The drive home was only about a fifteen minute drive in normal conditions but with the snow and the acute awareness of what precious cargo was clipped, buckled and snapped into the car seat in the back, it took a full half hour to arrive at Gillian's townhouse. The ride had mostly consisted of comfortable silence. Gillian had assumed that Lucy must have fallen asleep but her periodic glances into the backseat showed that, though her eyelids became increasingly droopy, the little girl's gaze was removed from Gillian only to briefly glance out the window.

By the time they pulled into the driveway, Gillian was beginning to feel the infectious drowsiness of a child lulled by a long drive. Having parked the car, she twisted around in her seat to look at the little girl. Lucy's eyes were slits under slowly fluttering eyelashes. Her head rested against the side of the car seat and she was breathing with a soft snuffling noise. Gillian's heart melted. For a moment, the scene seemed suspended, the peaceful child, the warm car, the snow falling gently in the darkness outside. She could live in this moment, Gillian thought. Then, the girl seemed to hear the silence because she began to stir in her seat.

Gillian smiled. "Lucy, it's time to wake up." She murmured.

The little girl stretched and rubbed her eyes. Then she lay back in her seat and looked blearily at Gillian. At first her gaze was blank, then she seemed to wake up a little more and recognize the woman. She smiled. "We're here?"

"That's right, sweetheart." She smiled gently. "I'm gonna come around and unbuckle you, okay?"

Lucy nodded. Gillian unbuckled her seatbelt, removed the keys from the ignition and climbed out of the car. When she opened Lucy's door, the little girl seemed more alert, though she lay still as Gillian undid her straps. By the time she was holding onto Gillian's hands to hop out of the car, the child was once again all eyes. Gillian reached farther into the car to pull out Lucy's bag and her own purse, then closed the door. "Let's get you comfortable, shall we?" she said kindly, reaching down to place a reassuring hand on the child's shoulders. Lucy followed Gillian's lead cooperatively up the steps the the front door. There was something welcoming about the porch light being on as if waiting for them. The woman smiled down briefly at the little girl, then unlocked the door with a satisfying mechanical sound. She pushed it inwards and flipped on an inside light.

Gillian raised her arm towards the threshold. "Welcome home, Lucy." She gave an encouraging smile. Lucy hesitated for only a second, then stepped inside.

It took some minutes to get organized. Lucy again accepted Gillian's help with her outerwear but shyly hesitated when Gillian began to unwrap the scarf. The woman instantly froze, not wanting to cross a line. After a moment, Lucy, eyes fixed on her sock feet, sheepishly asked if she could keep it on. Gillian breathed a relieved sigh and gladly agreed. It was nearly twenty past six by the time Gillian had the little girl, colourful scarf draped over faded brown hoodie, seated at the kitchen table.

Standing across from where Lucy was sitting, Gillian exhaled. The little girl was back to the wide-eyed observance that she had shown at first with Gillian and then again in the car park. That was fine, though. In a new place it was to be expected, particularly with this child's history. Hopefully it would soon fade as she became more comfortable - and the first step to that was getting some food into her. She smiled at her charge."You must be famished! What do you say we get some dinner together and then we'll do the full tour?"

The mention of food seemed to give the girl pause but after a moment she responded. "Yes, please."

Gillian's heart warmed. Manners were becoming of anyone but in children especially so. She smiled openly and did a tiny ready-dance for the child's benefit. "So, what do you like to eat?"

Lucy giggled a little at the woman's silly dance, then shrugged a little. "I don't know."

"Well," Gillian made her voice comically firm, "Let's play a game then. I'll say two foods that we could have and you choose the one you like best, that way we can find the very best one. Does that sound good?"

Lucy nodded, giving a hesitant smile.

"Okay." Gillian opened the fridge. "First one, ready?"

"Yeah!" Lucy sat up further in her chair, watching her host.

"Alright, grilled cheese sandwiches or tuna sandwiches?

