Some things were cooler than was to be expected when the Animalia Air flight landed at the airport that had been built up after Animalia's establishment. Prior to Animalia, it'd been a small airfield used more for monitoring fires and search and rescue sorts of situations. Animalia's growth brought a surge in tourism and led to an actual airport for travel, particularly as the colony cities were established. This came as an advantage for Sophie, Roland, JC, and Pauline, as the SMU campus in Dallas was too far to easily drive between their college and home, and it often meant that their smaller college breaks were often spent in Dino City. Those things let them catch up with things that Heather and Jeremy had been up to, along with some of the other Dinotopians that they'd made friends with after finding that being a Dinotopian was possible.
Things like Easter Break, though, were different. The duration was longer and fit with a religious holiday that often did have some importance on family. This, much like the Christmas Break at the end of the fall semester, brought them back to Lyre/Animalia for that break. For the first two years of college, this was something rather easy as they could return to the same homes they'd grown up in in Lyre, which was easy. This year was different, as during the Year of the Dragon celebration at the start of the Lunar New Year, their parents had become Dinotopians as well, likely taking advantage of some of the discounts that came with the start of the Year of the Dragon. Sophie's parents, Remington and Vera had become Mamenchisaurus Dinotopians while Roland's parents, Tyler and Persephone became Alamosaurus Dinotopians. They didn't intend to move to Dino City, but their new larger sizes required some major changes to house the new them in Lyre/Animalia.
"So, what do you think it'll be like?" Roland asked Sophie as they made their way from the plane to the terminal and then the waiting area where they'd expected to run into their parents and then collect their baggage. The question was referring to the new houses that their parents had bought/commissioned while handling the logistics for their conversions.
"They're probably the two big houses we saw over Christmas break while training for the Year of the Dragon contest," Sophie answered, "remember... they were incomplete then and both our parents said they'd been planning for things for a while, and that included putting money away to afford everything."
"I was thinking more about the inside of the houses... and what it'd be like to be actual neighbors," Roland replied.
"That'll be fun," Sophie commented.
"Yes... as hanging out with you two is fun," Pauline commented, "and it'd then make coordinating meetings with the others easier."
Sophie gave a small nod to that. She'd kept in touch with Abby, Sarah, Malice, and Jessica since they'd all started college, but they went to different colleges from Sophie, Roland, JC, and Pauline. Sarah, Malice, and Travis went to UNLV and Abby and Samson went to a small agricultural school in Oregon. It was something that limited when they could all hang out as they had in high school, though Sophie figured a lot of that was just part of growing up. And all of that was likely to continue, as from what she'd heard from Jessica, Jessica had been doing well with her college acting classes and plays, and might attract attention from Hollywood eventually, and Sophie knew that she and Roland had a place lined up for them in Dino City once they finished college and all that.
As they came down the terminal hallway, they also came up on those that were waiting for those flying into Lyre/Animalia. Among them was a very familiar shape in Remington Albers. He stood toward the rear area of the group of people that were waiting there and was wearing a poofy oversized jacket that was presently zipped up. The only thing that might be "tacky" was the green Sinclair Oil stocking cap on his head, which blended in with the green on his scales.
"You really went with THAT hat, dad?" Sophie asked.
"I didn't," Remington answered with a shrug, "one of my coworkers thought it was funny, given that their logo has a green Sauropod, and I am now a green Sauropod. Right now, with things being a bit chilly, I'm not going to complain."
"Where are my folks?" Roland looked around and didn't see either of his parents.
"They're probably at home," Remington answered, "we're coordinating pickup and drop off. I got to pick you up from your flight in and Tyler or Persephone will drop you off for the flight back to Dallas."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The ride back to the new Albers house went well, and as the building was illuminated by the headlights of the new Dinotopian sized minivan that the Albers had bought, Roland was able to see that the structures were completed. They didn't have the sort of "Flintstones" style of architecture that had seemed to be the popular flare for Dino City and Mesozoic Enclave but was more a scaled-up version of the homes that the Albers and Luwries had had in Lyre. They had solid siding and nice-looking windows, though all scaled up to Dinotopian sizes. That look was then cut off as Remington pulled into the garage on the west side of the house, and was next to the driveway for the Luwries, which was on the east side of their house.
"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Albers," Roland said politely as he unbuckled the back seat that was right behind where Sophie was seated in the front.
