Skyler pulled into her parking spot in the apartment complex, turned off the engine and sat. She sat for about fifteen seconds until she heard Holly behind her unbuckling her seatbelt and attempting to open the car door. "Hey!" she said, leaping out of the car and running around to Holly's door just as it began to open. "No no no, Holly, don't do that!"

"Why?"

"No no no, you wait for a grown-up to open the door for you. Always."

"Why?"

"Because in roads and parking lots there are cars. Cars are dangerous. You can't see all the cars, you don't know if one is about to drive right past you when you open the door."

"There's no cars now."

"No, there aren't now, but you are too young to know when there are and when there aren't. Grown-ups know. You always wait for a grown-up to open the door."

"You didn't get out of the car, Mommy. You were just staying there."

"Yeah, so ask me. If you wanna get out, just ask me. Or if it's Flynn or Aunt Marie, you just ask. You don't get out by yourself. Understand?"

"Yeah."

Skyler put her hand on the child's cheek. "Are you sure? You promise?"

"I promise."

Skyler nodded. "Good. Thank you." Skyler opened the door wide enough for Holly to get out, and leaned into the car to grab her handbag, a bag of groceries and a pink child's backpack. Holly ran up the path to their front door. Skyler began to call out to her, then stopped. She was too far away. Skyler straightened up, shut the car door and watched her. She breathed in and out, watching her child and the area all around as she slowly followed her to the front door. Her heart beat a steady staccato as she surveyed all the shadows in the bushes for danger.

Holly got to the front door and reached up to the door handle. She couldn't reach it, but she kept trying, pushing one and then the other hand high in the air until her mother reached her and unlocked the door. The lights were on - Flynn was home. Holly rushed in and saw him standing in the living room. "Finn! Finn!" she yelled and ran towards him. He bent down and gave her a hug. Then he looked up at their mother with an apprehensive expression on his face.

"Finn guess what, we're having pizza!" yelled Holly. "We got bases and olives and mushrooms and ham and pineapple!" Holly rushed into the kitchen and started opening cupboard doors. "Can I help make it, Mommy?"

Skyler was still standing by the door clutching the bags. She could see the look on her son's face, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was about.

"You blackmailed Uncle Hank?" he said.

Skyler let out the breath she been holding. Then, holding his eye, she nodded.

Hurt erupted across Flynn's face. "What?"

Skyler looked at him, a hundred thoughts flying through her mind, unable to say a single one of them. Banging and clattering sounds were heard as Holly rifled through the kitchen cupboards. "Mommy," she said, walking back through to the living room holding a pizza cutter high in the air. "Do we use this?"

"Jesus!" said Skyler, sweeping forward and taking the pizza cutter. "Holly, do not play with knives! This is sharp, it could hurt you!"

Holly's face fell. "I'm not playing. I'm helping make dinner."

Skyler walked past her into the kitchen and begin picking up the items she'd taken out of the cupboards with shaking hands.

"Why would you do that, Mom?" said Flynn, following her. "I don't understand."

Skyler, squatting on the floor with her back to him, closed her eyes.

"H-he was our family, and ... Mom?"

Skyler stood up, but kept her back to him. "Have you talked to Aunt Marie about it?"

"Aunt Marie was quoted in the article!"

Skyler nodded, opening a bag of groceries and beginning to take out ingredients. Holly went and got the small stool she used to reach the sink and the counter, placed it next to her mother and climbed up on it.

"Mom! Are you even…gonna look at me?"

"What's going on, Mommy?" asked Holly, her wide eyes appearing over the top of the counter.

Skyler slowly and steadily turned around and looked at Flynn. "Can we please talk about this after Holly's in bed?"

"Oh yeah, of course, because k-keeping things from your children comes natural to you!"

"She's only three."

"I'm turning three tomorrow, Mommy. It's my birthday!" Holly broke into a big smile.

Skyler patted her head and turned back to the counter. "That's right."

"I'm a big girl now. I can make pizza."

"Yes you can. Have you washed your hands?"

Scowling, Flynn turned and pulled his new smartphone and its hands-free device out of his pocket. He connected it to his phone and dialled his aunt. Then he put the phone back in his pocket and began to slowly climb the stairs to his room. "Hey, Aunt Marie," he said. "Wh-why didn't you tell me about this…blackmail thing?"

...

The next morning, Flynn, Holly and Skyler arrived at Marie's house dressed in varying degrees of fairy and elf costumes. Holly was fully decked out in a pink tutu and wings, Skyler was wearing a figure-hugging blue satin dress, which didn't really hug her figure properly because she'd lost so much weight, and was carrying a pair of glittery brown wings in one hand and a plate of cupcakes in the other. Flynn was wearing a baggy jacket and didn't look dressed up at all. His expression was surly.

