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When we got home and into bed, I sat next to Mitch, still rubbing moisturizer into my arms while he sat up, watching the news. Without turning to me, Mitch said, "I think she likes you." I smiled. "She is an amazing kid. The more I see her, the more I love her." Mitch looked at me and smiled. "I could tell. You know... I don't think I ever thought about becoming a father. I mean... I considered it as an abstract, but in real life... I wasn't really ready for this. Now that's it's happening, though... I can't wait." "Me neither," I said as I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Obviously, when I thought about having kids, it was as a dad, not a mom." He leaned his head towards me and kissed me, softly. "You're going to be a great mom. I know it. Look at how you stood up for her today. You're a natural." I kissed Mitch in return and I put an arm around his neck. "I love you, Mitch. I mean that, for real. If I do become a good mother, it'll only be because we're such a good team." I kissed him, again and I maneuvered myself onto his lap. "How come we can't just be a regular guy and girl? I'd love to be pregnant and give you a child." Mitch's smile grew into a leer. "Well, maybe we can't get you pregnant, but there's nothing that says that we can't try." He rolled me over and kissed the side of my breast. He raised himself up and began to kiss my neck with the softest, warmest kisses I'd ever felt. I shivered and I bent my neck to offer more surface to be kissed. "I love you, so much," I gasped. "And you are all the woman I will ever need," Mitch said, in response. The rest of the work week was surprisingly comfortable. Alycia acted like nothing had happened, greeting me and smiling when I saw her on Wednesday. I didn't see Alma on Wednesday, but when I saw her on Thursday, she was typically casual and gracious. Both visited my classroom throughout the rest of the week - nothing unusual, just the typical walk throughs. Each visit involved smiles and compliments to the children on their work. Nothing had changed in their attitudes and things appeared to be back to normal. After school on Friday, I drove across the city to Marie's school to pick her up and talk to the principal about Marie's academic career. This school was in a late twentieth century building that had once been a public school. It was smaller than the school in which I taught, but seemed to have a similarly sized student body, although there were both boys and girls at this school. "Good afternoon," the very tall, very handsome, very athletic principal said as he came out to greet me. "Come on in." He seemed very gregarious and eager to talk. "No calls, Dot," he said to the woman in charge of the outer office. "We shouldn't be too long."with that, he closed the door behind us and offered me a seat. "So..." he checked his notes, "you must be Dawn, correct? And your husband is Mitchell, right? Pam from Evelyn's office tells me that you are adopting Martha, is that correct?" I shook my head. "No. Marie. We're adopting Marie." The man scowled and checked his notes. "Marie? Wait..." he rustled through his papers. "Why do I have 'Martha' written here?" "Perhaps you know her as Mae or, maybe, Mae Mae?" I offered, trying to be helpful, not just confused by this man's suddenly befuddled behavior, but also more than a bit angry that he hadn't even taken a moment to prepare for this meeting. I mean, we were only discussing something that would impact the rest of this little girl's life. "Oh," he said suddenly. He smiled a very charming smile at me. It was already obvious to me that this man got a lot of mileage out of that smile. "Ah, here we are," he smiled again. "Ok, Marie, ah yes, Marie. Good grades, hard worker, polite... yeah, she seems like a good kid." "May I see her transcript?" I asked, not really satisfied with the principal's thumbnail assessment. "Umm..." he hesitated for a moment, then said, "Sure," and turned the folder so that I could see it. Marie's grades looked very good. "'E' for excellent in most subjects, with an 'S' for satisfactory in Phys Ed and Art. I glanced through the rest of the file, until I came upon a report from the school councilor. I read through the report and my heart broke as I read a recent evaluation. "Marie is a very confused young lady. She seems to vacillate between denial and despair. Most days are fine, but occasionally, Marie will be nearly unresponsive in the classroom. Family refuses to consider anti-depression medication." I felt a clamp tightening around my heart as I read the evaluation. "Anti-depression medication!?" I muttered. She was a baby, for crying out loud. She needed love and hugs and understanding and support, not drugs. "Yeah," the principal was watching me closely, "our councilor recommended Prozac for Marie. She was really out of it at the beginning of the school year." "Out of it!?" I said, shocked. "The child's great uncle - her guardian - the man she'd looked to as a father - had just died in a car accident. Didn't it occur to you that this little girl needed some love and understanding instead of drugs!?" His smile was more condescending than I would have cared for it to be. "Yes, of course, but we only see the students for six hours a day. That leaves eighteen at home and..." "... and you assumed that no one was showing her any support at home?" I was getting more angry than I should have been. "Have you met her great grandmother? The woman adores this child!" "And she's battling liver cancer," he said dismissively. "She's dealing with her own issues..." "Listen," I closed the folder and laid it on the desk. "I don't know how you were brought up, but I was brought up NOT to fill little girls with drugs if at all possible." "She was depressed..." "She was mourning! There's a difference!" "With all due respect, ma'm, you weren't here..." "And with all due respect, sir, I am now and I will be removing my daughter from this school next week." I reached into my purse and pulled out a business card for my school and handed it to the principal. "Please forward her records to this address. Thank you." I stood to leave. The principal cleared his throat. "You can't run away from her problems." "And you can't drug them into submission, sir." He started to speak, but I held up my hand to stop him. "I understand that you were trying to do your best for Marie, I really do, but... she doesn't need drugs and apathy. She needs my husband and me. We will be moving her to another school next week. I will call you on Monday." I turned and exited his office. I asked the woman at the counter where I could find the children who were waiting to be picked up. "They're in the gym," the woman smiled. "Straight down this hall to the end." I thanked her and walked down the hall. When I reached the gym, I looked in through the windows in the door. There were about twenty five boys and girls. Most were playing with each other - basketball, catch, shuffleboard, etc - and there were some small groups of children sitting and looking at books, phones or iPads. I looked around and didn't see Marie at first. Eventually, I saw her sitting by herself, to the side of the gym, with a large book in her hands. She was reading the book and writing on a piece of paper. I opened the door and entered, telling the woman in charge who I was. She pointed towards Marie and I walked over and sat near her. I looked at the book, saw it's title: 'How To Draw Fairies and Other Magical Beings.' "I see that you want to learn how to draw fairies," I said, surprising her. She looked up at me, smiled and shrugged. "Hi." She looked at the cover of the book, then back to