He then hopped out and collected his bags, while Sophie, JC, and Pauline did the same. Remington followed them to the back of the van as everyone collected their things. Remington gave Roland a polite smile that reminded Roland of a bit of his own father's smile.
"You're welcome but call me "dad" or something close to that..." Remington said, "you've long earned mine and Vera's respect with regard to how you've been with Sophie. And we are hoping for you both to have a happy time ever after, which we will approve of. And your parents approve of Sophie in much the same way."
Roland found a smile coming to his beak and he nodded, almost dumbly as he held his bags while Remington closed the back door to the cargo area of the minivan and then as Sophie nuzzled her beak to his. Some of that enabled him to recover some things as he gave her a loving chirp. The pair of them gave a loving chirp to each other. With that, it wasn't long before Roland then made his way with his bags out and across the grass and then in front of the garage door for what was the new home that his own parents had. Like home to the Albers, there was no door that led into the garage on the outside. There was only the main front door where the main doors that were to the front of the house. As Roland came up to the door, he could see that the lights were on in the house through the front windows, and he also noticed that stickers for Easter were placed on the front windows. There were images of bunnies and painted eggs that all made the theme for Easter go well.
Roland smiled and reached up to the doorknob. It wasn't super high, but on a building built to Dinotopian scale, things were higher, particularly for Roland who was about the same height he'd been before he became a Pterodactylus Dinotopian. The door was open, and it easily slid open. It let him step in and he picked up the scent of fish coming from the kitchen.
"Roland, is that you?" came his father's voice from the kitchen area where the lights were.
It left Roland looking across the living room that he'd entered. There was no fireplace, but there was a good-sized television set and furniture that was to Dinotopian scale. Heading in front of him was a relatively large table with placed chairs that were like many of those that were at WSA but scaled up to Dinotopian sizes. Some of the chairs could be moved but came with adjusters that could then raise and lower the chairs in question. It would all fit with what was to be expected by the fact that his parents had become one of the larger Titanosaurs. Roland also thought he could see the oven set that also extended up and figured that could be there for baking. In some ways it all looked nice and he quickly moved to answer.
"Yeah, it's me," Roland answered, "do you want me to lock the door?"
"You can... your mother and I weren't expecting any guests tonight," Tyler answered, "though the Albers might be over for Easter dinner, or we'd go over to their house for Easter dinner. Right now, I'm working on your dinner... so, you got home just in time."
"Where's mom?" Roland asked as he turned the bolt to lock the front door.
"I'm here," came his mother's voice from behind him, making Roland turn back around to see his mother there wearing red dress that did cover everything. It also made Roland note that there was a hallway to his right that his mother had come from. "I was just getting your room ready. Why don't you come with me, and I'll show you around a bit..."
"What about my laundry bag?" Roland wondered, holding that up.
"You can set that by the couch," Persephone said politely, "we'll handle that later."
Roland did as instructed and then followed his mother into the hallway. It wasn't super long, but it did have a known layout. On the northwestern side of the hall, there was a presently open door that was open and likely was the master bedroom, based on the size of the area. On the north side of the hallway was the bathroom, which was rather spacious. The hallway also had some familiar picture frames and showed images showed the Luwrie family's past. One had his parents together, and with his mother pregnant at the time. Another had what looked like a five-year-old Roland riding on his father's shoulders. The last was one of Roland in his freshman year at Lyre High, it all brought back happy memories, even if the images didn't match the Dinotopians that he and now his parents had become. The one thing that stood out was that one room that was across from the master bedroom had the door shut, while his mother was walking to a doorway that was open.
"Do you and dad have an office in there, mom?" Roland asked as he pointed to the closed door.
"No... the office... computer room is on the other side of the house," Persephone replied, "right now, dear, that room is storage. As your father and I needed new furniture when we became Dinotopians, and while we could and did sell off some things... we didn't sell off everything. And the same would go for Sophie's parents. And with both of us expecting you and Sophie to get married one day, both us and the Albers agreed to save some things that we could give to you and Sophie when you get your apartment in Dino City. Some things there might still be sized for bigger Dinotopians like cabinets and so on... but these things would be the right size for you and Sophie, and you wouldn't have to pay to get them."
Roland only blinked and eventually said, "thanks."
"Though, keep in mind, we'd like to wait until AFTER you've graduated college before things like weddings happen," Persephone finished.
