I LIIIIIIVE!!!!

I don't want to go too deep into the reasons why I have been unable to post, that and more will be covered in a separate journal. What I would like to say though is thank you for everyone who stuck around while I worked on all of this. It has been a pain, not from a writing standpoint so much as a life standpoint. I promise to get out what I can while I can though, which may be more than you think.

I want to thank everyone again for sticking with me and I promise lots of new surprises are on the horizen. Thank you all.

11661 words

Questions, comments and criticism adored!

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Mommy and Mousie Day
By TerraMGP

“Oh Ester Sweetie, time to wake up.” Lillian’s voice rang clearly and cheerfully though the young mousettes room, her head just barely peeking in to see the near motionless little bundle of brown fuzz and blankets that constituted her sleeping daughter. The figure stirred slowly, the mousegirl wrapped around crackers, the stuffed mouse that she held so dearly. A small smile tugging at her lips as she decided to give her a few more minutes before stepping in to wake her fully. Most parents probably would have taken the toy away five or six years ago in order to ‘help’ her grow up, but Lil simply didn’t have the heart. Especially when it looked so adorable seeing her girl, no, her young woman, hugging the toy oh so tight. That little moment of nostalgia aside Lillian slipped her way in and placed a paw on that lump of mouse and blanket giving it a few rousing shakes. “Come on sweetie its time to get up. Do you know what day it is?”

One Greed-irised orb slowly forced itself open, and then slapped shut again. Ester flailed hazily for her nightstand until eventually her fingers wrapped around the familiar black plastic frames. “W-what day is it Mommy?” The sleepy teen mumbled, trying desperately to work the frames open with one tired hand while still clutching crackers with the other.

Not missing a beat Lil snatched the glasses away and slipped them deftly onto Esters face giving her daughters’ chestnut locks a pat for good measure. “Oh come on that’s no fun, not even a guess? Don’t tell me you’re going to start getting all teenagery on me now are you?” She gave the mouse a playful poke in the ribs. “Well my little stick in the mud. I suppose I can tell you then. Iiiits Mommy and Mousie day!”

Hearing her mother sing the familiar little line shot Ester up faster than A half gallon caffeine injection. Sitting herself up she looked into her mothers face with a huge knowing grin. “All day long we get to play?” She asked happily in the same half-singing style, clearly excited about the prospect.

“Mmmm we have such fun, I have to say…” Lil chimed in

“Hooray! For mousie and mommy day! Yay!” By now Ester was giggling with a childlike glee. It had been months, perhaps even a year since the last time they had sung that song, signaling in the joyous tradition of ‘Mommy and Mousie day’, those wonderful times when both parent and child got a whole day to spend time together. The young woman was so excited by the prospect that she fell out of her bed in a clumsy heap dashing towards her dresser with only one quick, tight hug around her mothers neck.

“Well then I’ll leave you to get changed.” Lillian laughed “I think I should get breakfast finished up anyways. Don’t take too long.” With that the feline walked out of the room chuckling, leaving her little girl a flurry of activity to get ready for the fun day ahead and the faintest smell of Liege Waffles cooking to spur her along.
Five or six minutes of relative quiet later, Ester finally made her way out of the room, still in the process of straitening out her skirt and pulling up her socks as she hopped into the living and dining room area of their apartment. “So what are we going to do today Mommy? Do we really have some plans? I mean…”

Lillian peeked her head out from the kitchen with a cheshire smirk and shook her head. “now now, just sit down and relax sweetheart. Let your mother make you some food, and then we will discuss everything else, ok?” She stayed in the doorway until Ester sat herself down and then nodded happily poking back into the kitchen and putting a new batch of batter down onto the waffle Iron before turning her attention to a pot of boiling water she had put on to poach some eggs.