me and shrugged. "Yeah. I'd like to get better at drawing and stuff." She showed me the piece of paper with a not too badly drawn fairy on it. I smiled at her and said, "That's very good, Mae." She shrugged. "It's not as good as I want it to be." "Well," I smiled, "would you like me to help you get better at that?" She nodded, in an uncommitted way. I smiled, anyway. "Hey, do you have your bag for the weekend?" She nodded and pointed towards the teacher who'd signed me in. "It's at the sign in desk." I offered my hand and we walked back to the door, grabbed her bag and left the building. Once I had Marie secured in the backseat of my new, red, hybrid car, I got in, looked in the mirror and said, "Mitch won't be out of work for a couple of hours. How would you like to go to the shopping center with me? Maybe we could get you a new dress or something." Marie shrugged. "What kind of dress?" "Well..." I thought for a few moments, "what kind of dress would you like?" "I don't know. Maybe something with flowers, like you wear. Pam buys my clothes and she says that solid colors are more useful, but... I'd like something with flowers, maybe." The little girl said with a smile and a nod. I smiled. "Ok. Let's find you something with flowers." We got to the mall and headed for some of the more casual stores for children. Old Navy was filled with fun, inexpensive, playful dresses that Mae absolutely loved. We bought her five lovely dresses, three were covered in flower prints and the other two had bright, plaid patterns. Marie said that she liked all of the dresses because they looked like my dresses. Of course, I loved that. Marie wore a cute little flowered dress out of the store and back into the mall. I was watching her as she spun and watched the skirt expand and relax again. She seemed very happy. We were headed to Kids Gap when I heard the overly rehearsed voice of my mother-in-law calling to me. "Donnie! Donnie is that you?" Of course, I'd arranged to 'run into' Mom at that mall. I knew that she still had reservations about us adopting Mae Mae and I figured the best way to resolve that was to have them meet. "Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked, probably sounding just as over rehearsed as Mom had. "I ushered Mae Mae in front of me and I said, "Mae Mae, this is Mitch's mother. She lives right across the street from us. She's been very excited to meet you." Mom bent lower and extended her hand. "Well, hello, Mae. I've heard so much about you. It's awfully nice to meet you." Mae Mae shook her hand. "Hi," she said, not quite sure what she should say. "Do you like Mae's new dress?" I asked. "Oh, my," Mom reached out and touched the material of the dress, "that is a beautiful dress, Mae, and you make it look beautiful, too." Mae smiled. "I do?" "You sure do," Mom smiled and laughed a little. "Did you pick it out all by yourself?" Mae shook her head. "Donnie helped. I like it because it looks like a dress she'd wear." "Well, that makes sense," Mom stood back up, "because Donnie is very pretty, too. Just like you." Marie liked that and smiled. She took my hand and started pulling me towards Kids Gap. I smiled at Mom. "Why don't you join us? We just left Old Navy and we're headed over there, now." Mom started walking with us. "Did you find anything at Old Navy?" I smiled. "Just five, very pretty dresses." "Five!" Mom laughed. "It hard to say 'no' to a little girl, isn't it?" I smiled. "Impossible." Five more dresses at Kids Gap and some new athletic shoes from Footlocker, then Mae was ready for dinner in The Food Court. It was obvious that the mall was not a common experience in Mae's life, so she was very excited about eating where there was such a big variety of foods. I guided her past the typical McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby's, etc, and towards a place that sold Japanese chicken over rice and vegetables. I got one for Mom and one for Mae Mae and me to share and headed to the table area where Mom had found a place to sit and eat. Now, my meeting up with Mom was all very contrived, of course, but I actually stopped in my tracks when I saw my twin sister sitting with Mom and Mae. "Hi," I said, sheepishly. "I didn't know you'd be here." Marie smiled. "Nor did I know you'd be here, either. "I just bought some new scrubs at Penny's. I was headed back to my car when I ran into Mom and this pretty young lady." I put the tray of food on the table and sat next to Mae on the bench side of the table. "Mae Mae, this is my sister, Marie. I told you about her. Remember?" Mae nodded as I opened the food boxes and handed Mae a spork with which to eat. She focused on the food and smiled at that, rather than at my sister. I looked at Marie and smiled. She smiled back. "I was telling Mae how pretty her dress is. She told me she'd just gotten it at Old Navy." I put an arm around my daughter-to-be and nodded to my sister. "Yes. We've gotten quite a few lovely dresses today, haven't we, Mae Mae?" Mae nodded and sampled the food. "This is really good." I rubbed her back. Yeah, I knew that there would be some tough times along the way, but so far, things seemed to be going really well. I decided right then and there that I would enjoy every little bit of good times I could get. "Well," my sister stood and pushed her chair in, "I need to get going. I have to meet Hilda at six." She looked at my soon-to-be daughter and extended her hand. "It was very nice to meet you, Marie." The girl looked up, stuck her spork into her mouth and took my sister's hand in hers. Of course, my sister's hand shake was a huge, comic affair that nearly wrenched the little girl's arm out of her socket, but it made her laugh. "And you'll be coming by my house at some point over the weekend, right. I know Hilda is dying to meet you." Marie finally released Mae's hand. "Whose Hilda?" Mae asked. Rie smiled. "Hilda's my wife." "You have a wife?" Mae said, astounded. I braced myself for what could, quite possibly be the first embarrassing situation of our life together. Rie was typically unfazed, though. "I do. Her name is Hilda. She's very beautiful and she is very excited to meet you." Mae smiled broadly. "Cool," she said, took her spork from her mouth and returned to her Japanese chicken over rice and vegetables. Rie looked at me, smiled and raised her eye brows in approval. "See you at some point over the weekend, then." She bent and kissed Mom's cheek. "Bye, darling," Mom smiled, constantly eyeing Mae. I could tell that any reservations she may have had about her joining our family were long gone. Then Rie kissed my cheek and whispered, "Take it slow, mommy. She's wonderful, but I can already see that you're too attached to her." I whispered back, "How can I be too attached to my daughter?" Rie kissed my cheek again. "Just take it slow." She stood, smiled and left. After dinner, Mom and I took Mae to a few more stores that specialized in children's clothing. We bought her some underwear, a couple of nighties and a fluffy robe. As with the dresses, Mae wanted bright patterns, mostly flowers. Apparently, Pam's taste in girl's clothing was much more subdued than Mae's. I reveled in every bit of happiness that registered on Mae's face. It warmed me in ways I'd never experienced. Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't the fact that I was spending money on fairly inexpensive clothing that made Mae happy, it was the fact that she was suddenly given the freedom to express herself through her clothing. She was in heaven and that pleased me in a vicarious way that I'd never experienced before. When we got home, we found Mitch and Dad on Mom and Dad's front lawn. After a week of warmer weather, the snow had mostly melted and the grass was finally showing and just starting to turn green. They each had a golf club in their hands and they were practicing swings, chatting, but mostly just being a father and son enjoying their time together. I pulled into our driveway and went around to open Mae's door. At the same time, Mom pulled into her driveway, then into their garage. "Hey, ladies!" Mitch called from across the street. "Did you have fun?" "You want to go see Mitch?" I bent low and asked Mae, confidentially. She nodded, enthusiastically. "Ok," I said. "Take my hand while we cross the street." When we reached the men, Mitch knelt and gave Mae a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "How's my favorite girl?" He asked, a big, handsome smile spreading across his face. "Great!" My little girl beamed. "Do you like my dress? It's got flowers, just like Donnie's." Mitch looked from Mae to me and smiled. "My goodness, you look like twins!" Even Mae giggled at that. Mitch stood and kissed me. "Did you have a good time?" I nodded. "We had a great time," I said loudly. Then, more confidentially,MK added, "We're going to have to have a little chat about this 'favorite girl' stuff, though." Mitch laughed. "Let's be honest, Mae has been 'my favorite girl' longer than you have, but you are my favorite lady - without a doubt." He hugged me and kissed me, again. Then he looked at Mae and said, "Mae Mae, this is my dad and he's been waiting all day to meet you." Mae looked at Dad and smiled. She reached out her hand, as if to shake Dad's, but he shook his head and looked serious. "No, no, young lady. I am about to become your grandfather. You understand that, right." Mae looked a bit stunned by his standoffish attitude, but she nodded and looked at Dad, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. Dad knelt down on one knee and held his arms wide. "I have been waiting my whole life to meet you, Mae, and to give you the biggest hug you've ever had." Mae's eyes sparkled with the joy that Dad was projecting. She stood still for a moment, assessing the situation, then she half-leapt forward and threw her arms around his neck. Dad embraced her tightly and stood with her in his arms. "Oh, my goodness!" He teased. "I wanted to give you the biggest hug ever, but you gave it to me!" I could see the smiles on both of their faces and, I couldn't help it, I reached out and I patted the hair on my little girl's head and a few tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. Mom touched my shoulder, surprising me, just a little. "Why don't we go take care of Mae's clothing and let her have some time with her father and grandfather?" I agreed. We carried all the bags up to the room we'd chosen for Mae. It was a sunny room with soft yellow paint on the wall. While we were at the mall, Mom had bought some lovely, lace curtains to make the room 'more feminine' for her granddaughter. We worked together to hang all the perfect little dresses in the closet. There was something about how precious they all looked, hanging there side by side. I couldn't stop looking at them. Eventually, I did though and Mom and I hung the new curtains. She was right. The curtains were just soft enough to transform what had moments ago looked like a spare room into a pretty, little girl's room. Mom sat on the lovely, queen sized bed and tapped the mattress next to her, inviting me to sit. I did and Mom took my hands in hers and she smiled at me. "Donnie... you know that I had my reservations about you and Mitch adopting, but... that child is... wonderful. She's adorable, of course, but she is so smart and... well, I can tell by the way she looks at you... she wants to be your little girl." I smiled and nodded. "That's what I want too, Mom." Mom smiled. "Donnie... I was so very happy when you became my daughter- in-law and... I just never thought I'd be a grandmother this soon after your wedding, but it is.... Wonderful. You are going to be a wonderful mother. I just know it. And if you need any help at all... babysitters, just someone to go pick up groceries when you get busy, someone to make you a good hot meal, if you need some money... someone to talk to, honey, whatever, please don't hesitate to come to me or Dad. We are here for you and Mitchell and that child. You understand what I'm saying?" I did and I hugged her to let her know. We picked up the wrappings from the curtains and the clothing, threw it into the waste basket and went back outside. We were both surprised to see Mom and Dad's yard was empty. We looked around and we saw Mitch and Dad coming down the sidewalk with Mae in between them, holding their hands in hers. Dad was talking and Mae was laughing out loud. "Oh, look," Dad laughed, "there they are, now! Hi, girls! We just took a walk down the street to show this young lady the park." "She says it's pretty cool," Mitch smiled. I smiled and Mom and I walked up the street to meet them. "It's getting a little cool out," Mom smiled. "I think we should get Mae inside." "Ok," Dad smiled. He stopped and bent to look Mae right in the eyes. He poked her on the nose and smiled. "Who are you going to have breakfast with tomorrow?" "You, Doc," Mae smiled. "That's right," he smiled. "I'm going to make you the best waffles you ever ate." I laughed, both at the tone of Dad's voice and at the fact that he'd gotten Mae to call him 'Doc.' "I don't think I've ever had waffles," Mae laughed as Dad ramped up the excitement, "so they're going to be the best I ever ate, anyway." Dad laughed and whispered something to Mae, who looked at Mom and nodded. She let go of Dad's hand and ran over to Mom and hugged her. Mom hugged her back and said, "Good night, Mae. I guess I'll see you in the morning." Mae smiled. "Doc said I should come over in my pajamas if I want." "That will be fine, dear," Mom glanced at her husband, a bit irked, "but be sure that you wear a jacket and bring a robe." "Ok," Mae smiled, then stretched up to kiss Mom's cheek. "Good night, Nana." Mom shot her husband a look that would have wilted a field of corn! Dad just smiled and said, "Say good night to Mae, Nana." Mom's look softened as she returned her gaze to her new granddaughter. "Good night, Mae Mae. Nana and Doc love you, very much." "Really?" Mae looked at her surprised. "You guys love me?" "Of course they do, Mae Mae," Mitch laughed. "You're a part of our family, now, Mae. And in this family, we're very big on telling each other we love each other." Mae smiled. "Ok. I love you guys, too, then." That seemed to soften Mom a bit. We said our good nights and walked across the street with Mae walking between us, each of her hands holding one of each of ours. Behind me, I heard Mom say to Dad, "I suppose you think you're pretty funny, don't you? I am fifty four years old. I am not old enough to be called 'Nana,' for crying out loud." Then I heard Dad chuckle. "Nana's a lovely name and you know it. Be glad I didn't tell her to call you 'Grandmama.'" I looked over my shoulder and saw Mom elbow Dad in the ribs. "Doc? Seriously? That's what you want your granddaughter to call you? Doc?" Dad laughed and waved. "Yep. And tomorrow we start working on her 'What's up, Doc?' delivery." We got into our house and we showed Mae her bedroom. She seemed to like it, quite a bit. The best part for her, of course, was the thirty two inch, flat screen TV on the wall. "That is only for a little while before bedtime, Mae. It has a few local stations and Disney plus, but you can only watch it when we give you permission to watch it, ok?" She nodded. "Ok, bath time," I announced, feeling so much like a mother! "I can take a shower by myself," Mae said, proudly. "I just need help drying