The cream colored car sped through the New Jersey highway. At four in the morning, there wouldn't be any other cars in the vicinity, especially on Christmas morning so Abby floored it. When she arrived home an hour earlier, her family had already gone to sleep. The party at New Rochelle tired her out and while she was looking forward to sleeping all the way until noon, she saw a note posted on her door by her mother.

"Carol said the dog got out again." It wrote, probably posted much earlier that day. Abby ran straight back to the car and drove straight to Carol's house.

Come see me as soon as possible.

Something must have gone wrong. It must have something to do with her custody over her daughter Rindy. Having a divorce is such a messy process...

Abby mentally kicked herself for not returning home at all before heading to the party. If she had gotten the message sooner, she would have easily dropped it to go to Carol's without any second thoughts. No doubt it had to be important to be summoned on Christmas Eve.

Carol…

The freezing wind did nothing to deter her as she pulled by the driveway over an hour later. The sun was already peeking through the suburban horizon. Worried that she might wake anybody else up, she stood up on the seat of her car and placed two fingers in her mouth. She whistled loud but pitched it up and down, mimicking a bird's call, adding a little twitter in the end.

It was a silly way of calling that only Carol knew. Abby smiled as she whistled again, remembering all the times she had to do that the previous winter to avoid waking up Harge and Rindy when Carol would sneak out to be with her.

And finally, there she was, with her blonde hair partially covering her face as she opened the window. Her friend smiled warmly at her as she stuck her head out. "Are you going to bed or getting up?" Carol whispered, just like she always did.

"Both." Abby said and they both giggled. All the weariness from driving for hours fled instantly after hearing her voice. If only we could go back to the way it was, months and months ago… "Go for a ride?" Abby smiled suavely and pointed at the seat next to her.

"You nitwit." Carol giggled.

"You alone?"

"No."

"Uh-oh…" Abby's eyes widened. Was Harge there with her? Or maybe Rindy was there sleeping in her room after all? Did she drive all the way there for nothing?

"It's all right. Do you want to come in?" Abby shrugged and just stepped down. She opened the familiar door and sprawled right on the sofa, finally giving her tired limbs a rest from driving.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room to see if anything was amiss. Carol was vague about everything, just as they always were when they were speaking in code. But Abby was sure it must have been something to do with the divorce. Other than the very well decorated Christmas tree, nothing else seemed to be out of the ordinary however. Did she make that with Rindy last night? Why did she call me then?

"Glad you could make it." Carol smiled as she walked down the stairs.

"Merry Christmas." Abby greeted her with a shy shrug. "Who made the Christmas tree?"

As if right on cue, another set of footsteps came from the stairs. They both turned to see a girl with brown hair wearing one of Harge's robes. Abby's eyebrows raised. "She did." Carol gestured towards the mysterious girl. "This is Abby. Abby Gerhard, Therese Belivet."

She looked harmless enough. Probably just a new friend Carol made. "Hello." She said and smiled disarmingly.

"How do you do?" Therese whispered politely.

"You make a fine tree." Abby complimented, also in a low voice.

"Will everybody stop whispering?" Carol rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen.

Abby playfully smirked and said with a loud voice instead "Got any coffee, Carol?" as she followed her. Carol seemed tired that morning, more emotionally than physically so Abby tried to lighten up her mood. "So 'the dog got out again', huh? I'm glad you don't have a cat because my mother would surely find it weird if you kept on saying 'my cat got out' to her every time."

Carol laughed, the hearty sound instantly bringing delight to Abby's ears. "Would you rather it be a cockerel?"

"Maybe that's the call I'll try next time." Abby grinned, showing her white teeth.

"Heavens no! You're bad enough with your drunken bird twittering." Carol said and handed her a glass of orange juice.

"It's to entice your cat to come out and eat it."

"It's a dog near our garage!" Carol laughed, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Maybe driving all the way there without a wink of sleep just to make her smile and laugh like that wasn't so bad, Abby thought.

But she knew something had to happen so she prodded further, lightly, just like Abby always would. "So, how's old Harge?"

Carol's demeanour changed instantly, unnoticeable to most people but impossible to miss for her best friend. Abby almost immediately regretted it. "The same."

"Well, it's Christmas. So I'll get the old man something nice." She tried to lighten the tone again. "Didn't he always tell you he likes to be prepared all the time which is why he bought the you-know-what after that burglar broke in?"

"Yes?"

"I'll get him a Boy Scout pocket gadget! Perfect for the ambitious little boy inside of him."

Carol almost doubled over laughing. "I'm going to tell him that. I can't resist."

