“This is really a great idea,” began Gwyndir. “And, fun. For everyone.”

“You are just about to say ‘but’…” interrupted Eledu.

“Am I that predictable?” worried Gwyndir.

“But?” prompted Eledu.

“But… do we have to call it—maybe we can call it ‘treasure’,” he suggested.

“This is a pirate game,” Eledu reminded his husband. “Pirates, arrrr, walk the plank, gimme the booty.”

“Ah.. yes, but… what about ‘arrr, give me the treasure’?” he suggested, though it sounded more like ‘arrrghhh’.

Eledu shrugged. “Not the same ring to it.”

“But… alright, but watch this…” Gwyndir walked back to the group of neighborhood children they were watching. Since so often Fauneth had played with the neighbors, Eledu offered the idea of holding a party for all of the children in the neighborhood for the afternoon. It was pirate-themed, with costumes and a cake that looked like a ship that Gwyndir had made, and a treasure hunt. Which Eledu insisted instead be called: “Alright, children, just a few more minutes and we will… go booty hunting.”

All of the children, including Fauneth, erupted in giggles, some falling over to roll on the ground. Gwyndir trotted back to Eledu, mortified. “See? What did I tell you?”

“I am a firm believer that if you say a word enough times, it loses its charm. Observe.” Before Gwyndir could stop him, Eledu walked back to the group. “Alright, so, let me explain the booty rules. First, when you find the booty, you need to show me the booty to show me you found the booty. And once you get the booty, you have to give up the booty so we can hide the booty again for the next person to find. Now, this is amazing booty—and if you find the booty, you cannot keep holding the booty until everyone asks ‘who’s got the booty’, because we need to reuse the booty. When the booty is found, you get to pick a prize from the basket, and then I will go hide the booty again. This is going to be easy booty to find sometimes, and other times it will be hard to find booty. No fighting over the booty.” He waited until the children stopped laughing, and then, with Gwyndir standing beside him, cheeks bright red, he said, “Booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty, booty.” He looked around. “All the giggles out?”

“Yes, Mister Eledu,” chorused the children, with Fauneth nodding and proclaiming a, “Yes, daddy!”

Eledu nodded. “Alright, me hearties, go find the treasure! I mean, the booty,” he corrected as Gwyndir groaned and hid his face with his hands. A moment later, after the children were all scattered, he yelped as Eledu gave him a smack on the rear. “What was that for?” he demanded.

“Just claiming the booty,” he said with a wink.