Previously: We share a delightful two and a half hour dinner with just our children. No spouses. Nichole seemed more like the teenager I remembered. She and her brother bantered as if no time had elapsed since we shared family meals thirty years ago. Before parting, Nichole and I set up plans for the next day. With her husband on the scene, would Nichole ignore us?

Jeff had put on weight since I last saw him five years ago. She stayed lean cuisine. He turned into bulky beef.

"Hey, I want to thank you guys for finding the perfect room for us. We overlook the pool." He shook hands with Frank and hugged me. One thing I liked about Jeff was his enthusiasm. Nichole kept her emotions cool. His boisterous voice contrasted with her quiet demeanor.

"What did you do when we kidnapped your wife?" I joked.

"I walked around the town, went into the shops, listened to a live band on the square. Got something to eat. I enjoyed myself. I’m glad Frannie (his nickname for her) had this chance to be with family."

"When I got back," Nichole added, "we went swimming and then into the spa. No one else was out. The night belonged to us."

Jeff went on to rave about our grandchildren and how much fun they all had together. "If we lived closer, we would totally hang out with Chris and Joanne." (I never asked Chris or his wife if they felt the same. It didn’t matter since Joanne hated California as much as Nichole hated Florida.)

We spent time going over photo albums, and then took off for the Wildlife Sanctuary in Citrus. Although I had asked Nichole to sit with me in back, she claimed motion sickness unless in front. Besides, Jeff needed her to be his navigator. Like you can’t just turn up the volume of your GPS and let Liza or Susie or Harry tell you when to turn?

A golf cart awaited our arrival. Jeff jumped into the driver’s seat to Frank’s dismay. I thought hubby would be glad to just sit and enjoy the ride. This might have been the case if Jeff had known the mechanics of how to reverse and start forward. The road was bumpy enough. Whenever Jeff hopped off to see the animals up close, Frank would glide over to take the wheel.

"No, no, Frank. Let me drive. I’m lovin’ it." Jeff took back his new toy.

Except for the variety of monkeys who banged sticks on pots and pans to keep our attention, the rest of the animals lay on the ground, comatose from age and the heat of the day. But feeding a couple of large bears tested our courage. "Don’t let their lethargy fool you," the guide told us. "Stick a hand through those bars and you might lose it. Hold the snacks with your fingertips." We all tried it,  except for Frank.  Gee, a bear's lips and tongue brushed my fingers. I'll never wash them again.

Two hours later, we were back on the road with Nichole searching her Ipad for points of interest. Nothing. Watching oranges grow was no one’s idea of excitement. "We’ll get a pizza and go back to the hotel," Nichole announced.

Ha, that was my plan when I booked the room. I had asked Jeff to bring a video that featured his voiceover as the Mantis in The Kung Fu Panda series on TV. Okay, so that took up twenty minutes plus ten of compliments and questions. What now? Oh, we cemented plans for the next day. The Villages had built a shopping area to look like the old West. Another thing on my bucket list.

"I had a good time today. How about you?" I asked Frank on the way home.

"Except for his horrible driving at the zoo, I thought Jeff behaved himself much better than in the past. I liked him better than Nichole."

"What are you saying!" Further proof that hubby was losing his marbles?

"She’s snooty. All that fancy business at the restaurant."

"I didn’t see it that way," I retorted. Later on, I phoned Chris to get his take on it.

To be continued.