⇾ 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐈

𝚇𝚇𝚅𝙸

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝚂𝚒𝚡 → 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸𝚏 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚜, 𝚃𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙼𝚎 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚢

⊹ 𝟼-𝟸𝟺-𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟾 ⊹

"We're goin' to the zoo, Mummy!" Julian announced to wake me up. My eyes popped open and I looked around in confusion.

"We're wha'?" I mumbled.

"Daddy says we're going to the zoo!" he said.

"We as in me?" I asked groggily.

"Yes, you too, Alissa." Now, John's voice chimed in. I groaned in agitation. I'd been awake for a total of sixty seconds, and my back was already hurting.

"Well, we're gonna have to wait until I can eat and get rid of my breakfast," I said. "So, it may be a while."

"We're gonna get breakfast on the way there, Liss," John said, and I felt Julian lay down on the bed behind me, curling up against me.

"Oh, John, you know how much I hate puking in public bathrooms. What kind of monster are you?"

"Just thought that we could have a nice family outing today," he said. "Doesn't that sound nice?"

"As long as ye get me some of my favorite coffee," I replied. "Then, it does sound quite nice."

"Well, of course, I'll do that," John replied. "Think you might break me if I don't."

"Probably right," I answered, closing my eyes again.

"I wanna see the animals, Mummy!" Julian said, and I heard a phone ring downstairs. "Get up!"

"Go get that damned phone, John," I said, groggily pushing myself into a sitting position. "Happy now, Jules?" I saw that John had already gotten the little boy dressed in a green t-shirt with a giraffe on it, and some khaki shorts. His hair was tousled, perhaps from lying in the bed next to me moments before.

"What did you do to Daddy to make him take ye to the zoo, Jules?" I asked him, reaching my arms out and motioning for him to come and sit with me.

He came and sat on my lap, and I wrapped my arms around him. "I didn't do anything," he told me. "Daddy just asked if I wanted to go."

I smiled, placing a kiss against the top of his head. John never did anything like that. I wasn't sure that there was ever a time in our marriage where he had just nonchalantly decided to take us on any sort of "family outing." That being said, I had never been opposed to it.

"Alissa!" I heard John call from downstairs. I rolled my eyes and hollered back a response, demanding to know why he was summoning me. I heard silence, then the sound of feet pattering up the stairs. "It's Paul," he said, appearing in the doorway. He peered at Julian and me, then went to scoop the little boy up. "He wants to speak to you about something."