Keito, Kiki, Lila, and Lola fluffed on their T-Stand yoga perches, breathing deeply.
Crash!
“What happened?” Bubbles eyes popped open to see mommy’s bamboo plant lying on the floor in the adjacent kitchen.
Bobby’s head popped up. “I killed this plant.”
“Bobby, that’s not our plant,” Lila said. “Why?”
“It’s my window,” he said. “Look, another plant. I’ll kill it, too.”
“Go for it, Bobby!” Zack munched on popcorn from the bowl in the middle of the kitchen table where he was playing games with Morty, Rocky, and Stan.
“I don’t think you should encourage this,” Morty said. “It could be dangerous.”
“How?” Rocky asked. “It’s just potting soil. It will vacuum right up.”
“Did somebody say vacuum?” a Roomba with Alexa riding on top zoomed through the kitchen, cleaning up the mess. Mechanical arms sprang from Alexa’s sides to pick up the plant and set it on the stand.
“I’ll kill the plant again!” Bobby flared up at the offending bamboo.
“I wonder where Alexa got mechanical arms,” Morty said.
“Probably Amazon,” Zack said. “You can order anything. Look, Alexa is cleaning the den too. Mommy will appreciate that.”
The girls squawked as Roomba and Alexa continued their journey under their yoga perches, around the furniture, and out the back door to rumble around Bubbles spaceship next to the storage shed. A flash of light appeared in the middle of the kitchen table, and Fosse appeared.
“What happened?”
“Fosse, good to see you!” Bubbles said. “I’m sorry your invitation got stuck in the matrix for the interdimensional drive. I’m glad you made it.”
Fosse fluffed. “Likewise. What’s happening?”
“Yoga and games,” Zack said. “Pick your activity.”
“Alexa picked messing with Bubbles spaceship,” Morty said. Another flash of light, and a pizza appeared next the popcorn bowl.
Zack bobbed his head in appreciation. “Thanks, Alexa!”
Alexa waved a mechanical arm at Zack.
“Is anybody going to stop that bot from messing with my ship?” Bubbles asked.
“I’m thinking of integrating her with your ship,” Morty said. “Take her into space, and dump her somewhere around Saturn. I hear it’s beautiful there.”
Various fruit juices appeared on the table.
“The is the best yoga ever!” Zack said.
“It’s always unique with Zack and Bubbles,” Keito said. “I’m glad the COVID restrictions are lifting and we can hang out again. Bubbles upgraded her ship to travel faster with that interdimensional drive, too. It’s the best way to travel. Bubbles is a great Captain.”
“It’s a bit shocking,” Lila said. “One minute you’re home, and the next minute you’re zooming through space to Zack and Bubbles house. That might be why Bobby is destroying the plants. They’re different from the plants he kills in our home every day.”
“I’ll work on stabilizing the matrix,” Bubbles said.
“It’s not stable?” Morty asked. “Where did you get the parts to install an interdimensional drive on your space ship anyway?”
“No garage, workshop, shed, or storage house around here is safe,” Zack said.
“You’re pretty chilled out about all of this,” Lola said. “How did your sister know how to build and fly a spaceship?”
“When your sister is a Quaker, the extraordinary becomes ordinary,” Zack said. “Between her and mommy, this home is full of shenanigans.”
“Mommy’s silly, too?” Kiki asked.
“She is,” Kiki said. “You should see her social media posts. The craziest, silliest things happen to her all the time. Bubbles really was made for her.” Kiki fluffed. “Let’s resume class. We zoomed in to relax, and we should.”
“Indeed,” Lila said. “You boys play cards. We girls need to relax. It’s stressful looking after you guys.”
“We’re stressful?” Zack cackled. “You focus on your center. We’ll focus on fun.”
Bubbles fluffed. “Back to meditation. Relax and breathe deeply. Focus on your sweet heart.”
Another crash interrupted them. Bobby ran in the room from the entryway.
“I killed the plant in the entryway, too.”
“Oh no –“ Morty said as a motor revved up and Roomba and Alexa zoomed in from the yard.
“Who is destroying the foliage in this home?” Alexa asked.
“At least that bot is away from my spaceship,” Bubbles growled.
“Alexa, how did you and Roomba get here?” Morty asked. “I locked you in a closet.”
Alexa waved her mechanical arms. Morty sighed. “Foiled again!”
“Let them clean up the mess, since they’re here,” Rocky said. “It gives us more time to have fun and hang out with other birds.”
“Enough! We’re trying to relax!” Bubbles said. “Alexa, play relaxing music.”
Heavy metal music blared from Alexa’s speaker.
“Party time!” Zack said.
“This is the strangest meditation I’ve ever had,” Lola said. “Then again, conures are high energy birds. Relaxation goes against my nature.”
“Mine too,” Kiki said. “We came all the way here. If Alexa won’t let us meditate, then we might as well have a parrot party.”
“Parrot party?” Keito asked. “I love those! We haven’t had one in long time.”
“We have all we need for a fun party, Bubbs,” Zack said.
Bubbles looked around the room at her friends, staring at her expectantly. Finally, she kicked over the yoga perch.
“A parrot party it is, then. Alexa, play party tunes!”
“That makes an interdimensional trip worth it!” Fosse said. “Let’s party!”
The music changed to dance music as the parrot pals boogied and munched on snacks, celebrating the fact that they were able to have fun together again.