April 1991 – 4 years old

Sophie tucked herself into a corner of the playroom and pulled Prince Charming close, burying her face in his buttery soft fur. It wasn't only his warmth that brought her comfort, but that, somewhere in her mind, she knew they were alike, because new things kept happening to them both.

She drew in a deep breath, let it out with a shudder as she peered around the playroom.

Before her other Mommy had gone away, they'd lived in that same apartment all her life. In fact, she'd never gone to sleep anywhere but in her bed, in her room, in their apartment. Since her other Mommy had gone away though, she never knew where she would be next. There was the first house, where she and Olivia shared a room. Then there was the place where Granddad and Grans stayed only a few houses away. She tilted her head, in thought. The brown houses by the lake. Then they'd gone back to that first house. Now they were in this one.

Before her other Mommy had gone away, everything had always been the same. The same furniture. The same sounds. The same smells. It made her feel… safe… knowing when she came home after an errand with her other Mommy or when she woke in the morning that she would see the same furniture, hear the same sounds, smell the same smells.

Since her other Mommy had gone away, just when she was getting used to some place new – where she knew the furniture would be the same, the sounds the same, the smell the same – they would go somewhere else. It scared her that everything never stayed the same all of a sudden.

Even the people never stayed the same. Melina used to stay with them, but now Mir.. Mir… Mir…, she sighed, having forgotten the name. Now the other woman stayed with them.

There had been Grandad and Grans, too. She'd really liked Grans. Grans hadn't minded Sophie sitting on her lap or next to her for as long at it took for Sophie not to find the world quite as scary as it seemed. Grans would sing to her, tell her stories, while playing with her hair in the way that would make funny shivers go down her back, but somehow felt really, really nice. In time, she simply felt… safe… when Grans was around, because she somehow knew Grans wouldn't let anything happen to her. But then she'd gone away, just like her other Mommy.

New family, new houses, new people, new school, new dance class. It was all so overwhelming for one very sheltered little girl.

"Girls, I'm home!" her new other Mommy called.

She lifted her head out of Prince Charming's fur, her heart beating a little faster. Her new other Mommy was the only 'same' since her other Mommy went away. Even when her new other Mommy had the baby, she'd seen her every day. The same voice, the same smell, the same touch. She exhaled a shuddering breath then set Prince Charming on his feet before she stood as well. She walked to the front of the house, then stood, waiting patiently to be seen, wanting to be seen so very, very soon.

Then her new other Mommy looked at her, from where she was still kneeling on the floor with Holt in one arm, and Livvie in the other.

"Sophie Bird," her new other Mommy called her name with a smile. "Are you going to scold me for missing dinner as well?"

Sophie shook her head slowly, then tried her very, very best not to run when Livvie moved away and her new other Mommy held open her arm for her. She tucked her head against Laura's shoulder.

"I missed you," Sophie whispered next to Laura's ear. Because there it was. The same voice, the same smell, the same touch. She had missed them so much. The tension in her small frame eased.

For now, at least, everything would be okay.

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Sophie stared out the window of the Explorer, wondering if the park they were going to was the same one she and her other Mommy used to go to. At that park, she knew exactly which swing was the best swing, how hard she had to push off on the slide, and where the best trees were when she got too hot and needed some shade.

Her shoulders slumped as Da helped her out of the car. She didn't recognize the park which made it just something else not the same.

At least her new other Mommy was here. That helped her feel a little bit better. Shyly she approached Laura and reached for her hand, relieved when her new other Mommy took her hand and smiled down at her. It made things a little better even more.

Soon, everyone – Livvie, Daddy, new other Mommy, and she - was playing tag together. Her day brightened still more. She used to play tag with her other Mommy and kids at the other park. She played tag at school. It was a little bit of the 'same'.

Then the new other Mommy suggested a game of hide-n-go-seek. That was even more of 'same'. She used to play hide-n-go-seek with her other Mommy in her old house, just the two of them all by themselves. They also played hide-n-go-seek at the other park, with other kids and sometimes their Mommies, too.

By the time they were half-way through the game, Sophie had forgotten all her fears, all her worries, all her confusion, at least for now. The fresh air, sunshine, running around, and everyone's laughter had seen to that.

"Come on, Livvie," she urged as Da covered his eyes and counted to twenty. Taking her new sister's hand in hers, they ran towards a small bunch of very large trees. Ducking behind the trunk of a large pine, they took cover, peeking out every now and again to see if Da was anywhere near.

Livvie wasn't very good at hide-n-go-seek, in Sophie's estimation. She got so excited when they played games she sometimes forgot the rules. Two times Livvie had come out from behind the tree, and she'd had to bring her back before Da saw them. Now she was giggling loud enough that Da would hear.

"Shhhhhh," Sophie warned, pressing a finger to her lips.

"Shhhhhh," Livvie echoed back, mimicking the action.

Fingers still pressed to their lips, they were smiling, as they poked their heads around the tree again. Neither saw or heard Remington as he peeked his head around the other side of the trunk and smiled down at them.

"Boo," he called, jokingly.

Two heads turned as one, a pair of rounded eyes looking at him, before laughter bubbled past their lips as they tried to run away.

"Oh, no you don't," he laughed, catching them around the waists after two long strides. The girls giggled helplessly as they were suspended in the air staring at the ground, kicking their feet in hopes they might get away. "I believe, little ladies, the term is 'you're it'."

Then they were suddenly flying, as Da impulsively spun round and round, while they were still slung under his arms. Their gales of laughter filled the air. And, when he finally stopped spinning and set them on their feet, even more laughter came as they stumbled about unable to find their balance.

For a couple of short hours in the park, Sophie forgot the world had suddenly become so frightening. Instead, for a little while, she was nothing more than a little girl enjoying the day with her family and it was okay for everything not to be the same.

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Remington sat down in an Adirondack lounge on the deck at the rear of Casa Malaga, and opened his sketchpad. From the first broad stroke of his pencil, the image began to take shape on the paper. While he admired the picture sent to them by the LA Times photo journalist, it had merely sparked inspiration, but it would not be replicated. No, he much preferred the pictures the girls had made, when they'd turned and seen him standing there. Even now, the memory of their laughter in the minutes afterwards, had the power to bring a broad smile to his face.

Two weeks later, the portrait would be the next to hang on the wall of Sophie's bedroom.