Roland nodded at that, though his mind was mentally looking forward to the summer of 2025. By then he would have graduated, could have a job teaching at Dino City set up as they started their school there. It might also make for a crowded summer wedding plan, as so far as he knew, the rest of the original Animalia Ambassadoria cast was looking forward to that sort of thing too. Though, with that, he then moved to the open door that his mother stood before. He entered to find the room laid out like his old room in the old Luwrie home. The dressers, bookshelf, and small desk were all set up the way they were before. The only thing that was different was the bed. Instead of the twin bed that he'd normally had, there was actually the queen-sized bed that had normally been in the master bedroom and would easily fit two people. It was a surprise, but then, since it wouldn't support the weight of two Alamosaurus Dinotopians, Roland could expect it.
"We've tried to see that the internal walls are as soundproof as possible," Persephone said, "so, when you and Sophie have sleep overs, either here or at the Albers... things remain private for you. And things between your father and I won't be irritating you."
"Thanks," was all Roland could manage.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Of course, the Easter Break provided for more than being able to see family again. There was also the chance meet up with close friends and that sat well with Sophie and Roland as the whole gang managed arrange for a meeting. It brought them all together at the barn on the Brown Farm. In the past, it was often where they'd meet up and Abby's parents would let them ride some of the horses the Brown's owned, of course, back then it was just Abby, Sarah, Jessica, and herself. Since then, they'd all become Animalians, Mary-Alice (Malice) became Sarah's sister, and they'd gained formal bond mates. After Animalia got started, the barn was often where they met after school to discuss things for Animalia Ambassadoria. And after Sophie and Roland became Dinotopians, JC and Pauline joined them as well. Now, the barn was a spot where they could catch up on things.
"It's a shame Simon couldn't be here..." JC commented, noting the one absent member, "I'd figured he'd have some good stories with the Animalia PD."
"Yeah... didn't he catch the two that stole the getaway car from a group of jewel thieves?" Roland added.
"It is his shift today, and while Animalia doesn't have a lot of worries with crime, they do maintain a very active patrol schedule," Malice commented, "mostly to be prepared and all that. And even the catching of the two car thieves wasn't all that much. Seeing the car come at high speed into the park's parking lot and then narrowly missing mom's car was a bit nerve wracking... but it seemed to me that the two car thieves were more interested in turning themselves in than being dangerous. It's like they ran a great way to surrender to the first Animalian policeman they came across."
"And even there... most of the action likely happened outside of Animalia," Sarah spoke as she gripped Travis's hand, "which is good... since you were babysitting Belle and Bash that day."
"And they were okay... right?" Sophie asked Sarah and Malice. Both Husky Animalians nodded.
"To some extent Bash was more excited about the car coming in quick than anything else," Malice commented, "though, I suspect that's just a male thing. But had "Missy" and "Duke" been more threatening... I wouldn't have let them hurt my baby brother and sister, or my bond-mate."
"I would have done the same if I'd been there too," Sarah commented, "to defend family."
"You two make good sisters," Abby commented as she leaned a bit against Samson, "I might need some tips on some of those things... Given that my mom is presently pregnant."
"That was in an email that that was around Christmas," Jessica commented.
"No, that's when I found out about it," Abby corrected, "pretty much every Mare Animalian will come into season at around the same time in the fall... or at least through the same fall window. So, somewhere between August and October of last year... mom went into season, stopped taking her birth control pills, and a pregnancy was the result. I can't say exactly when, as Samson and I were either on the way to college or already there when mom got pregnant. She only told us at Christmas."
"And included the reminder that we aren't to have our foal until after college," Samson commented and nuzzled his muzzle to the back of Abby's head.
“I’m sure a lot of that is more wanting us to be responsible,” Jessica commented, “I mean… before Animalia, all of us were young and hadn’t had a serious boyfriend and had really only just gotten “the talk,” and that was all awkward. And then Animalia happened.” Jessica paused to look to Abby and then Sarah and Malice, “you three all got double dosed and accelerated into your prime and being strong and curvy… and Abby obviously having Samson. And ultimately, while Sophie and I were… and still are single dosers… we’ve also grown up into the same base Animalian form. And we love being with our mates as much as you three enjoy being with yours. And our parents have all known that. And don’t want us to do anything stupid.”