Marie answered the door in a loud purple dress complemented with large purple wings, purple eyeshadow and purple glitter across her face. "Hi!" she said with a big grin. "There's the birthday girl!" She dropped to one knee and gave Holly a big hug and kiss. "Happy birthday, sweetheart! Oh look at your costume, aren't you a wonderful fairy!"

"So are you!" said Holly excitedly. "What's that?" She pointed at Marie's face.

"That's face glitter, do you want some?"

"Yeah!"

"Ok, come on." Marie stepped back from the door to let them all in.

"Can Mommy have some too?"

"Sure, if she wants to."

Scowling, Flynn pushed past them into the hallway.

"And where's your costume, mister?" asked his aunt.

Flynn unzipped his jacket to reveal a green button shirt.

"Where's your ears? I specifically made you ears!"

"In my bag," he said grumpily. "The party's not started yet, r-right?"

Holly's excited yells could be heard as she discovered the decorations in the living room.

Marie looked between Skyler and Flynn. "Did you two talk?"

"I did," said Flynn.

"Alright, I know, talking doesn't solve much, but you just gotta keep doing it until it gets a bit better. Come on."

The party entertainers soon arrived, followed in dribs and drabs by a very small number of children and adults. Skyler busied herself with the catering while Marie excitedly joined in on the games the entertainers were running. Flynn sat in an armchair wearing his elf hat, which had somewhat lopsided painted cardboard ears attached to it.

One game finished, and Marie rushed to the kitchen to bring out more food. She found her sister there alone, staring at a tray of jello cups. "Hey!" Marie said excitedly. "I am so glad I found those people, they know the best games! I'm gonna ask them if they have a booklet of them."

Skyler looked up and nodded slowly. "Good idea. Thank you, you've done really well."

"Anything for my little schnookums." She looked in the oven. "Oh, are those mini quiches? I love those."

"They're probably done," said Skyler flatly.

"Awesome." Marie put on an oven mitt and took the tray of mini quiches out of the oven, and began placing them on a platter that was covered in napkins with pictures of fairies on them. Skyler took a potful of mini frankfurters off the stove, drained them and began placing them into a large bowl.

"So was that Kuby guy for real?" asked Marie.

Skyler frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean was he telling the truth?"

"We can't discuss that."

"What, I've already given my testimony!"

"I haven't."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't... I mean you don't have to say much, just yes or no, I just… I just wanna know yes or no, was he for real or not?"

"Marie."

"We were technically allowed to talk to each other about it before I gave my testimony and even during - the only reason we didn't was Kim recommended not to, but she said there's no rule against it."

"Marie."

"What, are you just gonna clam up on me? Is that what you did to Flynn last night? I just wanna know, you know, because I've never even heard of the guy before and then suddenly he's there saying these things that you didn't... I didn't -"

Skyler's eyes snapped shut. "Shut up, please. I can't."

Marie was silent for a moment, then picked up the platter of quiches and turned towards her sister. "I take that to mean yes. Yes he was for real. Sky?"

"Did Kim tell you the reason for it not being a good idea for us to talk to each other about this?"

Marie was silent. Skyler looked her in the eye. "Because it's not in my interest."

They looked at each other, Skyler's breathing shaky, Marie's rough and strong. Then Skyler turned and swept down the hallway carrying the frankfurters.

...

"Aunt Marie, where's Shelley?" said Holly, toddling over with ketchup on her face.

Marie picked up a napkin and wiped it. "I don't know, sweetheart. I've been wondering that."

"She said she was gonna come. So did Todd."

"Did they?"

"Can you call their moms?"

"Sure, ok, good idea."

"Who are Shirley and Todd?" asked Flynn.

"Two of her little friends from day care." She dropped her voice. "There should be a lot more kids here - I invited the entire day care centre, we made invitations for every single kid!"

"Ha. Surprise surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't-don't bother calling them. They'll just say something…condescending."

"What are you saying?" Marie hissed.

"They're not gonna send their...kids to the party of the child of a kn-known felon!"

"What? That's not her fault!"

"What, do-do you think it's mine? I've been putting up with…this shit for the last year and a half. Th-they're not gonna let their kids a-anywhere near her."

"Are you talking about your mom or your dad?"

"Oh yeah, well, both of them are felons b-but she's the one who's still alive and wearing a fairy costume! And all over the news all week!"

"Shhhhhhh. Don't let either of them hear you say that."

"What did you expect?"

"I expected that people would let their kids play with their friends!"

"Not us. Holly's gonna grow up with it, i-it will never leave her alone. This is why I keep saying you need to change her name. Do-do it before she enrols in school. Then she has a chance."

"What?"

"You can sign off on it, right, y-you'll be her guardian. Mom won't do it."

"Flynn, I..."

"Wh-where have you been living? Don't you…see people cross to the other side of the street to…avoid Mom?"

Marie's expression indicated that clearly she didn't.

...

