"So, that didn't take as much time as I thought it might. I think we will still have time to swim after dinner. Does that sound fun?" Lena asked putting on the most genuine smile she could muster as they were seated.

"Not really." Callie said putting her head on the table. "I don't think I even need dinner."

The waiter brought both kids a special menu for children. Callie immediately laid hers to the side saying she was too big for it, but Jude recovered quickly and was happy. "Well, we are going to have it anyway. What do you think you will get, Jude?"

"I think I will get the macaroni and cheese. It comes with green beans and I like that stuff."

"That sounds like a good plan. Did you see that they also have pizza with vegetables? You like that, too."

"Yes, but not on the kid's menu. If I order from this one I can get chocolate milk. See, Mama. Do you see that it says chocolate milk?" Jude ask holding up his menu in such a way it was impossible to read.

"That sounds great, Jude. How about you Callie? Are you going to order off of the kid's menu and get chocolate milk, too?" Lena asked.

"No. Still not hungry and still not a baby." Callie said with her head still down.

"Callie, sit up please. If you are not going to order from the kid's menu, you need to be looking at the regular one. You are ordering something. If you refuse to pick I will choose something for you and it will be from the kid's menu since you are in fact only ten. You must eat and I will make sure that happens." Lena said establishing a boundary for Callie.

Once again Lena's authoritative tone and reassurance that she would make sure Callie was taken care of made her sit up, but not look at her menu instead she stared at Lena. "How would you even know what to order?"

"Jude, pass me your menu really quick." Jude handed it to Lena. "I would say that you would choose the fried shrimp with broccoli. Broccoli is your favorite vegetable and you have always been fond of eating shrimp. You would like the chocolate milk with it."

Callie looked at Lena with admiration, but only for a second. "I don't like shrimp anymore. So, if you got that for me, I wouldn't like it."

"I know that isn't true, but I would order you the chicken strips in that case. Those are a safe bet for you. B would want the chicken, Mariana would want the macaroni only she would want to know if they had strawberry milk, and Jesus would need to order off the adult menu since he could eat several kid sized portions and still be hungry. Don't look so surprised, you all are mine and I know my kids."

"I think I would like the shrimp." Callie said quietly. Lena nodded and passed the menu back to Jude.

"Good choice." The family ordered and Lena tried to keep the dialog open with Callie. It was obvious that meeting her grandmother (who she really didn't speak to) had so far not been good for Callie. She would have to speak to her later while Jude was occupied.

Back at the hotel, Jude was ready to go swimming. "Please, Mama, now?" He asked.

"Callie isn't ready yet. We cannot go without your sister." Lena said again.

Callie opened the bathroom door and looked grouchy. "Do we have to go swimming? I don't really want to go."

"Well, I did tell Jude that we could earlier and he really wants to go. What else would you suggest?"

"Just staying in the room?" Callie said looking unsure.

"How about we all go down the pool for Jude? You are already in your swimsuit, so if want to get in the pool it would be okay. If you still don't, you wouldn't have to, we can talk and relax a little instead. Then we could come back up here. Would that work?" Lena asked putting an arm around the girl.

"Maybe you guys could go to the pool and leave me here. I could talk to you later." Callie said leaning into her mama for a minute and then getting away the moment she realized what she was doing.

"Callie, you are only ten. I don't feel comfortable leaving you in the room by yourself. We can take Jude swimming for just a little while and then come right back up here."

"If I get in the pool I will have to wash my hair again tonight. No, thank you." Callie said once again becoming sort of sullen. Lena realized Callie needed some alone time she had not gotten on this trip. For the funeral to be successful tomorrow, Callie was going to have to be at her best.

"Mama!" Jude said again grabbing Lena's hand and pulling again. Lena disentangled her hand from the six year old and sat down on the bed.