"Tuna sandwiches!"

"Good girl! Okay, the next one: tuna sandwiches or chicken?"

"Tuna sandwiches!"

"Tuna sandwiches or scrambled eggs?"

"Scrambled eggs!"

"Scrambled eggs or noodles?"

There was silence. Panicked, Gillian pulled her nose out of the fridge to look at Lucy, ready for a crisis. The little girl's face was frozen in a look of deliberation, she caught the woman's eye and gave a despairing sigh. "I love them both so much!"

Gillian laughed, feeling the tension evaporate from her body. "Well then," she smiled, "what do you say we have them together?"

Lucy's face lit up. "Like a noodle omelette?"

Gillian was about to say no, she had meant on the side, but the girl's expression stopped her. Only a child could be so delighted at the prospect of pasta in her scrambled eggs. Gillian grinned. "Why not?"

Lucy beamed. "This is going to be the best dinner ever!"

Gillian laughed and got out a pot. "Here, why don't we pull a chair up and you can give me a hand?"

The little girl smiled. "Really?"

"Of course! It'll be fun."

Lucy nodded and climbed down from her chair, then followed as Gillian guided it over to the counter. The little girl then lifted her arms to the woman and allowed Gillian to lift her onto the chair.

"How's that, sweetpea? Stable?" Gillian was reluctant to let go but Lucy nodded enthusiastically and gave her a thumbs up, making the woman's smile widen further.

"There's one more thing before we're ready." Gillian added. Under the child's watchful gaze, she opened a drawer and produced two identical cream-coloured aprons, each folded into a neat square. Lucy's eyes showed no signs of recognition. "What are they?" she asked.

Surprised, Gillian shook one out and held it up to her body. "It's called an apron. It's something that you can wear when you're cooking so that you don't get your clothes messy." She fixed the little girl with a secretive smile. "I'm a bit of a messy cook. Besides, they're fun to wear!"

Lucy's eyes brightened with the little fact. She smiled, "May I please wear one?"

Gillian smiled, "With manners like that you can wear anything you like!"

Lucy giggled and Gillian didn't need science to see the hints of pride in her face.

Gillian tied a knot in the neck loop so that the garment wouldn't hang too low, then lifted it over Lucy's head. She had to fold up the bottom part underneath the ties and then wrap the ties around the back and then forwards to tie in the front so that the apron would fit but the result was worth it. Lucy beamed and her smile only became brighter when Gillian put on the twin.

"Perfect!" Gillian declared. "We're all set."

The woman reached into a cupboard and pulled out a metal mixing bowl. Next came the egg carton from the fridge and a whisk from the baking drawer. Smiling, she placed them on the counter before the little girl. "Now, I have a special job for you. Do you know how to crack an egg?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Well that's no problem. Here, it's like this." Gillian made a show of selecting the exact right egg from the carton, then held it to the edge of the bowl. Smiling reassuringly at the child, she firmly struck the egg against the bowl's lip. "See? Then you just hold the egg over the bowl and open the two sides. Like this." She demonstrated as she spoke and Lucy watched studiously. Gillian gave the girl a moment, then lifted the egg carton. "Go ahead."

Lucy studied the eggs, then chose one and held it up as Gillian had done. Looking to the woman for assurance, she reached over the bowl and struck the egg against the edge. The eggshell was dented but the egg remained sealed. Lucy looked up at Gillian, unsure of what to do. The woman smiled kindly. "Try again, really whack it this time."

Lucy did as instructed. This time, the egg broke open. Seeing her success, the little girl grinned up at her host, who clapped. "Well done, Lucy!"

Returning her focus to the egg, Lucy gently peeled the two halves apart, letting the yolk and the white fall into the bowl alongside the first egg.

"Great job, sweetheart!" Gillian exclaimed. Lucy gave a beaming smile.

Gillian lifted the eggs again. "We're going to need two more, do you think you can do that?"