There were some nods of agreement at that. To Rodger, Travis, and Samson, there was some element of wondering why “Human” courtship was often so complicated, and to a great degree, Malice agreed with this, but it was something that was there. They were all uplifted Animalians while the rest were converted Animalians and would often follow the same sorts of social lessons they’d grown up with.
“Yeah… though, I’d still want to know some things to be a good sister when my mom has her foal,” Abby spoke, “shoot… all that may help for when Samson and I have ours in the future.”
“A lot of that will be to be kind and gentle,” JC commented, “I’d think that all of you could do that… and I know that Sophie did with me.”
“I really didn’t do all that much,” Sophie managed weakly, “just a lot of the basic care that my parents said would be needed… and you were rather young when they bought you.”
“Yes… but the kindness and love was there,” JC replied, “and that’s a big part of why I see you as “mom.” That won’t change.”
Sophie gave a slow nod to that.
“I’d think being a big sister will be a bit different,” Abby commented, “though… being kind and gentle would make sense. I just hope that I’d be a good sister…”
“I’m sure you will,” Samson nuzzled her again, “and in the meantime… that may not be the biggest thing at present. That may relate more to the winners of the Year of the Dragon contest.”
"Yeah, congratulations, you two," Jessica said, "I really liked your singing, Sophie."
"I think I did well with the tone... though, the beak did slow me down a little bit," Sophie admitted.
"The awesome part was the race at the end, with all the collisions in the race up the mountain," Malice commented.
"There were no collisions... more that the group hoping up the "ladder" on the sides of the mountain reached that crossing point first, which Tyra and Heather had to wait for, and Sora and Yuki were small enough to dive under and keep going," Roland answered, "which had everyone surprised. And Sophie finished well enough, at least in comparison to Tyra and Heather, that she was able to jump to the top spot in what was a pretty tight competition all the way through."
"It was still all fun to see," Travis commented, "and you two ultimately won, so that's even better."
"Yeah... though, that'll all make next year complicated," Roland commented.
"Next year?" Sarah wondered.
"Remember that the winners in one year will present the crown to the winners in the next year," Roland explained, "and depending on how things go... I could potentially have my student teaching going on at that time, and that won't be something I can postpone, which would mean I can't be there. Not unless I could get something special to do my student teaching at WSA so that I'd be here. And that could be something rather difficult to do. I'll have to talk with the placement officials to see if they'd allow for it... at least before the Spring semester ends and we all get out for the summer."
"I still can't believe you go through all the hassle of school, and you want to go back and work in one," Malice teased.
"It's not that bad," Roland commented.
"The bigger thing is that our parents took advantage of some of the discounts that Horizon offered in connection with the start of the Year of the Dragon to become Dinotopians," Sophie answered and pulled out her phone, "my folks became Mamenchisaurus and Roland's became Alamosaurus."
She then flipped through the saved pictures on the phone and then pulled up a shot that had been taken after the Year of the Dragon contest ended, which showed Sophie with her parents and Roland with his. The others came and looked over the image.
"Damn... Sauropods don't do anything small," Malice commented noting the size of Vera and Persephone's breasts in the picture. Even under a shirt, they were massive.
"You okay with this?" Jessica wondered.
"While I'm sure that "sex" was part of the decision, as after the first Dinotopians were around, I did note that there were moments when my mom might have been a bit "curious" about some things that related to Andrew," Sophie began, "they also had some opinions on wanting to do it to protect Roland and me... even if it isn't necessarily from a rogue Dinotopian... but from some idiot politician."
There were some knowing nods at that last line.
"And in the end, if that's what they want and they're happy, I'm ultimately happy," Sophie finished, "and that's how things go... And they've done their best to see to it that Roland and I don't interfere with their privacy and that they don't interfere with ours."
"Might make for interesting family photos in the future," Sarah commented, "your siblings will be Sauropod Dinotopians, and their nieces and nephews will be Pterosaur Dinotopians..."
"With "adoptive" relatives as Microraptor Dinotopians," Pauline said and nuzzled JC, "and all will be well..."
