Runaway Child

Zoe had held off on buying a new pet for her children until they were settled into their new home.  There was so much to be done with it not having been occupied for a few generations.  Partly this was due to the resident ghost hovering in the background.  Rather than turning her off, Zoe put the ghost to use as a French language tutor.  No-one in the family, including herself, had been very fluent in the language when they first moved to France.  The children progressed much faster than Zoe herself but even she was now finding much easier speaking to the various customers who came into the St. Cinna's giftshop than she had when she first started working there.

Now that it'd been well over six months since the move, and even more since the death of her husband, her son Mike reminded her of her promise.  She somehow managed to keep all three children together without the help of the nanny to arrive at their destination.  That did not last long as Mike was off and running the moment the entered the pet shop. Four year old Karolin kept herself glued to her mother's side. "Mike," Zoe called out in German, "don't get too far ahead. I need to be able to see you."  She was thankful she thought to leave the pram at home as she would have an even harder time keeping track of her son whilst navigating the unwieldy baby transport around the aisles. "Karolin which pets interest you the most," she added in a softer voice.  Her daughter pulled her thumb out of her mouth and said, "rabbits."  

Zoe nodded.  "We'll see what they have available."  Her son was set on them getting a dog which was going to make it difficult to come up with compromises. Especially when she needed to make sure any home they bought for the rabbit dog-proof if she decided to go with both pets. Personally she would much rather stick with a cat.  They were so easy to look after.  "Ba...ba...ba..," Jennifer babbled near Zoe's ear.  Zoe adjusted her grip on the baby.  "Was that bat or sheep you were after?" she asked with a small smile.  Jennifer waved her hand upward and Zoe saw the goat poster. "Oh no. We're not getting one of those.  Now where is your brother?"  She turned down another aisle and called again. "Mike!  Damn it all. Where has he gone?"  Zoe found someone else standing halfway down. "Excuse me. Have you seen a six year old boy running around here somewhere."