my hair." I pushed my copious hair off of my face and smiled. "Well, I can certainly help with that. I'll set the water temperature, then you can wash yourself. Make sure you rinse your hair well and I'll have your new nightie ready for you, ok?" I went into the lavatory off of Mae's room and I got the water to a comfortable temperature. Then I called her in and told her to put the clothes she was wearing on the empty, wooden chair in the corner of the lavatory. "I'll be in your room when you need me." Mae smiled as she hopped into the lav and within a few minutes, I could hear her in the shower. I sat on her bed, imagining what life with this child would be like - not just the happiest of times, like laughing with her new grandfather, but the struggles she still had to face and what Mitch and I would need to do to help her through those. I laid the little, purple nightie across my lap and felt the soft cotton material and thought about how much pain this little girl - my little girl - had already experienced and I vowed to make everything better for her from then on. "I'm done!" A tiny voice called from the lavatory. I got up and walked to the bathroom door. "Can I come in?" I asked. "Yep," she called back, happily. "I'm brushing my teeth." I opened the door to find Mae wrapped in a towel, brushing her teeth, but with soap suds still visible in her hair. I laughed as I said, "I don't think you got all of the shampoo out." She turned her head to see her hair in the reflection. "Oops," she laughed. When she'd finished brushing her teeth, I had her lean over the tub while I rinsed the remainder of the shampoo from her thick hair. "You have such nice, thick hair," I praised. "Grammy says it's always messy, but then she says, "Messy hair, happy house." I laughed. "Well, I don't know an awfully lot about taking care of hair, but maybe we could learn together. I do know how to braid pretty well, though. Maybe, after we dry your hair, I could braid it for you. Does that sound like a good start?" "Ok," she said. It was a simple answer, but there seemed to be some sense of excitement there, too. "Ok, we're done," I said as I stood, grabbed another towel and began to squeeze the excess water from her hair. After a few minutes of that, I wrapped yet another towel around her head in the fashion of a turban. We walked out into her bedroom and I held up her new, purple nightie. "Is this ok?" I asked. Mae just nodded and, much to my surprise, just dropped the towel she'd wrapped around her body and help up her arms for me to drop the nightie over her. "I like it," she smiled. "It's real soft." I smiled and took her hand. "Come on to my room and we'll use my dryer. I'll get one for your bathroom tomorrow." We walked across the hall and down two doors to the room I now shared with my husband. Then we passed through into our en suite lavatory. I pulled up a wooden chair over to the vanity and pulled my hair dryer out of my hair-basket. Then I grabbed a soft brush and went to work - and it was a lot of work, believe me. Mae's thick hair was not easy to dry, but it gave us time to chat about the little things. What TV shows she liked, what was her favorite food, music, clothes... everything. When it was dry, I said, "Ok, I'm really only good at a simple braid, but I'll learn how to do more as time goes on, ok?" She smiled and nodded, as I carefully separated her hair into three, even plaits and began to weave them together into a simple, yet pretty braid that reached about a third of the way down her back when I was done. "There we go!" I smiled as I tightened a pink scrunchie to the end. "How do you like it?" Mae stood on the wooden chair and looked at herself from several angles. "I like it. It's good." I smiled at her response and then was surprised when she said, "Can I braid your hair? I'm pretty good at it. I did for Grammy sometimes." "Oh," I blinked. "I'd love that, but, maybe I should put on my nightie before we do my hair for the night. What do you think?" Mae nodded. "Can I pick out your nightie?" I thought for a moment, but decided that there was no harm in that. I opened my closet to show her my selection of nighties - not a huge collection - and I was relieved when she chose a fairly conservative, silk sheath that had an aqua green background and a pattern of Japanese cherry blossoms on it. It was a nightie that I found very pretty, but it some how reminded me of an Arizona Ice Tea can. I had Mae step out of the walk-in closet and I changed into the nightie. When I had a soft, long chenille robe on. I opened the door and let Mae help me hang-up the skirt I'd been wearing. I put the rest of what I'd worn into the hamper in the lavatory and we were ready for Mae to braid my hair. As she went to work, our conversation picked up, again, only this time, Mae seemed to guide it instead of me. "I like your bathrobe," she said. It was a pretty robe. The soft, light green chenille was thick and fluffy and there were large, playfully childish flowers all around the collar and cuffs. Certainly feminine, but not what I'd call sexy, in any way. "Why thank you, Mae. I just bought it about a week ago. This is the first time I've worn it." I was surprised when I felt Mae clip a hair clip into three different spots near the bottom of my head. She must have been keeping the plaits separated. It was an odd feeling, having those soft, little hands working my long hair, but I was really enjoying it. Mae continued her thoughts. "It kind of looks like the robe I got today." "I know," I replied. "Mom and I hung it up for you so you'd have it in the morning." "Mom?" Mae looked around at me. "Aren't you my mom, now?" I smiled to keep from crying. "I mean Mitch's mom. Nana." "Oh," she accepted that. There was a gap in the conversation, so I asked, "Do you like Nana and Doc?" Her little hands were working hard. "They're nice. Doc is kind of like Mitch. He's real funny, like Mitch." "He is, isn't he?" I laughed. "You know, Nana and Doc want to be a part of your new life, too. So do my sister, Marie, and her wife." "I guess that's good," she said, which sounded so sincere and innocent that it made me chuckle a little. "Here," she said as she handed me a small, pink scrunchie, "can you put in the scrunchie? I can't make it tight enough." She brought the end of my braided hair around my right shoulder and held the ends tight so that I could take it from her and use the scrunchie to wrap up the end of the braid. I turned and looked in the mirror and saw how well my little girl had braided my hair. "Mae Mae! That looks beautiful. Thank you!" She smiled as she removed the three clips she'd placed at the base of the back of my head. She smiled proudly. "You're welcome." "Well, it's about forty five minutes till bedtime. Would you like to watch a little TV?" I asked as I put the chair back in the corner. Mae nodded and we headed out into the hall. When I turned to head downstairs, though she stopped me and asked if we could watch TV in her room. I agreed, so we went in to Mae's room and we sat on her bed while she scrolled through her options. She chose the Disney animated film 'The Little Mermaid,' which, to be honest, I had seen quite a bit as a boy. No father, three sisters... princess movies were always on. We started watching the movie with Mae sitting on the left side of the bed and me on the right, but as Prince Eric wooed the beautiful, yet mute, Arielle, Marie inched her way closer to me until her little head was laying against my breasts. I patted her braided hair and breathed in her scent and, once again wondered, possibly for the millionth time since my wedding, if life could possibly be any better. "Why did she have to give