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Chapter One
THE COSTASES' BACKYARD was packed with people all circling the capuchin e set up on the green grass Though a party would always draw a crowd, these folks had been excited to see Spank, a ht Zoe Costas stood with her twin sister, Ari, and watched the capuchin perform in honor of their foster sister Sam's fourteenth birthday
Sam missed the monkey since Spank had been forced to move out of the Costas fa a pet monkey violated the law Since Sa life, they still tried tobond with the animal, whom she loved dearly Zoe kept in touch with the trainer who'd taken the monkey, and she made sure Spank was present on special occasions like today
Zoe glanced at her foster sister and s Salad the teenager would get to experience a spirited celebration surrounded by people who cared about her The young girl had coh Quinn Donovan, Ari's husband They'd taken the young girl in and now Zoe's parents were on the road to adoption
But Sa and so distrustful she acted out and tested the faun to trust and settle into the crazy Costas clan
Someone in the audience whistled and Spank dropped her pants, then the monkey smacked her bottom with both of her hands
Ari groaned and covered her eyes
Zoe chuckled "You lived with Spank last year I would have thought you ay past being rin
Ari shrugged "What can I say? Spank always takes me by surprise"
"That's because you still expect everyone around you to be sane and caler in front of her twin's face "It's your shrink training," she said
"You say that like expecting normalcy is a crime"
Zoe laughed "Shaht to know better than to expect the ordinary from anyone named Costas"
"Frankly, accepting the family's unique qualities has done wonders to help my own sanity"
After a period of estrangement, they could finally talk and joke about Ari's saner tendencies Her twin had always been the straitlaced sister, the one who felt she didn't fit into their eccentric family As a result she'd moved to Vermont , far from the Jersey Shore , and kept her distance from the Costas clan, Zoe included But it was Zoe's recent so-called disappearance that had brought Ari home to stay Zoe welco children
Suddenly Ari nudged her sister in the ribs and pointed toward Spank, as spitting into the crowd
Zoe cringed "Like I said, ordinary and the nao hand in hand"
"Would it do any good to remind you that Spank the , black hair she'd grown back after trying a bob a few ain, sothen their bond
"Look, Ari, the faer perform their Atlantic City Boardwalk Addams Family Act, but Dad is still as bald as Uncle Fester, Moles her hips like Morticia, and Aunt Dee swears that Great-Aunt Deliria was engaged to a chi-lost relative"