Alison 's eyes scanned across the breakfast bar, carefully counting each thing on top of it.
Two backpacks, two packed lunches, two water bottles, two packs of markers and two picture books.
Of each of the pairs, one of the objects was blue and the other was pink, indicating which twin it belonged to.
Since the twins were born, pink had been Lily's colour and light blue was Grace's.
Alison sighed as she scanned the breakfast bar again. Everything had to go well.
Her baby girls would only start kindergarten once, after all.
"Mommy!" An urgent voice snapped Alison out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Lily running towards her, arms outstretched.
The five-year-old had her light brown hair in pigtails, and she wore a pink dress. Her eyes were filled with tears, and Alison could tell from her tone that the young girl was in distress.
Alison kneeled down and embraced the girl in a tight hug, before softly lifting her off the ground.
Lily wrapped her legs around her mother's waist and buried her head in her shoulder, "I'm not going, mommy!" She cried.
Alison swallowed and snuggled into her daughter.
Emily entered the kitchen, Grace holding onto her hand.
Alison shot Emily a look, and Grace looked up at her mother.
"Mommy, Lily says she's not going to kindergarten, but Mama says that she's gonna go" Grace explained intelligently, blinking up at Alison.
At that, Lily let out a scream into her mother's shoulder and tightened her hug, "I'm not going, I'm not going!"
"Shhhhh.." Alison cooed, looking at Emily worriedly.
Emily swallowed before turning to look at Grace, "Gracie why don't you go to the table and start eating your toast. Mommy and I will take care of Lily."
Grace nodded, "Okay Mama."
The young girl walked to the table and settled down. She took a bite of her toast and started to trace the designs on the placemat with her small fingers.
With one of their girls occupied, Alison carried Lily into the living room.
She settled down on the couch, Emily not too far behind her.
Alison had expected Lily to let go of her but the five-year-old didn't budge.
Alison took a deep breath, "Come on Lily, Mama and I just want to talk to you."
"You can't make me go!" Lily insisted, burying her face into Ali.
"Come on baby, just talk to us." Emily cooed softly, reaching out and running her fingers through the five-year old's hair.
The young girl stayed put for a moment before she sniffed and reluctantly pulled away.
Her cheeks were red and her eyes were puffed up. A strand of hair stuck to her face with tears, and her eyes looked glazed over.
"Monkey, why don't you want to go to school?" Emily asked calmly, trying to look her daughter in the eye.
"I'm scared Mama" Lily sniffed, leaning into Emily, "I wanna stay with you and mommy."
"But we have to go to work baby." Alison pointed out, "So you wouldn't be with us anyway. We'd see you after school, like normal."
Lily was young but wise beyond her years. Logic wasn't lost on her. She paused for a moment, before burying her face in Emily's lap, "I don't care!"
Alison placed her hand on Lily's back, "There's nothing to be scared of sweetie. You'll have Gracie with you the whole time you're there. Mama's gonna walk you into class and she's not gonna leave until you are okay with it."
Lily was quiet for a moment before she lifted her head up and look Emily in the eyes, "You promise?"
"Of course baby!" Emily's eyes were filled with love and concern, "I won't leave until it's okay with you. If I have to stay the whole day I will. I'll ask someone else to coach swimming today, if I have to."
Lily ran her tongue over her lips and her eyes buzzed with thought.
"And besides," Alison added, a small grin on her lips, "We got such a beautiful dress just for your first day of kindergarten. Don't you want everyone to see it?"
Lily tilted her head to the side. She did want everyone to see her dress. And as long as her Mama stayed with her….
"Okay," Lily said suddenly. She jumped off the couch and ran towards the kitchen, sniffing the last of her tears away.
Emily turned to Alison, amusement filling her eyes, "She really is her mother's daughter, isn't she."
Alison rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up!" She teased.
Emily let out a chuckle and leaned forward, pressing her soft lips against Alison's.
Alison leaned forward, deepening the kiss, and Emily placed her hand on Ali's cheek.
After a few moments, Alison softly pulled back, pressing her nose against Emily's.
"Life's good," Emily whispered, a smile pricking her lips.
"It is, isn't it?" The blonde replied before leaning forward and meeting her lips with her wife's once more.