up her voice, though?" Mae asked out of the blue. "Because in these stories, the person in love always has to give up something. Arielle gives up her voice, Belle gives up her freedom, Repunzel had to conquer her fear of being out of her tower... there's always a catch." I kept patting her hair. After a moment or two, Mae asked, "Would you give up something important to you for Mitch?" Now, if Rie had been there, there would have been no way that I could have stopped her from drawing parallels between my life and the movie Mulan, but Rie wasn't there, thank goodness, so I just said, "Of course." "Because you love him?" I smiled. "I love him very much, Mae Mae. Very, very much." She seemed satisfied with that answer for a moment, then asked, "Does Mitch love you?" I nodded. "Of course he does." She laid there quietly again, but I could tell that the wheels were turning in the brain of hers. "How do you know?" I sighed. "Mitch tells me he loves me a thousand times a day. He tells me with words, and touches and smiles and the things he does for me. I've never doubted that Mitch loved me." "So..." she left a gap to think, "... when Mitch hugs me and kisses my cheek... is he saying he loves me?" "Yes, baby," I said, quietly and I kissed her braids. "That's what he's saying. Mitch loves you, very much, too. Mitch has a great talent for loving people." It was getting later and her eye lids were getting heavy. Her voice was getting a little thicker, too, as she relaxed and prepared for sleep. "So you love me?" She asked in the smallest, most tentative voice I'd ever heard. "I do." She dropped her head into my lap and rolled to look up at me. "How do you know? We just met this week." "Mae Mae," I looked down at her and cradled her upper body in my lap, "the very first time that Mitch told me about you... the very first time I looked at your picture... I knew that I loved you and every second I spend with you makes me love you even more." She smiled up at me and her eyes fluttered. "But now," I said, quietly, "I think it's time for you to go to sleep. Doc expects you for breakfast in the morning." "But the movie..." "We'll finish it tomorrow." I stood and maneuvered Mae so that she was laying correctly, with her head on a pillow. I tucked her in tightly and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Mae. Mitch and I love you." I walked to the door and shut off the light, leaving only the nightlight in the bathroom. I stopped and I looked at this amazing miracle that was my new little girl and I didn't know quite what to do. I wanted to go back and hug her, again. I wanted to crawl into bed and hold her all night. I wanted to just stand there and look at her forever. I was just overwhelmed with what I was feeling, but then I heard a tiny, tired voice. "Donnie?" "Yes, Mae Mae?" "You're very nice." "Thank you, honey. You are, too." "Thank you for my dresses. I really like them." "You're very welcome, Mae. Now, get some sleep." I turned to go, but she spoke again. "Donnie?" "Yes, Mae Mae?" I stood there in semi darkness and listened to her breath. After a few moments, I suspected that she had fallen asleep, so, once again, I turned to leave. And that's when it happened. That's when, like The Grinch, my heart grow three sizes that day when I heard her tiny, tired voice say, "I love you." "I love you, too, baby," I said, quietly, as I pulled the door nearly closed and wiped the tears of joy from my face. I went downstairs where I found Mitch sitting and watching an old war movie. "Hey," he smiled, "everything ok? I looked in on you a while ago and you both seemed so content, I didn't want to interrupt." I nodded. "Everything is wonderful, Mitch. She's... she's..." I couldn't find words. "She said she loved me." Mitch stood and hugged me. "Of course she loves you, honey. How could she not?" I guffawed at that. "Mitch... I can't believe that a child this wonderful is ours to raise. And Mom and Dad... they seem so happy to have her, too..." I fell against his chest and cried. "Hey, hey," Mitch laughed. "Everything is good, right? There's no reason to cry." "I know," I gulped between sobs. "So, can I ask you a question?" Mitch asked. I nodded. "When did you buy June Cleaver's bathrobe?" He half laughed at his own, silly question. I leaned back and feigned shock. "You don't like it? I thinks it's beautiful." Mitch smiled. "I'm just teasing, but it is a little..." "Motherly?" I asked, daring him to agree. "Old fashioned," he laughed. I stepped back. "I guess I'm just an old fashioned girl. At least, that's. What I've been told." Mitch laughed and touched the raised cords on the chenille robe. "Wow. Soft." "I know, right?" I laughed. "And it's warm, too." We probably would have headed upstairs at that point, maybe even gotten a little frisky, but Mitch's phone rang. He looked at it and smiled. "It's Pam. Probably just checking up on Mae." He accepted the call and said, "Hi, Pam... what?... When?.... Jesus. Is she conscious?..." Mitch sat and held his forehead in his free hand. "How long?... Ok... Ok... I'll be there within a half an hour. Bye." "Evelyn?" I asked. He nodded. "It doesn't look good. Look, honey. They had to rush her to the hospital. I need to go to the hospital. Pam and I are about the only thing close to family she has anymore. I'll call in the morning... what are you doing?" I'd already picked up Mitch's phone and pressed a contact. "Mitch? Is everything alright?" I heard Dad ask. "Dad, it's Donnie. It's Mae's great grandmother. They took her to the hospital and things don't look good. Can we bring Mae over there so we can go to the hospital?" Mitch stood, "Donnie, you don't need to..." but I held up my finger to quiet him. "No, sweetheart," Dad said in a quiet, rehearsed, bedside manner voice. "Let Mae sleep. I'll be right over. I'll sleep in one of the other guest rooms. Let me talk to Mitch." I handed the phone to Mitch, who said, "Dad, there's no reason for Donnie... Yes, I know, but... Dad, I don't want to inconvenience you or Mom..." There was a knock on the front door. Mitch and I looked at each other, then I crossed the room and opened it. Mom pushed past me with Dad right behind her, his phone still to his ear. "Go get changed, Dear." Mom said to me. "Mitchell, warm up the car. It's chilly out and I don't want Donnie catching a cold." "Mom, Dad..." Mitch started to speak, but Dad stopped him. "Family, Mitchell. We'll take care of our granddaughter. You go take care of her great grandmother." Mitch nodded as I ran quietly up the stairs, as quickly as I could and pulled on a casual, warm, red flannel dress and a pair of shoes. The dress looked very much like A very long, men's flannel shirt in a red and black Buffalo plaid. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Mom was waiting, holding open a jacket and my purse was hanging from her wrist. "Thank you, so much," I said in a hurried voice. "Mae's asleep. She's very excited about waffles tomorrow morning." "Don't worry," Dad smiled. "Old Doc won't let her down." Mom looked at me and shook her head. "'Doc.' Can you believe him? He's worse than a child himself. Go on, now, dear. Mitch is waiting." I kissed them both and hustled out to the car. The moment the door was closed, Mitch put the car in gear and we were off. Just a few years prior to that night, my mother passed away in the nicest hospice room that Marie and I could afford for her. It still was a bit clinical, but at least it was a bright, warm room. On this night, when we walked into Evelyn's private hospital suite, my heart sank. It was a cold, loveless hospital room with a small, frail, frightened old lady laying in the middle of it. I don't care how 'ready to go' you are, or how much faith you have, when you're facing your final hours, fear and pain are the only emotions you can process. Pam was standing to the side of the room, looking lost in sadness. We glanced at her as we entered and she just shook her head. Mitch hurried to the old woman's side and sat. Evelyn looked at Mitch and gave him a sad, resigned smile. "Mitchell. Is my baby ok?" "She's fine, Evie," Mitch assured her. "My parents are with her." Evie nodded, weakly. "Tell her I love her, Mitch." I moved to the other side of the bed. "Tell her yourself, Evie. Just hold on and we'll bring her to see you in the morning." Evie shook her head. "I didn't think so, Donnie, but thank you. The doctors say I just have a few hours. Just tell her I love her. Tell her everyday. Please." I hardly knew this woman and at that moment, all I wanted was to help her. To make her passing easier. But all we could do was sit and wait with her. Wait for her to die. For the next six hours, Evie slept, woke, cried, talked about her life, pushed the morphine drip, slept, woke, cried, etc. It was sad, but something we all will face at some point and something I'd experienced vicariously already with my mother. We all sat near the bed, taking turns holding her hand. At one point, while I was holding her, she opened her eyes and looked at me, as if evaluating me, trying to figure out who I was. "Are you ok, Evie?" I asked. She smiled and said in a very weak voice, "You're an angel." I returned her smile. "No, Evie. I'm Dawn. Mitch's wife." She gripped my hand tighter and said, "I know. You're my angel. My angel. My..." and she slipped away, again. I was very nervous about living up to my promise of having Mae coming to say goodbye to her Grammy the next morning. I had just kind of said that to give Evelyn something to hold on for. I mean, I knew that it was something that would make letting go easier for Evelyn, but was it the right thing for Mae. I was still struggling with this when, at just after five thirty in the morning, Evelyn's heart rate monitor went from a steady beat to one steady pitch and doctors and nurses burst into the room, pushing us to the side. They tried for several minutes to resuscitate the poor old thing, but there was nothing to be done. She was gone. Mitch had to stay to work with Pam and the hospital administration. I guess there is always a lot of paperwork when someone dies, but it's complicated considerably when the deceased is a wealthy woman and her only heir is a child. Mitch offered to call me a cab, but I stayed there. Pam was having a hard time dealing with things and I didn't want to leave her the way that she was. At nine thirty the next morning, I called my in-laws and checked on Marie. "She's doing fine, honey," Mom assured me. "We brought her over to our place for breakfast. We told her that her Grammy was in the hospital. We don't want to break the news to her without you and Mitch being here. By the way, she loves waffles. Dad made her three. He even gave her a lesson on how to use the waffle iron." "Oh, Lord," I laughed, imagining that little girl devouring three waffles, but my laughter disappeared pretty quickly. "Mom... can I talk to Dad for a minute?" "Of course, dear," Mom said, understandingly. "Let me get him. I stepped into the great room when you called so that I could speak. Hang on, and... Donnie... I'm so sorry." I sniffled a bit. "Thank you, Mom, but... I really didn't know her that well." Mom was quiet for a moment. "I know. I'm sorry that you have to tell Marie, though. If you want us to be there with you, we will." Suddenly, I realized I was shaking. I was genuinely afraid that I might do this horrible thing wrong and hurt Mae. A moment or two later, Dad was on the phone. "Hi, sweetheart. How are you doing?" "I'm a little scared, Dad," I said, honestly. "She's gone, Donnie. There's nothing more to be afraid of. Her pain is over, now." Dad had the rehearsed, but comforting voice of someone who'd been through this kind of thing many times. "Dad..." I had to ask, but I felt like a child doing so, and my shakes turned into sobs as I spoke. "How do I tell Mae that her Grammy is gone? I don't want to hurt her... I've only just gotten her.... What am I going to say?" I could barely speak through the sobbing, now. "It's ok, Donnie, it's ok," Dad said, calmly. "Take a breath and get control of your breathing, honey. That's it, honey. Deep breaths. Are you ok, now?" "Yeah," I sniffled. "I'm ok." "Good," Dad said in a soft voice. "Good. Donnie... everyone dies and everyone has to deal with someone they love dying. There is no avoiding in, honey, and there's no easy way to tell a child, but... Donnie... Mae knows that Evelyn was very ill. We were talking this morning as we made waffles and she was very aware of Evelyn's age, her illness, her frailty and she even told me that Evelyn would be going to heaven soon." I had to struggle to keep my breathing steady. The poor baby had been through so much already. This was so unfair. "So... what do I say?" Dad sighed. "All I can tell you, dear, is... don't beat around the bush. Tell her how much you care for her and remind her that she's not alone, then, as painlessly as possible, tell her that Evelyn is gone." "Ok," I gasped. "Ok. I guess I can do that." "And Donnie... don't be surprised if her reaction isn't what you'd expect it to be. She will understand, but... she won't. She's still very young, Donnie. Just tell her and hold her. You've got to be her mom, now. That's what she needs." I guess I was silent for too long, because Dad's quiet voice came through the phone, "Donnie? Are you ok?" "I am, Dad. Thank you." It wasn't too much longer before Mitch and Pam were done and we were headed home. My heart was beating very hard as we approached our driveway. "Are you ok?" I asked Mitch. He forced a smile. "I... will be. She was an old, old friend, honey. Not just a client. I'm going to miss her, but... now we need to focus on Mae." I squeezed his hand. "I know. We can do this, together." Mitch kissed my hand. "Ok. Let's do it." We walked across to Mom and Dad's house and Mae, who must have seen us coming, pulled the door open for us. "Hi," she said, in a very concerned voice. "Hi, Mae," I said, as I knelt and hugged her. "Grammy's gone, isn't she?" Mae said, very sadly. I hugged her more tightly. "Yea, honey. She is. I'm sorry." Dad was right. Marie didn't cry or carry on, or even shut down. She returned me hug and said, "She told me." Slowly, I released her from my hug and looked at her. She was sad, but looked right into my eyes, as if checking to see if I was alright. "Who told you, Mae Mae? Did Nana tell you?" Mitch asked, patting her still braided hair. Mae shook her head. "Grammy told me." By now, Mom and Dad were with us. "Let's sit down," Dad said in that calm voice. Mitch and I left our coats on a chair and we sat on the couch with Mae in between us. I placed an arm around Mae's shoulder and leaned in to kiss her temple. "Did Grammy say goodbye to you before you left for school yesterday?" Mae shook her head. "No. She was with the doctor. I had to leave before they were done." "So..." Mitch leaned and kissed the tiny hand he held in his, "...when did she tell you?" Mae turned and looked up at Mitch. Her eyes were wide and sincere. "Last night. I woke up. It was still dark and Grammy was there. She told me she loved me, but she had to go. Then she was gone." "Oh, good God," Mom whispered as she clutched her throat. Dad gave Mom an understanding look, but shook his head. Then he stood, took a few steps across to us and knelt in front of Marie. He put his hands over mine and Mitch's, taking Mae's hands into his grasp as well. "Mae