The next Thursday, Olivia readied herself for a fight. She knew Alex wasn't going to go see Dr. Konikoff willingly, but surprisingly, Alex didn't argue when Olivia mentioned it to her. She nodded and slipped her hand into Olivia's, then said quietly, almost plaintively, "You'll come with me?"

Olivia brought Alex's hand to her lips and kissed it. "Of course, sweetheart."

Then Alex looked away. "Lily."

"She can come with us, baby. It's okay."

Alex bit her lip. "Yes, I guess she can . . . we'll have to bring her a couple books, though. And Ritz crackers."

Olivia smiled weakly. "Of course. She'll be okay."

Alex nodded, chewing harder on her lip.

Olivia fished a Chapstick out of her pocket and handed it to Alex. "Here, baby."

Alex applied the Chapstick to her chapped lips. "I'll go get Lily."

"In that case, I'll pack up some snacks for her."

Alex went to get Lily. She rapped softly on the door and when Lily said, "Come in," she did so.

"Hi, Lily," she said, and knelt down beside her daughter, who was dressing up her American Girl doll. "What are you doing?"

"Dressing up Sara," Lily answered. "She's gonna have a party with Teddy and Minnie and my Barbies and my stuffies."

Alex smiled. "Your stuffies, huh?"

"Yeah. That's what Momma calls them. 'Cause they're stuffed."

Alex nodded. "Makes sense. Lily, do you know how you talk to Dr. Lennox?"

"Yeah. And we play Barbies!"

"That's right. So today, I get to go talk to someone like Dr. Lennox. Her name is Dr. Konikoff, and you and Momma are going to come with me. And after that, if you like, we can go to the park."

Lily looked up with interest. "The park?"

"Yes, the big park. It's called Central Park and you can play on the swings, or the slides, or even climb a tree if you want to – but only if Momma and I are watching. Does that sound like fun?"

Lily nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Like Jack and Annie! 'Cept I don't think Morgan Le Fay is in my tree."

Alex chuckled. "No, I don't think Morgan Le Fay will be in any of the trees at Central Park."

"Will Momma climb with me?"

Alex smiled at the thought of Olivia scampering up a tree. "I don't know, baby. You'll have to ask her."

"'Kay. I think she'll say yeah."

"But first we've got to go to Dr. Konikoff's office. Do you want to bring Sara?"

"Yeah. And can I please bring one of my Jack and Annie books?"

"Yes, you may bring one of your Jack and Annie books."

"Yeah – yes, I may bring one of my Jack and Annie books," Lily echoed. She smiled sheepishly. "I forgetted – I mean, I forgot. Right, Mommy?"

"That's right, sweetheart. You forgot."

"That's how come you're my role model. Well, kind of. 'Cause you teach me stuff."

Alex smiled and gave her daughter a hug. "Thanks, Lily. Now are you ready to go?"

"In a minute. Will you do my hair?"

"Sure. Do you want braids?"

"Yeah! And then Sara can match. See, Momma helped me braid her hair last night!"

"It's really pretty, Lily, but I think I can make yours prettier!"

Lily giggled. "You're on!"

Half an hour later, Alex, Olivia, and Lily were sitting in Dr. Konikoff's office. Alex was trembling, although she tried to suppress it, and Olivia had an arm draped over her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. Lily, oblivious, was munching on her Ritz crackers and attempting to share with her doll.

"Careful, Lil," Olivia said. "We don't want Sara's mouth to get all dirty."

Lily giggled. "I'm not really feeding it to her, silly. She's just a doll."

Olivia mock-gasped. "No, you can't say that, Lil! She's your baby." She covered the doll's ears with her hands. "You're her Mommy."

Lily laughed. "I know, Momma." She kissed her doll's head. "Love you, Sara."

"I love you, too," Olivia said in a high-pitched voice, which made Lily laugh again.

"You're so silly, Momma. And you're Sara's grandmomma."

Olivia grinned and kissed Lily's forehead. "Hey, I'm too young to be a grandma already. How about I be Great-Momma to Sara instead?"

Lily mulled this over. "Yeah. And Mommy will be Great-Mommy."

Alex wasn't listening. She was staring off into space, and jumped when Olivia leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Alex? That okay with you?"

Alex blinked and tried to focus on Lily. "Sorry, sweetie. I didn't hear you."

Lily jutted out her lower lip. "You're Sara's great-mommy."

Alex nodded. "That sounds good."

Lily stuck her thumb in her mouth. "Yeah."

Alex gently took her hand. "Germs, sweetheart." She fished a wet-wipe out of her purse and cleaned Lily's hand with it. "You can't put your thumb back in your mouth now, Lily, because there are chemicals on it and it won't taste good."

Lily made a face. "Mommy. Duh, my finger doesn't taste good anyway."

"Lily. We don't use words like duh."

Lily smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Mommy. I know. 'Cause they're not real words."

"That's right, and because it's rude."

Lily rested her head in her mother's lap. "Sorry, Mommy," she repeated.

"Thank you, Lily," Alex said, gently stroking her hair.

Lily yawned and curled into Alex. "Mommy, will you sing to me like you did when we were with the man? You didn't do that for a long time."

Alex glanced at Olivia, then back at her daughter. So quietly that she was barely audible, she began to sing.

"You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know, dear

How much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Lily smiled sleepily. "That's a sad one, Mommy. But it's my favourite."

Alex kissed her forehead. "You are my sunshine, baby. You and Olivia."

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