Abby laughed along and, noticing Therese again for the first time in several minutes, smiled broadly at her. "And tell him where it came from." Come on, join in. Anything to make Carol feel less gloomy. If she was Carol's new friend, she could probably do something to make her feel better. "Where're you from?" She asked Therese.

"She's from New York." Carol answered instead once her laughing fit was over.

Abby smiled, waiting for Therese to answer herself but she didn't say anything and just nodded politely. Shy type, huh? Oh well.

She'll find out what this is all about in a matter of time anyways. She brought out a pack of her cigarettes and lit one for herself as Carol went to prepare the rest of their breakfast.

Abby observed Therese inconspicuously behind her typical silly façade as they drank coffee and juice. She seems to be quite young to be one of Carol's friends though, and I haven't seen Rindy at all yet. She might just be sleeping upstairs though. No wait, Carol wouldn't be laughing this loudly because she wouldn't want to wake her up. Then is this girl…? "Are you old enough to smoke?" Abby said, offering her the box of cigarettes.

"Abby, what is this?" Carol said defensively as she placed her spoon down.

"Thanks, I'd like one." Therese accepted.

"Well, what's what?" Abby asked as she innocently rested her elbows on the table.

"I suspect you're a little tight." Me? I ought to say the same thing about you. Just who is this girl?

Instead of saying that, Abby just faked another grin. "Driving for hours in the open air? I left New Rochelle at two, got home and found your message, and here I am." With that, Carol fell silent once more. Abby spoke in a more composed and concerned voice. "Well?"

"Well… I didn't win the first round." Carol uttered. I see…

Abby wasn't surprised. Despite Harge's deplorable attitude towards Carol, he loved his daughter without a doubt. He probably pulled something with his lawyer to deny Rindy's full custody under Carol. "For how long?"

"For three months."

Three months without her daughter? "Starting when?"

"Starting now. Starting last night, in fact." Then she looked at Therese before falling silent and it all began to make sense to her.

"That's not set already, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is. Just verbally but it'll hold." The blonde tried to say indifferently but she wasn't fooling Abby.

Carol was lonely, much too lonely to have some random new friend stay over at Christmas Eve in place of Rindy. Abby mentally berated herself again for her negligence the previous day. Carol needed her and she was just busy partying at some place in New Rochelle. She thought everything would have gone well because Carol was very much looking forward to spending Christmas with Rindy. Damn it, Gerhard! You screwed up again!

"What are you doing tonight? Late." Carol said, with a plea in her voice.

Abby quickly shoved her self-loathing away and beamed a big happy grin to her already downcast friend. She had to be happier for Carol's sake. "I'm not doing anything early. Dinner's at two today."

"Call me sometime." Carol said, the desperation clearly painting her words.

"Sure." She tried to say casually. I promise, Carol, I'll be here for you.

Carol said nothing further. Abby glanced at Therese who seemed at a loss for words or preoccupied with her own juvenile thoughts on the situation.

Between the absence of Rindy and the situation with Harge, her best friend was clearly in a slump. Abby would tell her that it's alright, that she can get through it. She'd stick with her for the next three months if need be until Rindy would once again be with Carol. And even after that…

"No, Abby, we have to stop!" Carol's voice echoed in her mind. Abby's fingers froze as she puffed at her cigarette. "I won't have my daughter think of me as a monster. I just can't do this anymore!"

Remembering how powerless she was to help her, no, not even that. She was the reason for all of Carol's troubles, the atrocity who drove her into biting the forbidden fruit. Her earlier feelings immediately retreated. She couldn't help Carol, no matter how much she wanted to…

"I'd take a trip." She blurted out suddenly. "Take a little trip away somewhere." Then she turned to Carol's mysterious new friend as if asking her to agree with that, to confirm that it would really be best for her to be away from Abby at this crucial time.

"I'm not much in the mood." Carol shrugged. But the words passed right by. It's your fault Harge is so hard on her. You took her away from him. You took her away from Rindy. And now she has to bear the blunt of it all because of your selfish actions!

Abby took a deep breath and shook all the vehement emotions away. "This place is gloomy as a coal pit in the mornings, isn't it?"

"Maybe not a coal pit. I'm thinking more of an asylum." Carol said as they walked back to the living room.

"That's not dull."

"Why? Have you already been to one? Or don't tell me you've been admitted already." Abby felt better. It was Carol's turn to cheer her up, albeit unknowingly.

"No, but I will be if they ever make me pick another bug from a Bahama lily again." It made Carol smile and Abby remembered that, though there was a time that they were lovers, they would always be best friends.