Things were back to normal: the recordings for the show had resumed; Blaine had gone home and she was back at the farm with her goats. She'd talked to her lover and he had agreed that a weekend at the cabin would be good.
The problem was that neither of them could decide on definite dates for the trip. It looked like they would be scrambling around one Friday evening, having realised there was nothing planned for that weekend, getting everything together; then drive up late and spend the weekend frantically trying to shop, fish and relax. Come Monday morning, they'd be back at work, wondering what had happened and wishing they had time for a break. No, she decided, this time would be different.
Smiling ruefully, she reviewed the latest idea from the production company. Concerned that the appeal of the Monty Hall challenge was waning, they wanted to add a sponsored phone-in question to improve the per show revenue levels. This week's question was something to do with ages...and she needed to rewrite it to fit the show's themes. Suddenly she smiled – it was obvious really.
The following day she walked into the studios, greeting Raoul with a cheery good morning. Her producer talked non-stop all way through make-up, bringing her up-to-date with all the gossip and news. Soon, she was meeting the contestants, smiling broadly to put them at their ease. The show followed its usual format, and after the first goat was revealed, she turned to the cameras and introduced the new segment.
"I'm glad Gemma has been found," she beamed at Camera 4, giving no hint that it wouldn't have mattered which goat had been revealed – nor that neither of the nanny goats were actually called Gemma.
"We have a question to ask you about Gemma," she continued, "And it forms the basis of our new phone-in competition."
"Gemma has three kids, and when you multiply their ages together, you get 36. When you add their ages together, you get the number of people who chose to swap their doors last month. The question you need to answer is: What are their ages?" She smiled at the camera for a couple of seconds.
"Just in case you're confused, I should mention that Gemma's youngest is a beautiful piebald billy-goat. Please phone in your answers on 0866 717222. The winner will be announced at the end of the next section of the program. And now for a word from our sponsors."
And it will be interesting to see how many of you work that one out, she thought.
Partially inspired by My Teachers's Three Kids
(c) ER Literary Productions
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