The little girl nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay, go for it!" Gillian watched her charge carefully select a second egg, then, sure of the child's safety, began to prepare the pasta. Once the water was on and Lucy had been warned of all stove-related dangers, Gillian pulled out a cutting board and opened the fridge. "How do we feel about broccoli, Lucy?"

The little girl was placing two eggshell halves in the bowl that Gillian had given her. "Good." She answered.

"We can cook some with the noodles and put it in the omelettes, what do you think?"

"That sounds yummy."

Gillian straightened. "You'll eat that?"

"Yes."

"My my, Lucy, you are quite the houseguest." Gillian praised. "Good manners, eats broccoli; my partner doesn't even do those things!"

Lucy giggled. It was such a joyful, innocent sound. Gillian grinned. This was something she could get used to.

Gillian pulled the broccoli out of the crisper and rinsed it in the sink. As the water ran, she glanced over to the little girl. Lucy was now opening the final egg. "Uh-oh."

Gillian's heart skipped a beat. Abandoning the broccoli, she was next to Lucy in an instant."What's wrong?"

Lucy's face had fallen. "I got some…" She tipped the bowl to look into it.

Gillian followed her gesture. In with the eggs was a fragment of shell. Was that it? It appeared to be. She wrapped an arm around the back of Lucy's chair and looked at the child teasingly. "Are you worrying about that tiddly bit of shell in there, sweetpea?"

Lucy quirked her head to the side to look at Gillian. Uncertainty was written all over her face.

"Lucy," Gillian smiled, "that little bit of shell is no problem. Look." She reached for a spoon from the dry rack and, leaning in to make sure that Lucy was watching, she fished out the offending debris. "See? All fixed!"

The little girl watched Gillian intently, then gave a tiny smile.

Gillian longed to stroke the child's cheek but didn't want to push when this girl had only just met her. Instead, she gave an examining look."Better?"

"Better." Lucy affirmed.

"Good. Now the next thing I need you to do is to use this whisk to stir the eggs until they're all one colour, does that make sense?"

"Yes, I can do that!"

"Just make sure that you hold the side of the bowl with one hand, okay? That way it won't spill."

"Okydoky!"

"Excellent! I'm very lucky to have such a skilled helper!" Gillian winked. The little girl grinned back at her and happily took the whisk.

After watching for a moment, Gillian returned to the broccoli. By the time it was chopped, the water was boiling so she dropped in the florets, followed closely by two servings of spaghetti noodles. Better they have leftovers than Lucy be hungry.

"Done!" Lucy called.

Smiling, Gillian approached to examine her handiwork. The eggs were well mixed, if still showing little clumps of yolk and albumen. "Good job, Lucy! These look great!"

The little girl smiled widely, her cheeks dimpling under their dusting of freckles and her blue eyes shining bright. "What are we gonna do with them?"

"Well," answered Gillian, "first we need to wait for the noodles and the broccoli to cook and then we're going to put them in a pan with the eggs and scramble them."

"Yum!"

"Exactly."

Lucy fidgeted a little, then looked back up at Gillian. "Do I get to help to scramble them?"

The hopeful way that the child looked at her would have been enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. "Of course! I need my helper, don't I?"

The joyful expression that warmed the little girl's face could make Gillian forget about anything and everything outside of that kitchen. Lucy nodded.

As it turned out, the noodle omelettes were a booming success. Lucy ate hers with all the delight of a child eating something odd with ketchup and Gillian found that, much as she enjoyed her own, she would have happily eaten sawdust if she could do so adjacent to such a gleeful little girl. For dessert, Gillian served them each a bowl of chocolate ice cream topped with rainbow sprinkles, which only added to the fun of the meal on both their parts. Once finished eating, Lucy declared that all she wanted to eat for the rest of her life was noodle omelettes and ice cream. Gillian laughed and Lucy, despite her best efforts, succumbed to a yawn.

