Wandering through the supermarket, Maggie at my heels, Olivia pushing the cart, I was very content. Christmas music blared through the speakers. Everything had a holiday feel to it. It was very peaceful.

Of course, the peace never lasts ten seconds with Maggie and Olivia around.

Maggie paused before the crackers. "Can we?" she asked. That's her way of asking if we can get any.

"Yes, pick some out," I said.

"Let's get the little butterfly ones," Olivia suggested. She'd been quieter since her punishment, a two months' grounding and no phone privileges until school let out. Maggie had been quieter, too; she had been in the psychiatric ward of County for three weeks. Her medication had been altered yet again, but she was finally acting as normal as bipolar people get.

"No," Maggie said obstinately, and reached for a box of English water crackers. "These."

"No, I want the butterfly ones!" Olivia argued.

"Olivia, how old are you?"

"Mom, she's thirteen!"

"Olivia," I said warningly. "Buy both."

We headed down the next aisle, the cereal-Pop-Tarts aisle. Olivia reached for a box of Frosted Flakes, which she set in the cart. "How about some Rice Krispies?" Maggie asked, pointing to a display.

"Okay, one box," I agreed.

Maggie, of course, reached for a box in the middle of the stack. "Maggie!" I cried, as the cereal boxes all came tumbling down about her. For a moment she was buried, then a hand stuck up.

I pulled the sobbing girl out of the rubble of Rice Krispies boxes, and hugged her to me. "It's okay, Maggie, it's okay."

I thought she was going to hurl the box at Olivia, but she just kept crying and shaking the Rice Krispies. Finally the store manager came out. His nametag read, "Robert." "What seems to be the problem here? Who are you people?"

"I'm Abby Kovac," I said, "and this is my daughter, Maggie. We're really sorry."

"You should be!" he growled obstinately. "I spent twenty minutes building this display!"

"We're really sorry," I said again, and prompted Maggie.

"Sorry," she muttered, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, put the cereal in the cart," I said, and we hurried out of the supermarket as fast as we could.

When we got home, Luka and Daniel were finishing the decoration of the tree, and Jacob was playing the piano. "How does it look, Abby?" Luka asked.

"Gorgeous," I said, lugging the last bag of groceries up the steps. Olivia followed behind me.

"Where's Maggie?" Luka questioned.

"She fell asleep in the van. We had kind of an accident at the supermarket. Can you go down and get her?"

He put on his coat and went down the steps to the van. Some more snow was falling, and there was the promise of a white Christmas. The tree really did look fantastic, and Jacob was playing some kind of Greensleaves piece. It was a wonderful Christmas in the Kovac house.

When I woke up the next morning, Daniel, Olivia, and Jacob were reading the funny papers, Luka was drinking coffee, and Maggie was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi, honey," I said to Luka. "How are you, Daniel?"

"Pretty good," he answered in his raspy voice.

"Hi, Jacob," I said.

"Hi, Mommy," Jacob said, and pointed at a page of ads. "That's what I want Santa to bring me." He was pointing at a new bicycle.

"Oh, Jacob, I don't know," I said. "Santa might have other surprises you need more than a bicycle."

"But I want the bicycle!" he explained.

Olivia just kept her eyes on "Marmaduke."

"How's Maggie?" I asked Luka. "Did she take her meds yet?"

"I don't know," he answered, laying down the Life section. "She was gone when we woke up, about a half hour ago.

"What?"

"I called over to Kerry's house, to see if Maggie had gone to see Eliza, but she wasn't there. I called Dave and Jing-Mei, to see if she had gone to see Kiley, but she wasn't there. Then I called Mark and Lizzie, to see if she went to see Ella, but she wasn't there. I've called Melissa, Damien, Rachael, and Hana, but no one knows where she is."

I sat down in a chair, feeling that I would faint. "What?"

"She took her coat, Abby, so she's warm. And her boots are missing, and her pajamas are on her bed, so she's dressed sufficiently. She has her hat and gloves too. And there's two bagels missing."

I was really going to faint. Maggie was missing!