“So does that mean we really do get to play all day Mommy? I mean if you are taking the whole weekend off that means you don’t have to go in and manage prep either right? We can get the whole entire day right?” The fact that her mother was still chewing her food rather than responding gave Ester a slight chill of irrational worry. She could still remember what it was like when her mother first opened Freya's not so many years ago. Until then Lillian had spent much of her time running prep in a larger commercial kitchen. Now that she had her own place it seemed to Ester her mother was quite particular about the quality of food coming in as well as the quantity of waste going out. This unfortunately meant many trips into the restaurant even on days her mother had decided not to go in simply to keep her particularly high standards up. “So mama you are sure right?” she called out whimpering softly “No work stuff? No running off to fix any big problems in the kitchen?”

Once her second batch of waffles had been laid out on a platter, the eggs had gone though their brief little poach and a few slices of thick breadmaker-fresh white bread had popped up from the toaster Lil set about the task of arranging everything on two of the fancy wood trays she kept in the house for just such days. She took a few moments to ensure that the presentation was up to her usual standards. She took her little ones tray out first, stopping only long enough to kiss her on the forehead and then scurry back into the kitchen and sit down. Once they were both seated on the table Lil perked her ears and pushed a little container of hazelnut spread up to the side of Esters tray, nodding eagerly for the mouse girl to try a bit of it. “

Ester squeeked and carefully got a measured dollop on the butter knife sticking like Excalibur out of the whipped hazelnut spread. She slowly traced it into the crisp brown waffles like some skilled mason before picking up her fork and her own butter knife, cutting right into that fried batter and taking a careful bite. She chewed for a few moments, chewed thoughtfully for a few more, and looked off to the side before finally looking back to her mother and nodding eagerly ears perked. Quickly grabbing another fork full.

Lillian took a few more moments to chew her eggs, savoring the home made hollandaise that had become a sort of personal signature for her, the pride and joy of her eggs Benedict. It wasn’t until the feline was satisfied with her meal that she began to slowly pull herself up and offer the freshly showered mouseling sitting across from her a gentle pat on the head. “Nope. It seems Mousie is finally getting her wish, since both of her sous’ are worried Mama doesn’t trust them. They spent the last hour of service assuring me that they won‘t have any dips in standards and that I won‘t need to come in for anything… and that they will get our new prep cook Collin to stand in front of the door and play bouncer if I try.” Lillian chuckled as she took another bite of egg treating the food far more casually than she had before. “Of course the thought has crossed my mind to set up a table for two and head out there tonight for dinner, you know, to make sure nothing too bad is happening” She was only half joking. Lil knew full well that her crew was best in the city. Hell she would be willing to bet money on them being the best within fifty miles. However she also knew that, good as they were and passionate as they were they were also ambitious and more often than not just a tad overconfident. In the past few years Lillian’s best explanation for this still boiled down to simple karma for the hell she was sure she had given her chefs in the past. “However I must point out that today won’t be all fun and games. Naturally we have a few errands to run. I have to stop by the bank and transfer some funds, and then a few things at the kitchen supply store.”

“But mommy.” Ester whimpered “I thought you said nothing work related today.’

“Nothing work related.” Lillian chuckled “But unfortunately the coating on mommy’s favorite non stick is finally starting to go. Plus there is the little matter of the ice cream machine.” Scooping up the last bit of egg Lil took a moment to savor the wonderful start to what she was sure would be a perfect day. She purred softly and reached over to ruffle her little girls still loose hair sending the long strands waving in every which direction.

The happy little mouse giggled to herself and replied with her best approximation of a happy purr. “Well momma that sounds like it really makes up for Diana being gone this weekend! I mean if work really really isn’t involved then we really are going to have so much fun today.”

“That’s right we are.” Lil nodded sagely as her voice took a slightly firmer tone “But what has mommy told you about purring little one?”

Ester bit her lip hard and looked away still nuzzling into her mothers hand “Kittens purr, Mousies don’t, and I shouldn’t try to be something I’m not… right?” Even after eight years that well rehearsed rule felt so very awkward on Esters lips. She waited just a few more moments before finally standing up herself and carrying her dishes towards the sink ears folded down shamefully.