Lena took a second to think of a compromise. "The pool area has a phone. There are instruction on the phone in our room for calling down there. If I leave you here, you must promise that you will not leave the room. If anything comes up you must call the pool area immediately. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I can do that, Mama!" Callie said happily.

"One more thing, I am leaving my phone with you and I want you to call Mom while we are gone. I talked to her a bit this morning, but I know she would love to hear from you."

"I could tell her about the museum, I guess…" Callie said losing some of her enthusiasm.

Lena sent a quick text to her wife. "Callie is going to call in a little while. She needs to process meeting her grandmother and I am giving her space to do so."

Stef replied. "Bring it on. J I will actually call her in about five minutes if she hasn't called. By the way, there is a frozen yogurt place in short walking distance from your hotel. Take my kids out tonight if you haven't already."

Lena smiled at the reply. "Okay, babes, Mom is expecting your call right away. Don't put on pajamas yet because after swimming we are going one more place."

As soon as Jude and Lena left, Callie got her bear and opened the bag with the pictures hoping to somehow bond with Colleen. She dumped the pictures out on the floor and got them all turned the right direction. The first picture she that caught her eye was a picture of her with her mother when she was a few days old. Callie had never seen any newborn pictures of herself before. It was not hard for her to find her resemblance to her mother. It was a connection that she had always sort of longed for and didn't have with her mothers. Callie could almost imagine going somewhere with Colleen and having people point out how much the two looked alike. Of course, now Colleen was gone.

Callie started to cry. She cried for her birth mother that she was never going to meet and for the life she did not have. Out of frustration Callie threw her bear as hard as she could against the door, but it wasn't satisfying. Next, she picked up the picture and started to tear it before Lena's phone started ringing and she saw that it was Stef. She picked up the phone and answered it, but stayed silent.

Stef could hear the breathing over the phone and could tell that Callie was upset by something. "Hey Bug. Mama said you might want to talk to me. How are you doing?" Callie set the picture back down and started stuffing all the others back in the bag. She carefully put her picture in her bag. Stef couldn't see her, but Callie still felt like she was betraying her mothers a little by even looking much less keeping one picture. Over the phone Stef could hear a lot of movement and then everything was silent. "Callie, are you still there?"

"Yes."

"What did you all do today? Anything fun?" Stef tried again.

"Mama took us to a science museum." Callie said hiccupping a little from her intense cry. "I touched a stingray, but Mama didn't want to. She said they look slimy. It wasn't, though, it was more like sandpaper."

"That sounds very interesting. What else did you do?"

"Jude and I got in a box thing that was like a tornado. The wind was very fast, but it was kind of fun. I wouldn't want to live somewhere with tornadoes, though. It would be scary." Callie's voice was much more normal now and she was starting to open up a little.

"People in those areas say we are crazy for living in California with all of the earthquakes. I have always liked it here, though. It is home."

"Earthquakes aren't so bad. They are usually small anyway. California is the best place to live. I wonder if my mom ever got to see it…"

"I am not sure about that, Lady Bug, but she was an adult. She could have come here if she wanted to. Mama grew up far away from here and yet she found her way. Colleen must have liked Chicago."

"Did she even know that I moved to California? Why didn't she come see me?" Callie's tears started back a little slower this time, but Stef could hear them.

"When Jude was born, I am sure she sort of knew you weren't in the area. I cannot answer that one for you. I know that wherever you go, I will always come visit you. There is nowhere too far." Stef assured her daughter.

Callie smiled a little through her tears. "What if I moved to Africa?"

"If it was right now, Mama and I would move there with you. We would never let you move away from us. If you were an adult, we would definitely come and visit."

"Well, what if I moved to Brooklyn and became a Dodgers fan?" Callie asked knowing that Stef hated the Dodgers as they were the Padres rivals.

"Even then I would still find you. Love Bug, even if you went to live on the moon I would find a way to come see you. Colleen really missed out not getting to meet you. That is not a mistake I am willing to make."

"The lady said that it was Jude's dad that killed her. Is that true?"

