When Charlie explains the powers and intelligence of some of his favorite super heroes for the “gazillionith” time, Gigi is quick to stop him halfway through the prologue, “You’ve already told me this a hundred times. My brain doesn’t want to hear this information any more, Charlie.”

Charlie, undeterred, continues on with his speech. Gigi gives a deep sigh, leans back on the couch pillows and holds her hands over her ears to block out her brother’s yammering of superhero trivia. Every once in a while, she removes her hands to check on how far her brother has gotten in his well-rehearsed tale. Like an old married couple, the children continue on like this for some time…the words flowing from one, the dramatic plugging of the ears by the other…until the parents shush the children and they rush off, in a giggling clump of two, in search of some new activity in another part of the house.