Gillian checked her watch: seven-thirty-two. "Alright, sweetpea. Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll do a quick tour, how does that sound?"

"Good."

Gillian pulled a chair up to the sink and lifted Lucy up onto it. Turning the tap on, she checked the water until it was just pleasantly warm. Taking a pump of the spiced vanilla hand soap, she smiled warmly at Lucy. The little girl stuck her hands out under the water and allowed the woman to gently scrub them clean. She giggled.

Gillian laughed, "What's so funny, silly goose?"

Lucy smiled candidly, her eyes looking up into Gillian's. "That feels nice."

Gillian felt her heart flutter. This felt so right. Taking care of this child, being allowed to take care of her, felt exactly right.

Lucy was still looking at her. Gillian smiled and squeezed her hands gently. It was as she was drying the small hands through a fluffy hand towel that Lucy spoke up again. "Thank you for dinner."

Gillian looked up, surprised. She swallowed. "You're very welcome, Lucy." There was a beat of silence, then, with a deep breath, Gillian laid down the towel and pretended to inspect Lucy's hands. "All dry!" she declared.

Lucy giggled. Gillian smiled. "How about that tour now?"

The little girl nodded compliantly and, as the woman stood, she took hold of Gillian's hand.

The house was warm and light. Gillian had turned on all the lights for their tour. Gillian's hand was soft like she had thought it would be. They were in the upstairs bathroom. She focused her droopy eyes on the towel rack. Two fluffy pink towels were hanging there. Pink was nice. The rest of the bathroom was mostly white with only some soap on the sink that was coloured. It was the pump kind that looked like a little plastic bird that spit soap into your hand when you pushed on its head. Lucy liked the bird soap.

"…so if you need to use the washroom come and get me, no matter when, okay? We don't have a stepping stool right now and I don't want you to slip if you climb on the toilet." Gillian was looking at her. Lucy sniffed and lifted her head. Get Gillian to use the bathroom. Okay. She nodded vaguely. Gillian was smiling at her in the crinkly-forehead grown-up way. Like she had done something cute. Lucy lifted her chin quickly again, snapping her eyes open. This was important. The tour.

Gillian stood up and Lucy followed her out of the bathroom. There were three other doors upstairs. Two of them were open. Gillian pointed to the nearer one. "This is my bedroom." She crouched next to Lucy again and looked her in the eyes like grown-ups did when they were being serious. "If you need anything, no matter what time of night or day, you can always, always come and get me." She looked so soft. Her hair was feathery and looked as nice to touch as the little baby ducks that they had hatched from eggs at school. They couldn't touch the baby ducks because then the momma ducks wouldn't take care of them. That didn't seem right. Lucy's eyelids drooped. She forced them up. Gillian was still looking at her. Why was that again? Oh yes, because this was Gillian's room and if she needed Gillian this is where she must go, even at night. Lucy nodded.

Lucy followed Gillian to the last open door. This time they went in. Gillian turned the light on. The room was the same colour as most of the rest of the house but in this room there was a nice wooden chair next to a bed. Lucy smiled. This room had a window with purple curtains. Outside, she could see lots big snowflakes falling. Gillian lifted Lucy's hand a little. Lucy looked up. She had to rub her eyes a little to see Gillian properly.

"This is your room, Lucy. You can look around a bit if you'd like."

Lucy nodded. She eyed the room. The bed was very big, like it was meant for a grown-up. It was so wide. Lucy started towards it, not letting go of Gillian's hand. With her free fingers, she stroked the bed. It was soft. The blanket was brown like Bert, the dog that Connor sometimes brought for them to pet. It was softer than Bert, though. Lucy looked back at Gillian. The lady was watching her with a funny look that she didn't really understand. There was a cream-coloured blanket at the end of the bed. Lucy touched that. It was even softer than the bed blanket and kind of squishy. Lucy smiled. "I like this room." Gillian made a funny sound kind of like a laugh. "I've very glad to hear that."

