April 15, 1998

"Are you excited to start junior high next year?" Mary asked.

Mary was Liz's best friend. She was also a nurse at the hospital.

Lux had known her as a nurse first. Back when Lux was in the hospital awaiting heart surgery after heart surgery.

Mary had always been nice to her, but no one had been nearly as nice as Liz.

Now Lux knew Mary as her aunt. Mary was staying with Lux while her parents were in Las Vegas.

Lux had begged to go with her parents. Liz told her she wouldn't have any fun. They were going with people from Mark's work. It would be all adults.

Lux hated when her parents left her. She knew by now that they'd never really leave her, but it had been a fear she'd had until she was almost five. All Lux had known for sure was that her birth parents had easily left her behind.

She'd been especially clingy as a toddler, even more so than most kids. She'd never liked play dates unless they were at her house. She hated for Liz to leave her at other kids' houses. She hated for Liz to leave her at all.

Now Lux wasn't happy that her parents had left her, and she was even more annoyed that they'd left her with Mary. She'd told her mom she could stay home by herself. She was twelve. She could take care of herself.

But Liz said she'd feel better if Mary stayed with Lux just in case something happened.

Lux had laughed and asked what her mom thought was going to happen. She'd reminded Liz that they lived in a nice suburb with a nonexistent crime rate. But Lux had given in.

Lux always gave in. She loved her parents so much. She knew they'd saved her. There was nothing she wouldn't do to make her mother happy.

Lux had always wondered what would have become of her if Liz and Mark hadn't adopted her. She knew no one else had wanted her.

Even with two parents who loved her and gave her everything she ever wanted, Lux felt abandoned. She knew there were two people out there who hadn't wanted her even though she was their daughter.

When she was younger, Lux had wondered what her real parents were like. She'd imagined her birth mom looked just like her. Liz and Mark didn't look like Lux, Lux knew.

Lux wondered if everyone immediately knew that Lux wasn't Liz's real daughter when they saw the two together. Not that it mattered. Since Lux had referred to her parents as "Liz" and "Mark" on her first day of pre-school, everyone knew she was adopted.

Everyone knew Lux was different. Kids had asked her what it felt like to be adopted. Lux had never known how to answer that. She didn't know what it felt like to not be adopted.

Liz and Mark were the only parents Lux had ever known. She'd eventually realized they were her real parents. Whether they had the same blood or not.

Liz and Mark were the ones who had always been there for her. That's what parents did, Lux knew. Parents didn't abandon the child they were supposed to love and care for, Lux thought angrily.

Lux was actually really excited to start junior high school. All of the kids Lux had gone to pre-school with were going to a different junior high.

For the first time in Lux's life, no one would know she was adopted. No one would know she was different. And she planned to keep it that way.

Liz didn't understand. She'd asked Lux if she wanted to optionally enroll in the same school as her friends. Liz had been surprised when Lux said no.

"Lux?" Mary said, looking at her expectantly.

Lux realized she'd never answered Mary. She'd been lost in her thoughts. "Yeah," Lux replied quickly.

Mary smiled. "I was so excited to start junior high. I'd been in gymnastics since I was little and I couldn't wait to start cheerleading. My older sister was a cheerleader."

Lux forced herself to smile politely.

"Are you going to do anything?" Mary asked.

"No, I don't think so," Lux replied.

Mary frowned. "Your mom said you're really good at soccer."

Lux was a good soccer player. She'd been playing since she was five. She'd been naturally good and had only gotten better as she continued to play.

Lux had often wondered if her birth parents were good at soccer, too. If she'd inherited the skill. She knew neither Mark nor Liz had been athletic.

Mark had been into music. He'd been in a band. He still had instruments in the house. A guitar and drums. When Lux was little, she used to play with them. They'd soon discovered Lux had absolutely no musical talent.

Mark and Liz had signed Lux up for every activity she ever wanted to try and some she hadn't, but Lux always liked soccer the best. Lux wanted to play soccer next year, but she knew if she did she'd run into her old friends, who knew she was adopted. She was worried they'd say something in front of her new classmates.

"I'm OK," Lux said, not wanting to explain. She knew Mary would just tell her everything would be OK and she should play. Mary would tell Liz, too, and Liz would feel bad.

Lux wouldn't do anything to hurt Liz. Liz was her savior, her mother, her best friend.

"I'm gonna go do homework in my room," Lux said, eager for an excuse to leave the living room.

Mary nodded.

Lux didn't actually have homework to do. She was smart and she usually finished her work in class. She'd always gotten A's without having to work very hard.

Lux lay down on her bed. She wished her parents would let her have a TV in her room. Liz said she'd never get to see Lux if Lux had a TV in her room whenever Lux whined about not having one.

Lux leapt up when she heard the phone ring. She grabbed the receiver, knowing it would be her mom. "Hello?"

"Hi!" Liz said brightly. She missed her daughter even though she'd only been gone for a few days. "How's everything going?"

"OK," Lux said.

"How'd you do on your science test?" Liz wanted to know.

Lux rolled her eyes. "Fine. Don't I always?"

"That's good. Anything else going on?"

"No," Lux replied.

"OK. I miss you. Dad wants to say hi. I love you," Liz said before handing the phone to Mark.

"I love you, too," Lux said quickly.

April 16, 1998

Jones' mom dropped him and Lux off at the Turners' house. Jones was Lux's best friend.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Lux asked politely.

"No thanks," Jones replied.

