“Do you know,” continued Zoie, with a growing sense of indignation, “what would happen to me if I told Alfred NOW that he WASN'T the father of twins? He'd fly straight out of that door and I'd never see him again.”
Aggie admitted that Zoie was no doubt speaking the truth.
“Jimmy has awakened Alfred's paternal instinct for twins,” declared Zoie, with another emphatic nod of her head, “and now Jimmy must take the consequences.”
Jimmy tried to frame a few faint objections, but Zoie waved him aside, with a positive air. “It's no use arguing. If it were only ONE, it wouldn't be so bad, but to tell Alfred that he's lost twins, he couldn't live through it.”
“But Zoie,” argued Aggie, “we can't have that mother hanging around down stairs until that baby is an old man. She'll have us arrested, the next thing.”
“Why arrest US?” asked Zoie, with wide baby eyes. “WE didn't take it. Old slow-poke took it.” And she nodded toward the now utterly vanquished Jimmy.
“That's right,” murmured Jimmy, with a weak attempt at sarcasm, “don't leave me out of anything good.”
“It doesn't matter WHICH one she arrests,” decided the practical Aggie.
“Well, it matters to me,” objected Zoie.
“And to me too, if it's all the same to you,” protested Jimmy.