Mum plopped things into the cooler bag for them: two muesli bars, two apples, their water bottles, a packet of Jatz, half a packet of Scotch Fingers (Dad’s all-time faves; he’d eaten the other half of the packet the day before), and two rounds of ham and cheese sandwiches.
‘Thanks Mum,’ Spencer smiled. ‘You’re a deadset champion.’
‘Can’t have my boys getting hungry up in the clouds, can I?’
Dad came in, holding some maps and his fleece jacket.
‘What time do you think you’ll be back?’ Mum asked.
Dad tied a second jacket, his waterproof one, in a knot around his waist. ‘Well, we’re lined up to take off at_____’ he looked at his watch, ‘_____11.30, which is when the thermals will get going properly. I guess we’ll try to make the most of it and stay up in the air for a bit ... We’ll probably be back at the hangar about 2.30 or 3, I reckon. So I guess that means we’ll be back in time for ... a gourmet four-course dinner!’
Mum choked on her cuppa.
‘Dad!’ Pippa reached over to him and smacked his bum. ‘You are rude.’
‘Just kidding. Do you want me to pick something up on my way home? A couple of pizzas from Milano’s, maybe?’
‘Pizzas, yay, yay, yes yes yes!’ Pips twirled around the kitchen.
‘Whoa, child!’ Mum reached out, trying to stop a family photo getting knocked off the hall-of-fame table. ‘Pips, calm down! Sounds like a yes, chaps. Just make sure one of those pizzas is a capricciosa.’
‘And we need a Hawaiian,’ Spencer said.
‘Yeah!’ roared Pippa.
‘For goodness sake!’ Dad raised his eyebrows at Mum. ‘Is this normal behaviour, do you think, love?’
‘Sadly, I think it is.’
‘Yeah, Dad,’ Spencer said, ‘Pips and I are so normal. Well, I am.’
‘I am! I’m normal too!’
‘Okay, okay, you two. Can you men get outta here before you upset us girls any more? We have things to do, don’t we, Pips?’
Pippa smiled. ‘Yep. We have a plan.’
‘Why, what are you doing?’ Spencer asked.
‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’
‘We’re going for hot chocolate and gingerbread men at Indie’s,’ Pips said happily.
‘Aww, I love it there!’
‘And you love it in the air, too, so off you go!’ Mum said, trying not to sound exasperated.
‘Got your jacket, Spence?’ Dad said.
‘Yep—my wind-resistant one, just in case you accidentally inflate the emergency slide mid-flight.’
‘Right, and you’d get sucked out to the moon, buddy. Emergency slide? It’s a glider, Spence, not an A380!’
‘Don’t forget your food,’ Mum lifted up the esky bag.
‘No. Now, that’d be a problem,’ Dad said. ‘Starving up in the sky. You can’t eat clouds.’