“Don’t be sorry dear, just do your best to remember.” Walking up behind her darling daughter the feline woman pulled Ester up and wrapped her arms around in a big warm hug. “I know you are a young woman in many different ways, but even young women can wind up making mistakes trying to be something they are not. You are my sweet little squeeker and I want you to be proud of that ok? I sure as hell am.” It still warmed her heart to see Ester trying so hard to emulate her mother, but that’s not what Lil wanted. Lillian always tried to insist that her child was comfortable with who she was and not with what others expected out of her. After all the Mouseling had a penchant for making others proud, but she would be damned if her daughter wound up unhappy trying to be like Mommy. She owed her child that much, and now with Ester entering those pesky teen years that worry was deeper than ever. Still it was comforting that her child had made mostly good decisions in the past few years. Lil chuckling rather amusedly. Hell even the relatively bad ones seemed to work out fairly well in the end.

“So is it about time to go mama?” The young mouse finally asked as she polished off the last of her waffle and drank down the last of her milk happily. “I just can’t wait to see what you have planned today! We haven’t been out in so long.”

Lil nodded softly and started to scoop up the dishes waving her tail happily from side to side. “Hurry up and wash that little face of yours sweetie. First stop, kitchen supply store!”

“But Mommy” Ester interjected “If we go now, we might miss my appointment with Jonathon.” Ester yelped, taking a quick glance at the clock and bouncing nervously.

Lil smirked a little and rolled the time table over in her head a bit “Ah very true. alright then. Best not keep the great stylist waiting.”

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Waiting around in hair salons had always made Ester more than a bit nervous. Her best guess as to why stemmed from the lack of exposure to them. After all she had basically picked a hairstyle at four years old and stuck with it until now. Thankfully that same choice usually allowed a stylist to simply pick up the end of her braid, snip off the loose ends and hand them the special shampoo she used to help minimize damage at this length before they were on their way, that was until now.

“So are you sure that you’re ok with this sweetie?” Lillian asked, a hint of worry on her face “I mean I know you are not used to this much attention being paid to your hair by someone else.”

“Its ok Mama, I mean its not like It will be a stranger or anything right? Jonathon isn’t going to do anything too bad.” She glanced over at Diana’s brother as he worked to put copper colored dye into a ferret woman’s hair, having just given her a short and rather sporty haircut. Two things really struck Ester at that moment. The first being how much the woman’s hair was starting to look like it had been given a one over with her own paint brush, the pigment almost exactly matching a tube of ‘antique copper’ paint she had been using to accent her minis. The other, and perhaps more striking, was how different Jonathon looked in this environment. She remembered the funny, helpful, often teasing young man she had first met when going over to Diana's house that first time, and compared that to the image she had formed over the past several weeks as she tagged along during some of Diana’s visits to her brother. She compared those experiences with him to each other, and then began comparing them to what she saw now.

The difference was subtle, assuming there was a real difference at all. In her previous encounters Jonathon had seemed far more like an older, male version of Diana. Strong, confident, funny and witty yet at the same time blunt and self-assured. The kind of person who knew who and what he was. Watching him now though it seemed as if he was laying on the humor and energy almost artificially thick. After watching so many sitcoms Ester had to wonder if this was how all adults acted in their jobs, releasing all this energy regardless of their normal personality to make people feel at home, or whatever the reason may be. The quick image of Aunt Ruth calling people darling and sweetie, and being bubbly and sweet to clients while walking around showing houses popped into her head, and for a moment she cracked a smile.

“Hay, Est, come on your up.”

Ester looked up to see Jonathon waving at her, the woman apparently done with her highlights and ready to leave. Taking one last nervous look at the other people in the salon Ester slowly pulled herself out of her seat and walked down to the end of the row where Jonathon stood patiently, snippers now readily in hand, pulling herself into the big padded seat.

“Well now if it isn’t my favorite little mouse. So what are you in for today? Let me guess, you want to try the Shenade O’Conner look, right?” He waited a few moments, tapping his foot as he waited for a reaction, only to be met with a blank and clueless stair. “you know, Shenade O’Conner, big political rights activist, she has her head… you know what? Nevermind. Gah now I feel old.” Lillian chuckled on the sidelines, as did the stylist working at the next chair. This was enough to make Jonathon smile again, if only a little, though the joke seemed to have missed the mark on terrifying the young girl now before him.