Despite the lack of children, Holly had an absolutely wonderful time at her third birthday party and wouldn't stop talking about it for the rest of the evening. The children's entertainers had gifted her with a picture book with the story of all the characters they had brought to life during the party. Skyler and Marie performed the book as Holly's bedtime story, each taking on different roles and delivering lines elaborately and excitably. Flynn almost got pulled in too, but he retreated when he saw how fake they were being. Marie was trying to draw on Holly's excitement and whatever remained of her own. Skyler couldn't feel anything at all, so her demeanour was entirely fake, but that was not unusual.

Flynn rolled his eyes, walked down the hallway to the living room bar, poured himself a glass of red wine and sat sullenly at the table.

"Hey Grumpy Pants," said Marie, walking into the room and grunting as she took the wings off her back. "Oh, thank god for that." She turned to Skyler, who was just behind her. "Is yours itching you?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, I guess your dress has more of a back to it."

"I think your wings have more glitter too."

"Ah..." Marie scratched her back and looked at her fingers. They were covered in sparkly purple glitter.

Skyler saw the wine. "Flynn! What are you doing?"

"S-seriously?"

"You are not making a habit of drinking!"

"Why not? Because it's against the law? Are you r-really gonna say that to me?"

"No, because it's bad for you!"

"Oh, that's so much better and… so much less hypocritical."

"Alright, children, calm down," said Marie. Picking up the bottle, she poured herself a glass and sat down.

"I assume that came from your wine cabinet, Marie. He's taken that from you!"

"Oh, th-theft, Mom? That's what you're going with now?"

"Enough!" said Marie. "This is not helpful."

"Alright, well how about we have a…helpful and honest discussion," said Flynn. "Like adults." He stared at his mother.

"Hear hear," said Marie, turning to look at her too.

Skyler sat down heavily and dragged a hand over her eyes. "I can't talk about any of it. You can tell each other whatever you want. Between you you know most of it. But I can't talk about it."

"Y-you've told us things before," said Flynn. "You've…engaged with us before. All I want you to do is recognise h-how serious this is."

"I do recognise that. It's serious enough for me to be on trial for a level two felony, and I can't discuss the details of the case. I don't know why that's so difficult for you to understand!"

"Because Kim said there was no rule against it!" said Marie.

Skyler clenched her jaw and leaned forward. "I am not admitting anything to anyone. That's not about who you are, it is about me not putting any more information out than is already out there."

"It is already out there," said Marie. "That's my point. All I said was is it for real or not. If you answered that question you wouldn't be giving me any additional information, you would just be showing me the respect of acknowledging my question!"

"I acknowledge your question, Marie. It's a very serious question, it's a very serious subject, and I am not doing this for me. I do not give a shit about defending myself. As far as I'm concerned, I should go to prison for nine years - I should go to prison for fifteen years, I deserve that! The only reason I am fighting for it to be knocked back to a misdemeanor is Holly! If it was up to me, there wouldn't be any trial - I would've pled guilty months ago! I am only fighting this for Holly! For Holly, I am going to keep my mouth shut and I would appreciate it if you would do the same."

"Aunt Marie a-already told the court about the blackmail. Are you…saying she shouldn't have done that? Sh-should she have lied?"

"No, of course not, you have to tell the truth in court. All I'm saying is that we should not discuss the court case outside of court!"

"Well I don't know what's happening in the court b-because you won't let me go there!"

"She can tell you. But I. Can't. Discuss. It."

"So what, y-you're afraid you might tell me something I di-didn't know already and then… when I do my testimony they'll…ask me about it and I'll turn you in? D-do you have so little faith in me?"

"No - yes, actually Flynn, you should tell the authorities if someone you know breaks the law."

"Oh, the irony."

Skyler put her head in her hands. "Look. If I tell you something by accident or imply something or give you any feeling or any impression, the Prosecutor can ask you about it. If you then tell the court the truth about it, I'm screwed. If you don't, you're screwed. If you don't, then you are an accessory after the fact. I will not do that to you."

"But it's all stuff we already know!" sad Marie. "And I've already given my testimony anyway!"

"That doesn't mean you wouldn't be obliged, if you got new knowledge about a felony, to tell the authorities. If you don't, you are compromised. And let me see, why don't I want to compromise you? For Holly!"

"I know, but I already know all the stuff already!"

Skyler banged her hand on the table. "You don't."

Flynn and Marie jumped. Skyler looked at them, breathing heavily. They looked back in shock.

"Wh-what do you mean?" said Flynn.

"I can't tell you what I mean. I will say it again, I don't give a shit for myself: I am doing this for Holly. If the two of you decide you don't want to speak to me anymore, that is fine. I don't understand why you're still giving me the time of day anyway. I will be out of your hair in a week, and if you don't wanna talk to me after that you don't have to, but I am fighting this for Holly, I am coming back as soon as I can for Holly. And if you care about her at all you will just let me do that!"