There were a few chuckles of agreement that followed.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Much of the rest of the week went by fairly normally. There were some things that both Sophie and Roland knew were different, and much of that coming from their parent's conversion. Since Sauropods were herbivorous Dinosaurs, nearly all of the food in the fridges at the Luwrie and Albers houses were fruits, nuts, vegetables, and starches, all the sorts of things that would fit in with a strict vegetarian diet. There were some meats and eggs that were there at present, but when Sophie raided the fridge, or tried to, she found that the sell by dates were such that the meat products were probably bought just before she and Roland arrived for Easter Break. That then limited certain things, like dyeing eggs. It'd been fairly common for the Albers to decorate eggs as a family and share about what they were looking forward to at Easter, and this often went in addition to somethings that Sophie and Roland had done after becoming Dinotopians... such as painting non-fertilized eggs that some of the Chicken Animalians periodically laid.
There had been an attempt to do that, this year, and Sophie did enjoy dyeing the eggs, but there were some obvious differences. Many of them came from her parents' conversions and some of that just seemed to stick in Sophie's mind. There were fewer eggs to dye this year than in year's past, and while her parents did dye some eggs, some of the ways in which they went about it were different. Her mother had often managed to paint images of flowers on the eggs she dyed, and while they weren't on par with what Heather had painted in the Year of the Dragon contest in terms of realism, they were often better than what Sophie could manage. However, her parents had done their homework to make sure they'd have the tools to handle certain things, even with their changed hands, the size of mundane chicken's eggs didn't change, and her parents had to settle for more simple measures in order to avoid having to continually handle the eggs and crushing them by accident.
These things stayed in Sophie's mind through the Saturday before Easter and were even there through the course of Easter Sunday. There, of course, her parents ended up having to kneel in the space behind the last pew at the back of the church, as it had been built with Humans in mind, and while some smaller Animalians could adapt to the pews, Remington and Vera couldn't do that as Sauropod Dinotopians. They were also still there when the Luwries came over for dinner. Sophie happily hugged Roland and nuzzled their crests together, which became an almost standard greeting between them while Tyler and Remington shook hands and Vera and Persephone did the same.
"The lamb smells good," Roland said offhand as the welcomes at the front door finished and the group began to make their way toward the dining room.
And the scent of lamb was clear in the air. It was a pretty standard part of the Albers' Easter dinners in the past. And after Sophie became a Dinotopian, JC was uplifted, and Pauline became his mate, that portion was often increased. Now, that had obviously changed. Sophie could also smell a lot of lettuce, some fruits, nuts, and other plant-based foods. And there was more of that in order for her parents to eat healthy and accommodate the rest of their guests. Sauropods were herbivorous, after all, and that represented the presence of major changes.
"Thank you," Vera answered, "it's an old family recipe, and one that Sophie loves."
Sophie managed a small smile as she walked with Roland toward the dinner table. It did reflect the sort of loving family that she'd always had, and she knew that was still there. The changes that she was still adjusting to didn't relate to that. The table was one that had the ability to be extended and this was done to make the room for the added guests. By this point, the dinner was also ready, and as everyone moved to take their seats, Vera and Remington moved to serve out the dinner. Remington set down some glasses that clearly had wine in them, judging by the dark red color of the liquid and the scent that wafted from them. He placed one on one end of the table and then the next three were placed along the side closest to the wall on the west side of the dining room. Vera set down some glasses of water for Sophie, Roland, and then JC and Pauline.
Sophie carefully moved the chair on the side of the table that had its back to the east wall of the dining room and let Roland have the spot to her right, where he would be sitting opposite her father. JC and Pauline then sat to Sophie's left while Tyler and Persephone sat across from Sophie and JC. Moving the chairs was easy, and once Sophie had her chair in place, she was easily able to climb into the chair and then operating the specialized switch that raised the chair so that she could reach and eat at the table that had to be at a height suitable for large Sauropod Dinotopians. As she got the chair up to the right height, Remington and Vera returned to begin serving the dinners. Plates with slices of roast lamb were placed before JC, Pauline, Sophie, and Roland, and there were also some sliced bits of hardboiled egg on the side. Vera also placed a platter that contained the rest of the roast lamb and placed it on the open section of the table between Sophie and Roland.
Remington brought in a series salad bowls with lettuce, sliced carrots, some chopped nuts, croutons, and bathed in some kind of salad dressing. There were also some small bowls of fruit that were placed at Remington's, Vera's, Persephone's, and Tyler's places at the table. Once these were all set, Remington and Vera moved to take their seats. Remington sitting on the end of the table opposite Roland while Vera sat between him and Persephone. As Vera scooted her chair in with ease, the silence that had been there since the Luwrie's arrival was broken.