“alright so time to get serious. I’m assuming a nice little trim and another dye job?” He asked as he scooped up the end of that braid and bravely undid the strand of cloth tying it together. With expert skill Jonathon then grabbed the strands at the base and pulled them down slowly towards the floor, seeking to keep the hair separate so it could be dyed easily. “You know sweetie I don’t think I’m ever going to understand why you keep your hair this long. Isn’t it hard to move around with it?”

“I… guess” Ester said, glancing at Jonathon with help from the mirror, not really sure where the question had come from, or how to answer it for that matter.

“Hmm so what are you going to do after this huh Est? You and your mom going to head out and paint the town red? Diana’s not in, maybe a few drinks, stop by a strip club?” Jonathon chuckled playfully. This of course earned him both a shocked glance from Ester and a rather barbed one from Lillian, which instantly caused him to recoil. The young man took a few more moments to slowly straighten the strands of hair in silence before he got out the dye and began to mix it, glancing back at the nervous mouse. “Ok I can get it that it probably was uncomfortable when we were doing this at my old place, but this is a salon. Come on short stuff out with it, is something wrong?”

The nervous silence continued for a few minutes, though for Ester it seemed like an eternity. Finally she took a small, nervous breath and let it out, glancing at her girlfriends brother in the mirror once more. “I am not positive… Its just, I’ve never felt comfy in places like this. Plus you seem kinda, I don’t know, Different” she said soflty, biting her lip and looking away, which made Jonathon grumble.

“Hold still Ester, this isn’t as easy as it looks” With the dye mixed up he started to slowly streak the fading strands of hair once more, keeping them suspended up with one gloved hand. “Now what do you mean exactly? I am the same Jonathon who has been doing this for you since you first got the dye job right? Same one who relentlessly picks on you like family?” He smirked that playful roguish smirk which convinced Ester that he should be cast for a Han Solo backstory movie at some point.

“I don’t know how… It just seems like, well, promise you won’t get mad? You just seem more energetic here. Your just so more intense. And it, well its just kinda scary I guess…”

Jonathon blinked a bit. He had no idea just what to expect her to say, but this certainly was not it. Part of him almost wanted to be offended, but in truth the whole thing was more absurdly amusing than anything. “So I scare you because I’m happy and energetic? You wanna know what that is short stuff?” he asked, leaning awkwardly to the side and rubbing the thumb, index and middle fingers of his free hand together. “Its Showmanship!” He said in his best Jim Carry voice. Once again he waited for a reply, the blank expression quickly sapping his almost animated smile. “Oh come on, you don’t get that one either? I mean I know you’re a kid but… ahhh never mind” he finally sighed standing back up and once again working on her hair. “You didn’t miss much anyways. Jim Carry as the Riddler was the only saving grace in that movie. Honestly I’m shocked they got a restart on batman at all after those two abominations.” he blinked a moment and looked into the mirror at the girls blank face, shrugging. “Sorry, when you grow up watching reruns of the Adam West Batman, and then seeing Keeton doing it, you get a bit emotionally invested. Rant over”

Once again Ester seemed totally lost, but simply shrugged it off and sat quietly as she always had at a stylist. It was nice to at least know she wasn’t imagining things, but this whole place still made her uncomfortable, and she didn’t have the comfort of knowing she was a five minute trim job anymore. The streaks took time, effort and contact all of which made the ever so slightly socially anxious mouse quiver and wince while Jonathon ran his comb down the long strands of chestnut hair applying an even, clear coat of strong green.

‘Oh come on Est.” Jonathon laughed leaning in and looking into the mirror, catching those emerald eyes. “Its me, Its Jonathon. You know I’m not gonna hurt you right? I mean we’re basically family.”

The small mouse nodded and took a deep breath, holding it for a few moments, and then holding it longer, then outright forgetting ot let it out.

“Good then breath.” He laughed watching her gasp out all the air at once. One thing was for sure this girl didn‘t feel emotions by halves, which was probably what Diana found so cute. “So, has Dee called you yet?” Jonathon asked happily as he continued to move the comb down slowly. It was easy to tell she was still quite apprehensive, especially when her head kept turning, applying resistance to her hair, which only made his job harder. “Come on out with it, how’s my kid sis doing with a bunch of strangers in Wisconsin? Has she taken any hostages yet? Am I going to have to explain anything to a Swat team?”

