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"Let me do this for you," said Izumi, lovingly. "There's so many household things you don't have!"

Abby gave her mother a hug, and returned to the bedroom, where Terry and John were discussing how to move the aquarium.

"Abby," instructed John, "you're going to have to put the fish in bags, so we can empty out the water. There's no way we can move a full one hundred and twenty-five gallon aquarium!"

"We can't empty it out, completely," said Abby. "It'll change the salinity of the water too drastically. It wouldn't be good for the fish. And when I put the fish back in, the water must be the same temperature, otherwise they'll go into shock and die. This is a delicate process, Dad."

"Very well," sighed John, "do what you have to, but do it quickly. Terry and I only have this one day to help with the move, and there's no way Jake will be able to do this all by himself."

As Abby began working on the aquarium, the men started packing boxes and moving them to the other house. Jake gathered all of Abby's old paintings stacked beneath the fly tying table, and carried them over to the empty room in the little yellow house that was to be hers. When Jake returned, Abby was ready to move her little darlings into clear bags, using the same water that was in the tank to minimize the stress on the fish.

The small green aquarium net chased the little creatures about the tank, until finally scooping them up and into awaiting plastic bags. When the last startled fish was captured and gently secured, Abby placed the bags on a cookie tray Izumi had given her, and carried them over to their new home, across the way. When most of the water had been emptied, John and Jake lifted the tank from the cupboard stand and set in on the floor. Next, they carried the black pine cupboard to the yellow house, while Terry brought the canopy. Then, they returned for the tank. Abby had emptied it beforehand of the gravel and coral, so it was light enough for two men to carry. John carefully lifted one end, and Jake took the other, while Terry steered them in the right direction with,

"Come forward... now more to my left-- I mean, your left! That's right!"

Slowly, Abby's aquarium was carried out of her parents' home, and into the little yellow house.

"Where do you want it, Sweetheart?" asked John, as the tank came to rest in the small hallway.

"Against that wall, so I can see it when I'm in bed," said Abby. "No, wait. Maybe over there, instead."

Izumi stepped forward and began to discuss the situation with her daughter.

"Oh no," groaned Terry, with a half smile directed at Jake. "Here it comes-- the moving of the furniture," he said, in an over-dramatic voice.

Jake looked at him, puzzled.

"Just wait, and you'll see," grinned John. "We're going to stand here, until the women make up their minds where to put everything!"

"Yeah," laughed Terry, "and when they do decide, you can be sure it won't be the last time!"

Izumi and Abby pointed and planned, rearranging imaginary furniture in every possible configuration, and doing everything but taking a poll of the men, before at last deciding where it all should go.

"Over there, against the wall," announced Izumi.

"And after all that, they decided on the same place as when they started," laughed Terry, as John and Jake carried the cupboard to the selected spot.

Then, they gingerly set the aquarium tank into place. The men went back to dismantle Abby's bed, while Izumi rested in a chair and watched as her daughter began to clean the aquarium and test the water for the right balances.

"This is a big day for you," Izumi mused sadly. "My baby is moving into her own home."

"I'm just a short walk away, Mom," laughed Abby. "You sound as though I'm moving to the other side of the moon!"

When the gravel had been vacuumed and the new water added, Abby gently released her pets back into their home.

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