Stef let out sharp breath. "Well, the news article said it was Donald Jacob driving the car. He was driving drunk which is illegal. He crashed into oncoming traffic and she and the people in the other car both died. Now, he will go to jail."

"You told me… you told me it was an accident. Was Donald my dad, too?" Callie asked with the frustration building back up.

"It was an accident. Donald didn't intend on killing anyone that day as far as we know. He was drinking, but many people drink without killing someone. On the father issue, we aren't certain as there wasn't a father listed on your birth certificate. Before Mama adopted you, your last name was Jacob like Donald's name. That's why we gave it to Jude as a middle name. It turns out, though, that last names are not exactly proof of parentage. I mean when I had Brandon I could have given him any last name I desired. Fortunately for him, I gave him mine."

"Last names aren't proof?" Callie questioned quietly and then started becoming louder. "What about me? I thought you adopted me and gave me Foster because you are my mother for always. Is that not true either? Is that why Mama is just calling us Adams this weekend? What else have you told me that's not true?"

"Whoa…. Calm down there, Bug! In your birth family it is not proof, but in ours it is just one piece of the puzzle. Mama and I are only calling you Adams this weekend because that's how you were originally adopted. It is for your safety and my peace of mind. I know Mama took your locket for you to wear. Go get it for me."

Stef heard movement again and when it stopped she spoke again. "Open it and tell me what you see."

"I see me with Mama and me with you." Callie answered evenly.

"Hmmm, well did you know that when the picture of us was taken Mama and I weren't even dating yet? I had known you for less than a month. Mama had to work and I had the day off, so I swung by your apartment and took you and B to the beach. I started teaching you to swim that day. I took the picture to show your mama that you were safe and happy. Even then, I knew you were something very special. This is one of the pictures I have framed on my desk at work. It is our first picture together and I can already see the love."

While Stef was talking, Callie went and got her new picture out of her backpack. She compared it to the two pictures in her locket. "I think I see it too." Callie said after a few moments. "Colleen loved me, too."

"I am sure she did. You are easy to love."

XXXX

"Mama, am I going to jail?" Jude asked taking Lena a little by surprise on their way to the pool.

"I don't think so. Did you do something I don't know about?"

"No… Am I going to get to go home with you?"

"Yes, of course. Mommy and I could not live without our Little Man with us. You belong to us, we are just visiting Chicago. Why do you ask?'

"That lady said that men in my family should stay away from cops. Mommy is a cop so I thought maybe I shouldn't go back there."

"No, baby, she said men in her family. Men in our family aren't like that. Gramps and Grandpa have neither one been in that kind of trouble. They are the men in your family."

"Oh. So Brandon and Jesus are also okay? I was worried that we left them with Mommy."

"As far as I know everyone is fine. I am not intending on any of my children to have trouble following the law, not my girls and not my boys. That's one reason why Mommy and I give you time outs and things when you don't follow our rules. We want you to grow up and be good people."

Jude grinned. "You are so smart, Mama. You can teach us good things now so that we don't have to go to jail like that other family."

"Thanks, baby." Lena said opening the door to the pool. "We are here, but if you need to talk, I will be sitting right over there by the phone in case Callie needs anything."

"I need to swim right now, Mama!" Jude said as he made his way to the shallow end of the pool to climb in.

XXX

Lena found Callie in a much better mood when they returned to the room. Both kids were very excited to walk to the frozen yogurt place and it was only made better that it was very close to Jude's normal bedtime. "Is this one of Mom's surprises?" Callie asked as they left the hotel.

"Sort of, Mom suggested going and told me where the place was, but she didn't make arrangements ahead of time. Her other surprises were planned."

"I want to get chocolate, Mama. Will that be okay?" Jude asked skipping along holding Lena's hand tightly.

"You may have any flavor you want went we get there. I think this is one of the places that has things to mix in."

