Aunt Chris was right, not even ten minutes after Mrs. Darling pulled out of the driveway, they began one of those adventures. The wooded area behind Aunt Chris's house went on for miles, or forever as Ava would say. To the three Darling sisters it was like a whole other world.

"Aunt Chris," Ava called as they started towards the woods, "Can we see the waterfall today?" She asked.

Her eyes had a gleam to them, the waterfall was her favorite part.

"Maybe tomorrow love, it's getting close to supper and there's some Mac and Cheese calling your name," she says, bopping her gently on the tip of her nose.

Kate remains quiet but smiles just enough where the party she was crying about, has almost become a distant memory. The girls love this time of year as the trees start coming back to life, with tiny green buds at the ends of each branch. To Ava the trees feel alive around her. In the short distance she swears one tree gently waves it's branches to greet her. She sends the tree a small wave so no one else notices, as if it was her own little secret between her and the trees.

Aunt Chris and the girls spend a short time in the woods. Sophie collects rocks for her pet rock collection, Kate just walks around kicking the dirt with her worn out old shoes, while Ava secretly sends whispers into the wind, knowing it can hear her.

A few hours later Aunt Chris has their meals ready, and everyone is washed up and ready to eat dinner. Mac and Cheese is Ava's favorite meal in the whole world, Sophie loves it too, but Kate is the most difficult of all. She sits back in Aunt Chris's old worn down wooden dining chairs with her arms crossed at her chest staring and the steaming plate of pasta and melted cheese.

"What's wrong love?" Aunt Chris asks.

Kate shrugs.

"Mac and cheese is for babies. I prefer penne with tomato sauce," she says.

"Well tonight I've made mac and cheese, tomorrow I'll make you pasta... I mean penne and sauce," Aunt Chris says.

"Tomato sauce."

"Is that Mac and cheese that I smell?"

A strong deep voice echoes through the house.

"Derek!" Sophie screams.

Derek is Aunt Chris's friend. Sometimes he comes to help her fix things around the house, like when Sophie was three and clogged the toilet with marbles. The girls have known him since they were born.

Ava and Sophie run over to him and he picks each one of them up, so as Ava says; they can reach the sky. Kate stays seated and instead of glaring at her dinner is now slowly twirling it around her fork.

"What's the matter Ms. Kate?" Derek questions, walking around the table to greet her.

Kate sighs loudly, but smiles at him. It's her first smile since she arrived. Derek touches her shoulders and gently shakes her a bit.

"There's princess Kate's smile," he says lovingly.

Princess Kate has been her nickname since the first time Derek saw her. She had a pink princess rattle that she loved and the moment he laid eyes on her he immediately gave her the nickname.

"I'm missing Ivy's party," she pouts.

"Well then we are just gonna have to do something ah-mazing to make up for it."

Kate smiles, "But do I still have to eat that?" She asks.

"Princesses always finish their meals, especially if they want ice cream from the one and only.... Marvelous Ice Cream Shoppe," he sings.

"Marvelous Ice cream?" Sophie squeals.

"The most marvelous Ice cream in all of Rainbow Falls," he says, then turns his attention back to Kate. "So whaddya say kid?" he says giving her a gentle nudge.

Kate takes a minute to think about it. Everyone at the table is staring and waiting for an answer. Marvelous Ice cream truly is the best place around, and Kate knows it. Her sisters are both staring at her with their hands clasped together pleading her to say yes.

"Okay," she says rolling her eyes. "Ice cream it is."

Kate takes a heaping scoop of her Mac and cheese as her sisters cheer her on.