Iliana was seriously considering bailing out through her bedroom window. That's how much trouble she was in. And it would serve them right, too, if she disappeared for a while. Her moms would have to talk to each other, for one thing, and maybe that could push them in the right direction.

She wasn't even sure what Mami had overheard in the kitchen, but the things that Iliana had been saying to Rachel, the way she'd been talking … she knew she wasn't allowed to talk to grown-ups like that, and Mami's eyes did that flashing thing and she spoke too calmly when she told Iliana to go to her room and said she'd be up to speak with her in a while. That's how she knew she was in for it. It didn't stop her from lashing out a little though. That was just her nature. "Baby Santana," she could hear Uncle Kurt saying fondly. When she wasn't so angry at her Mami, that label made her feel proud. Things had escalated quickly then, and ceased just as quickly when Iliana made a hasty, tearful retreat to her room.

Now the voices droned on and on downstairs, Aunt Rachel's soft and sweet, Mami's sharper, more serious and clipped at the edges.

Her initial impulse had been to call Mama. She always stepped in on Ily's behalf, even if it was just to calm Mami down before she blew up. So she'd tiptoed across the hall to where Aunt Rachel's phone was plugged into the wall charger, snatched it up, and returned to her room. BRITTANY was her second contact, after Artie. Ily waited for her Mama to pick up.

"Rach?" came the familiar voice that made Ily feel warm and safe and desperately sad all at the same time. "Hi! What's up?"

"Mama, it's me."

"Ily? What is it, baby, what's wrong? Why are you on Auntie Rachel's phone? Are you okay?"

Iliana waited impatiently for the rapid-fire questions to cease. "I'm in trouble," she finally said.

"What's wrong? Where are you?"

Her mama's voice was sharper than normal, and Ily thought maybe she was thinking something worse than what was actually going on.

"I'm at home," she said, puzzled. "Where else would I be?"

"Ily, where's Mami? Is Mami okay? You need to tell me what's going on, baby."

"Mami hit me."

A pause. "What?"

"She came in from work and I was talking to Aunt Rachel and she hit me two times on the butt and made me go to my room and now they're downstairs fighting and I'm scared."

"She … she spanked you. God, Iliana, you scared me. I thought you meant…"

"Hitting is never okay, Mama," Ily lectured primly. "And it hurt."

On the other end of the line, Brittany sighed in what might have been amusement. "No, you're right. Hitting isn't a good thing. But a smack on the bottom isn't exactly—what was she angry at you about?"

"I don't know."

"Ily."

"I was telling Aunt Rachel to stop trying to act like my third mommy because I already have two and even though one of them isn't here right now doesn't mean I'm looking for a replacement."

Another long pause. "Well, that doesn't sound very nice. Why would you say that to Aunt Rachel?"

"Because it's the truth."

"Ily, you know there are two kinds of truth. The truth you should always tell and the truth that doesn't have to be spoken out loud because it could hurt someone."

"This was the first kind."

"Iliana Marie."

"Well it was!"

"So Mami walked in while you were being disrespectful to Rachel?"

"Yes, and she yelled at me and I yelled back and then she hit me and now I'm in my room forever. I'm going to starve."

"You didn't tell me before, that you yelled back at Mami. Was that the right thing to do?"

Ily grumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"No, but she wasn't listening to me! She never listens to me, Mama, only you ever listen to me. And now Aunt Rachel is here and she treats me like I'm still in kindergarten even though she knows I'm in third grade and I want you to come home. Please come home. I miss you."

The longest pause yet. When Brittany's voice came back through, it sounded strained. "I miss you too, my love. Every second. But you know we have the whole weekend coming up? And we'll do whatever you want and make up for all the snuggles I'm missing and eat doughnuts on Sunday but Ily. This can only happen if you don't get yourself grounded to your room for a year. It sounds to me like that's where you're headed if you don't start behaving yourself with Mami and Rachel."

Iliana considered briefly. "Fine. I'll try."

"That's my girl. And in the meantime, it couldn't hurt to apologize to both of them."

"Even Mami? She hit me, I didn't hit her."

Brittany laughed out loud at that. "And if you like being able to sit down, I suggest that you never do, okay? Listen, put Aunt Rachel's phone back and wait for Mami to come talk to you. If I know her, she's feeling bad for blowing up. All you have to do is hear her out, tell her you're sorry and you'll try harder, and it'll all be over, okay?"

Ily sighed deeply. "Okay. I love you, Mama."

"I love you bigger than cheese."

Iliana giggled at this strange and familiar saying, a holdover from her toddler days. The second the call cut out, she tiptoed back across the hall to put Rachel's phone back.

On her way back to her bedroom, she ran right into Mami.

TBC...