Lucy yawned.

This time Gillian did laugh and it sounded happy and good. "Alright, Lucy, let's get you into some pyjamas."

Lucy nodded. Pyjamas sounded good. Gillian lay her blue bag down on the bed and Lucy climbed up beside it. Lucy unzipped the bag. Inside were some folded clothes. Lucy pulled them out. Gillian sat down on the edge of the bed and sorted through the things as Lucy pulled them out. First was a blue shirt with long sleeves, then a yellow shirt with little flowers all over it. The came her black pants, some plain socks, a pair of pink undies, a baggie with her toothbrush and toothpaste, more socks, a hairbrush, and finally a set of white pyjamas. "Here we go." Gillian said. She held them up. "Now, would you like some help or do you want to do it yourself?"

Lucy yawned again. She felt full and warm. "Help, please." Gillian nodded.

Lucy lifted her arms and made herself a little floppy while Gillian helped her out of her clothes. Gillian's hands were a little cold but they were soft and gentle. Once the pyjamas were on, Lucy lay on the bed and watched Gillian move everything from the bag into the dresser drawers. Lucy's clothes from today were in a pile on the bed. Lucy looked at them. Peaking out from the pile was a bit of colour. Lucy reached for it. It was the Gillian's scarf. Lucy pulled it out and snuggled it to her face. The fabric was fuzzy and it smelled good. Like Gillian. Lucy hugged it to her. At the bottom of the bag there was still the plush cat that Kathleen had packed for her. Cats weren't very nice though. This scarf was better. Maybe Gillian would let her keep it with her overnight. That would be really nice.

Gillian was coming back over to the bed. She smiled when she saw Lucy and she didn't say anything about the scarf. She sat on the edge of the bed and tapped Lucy's bare toes a little. Lucy giggled. It felt nice. Gillian laughed. Then she showed Lucy the toothbrush in her other hand. "What do you say we go and get you cleaned up a bit?"

"Okay." Lucy rolled over and climbed down off the bed. It was higher than the one at the centre. Lucy followed Gillian to the bathroom.

"Wet or dry?"

"Wet."

Lucy took the prepared toothbrush that Gillian held out to her and scrubbed her teeth. The toothpaste tasted like strawberry. "Done!" She held up the toothbrush for Gillian.

Gillian laughed. "Nice try. One more minute."

Lucy smiled sheepishly and stuck the toothbrush back into her mouth. Gillian checked her watch with a silly little flourish. Lucy laughed around the toothbrush in her mouth. Gillian was funny.

"Alright, now you're done. Do you want a boost?"

Lucy nodded. Gillian's arms came around her like a hug and she was lifted up to spit into the sink. Gillian gave her a little cup to rinse her mouth with too.

Once Lucy had pulled the hairbrush through her hair a few times and had used the toilet and Gillian had lifted her again to wash her hands, they headed back into Lucy's room.

Gillian pulled the covers down and Lucy crawled into them. She yawned and stretched and then curled up as Gillian fluffed the blankets a little and laid them over her. The covers were nice and heavy even though they were a bit cold. Gillian sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry that I don't have any children's books. We'll get some for tomorrow night, how does that sound?"

Lucy rubbed her face against the smooth pillow. She sighed. "Good." Through the slits between her heavy eyelids, Gillian looked like a blurry shape watching over her. That was nice. Lucy buried her nose in the scarf. It smelled good. She felt Gillian's hand run gently over her back. After a moment she realized that the lights were out. Her eyes drifted closed again. "Gillian?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Lucy breathed slowly. "Sing?"

Lucy wasn't sure but there seemed to be a pause before the first few notes came. When they did they were low and sweet.

Lucy snuggled deeper into the bed. For a suspended moment there was the feel of the soft sheets and Gillian's hand on her back, the smell of the borrowed scarf, and the sound of the soft voice and then there was nothing.