July 1st arrived with its customary hot, sunny days characteristic of a New Orleans summer. Cordelia wandered into the backyard with the intent to inform Lissy that she was due for a doctor's check-up and she had an appointment tomorrow afternoon.
Rounding a corner of the house and heading for the side yard, Cordelia was startled when Lissy suddenly appeared from behind a hibiscus shrub.
"Hi, mommy," she said sweetly, swaying slightly with her hands hidden behind her back.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow and fixed her with a suspicious gaze before returning the hello. Not reacting quickly enough, Cordelia caught a face full of water when Lissy pulled a water gun from behind her back and took aim. Laughing maniacally, Lissy watched Cordelia sputter in surprise, but took off running once the woman recovered and gave chase.
Circling the house and arriving in the back yard, Lissy came up short when she nearly ran into Misty who was wielding a water gun of her own, and changed direction to take cover behind Cordelia.
"Hey!" Cordelia protested. "How is this fair?" Lissy peeked her head around Cordelia long enough to shoot a stream of water at Misty.
Misty raised her plastic gun to take aim, a crooked grin on her face. Cordelia pointed a finger at her wife. "Misty Day, don't you dare."
Misty pulled the trigger and sent a stream of water shooting toward Cordelia's chest. Cordelia shrieked and started backing up, dodging Lissy who was aiming at both women in turn, and took cover behind a tree.
Lissy, who had slightly better aim than Misty, was gaining ground with a few well-placed jets of water to the face. Laughing uncontrollably, Misty eventually ditched the gun and ran at Lissy, scooping her up and twirling her around, effectively ending their battle.
"Tisk, tisk. Shouldn't have let your guard down, now should you?" Misty, with Lissy still in her arms, turned at the sound of Cordelia's voice to see The Supreme with a running garden hose in her hands.
"Aw, come on now, Dee. How 'bout a truce?" Lissy nodded emphatically at the suggestion.
Cordelia put a hand to her chin as if mulling over the idea. "A truce, huh? Nah." And with that, she took her revenge and managed to soak her two fellow witches before Misty was able to wrestle the hose from her grasp while Lissy tried to distract Cordelia by wrapping her arms around her legs and holding on.
By now, all three were laughing too hard to put up much of a fight let alone continue the backyard water battle. Collapsing to the grass, Lissy still grasping her legs and Misty's arms now wrapped around her body, Cordelia drug them down with her in a pile of giggles and soaked clothes.
"Oh my gosh, Dee, yer diabolical!"
"I have to be to keep up with you two," she laughed, planting a kiss on Misty's lips and hugging Lissy to her side.
The next afternoon, Cordelia and Misty each had a hold of one of Lissy's hands in a show of support as they walked into the doctor's clinic. Cordelia had broached the subject of a checkup after their water fight, and Lissy hadn't liked the idea.
"What's wrong, darlin'?" Misty had questioned, not liking the fear that had crept onto the little girl's face at the mention of a doctor's visit.
Lissy moved to sit closer to Misty, leaning into her side for comfort. "I've only ever had to go to the doctor's after someone is mean to me and I get hurt." She looked up at Cordelia, her lip quivering. "I don't like going there."
Misty hugged her closer, resting her chin on Lissy's head. "Nothin' bad will happen this time, I promise. Mommy and I will be right there with you the whole time."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
After being given a clean bill of health and getting up-to-date on all shots, the three were walking through the mall after eating lunch at the food court.
Cordelia reached an arm down around Lissy's shoulders. "That doctor visit wasn't so bad, was it?"
Lissy looked up and gave her a small smile. "It wasn't bad because I had the two of you with me." Cordelia returned the smile and glanced over to Misty who was walking on Lissy's other side.
"I don't know," Misty said playfully, a look of faux skepticism on her face. "You still had ta suffer through those shots. I think a reward is in order." Misty suddenly scooped Lissy up into her arms, causing the girl to laugh at her antics, and ran into the nearest store, which just happened to be a toy store.
When Cordelia caught up with them, Misty still had Lissy in her arms and the little girl was looking around in awe at all of the toys covering the shelves. Cordelia stopped at Misty's side and put a hand on Lissy's back. "Anything catch your eye, sweetheart?"
Lissy looked over to her and shrugged. Cordelia realized that she had probably never had many toys, if any, to play with growing up. "How about something soft that you can cuddle with at night?" she suggested, thinking of a way to help comfort the little girl if she woke up after a nightmare.
Lissy nodded her approval and leaned into Misty as she walked a few aisles over to a wall showcasing every stuffed animal imaginable. Lissy reached out and picked up a few, scrutinizing them and trying to decide if they'd make a good cuddly companion. Scrunching up her nose, she looked back at all of her options, and her eyes lit up when she spotted one.
Placing the two she held back on the shelf, Lissy instead picked up a plush, green alligator nearly as long as her arm, with black glass eyes and a sewn-on smile on its face. "This one!" she exclaimed.
Glancing at Cordelia, Misty chuckled when she saw the eye roll. Cordelia looked back to her, a warm smile gracing her face when their eyes met. "If that's what you want," said Cordelia to Lissy, "then it's perfect."
