Flashback: Age 5
"This is a stupid idea," Alex told Donna as he climbed into the bathtub with his sister.
Donna wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him, pulling her goggles over her eyes. "Shut up, Alex!" She said. "I
told you, if we go swimming everyday, we'll grow gills and be able to talk to fish, just like Daddy."
Alex rolled his eyes at her, looking down at his Superman swimming trunks. "Yeah, but that's 'cause Daddy's
Atlantean. We're just human. Like Mommy.
She can't breathe underwater or talk to fish."
"See, that's where
you're the stupid one," she said, as she turned off the water in the bathtub and climbed in. "It's called
evolution, dummy. I saw it on that thing on Discovery Channel I watched with Daddy. If we spend enough time in the water, we'll
totally turn Atlantean so our bodies can adapt to our changing environment."
At least, that's what she was pretty sure what would happen. She didn't really pay attention to what was going on the program her father had been watching that day, and kept pausing from her coloring to ask him what the boring man on TV was talking about.
"'Sides," she said, "Don't you wanna talk to the octopus at the aquarium, anyway?"
He paused, looking truly thoughtful. "Yeah...I guess you're right." He lowered his goggles, climbing into the bathtub next to his sister.
Donna made them practice holding their breath underwater for various intervals, always making sure that they had time to catch their breath before going underwater again.
They did this for several minutes, until...
"Alex! Quit splashing me!"
"This is
boring, Donna. Can we
please do something else? Let's try and talk to the goldfish."
"No! We can't do that. We have to get
gills first.
Then we'll be able to talk to fish."
"That's stupid! I want to be able to talk to fish now!"
"Yeah, well you're stupid."
"Take it back!" More splashing.
"Quit it!"
"You quit it!"
"Mommy!"
"Daddy!"
"What's going on in there?" Lian's voice came through the hallway, and in a matter of moments, Lian and Cerdian were standing in the doorway to the bathroom, their arms folded over their chests.
"It was all
her idea!" Alex said, pointing at his sister.
"Tattletale!"
Lian sighed, going over to the towel rack and pulling down two as Cerdian got the twins out of the tub.
"Can you two tell me and your father what you were doing in your bathing suits in the bathtub?" Lian asked, raising an eyebrow at her children.
"Daddy couldn't take us swimming today, Mommy," Donna explained. "I've been having him take us everyday so we can grow gills and talk to fish like him."
Alex nodded in agreement with his sister.
Lian just snickered a little. "Excuse me?"
Donna put on her most scholarly face. "I saw it on TV with Daddy. Evolution kicks in and people adapt to changing environments. So, if Alex and I spend a lot of time in the water, our bodies will change, and we'll be Atlantean, just like Daddy."
Cerdian smiled, covering his mouth to hide his laughter. Lian, however, laughed aloud.
Donna and Alex frowned at their parents. What was
wrong with them?
"Sweetheart," Lian said when she stopped laughing. "Evolution doesn't quite work like that."
Donna blinked at her mother. "What do you
mean it doesn't work like that?"
Cerdian crouched down so he was eye-level with the twins. "No, honey it doesn't. And why I'm sure you and Alex would be great Atlanteans, and all the fish in the sea would love playing with you, going swimming everyday isn't going to make you Atlantean."
Donna's face fell. "It isn't?"
He placed a hand on her cheek. "No. But that doesn't mean that I still can't take you and Alex swimming everyday." He looked over at Alex. "And talk to the octopus at the aquarium for you."
"Promise?" Their voices rang out in unison.
He smiled at them. "I promise."
Donna grinned, wrapping her arms around her father's neck. "I love you, Daddy."
He kissed her cheek. "I love you too, sweetheart."
Lian smiled, wrapping Alex in a towel, and then proceeding to wrap Donna in one. "Come on munchkins," she said. "Let's go get out of our bathing suits and we'll order pizza for dinner, okay?"
Their faces broke out into grins, and they scrambled from the bathroom, yelling what kind of pizza they wanted their mother to order for dinner.
