought juice to those who wanted it.

"This is quite a spread," Evan said. "They clearly have gone all out for us. "And I love the idea of a breakfast taco. This is something that we might be able to do at home."

"I don't see why not," Tara said. "But I'd never get the danish figured out."

"I could do that, I think," Angus said.

"She hasn't had your regular cinnamon rolls. You'll have to make some the next time we visit."

"I could do that. The boys have tried to get me to make them--every day, but they are a bit of wok. Not sure I'd want to do them every day, and if i made them that often, everyone would be tired of them," Angus said.

"The boys have a bet about which one of them can eat a whole one and in under an hour," Marcus said.

"Oh, that doesn't sound wise at all," Angus said. "I don't think anyone should do that. I might have to try to deter that one.'

"I talked Evan into taking a couple days off after yesterday," Tara told Jack, "so I think we're just going to go home and spend a couple quiet days with some rest and relaxation."

"I feel fine," Evan said, "but a long weekend is never a bad idea, so I told her I'd take a couple days off for a four day weekend.

"I'm glad you all stayed for breakfast," Angus said.

"We can take the kids home with us if you want to visit a little with Evan," Edward said.

"I think Evan needs some recovery time yet today," Angus said. "I think we'll be heading home too. Evan and Tara, you don't ever need to wait for an invitation. You come when you like."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," Evan said.

"Get your things, Guys," Angus told the kids. "We have to go. You lot have to get to work--and on time." The kids went and picked up their bags and said goodbye to Evie and Faith.

"You coming with us, Jack?" Marcus asked. as Michael, Edward, Kate, Simone and Robert got ready to go. Ginger got Caprice from her high chair, and the kids went to stand with Marcus and Angus, readying to go home.

"You guys know how to port, and you've got your certificates and your portkeys home," Angus told Sam and Victor. "You two want to do the honors and port us all home?"

"You mean it? You'd trust us?" Sam asked.

"Why not? The worst you'd do is splinch us," Angus shrugged. Sam rolled his eyes at Angus, and Angus laughed.

Angus was glad to get home, and when they landed, Anise and Ginger gave the guys high fives for a successful trip.

"Thanks, Jack," Sam said. "We really did work hard on that business. We knew that was important to get right."

"It showed. Nice work," Marcus told them, taking Caprice from Ginger. "If you leave your bags on the porch, we'll take them in for you. You'd lot better get off to work."

"I'll try to have some sort of lunch for you at noon if you like," Angus told them. The kids nodded, dropped their bags on the front porch and hurried off to work.

"It all went fine," Marcus said. "Evan's alright. Believe it or not, Gelding's been quiet lately because he heard about some sort of pirate treasure that he thought they could recover that would make it worth his time to take time away from his primary business. So he was doing some underwater business. We found Evan being held as a hostage of sorts in an old sub wreck at the bottom of the sea. We got him out, treated him for the bends, and he's back home safe and sound. That's the nutshell version. The good thing is that Evan's safe. The bad thing is that the authorities are shutting down Gelding's underwater operation, so that means their Paris enterprise will no doubt fire back up again.

"How have things been at your house? You lot getting on okay without much translation help?" Angus asked them.

"I'm glad it worked out," Angus said, as Cris came over and hugged him. Angus hugged him back. "
Ce mai faci?"

"Bine, dar au nevoie de mai multe cuvinte. Vreau să mă cațără în copaci, dar știu doar să mă cațără pe cei mici," Cris said. Angus nodded.

"Cunosc pe cineva aici care te poate învăța, dacă nu le deranjează," Angus replied.

"Am învățat cum să-i fac să dea din cap spre mine. Dacă le pun o întrebare și dau din cap în timp ce eu întreb, ei doar dau din cap pentru că nu știu ce spun. Așa că dacă aș fi vrut doar să spună da, asta aș putea face," Cris rolled his eyes at Angus, and Angus laughed out loud.

"Dar nu o vei face, nu?" Angus asked. Cris shook his head, sighing,

"Cris wants to learn to climb trees. He states he only climbs little ones. I think you have a choice," Angus told Jessie and Yulong. "Let him keep trying to teach himself or we can see if Michael would teach him how to climb safely. The odds of you keeping a boy from climbing a tree at all are probably pretty slim, but Michael could probably give him some age appropriate trees to climb and some safe skills if you like. Unless you two already climb."

Angus looked through the sketch book. He saw definite improvement in Cris's artwork. He hadn't spent much time yet with Kate, but he was learning perspective. Angus took his time going through the book and discussed each sketch with Cris, and Cris was eager to hear what Angus had to say. He told Angus he wanted to spend more time with Kate to learn more. Angus told him that Kate was probably back now.

As he was looking through the book, Angus saw Michael outside, so Angus got up and shouted to Michael and asked if he would teach Cris to climb a tree when Cris was done with Kate. Michael simply looked at Cris and nodded. Cris was excited.

""His skills are getting better every day. Clearly, Kate is working with him on perspective. See here, this bucket he drew? Here's a similar shape back here, that he drew before he worked with Kate. See how the front line and back line of the bucket aren't quite in the right perspective? Now, look at this sketch that is a lot more recent. Look at the front and back lines of this cylinder shape. Much, much better. He's taking everything she tells him to heart, and it looks like he's practicing.

"Ai nevoie de mai multe cărți de schițe sau creioane?" he asked Cris, and Cris shook his head no.

"Kate mi-a cumpărat o cutie întreagă de cărți de schițe și o grămadă de creioane," Cris replied. He caught sight of Kate walking to the studio.

"Cris!" Kate said, with a big smile. "Vino să mă vezi! Mi-ai lipsit!" Cris took the sketchbook and dashed across the yard to see Kate, and she gathered him up in a big strong hug, as if she hadn't seen him in ages, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and simply went into the studio with him.

"I think Kate is probably the kind of grandmother most kids would dearly love to have," Angus smiled. "She was genuinely thrilled to see him. I doubt we'll see either of them much before lunch."