"I want gummy bears in mine."

Lena laughed a little. "Let's look at what they have before making that choice. Anyway, I thought you didn't like gummy bears in your ice cream anymore. Remember that they freeze and become hard. You spit them out last time."

"I was little then, Mama." This comment made Callie giggle a little, too. "Now I am bigger. Jesus likes them and I do too. He is my big brother and he knows stuff about ice cream."

Fortunately for the family, the store was temporarily out of gummy bears. Jude got something he actually liked instead. Callie and Jude both hate their frozen yogurt happily. "So, tomorrow we are going to the funeral. Someone there will be reading about Colleen's life. You two will be mentioned out loud as being her children. We are going to be sitting with your birth grandmother. It is just for one day."

"Are we going to have to do something?" Callie asked not sure how funeral really went.

"No. We will just sit still and listen. I will be sitting right in between the two of you. Jude, you will have you birth grandmother on the other side of you. Will that be okay?" Lena already realized the tension between Linda and Callie might not make a good combination.

"And they are going to say our last name is Adams again, right, Mama?" Callie asked.

"Yes. Mom and I both thought that would be better this time. We didn't list middle names for you either. Just Callie and Jude Adams. When we get back to the room, would you like to look at the pictures that we got today?"

"No, thank you." Callie answered a little too quickly which Lena interpreted correctly as that Callie had already looked at them.

"Jude and I might take a look then. I think it would be nice to see a picture of the person we came to honor. I have never actually seen her or a picture. We should look to see if there are any really special ones that we want to have framed for the two of you."

Callie looked up suddenly in shock. "You would do that? If we found one we really liked?"

"Absolutely. Mom and I are your mothers, but Colleen was special, too. She carried you around inside of her for nine months and took care of you until I got you. She will always have a place and that is okay."

Callie was now trying to formulate a plan to get her picture back in the bag with the others so she would not have to explain what she did. "Maybe we could all look at them together tomorrow morning?"

"No, I think tonight would be best. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day as it is."

As they walked back to the room, Callie announced that she needed to go to the bathroom and asked for the card to get in the door. Lena gave it to her and she ran ahead. When she got to the room, she went over to her backpack to grab her picture back out. She looked at it one more time and had it almost back when the door opened. She put the picture behind her back looking very guilty.

"What do you have there, babes?" Lena asked walking over to her.

"Nothing."

Lena looked behind Callie. "It looks like a picture. May I see it?"

Callie slowly handed it to Lena and looked back at the ground. "I found it and I really liked it. I wanted to keep it. Then when you said special pictures could be framed, I wanted this one back in the group. I am sorry, Mama." Callie said starting to cry again.

"They are your pictures. You have nothing to be sorry about, really. It might have been better to wait for Jude, but I can see you wanting to look first." Lena sat down and looked at the picture. "You were such a pretty newborn! Look at all of that hair!"

Callie and Jude sat down on either side of their mama. "I did have a lot of hair. Jude was almost bald."

"Yep. Look at the way Colleen was looking at you, Callie! That look is love! It is the same way Mom and I look at you."

"I noticed that, too. That's why I think this one is special."

Lena looked at the pictures with her kids until Jude was almost asleep and Callie wasn't far behind. "I think it is time for pajamas and to be tucked into bed."

"I want to stay with you tonight, Mama. Is it okay if I move over here?"

"Of course, Callie. We would love to have you over here with us. Tomorrow is going to be a big day and you two are going to need your sleep." The two kids got up and started getting ready for bed. Lena tucked the two in and gave them kisses. "I love both of you very much. I will be back in just a little bit to sleep, but right now I need to call Mom."

"Call her right now, Mama. I want to say good night." Jude said yawning.

Lena called and let both kids say good night before she took the phone into the bathroom so that the kids could sleep and she could have a little privacy. They both rehashed their days with some laughter as well as a few tears. Both felt a little better simply getting to talk after a long day apart.