"Things all look good," Tyler said to Remington, "thank you for having us over."
"It's no problem," Remington managed a smile, "after all, it won't be too long before we're all family."
"Dad," Sophie groaned, feeling herself blush under her pycnofibers. She wasn't opposed to the idea, as to a degree, if money or other things weren't an option, she'd marry Roland tomorrow, and she was sure that her friends weren't of a different opinion. But that was something where she didn't want to have that be the focus of the conversation. She could accept some of that when hanging out with Abby, Jessica, Sarah, Malice, and Pauline, but there, it was with her friends and those she saw as being in her age bracket. While becoming Dinotopians had brought her parents and the Luwries back into their physical prime and thus in a comparable "age" group, but Sophie did still see them as her parents and future in-laws. The chuckles that rose from the other adults added to the embarrassment.
"So... how has your Easter been?" Persephone asked toward Sophie, "good, I hope?"
Sophine tossed a couple of the sliced pieces of hardboiled egg into her beak and bit at it, making sure that the egg was a point where the edges of her beak and teeth would smush the egg, but wouldn't spill out. She noted that both Persephone and Tyler were looking closely to her. Her own parents swallowed the bite of their salad as they looked over to her. It was something that let Sophie know that she couldn't lie in her answer. She eventually swallowed the slices of hardboiled egg with a nervous gulp.
"Well... it's been good, I suppose," Sophie said slowly, "different from the past... but it hasn't been bad."
"A lot of things are new and different," Persephone commented with a shrug and a polite smile, "I mean this time last year... you and Roland were the only ones that were Dinotopians, and now... we all are. And it has had its own issues. There are sometimes where I'd really wish I could enjoy some pork... or the lamb that's in your dinner. But I can't... not without getting sick or not being "healthy," anyway."
"Similar to how we had to adjust to an all-carnivorous diet after our conversions," Roland said Sophie.
"It was one of the roughest things after being uplifted," JC commented, with Pauline nodded.
Sophie managed to nod at that, "yeah... I suppose. I mean... as I said, it's nothing bad. It's just different. And some of that stuff is... well..."
"You're still adjusting to things," Remington finished for her and that made her nod.
"We'll always love you, Sophie... and we've been extremely proud of you for all you've done," Vera added, "and your father and I being different now... doesn't change that. Things like the church... or eggs... or anything else where our different forms have made things "different," don't change that. Just as... well... when you first floated the idea of being a Pterodactyl... I had the suspicion that you made that pick so you didn't have to eat your vegetables."
Sophie heard a bit of humor in her mother's voice.
"But that was your choice, and you were happy," Vera spoke, "seeing you fly and the smile you had for the first time... that made me happy. Even with all the differences your conversion brought, I was happy that you were happy."
"Thanks..." Sophie said slowly, "and I'm not upset with you or your guys' choice in Dinotopian to be. As I said... things aren't bad. Just different, and I suppose some of those differences just have me worrying over things I shouldn't..."
"The worry isn't necessarily wrong," Persephone commented, "I'd think it represents your love for your parents."
"And there are times where I've worried about plenty," Vera nodded in agreement, "a part of me still worries about you two wanting to live in Dino City... As it is so far away. But, it may turn out that you and Roland will have nothing to worry about and will carry on. That then brings out the same pride when I saw you fly for the first time."
That eased a lot of Sophie's worries.
"And some of the other things had more to do with costs than our new forms," Remington added, "we had to stock up on some meats for you, JC, and Pauline, and that limited what we could do for eggs. The Chicken Animalians do sell their unfertilized eggs, with a selling point that they'd provide a "hearty breakfast" and all that. But they're also a bit more expensive than the mundane chicken eggs. So, we couldn't afford them this year for Easter."
"I would have liked to paint one of them," Vera commented, "they'd be big enough that I wouldn't have to worry about crushing them in my fingers. And I could put an image that would have your father's and my necks and head forming a heart with you, JC, and Pauline inside it."
"That'd sound pretty interesting," Roland said slowly.
"It wouldn't look as good as Heather's painting, but it'd be manageable," Vera nodded, "if we could have afforded some of the Chicken Animalian eggs."
"Well," Sophie managed a laugh, "I guess that does prove that this year's Easter was different... GOOD, in a different way. Thank you."