Mae," he smiled, lovingly, "you understand what we mean when we say that your Grammy is gone, right?" "Yes," she nodded. "She's... dead now. She's in Heaven with Uncle Will." Dad smiled. "That's right, Mae Mae. How do you feel about that?" "I don't know," Mae looked around. "I'll miss her, I guess." "Ok, then Mae," Dad smiled. "Tell you what... We all know that Grammy loved you and that's why she came to say goodbye to you last night." Mom tried to interrupt, but Dad shook her off, again, never taking his eyes off of the child. "Mae Mae... if you want to talk about Grammy, then you can talk to any of us, ok? But for now, we just want you to know that we all love you and we will take care of you. Ok?" Mae smiled and nodded. "Ok." Dad smiled. "Now, tell Mitch and Donnie about your breakfast." Her smile broadened and she looked at Mitch. "Doc taught me how to make waffles! Do you want one?" "A waffle?" Mitch's eyes grew wide in fake enthusiasm. "Are you kidding!? Waffles are my favorite! Come on. Show me how to make them." "Ok," Mae bounded off of the couch and pulled Mitch with her. They disappeared into the kitchen. Dad was still knelling, watching them go. I touched his shoulder. "Thank you." He half-stood and kissed my cheek. "It's just a start, sweetheart. She's going to need her mother, now. Just keep telling her how much you love her, don't dwell on Evelyn's passing. She's doing great, right now, but... she will mourn, Donnie. It's just going to take some time." "Is that all we're going to say to her?" Mom asked, shocked and struggling to not yell. "Her great grandmother just died and we're going to let her believe in ghosts?" "Why not?" Dad smiled, then kissed Mom's cheek. "There are more things in Heaven and earth, my love, then are dreamt of in our philosophy." Mom shook her head, but Dad patted her shoulder and spoke with more love in his voice than I thought possible. "She's a baby, honey. She's our baby's baby. We don't need to make her fully realize all the horrors of the world right now. Her Grammy said goodbye to her and that gave her comfort. Let's let that be enough for now, ok?" Mom stood and straightened her dress. She looked at me and shook her head. Than she looked at Dad and all of her dismay about the situation seemed to vanish. "Ok." She took a deep breath and called to the kitchen. "Do not touch that waffle iron, Mae Mae. Remember, it's hot! I'll come mix some batter." She looked at Dad, smiled in spite of herself, touched his cheek and hurried into the kitchen. Dad turned and offered me his hand. I stood and looked at him in awe. "Not so bad, right?" He asked. I hugged him, tightly. "Thank you, Dad." He hugged me back, "Anything for my little girls." He kissed my forehead and winked at me. "I love both of you." I smiled. "Mitch too?" He made a big show of shrugging. "Well... he's not so bad, either." We both laughed and he put and arm around me and guided me towards the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry. Your daughter makes a mean waffle." By early afternoon, we were headed home. Mom and I had discussed where to go to get a nice dress for Mae to wear to Evelyn's funeral, which was planned for Tuesday morning at a local church. Evie had requested no calling hours, which was actually a good thing as far as Mae was concerned. I told Mom that I was going to put off taking Mae shopping until the next day, Sunday. I just couldn't face it right then. "I could really use a nap," Mitch said as he took Mae's coat and mine to hang in the hall closet. "How about you?" I gave him a hug and a smile. "Go ahead. You've worked hard. I'm going to get Mae dressed and I think we'll walk over to my sister's house." Mitch raised his eyebrows. "Really? Do you really feel up to that?" I shrugged. "Mae's been waiting for us all morning and I promised Rie I'd come by. It's pretty warm out... I think a nice walk will be a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon with my little girl." Mae picked out one of the flowery dresses we'd just bought her. She was so proud of picking out her own dress and shoes. I brushed out her braids, leaving beautiful waves in her hair, and I put a lovely, flowered bow in her hair, too. I know that people will say that dressing a little girl is like having a living doll, but it's not. It's like have a daughter. That's what it's like. Like having a smart, funny, beautiful daughter who just filled my heart with so much joy. I changed into a clean dress, which, coincidentally, had a very similar flowered pattern to Mae's. We kissed Mitch goodbye and set out for the one and a half block walk to my sister's house. It took about ten minutes to get there and when we got there, we found Rie unloading groceries from the back of her car. "Well, hi there, Mae!" Rie sang to her. "You came to visit! That's wonderful!" Mae smiled broadly. "Hi, Aunty Rie." My sister looked at me in surprise, then back to Mae. I could tell that she liked Mae calling her that. She handed Mae a paper sack filled with a couple of loaves of bread and some grapes. "Here, Mae, can you help me carry these in?" Mae was thrilled to be of use. We walked up the few steps that led to Marie's front door and walked inside, each of us carrying a bag. "Hilda!?" Rie called from the kitchen. "Hilda! We have company!" As Rie and I put away the groceries, Hilda walked into the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh, my! Is this my new niece, Marie?" Mae seemed a little taken aback by Hilda's accent. Marie rubbed Mae's back and said, "Don't be scared, honey. She only sounds like a Nazi. She's really very nice." Mae looked from my sister to my sister-in-law to me and asked, "What's a Nazi?" I laughed and said, "Don't mind your Auntie Rie, Mae. She thinks she's a lot funnier than she really is." Rie looked at me and scowled. "You wish you were as funny as me." Hilda, however, ignored both of us and knelt down in front of Mae and offered her her right hand. "Hello, meine leibe," she smiled. I am your Tante Hilda. I am very happy to meet you." I stopped unpacking groceries to look at Hilda. She was looking at Mae with such wonder in her eyes. When Mae took her hand and gave it a little shake. "It's very nice to meet you, Tante Hilda," I thought my tough as nails sister-in-law was going to cry. Hilda bit her quivering lower lip. Recently, I'd been quite surprised at how emotional my formal, Germanic sister-in-law could be, but right now, I wasn't at all sure what I was seeing. Hilda was so emotional at meeting Mae, that I think, maybe, just as it had happened with me, Hilda's maternal instincts had suddenly kicked in with unexpected force. "It is very, very nice to meet you, too, Marie." I'd expected Mae to correct Hilda because I knew that she didn't like to be called Marie, but instead I heard her giggle. "I like how you say my name. The way you say the 'R' is really pretty." Hilda smiled and laughed as she stood. "Is it? Come... let me show you the house while your mom and Auntie Rie put away the groceries." Mae giggled and took Hilda's hand and they walked out of the kitchen. "That woman can find more ways of avoiding work than anyone else I've ever met," Rie shook her head as I laughed and continued to put away the groceries. Rie looked at me and asked, "Was the first night a rough one? You look tired." I shook my head. "It was rough, but not because of Mae. Her great grandmother passed away. Mitch and I were at the hospital all night." Rie looked back at the way that Hilda and Mae had disappeared. "You didn't take her with you to the hospital, did you?" "No, Mom and Dad came over." I went on to tell Rie about how dad had given himself and Mom nicknames for Mae to use. Rie