Page 48 of Sassy & Sixty

As she wiped down the counter, her phone buzzed. A reply from Mike:

"Rosie, I'd be delighted. How about Saturday? I know a great little jazz club in Kingston. Looking forward to it. Mike."

Rosie grinned, her heart doing a little flip that had nothing to do with her earlier mimosa consumption.

"TODDLER TWINS"

Rosie's peaceful morning was interrupted by the sound of her doorbell, followed immediately by the pitter-patter of small feet and excited chatter.

"Coming!" she called, hurrying to the door. She opened it to find her daughter Mary on the doorstep, looking rather frazzled. Her hair was escaping its ponytail, and she was juggling two backpacks and a tote bag overflowing with snacks and toys.

"Mum," Mary said, her voice a mix of desperation and relief. "You're a lifesaver. Are you sure you're okay with this? It's just for a few hours, I promise. Ted can't get off work, and I have this important meeting, and..."

"It's fine," Rosie interrupted, reaching out to take the bags. "How hard can it be? I raised you, after all."

Mary let out a slightly hysterical laugh. "Oh, Mum. You have no idea."

As Mary rushed off, leaving behind a trail of half-finished instructions and hurried kisses, Rosie found herself alone with her grandchildren. She looked down at the two cherubic faces staring up at her.

"Well," she said brightly, "this should be fun, shouldn't it?"

George and Daisy exchanged a mischievous glance that made Rosie wonder if she'd bitten off more than she could chew.

"Grandma," George said, his eyes wide with innocence, "can we build a rocket ship?"

"A rocket ship?" Rosie echoed, bemused.

Daisy nodded enthusiastically. "To fly to the moon and have tea with the aliens!"

Rosie chuckled. "Well, I'm not sure about the moon, but we could certainly build a lovely fort right here in the living room. How does that sound?"

The twins considered this for a moment before nodding in unison.

"Okay," said Daisy.

"But can it be a space fort?" added George.

The boy had been obsessed with space since a school trip to the science museum.

"Of course," Rosie agreed, already wondering how on earth she was going to manage this. In a moment of foresight, she did the only sensible thing - she called for reinforcements.

Twenty minutes later, her living room looked like a whirlwind had torn through a toy shop and a NASA supply closet. Emma was constructing an elaborate fort out of sofa cushions, blankets, and what appeared to be several colanders repurposed as space helmets.

"You know," Emma said, her voice muffled as she struggled to drape a sheet over a precarious tower of cushions, "I once dated an astronaut. Or was it an astrologer? Either way, he was very into stars."

Lisa was consulting a google document called "Modern Approaches to Child Psychology," and muttering about "fostering creativity through imaginative play" and "the importance of adult participation in fantasy scenarios."

Julie had set up her easel and was trying to engage Daisy to paint a mural of their imaginary space adventure on a large sheet of paper taped to the wall. More paint seemed to be ending up on Daisy's overalls than on the paper, but the little girl was beaming with pride at her colourful creation.

Catherine, meanwhile, was attempting to interest George in a documentary about the solar system, which had worked for approximately thirty seconds before he decided that using the remote control as a "space blaster" was far more entertaining.

"I'm not sure Brian Cox is appropriate for three-year-olds," Rosie said doubtfully, watching as George zapped imaginary aliens with sound effects that would put any sci-fi movie to shame.

"Nonsense," Catherine replied. "It's never too early to appreciate the wonders of the cosmos. Besides, he seems to be enjoying it... in his own way."

Indeed, George was now engaged in what appeared to be a very serious debate with an imaginary alien life form about the merits of having three heads versus just one.

As the morning wore on, the Sensational Sixties Squad found themselves facing challenges they'd never anticipated. Snack time turned into a strategic operation, with Lisa coordinating their efforts like a general planning a military campaign.

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