"Do you wanna play Mariokart or Tennis?" Lux asked, holding up two Wii games.

"It's up to you," Jones said good-naturedly. He was easygoing and almost always let Lux have her way. Fortunately they had similar taste.

They'd been good friends since they were little. He was one of the few people Lux would miss when they went to different junior high schools the following year.

"Mariokart," Lux decided. It was her favorite game. She put the game in and handed Jones a controller.

Lux won easily. She played with her dad all the time, so she'd gotten pretty good.

Jones watched Lux play. He smiled slightly at her intense, focused expression. He even thought she was cute when she won and did a victory dance.

"You're a bad sport," Jones said lightly.

Lux threw one of the red throw pillows that decorated the couch at Jones. He caught it easily. He was a good football player. He also knew Lux well enough to know she had a tendency to throw things.

"You forget, I'm quarterback. I can catch anything you throw at me." Jones grinned. He tackled Lux playfully, tickling her.

"What are you guys doing?" Mary asked.

Jones released Lux quickly. Lux glared at Mary, annoyed at her disapproving tone.

"We're just hanging out," Lux said defensively.

"Does your mom know your friend is over?" Mary asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. I'm allowed to have friends over," Lux said angrily. She hated being told what to do by anyone but Liz. Liz and Mark were the only people Lux listened to. The only ones who had any right to tell Lux what to do as far as the twelve year old was concerned.

"It's a school night. I'll drive your friend home. You need to do your homework," Mary said.

Lux crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly. "Mom always lets Jones stay for dinner."

"Well, your mom's out of town," Mary said.

"It's OK," Jones said quickly. "See you tomorrow."

Lux dialed her mom's cell phone as soon as Mary and Jones left.

"Hi," Liz said uncertainly. Usually Lux waited for her to call. Liz wondered if something was wrong.

"Jones and I were hanging out and Mary made him leave. I told her you always let him stay for dinner, but she didn't listen," Lux grumbled.

"I told her you could have friends over. I don't know why she did that," Liz said sympathetically. "I'll be back tomorrow, though."

"I miss you," Lux whined. Talking to Liz always made her feel better. Liz could make anything better. Liz had always made everything all right.

"I miss you, too," Liz said, smiling slightly.

April 17, 1998

Lux woke up early even though it was Saturday. She wanted to clean the house before her parents got home.

She made her bed and picked up all the dirty clothes she'd thrown on her floor earlier that week. She was about to throw them in her hamper, but decided to take them down to the laundry room instead so her mom wouldn't have to.

Lux vacuumed the whole house. She grabbed her backpack from the foyer and took it up to her room like Liz was always asking her to. She even dusted the living room.

Lux surveyed the house, making sure nothing else was out of place. When she was satisfied, she sat down on the couch to watch TV.

Lux was watching an old movie when she heard the garage door open. She grinned and hurried to the door.

"Hi," Liz said when she entered. She hugged her daughter.

Mark came in a few minutes later, wrestling with his suitcase and Liz's.

Mark gave Lux a bear hug.

"I got you something," Liz said.

Lux's eyes lit up. "What?"

Liz rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a stuffed lion from the MGM Hotel. Lux loved lions. She loved animals in general, but lions were her favorite. Her parents took her to the zoo a lot when she was little.

Lux wanted to be a veterinarian. She used to want to be a nurse like her mom, but Liz suggested Lux consider being a veterinarian since she loved animals so much. Liz had told her being a vet was like being a nurse or doctor for animals.

"Thank you," Lux said, admiring the stuffed animal.

"You're welcome," Liz replied. "Las Vegas is a lot more family friendly now than it used to be. All of the hotels have nice pools and there's great shopping. We'll take you next time."

Lux grinned. She gave Mark about ten minutes to unpack before she asked him to play Mariokart.

Mark looked up from the newspaper he'd just started reading. He feigned annoyance, though Lux knew he enjoyed playing just as much as she did. "OK. Set it up."

Liz watched Lux and Mark settle down in front of the TV, hands gripping their controllers tightly as they focused their attention on the game. The two probably spent an hour per day playing that stupid game. Liz swore they could play games all day.

Liz started marinating the steak Mark would grill for dinner later that day. She grabbed two beers, one for herself and one for her husband. "Lux, do you want anything to drink?" Liz asked before joining her family in the living room.

Lux didn't answer. Liz rolled her eyes. She knew Lux's attention was focused on beating her dad. Her daughter probably hadn't even heard her question.

Liz sat down in the recliner opposite the couch and flipped through a magazine.

"I need to win this one, so you don't shut me out," Mark commented as they started the last race of their series.

Lux smirked as she chose one of the courses Mark struggled the most with.

Mark made a face. "I knew you'd choose that one."

Lux laughed. "I like to win."

"I've noticed," Mark replied. "Does Jones ever win?"

"Not at Mariokart. He usually beats me at Tennis," Lux said thoughtfully.

They grew quiet as the game started, focusing intently on racing.

"Damn it," Mark swore when he drove off the race course.

Liz shot him a dirty look. "Mark," she said, warning in her voice.

Lux rolled her eyes. "It's not like I've never heard the word before, Mom."

After Lux beat Mark, they switched to bowling so Liz could join them. They'd tried to teach her how to play Mariokart, but she'd been completely hopeless.

They played until they all got hungry. Then Mark went outside to grill the steaks and Liz switched a boring news program on. They sat in comfortable silence, Lux occasionally interrupting.