laughed hard at that. I think Rie and Dad actually shared a lot of their senses of humor. It was interesting to compare their jokes. I knew that they were going to be good friends as soon as they got to know each other. Once the groceries were put away, we looked around downstairs for Hilda and Mae, but they were no where to be found. We went upstairs and found them in the rear bedroom, a room that Hilda used as a workspace. They were seated on a bench in the middle of the room, deep in conversation. "I like this color," Mae was saying, looking at an iPad. "I do too," Hilda said. "It's very pretty. We'll paint these three walls that color, but the wall behind the bed... that should be darker. Which of these do you like?" "What's going on?" Rie asked. Hilda put her arm around Mae and smiled. "My favorite niece and I are picking out the colors for her bedroom. Rie looked around at all of Hilda's drawings, notes and photos. "I thought we were doing the other bedroom over for Mae." "I'll take that one," Hilda said, without looking up. "This room is bigger and quieter. It will be better for her." Rie looked at me with incredulity. "Remember when she was the manly one?" I laughed as Mae looked at me with a very happy smile. "Donnie, Tante Hilda says that I'm going to have my own room here for whenever I need it. Doc told me the same thing. I'm going to have three bedrooms! Is that great!?" I laughed. "It sure is, honey. So, I guess you two are getting along pretty well?" "We are indeed," Hilda said in that stiff style of hers. Then she looked at Mae and said, "Remember, your Tante Hilda is here if you need her." She leaned in and whispered into Mae's ear, but loud enough for us to hear. "When mommy and daddy say 'no,' you tell Tante. She'll get you what you want." "Hey!" I laughed. "Enough of that! If mommy and daddy say 'no,' then the answer is 'no.'" Hilda looked at Mae and winked. "You call Tante." When we finally made it home, around five thirty, Mitch had made spaghetti and meatballs for us. "So," Mitch asked as he spooned some sauce onto Mae's plate, "did you have a good time with Auntie Rie and Auntie Hilda?" Mae took a sip of her water and nodded. "'Tante' Hilda," she corrected. "She's nice, but she talks funny." "That's because she grew up speaking German," I explained. "Auntie Rie says Tante is a Nazi." Mae said innocently. Mitch's fork stopped midway to his mouth. He looked at me and said, "Did we discuss what that means?" I smiled. "No. We discussed Auntie Rie's terrible sense of humor." Mitch cleared his throat. "Mae Mae, that's not a nice thing to say. So, let's not ever call Tante Hilda that word again, ok?" "But Auntie Rie called her that like three times." Mae was confused. "Honey," I said, "That's a private joke between Auntie Rie and Tante Hilda. Let's just let them have that joke and we won't ever say that, ok?" Mae shrugged. "Ok." "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Mitch asked, changing the subject. I reached over and squeezed Mae's hand. "We need to get Mae a dress to wear to the funeral. So, we're going shopping." Mitch nodded and chewed. "How about you? Do you need a dress?" I smiled. "Rie had me get a nice, little black dress before we went to Hawaii. I'm all set." "Ok," Mitch nodded, "but if you see something you like, get it." I smiled. "Ok." "May I be excused?" Mae asked, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin. "Do you have someplace to be?" Mitch asked with a laugh. She smiled. "I want to see the end of 'The Little Mermaid.'" "Well," I said, sounding far too maternal for someone who'd been a mother for such a short time, "you need to take a shower, first. Then I'll help you get ready for bed, ok?" "Ok," Mae smiled, and turned to head upstairs. "I put a shower cap on your sink," I called to her. "Put it on and tuck all of your hair into it. You don't need to shampoo your hair tonight." She had reached the stairs and started up, "Ok!" "And brush your teeth!" I called as I heard her footsteps on the floor above me. "Ok!" Her little voice called back. I turned to Mitch, who was looking at me, smiling. "What?" I asked. "Nothing... mommy," he laughed. "Well, someone has to be," I laughed as I gathered the dirty dishes from the table and head for the sink to rinse them off and load them into the washer. "And not to sound like an egomaniac, but I look better in a dress than you do. So, I should probably continue to be the mommy." Mitch stood and grabbed the remaining plates, came up behind me and kissed the back of my head. "You sure do." Mitch loaded, while I rinsed, and after a few moments he asked, "You don't mind bringing Mae dress shopping do you?" "Why, do you want to do it?" I asked. He laughed and he said, "No, I do not, but... it must be kind of a dull way to spend an afternoon." I shut off the water and handed Mitch the last dish. "Mitchell, Mitchell, Mitchell. Shopping for dresses isn't like running into Brooks Brothers for YET ANOTHER grey suit or another plain shirt. No matter the reason, a dress is an expression of the woman wearing it, even if that woman is only eight years old. I cannot think of a more exciting way to spend time with my new daughter then taking her dress shopping." Mitch laughed. "Ok. Is Mom coming with you?" "Of course," I smiled. "I am her favorite daughter-in-law, you know, and Mae is her favorite granddaughter. She's kind of in Heaven, having female... well, feminine... family members, all of a sudden." He closed the washer door and stood facing me. "I know. She's told me about a billion times. She doesn't even mind being called 'Nana,' anymore." We finished up in the kitchen and I went upstairs. I went to my lavatory, removed my makeup, washed, moisturized, brushed my hair, put it into a loose ponytail, put on a pretty nightie for Mitch's sake, followed by my long, warm chenille robe, then headed into Mae's room. When I arrived, her bathroom door was open and she was brushing her teeth, wrapped in a fluffy, warm, white towel. Within a few minutes, Mae was in her warm nightgown and her own chenille robe, and I was braiding her hair while Sebastian the Crab tried to get Prince Eric to say that he loved Arielle. We sat on her bed, cuddled together, and by the time Sebastian was trying to stay out of the chef's stewpot, Mae was asleep on my lap. I'm not sure how much later it was that I felt myself being carried. The feeling was so unusual that I shook myself awake to find Mitch carrying me, across-the-threshold-style, into our bedroom. "What are you doing?" I asked, giggling a little. "Shh," he smiled as he gently placed me on our bed. He kissed my forehead and said, "I'll be out of the lav in a minute." The moment the bathroom door closed, I got up and hustled back into Mae's room to be sure she was tucked in and asleep. I kissed her cheek and whispered, "Mitch and Donnie love you," then hustled back to our bedroom, took off my robe and slid under the covers, seconds before Mitch reappeared. "You must be exhausted," Mitch said, as he rolled to face me and pulled me into a warm hug. "Tired, but happy to be with you." I smiled back. "And all this stuff... Mae Mae and Evie... You're doing ok with it?" He stroked my hair and cheek as he asked. I gave him a kiss. "I feel terrible about Evelyn, but I think she was as ready to go as anyone ever has been. Even though I didn't know her very well, I will be forever grateful to her for giving us Mae." He gave me a return kiss. "She loves, you, you know. Mae Mae, I mean. I can see it by the way she looks at you." That made me smile. "I hope so. I certainly feel very close to her already." He began kissing my neck. "You are going to be a great mom." God, I hoped he was right.