Ester simply shook her head and whimpered a little bit at this, ears folding back and almost getting nicked by the dye comb. “N-no, nobody has gotten mad at her or anything. S-she said she will call again tonight though, so I will ask.” The young woman tensed up once more just as Jonathon was moving the dye down towards the neck nape area, though by now he was luckily able to hold the strands far enough away to avoid any major issues.
“But why would you think there would be problems though? I mean its just Aunt Ruths parents. I’d think they would be really neat.”

“Maybe they would be.” Jonathon chuckled “But that isn’t the point. Dee practically begged me to stay at our place when she heard that Ruth and June were skipping town a couple days. Unfortunately it simply couldn’t work with our schedule, even though I really did want to have her around.” The chipmunk sighed softly to himself before going back to the task at hand. “You know something Kid, I would give quite a bit to have things back the way they were. I’d do just about anything I could to just have a house with Dee again and no mom to harass or threaten us. I dunno, I guess I just wish this wasn’t the best thing for her, you know?”

This last statement seemed to confuse Ester greatly, and she glanced up at her girlfriends big brother as much as she dared considering the precarious situation her hair was in. “What do you mean wasn’t the best thing for her? Diana doesn’t really have any other options does she?”

“Well no not really.” Jonathon sighed “I mean mom is an ’option’ but only to the extent that swimming in steel refinery slag is an option. Then of course there is the option of sending her to live with someone on dads side of the family… which is probably an even worse option than mom.” Jonathon moved to the side a moment and started to run the streaking comb though the underside of her thick mane now, focusing more and more on the task at hand “To tell the truth I’ve thought about it a lot. I’m sure if I worked extra shifts here and at the club I could probably get my own place, maybe even bring Dee in with me. But right now that would just be depriving her of something far more important.” Jonathon stopped to clean out the comb a bit and looked Ester in the eye by way of the mirror. “She needs a family Ester, a real family. Parents who care about her and have no problem putting the smack down if they need to. I tried giving that to her for years, and the most she’s ever seen in me is a big brother and a friend. Not that I’m complaining or anything like that. I just” a rather strange chuckle left his lips now as Jonathon murred to himself “Dee is growing up. I don’t know if I’d say she needs a more feminine influence in her life, but she sure as hell needs a parental one. Besides that finally leaves me free to break a few rules without worrying that I’ll screw up her life.”

“I don’t understand.” Ester whimpered softly, trying hard to process what she had been told. “From everything Diana says you really want her there, and she wants to be there. That’s what she said when you moved out… and she said the only reason she couldn’t come with you was because your place was crowded.” she sounded just the least bit hurt and betrayed by-proxy for her beloved, wondering what reasoning he could really have.

“It is” Jonathon replied “But to be honest if your Aunts hadn’t taken her in I’d have found a way, just to get her out of that place. As I said before if Dee ever really wanted to come back I’d probably find some way to make it work. That’s because I know its impossible to say no to her. I want my little sis back in my house just as much as she wants it. Hell at this point I’d be willing to say a tiny bit more. But our old routine wasn’t really getting her anywhere to begin with.” With that rather melancholy notion still fresh on his lips, Jonathon finished the last few inches of hair and let them hang down nearly to the floor. He pulled off his gloves and then gave Ester a pat on the part of her head free of dye. “I want you to do me a favor though ok short stuff? Next time you talk to Dee, just let her know I’m thinking about her. Just let her know I’m not doing any of this to hurt her, ok?”

Ester was about to reply when she felt a familiar paw pushing itself against her shoulder. “Just about done here Vidal Sassoon?” Lillian chuckled

“Just about Mommy.” Ester chimed in “It just has to dry. At least I think so.” Ester saw Jonathon smile and go to take care of his supplies before glancing up at her mother “Mommy, when we get home tonight can I check in with Diana please?” she asked, the slightest bit of a twinkle in her eye “I think she might need a familiar voice.”

--

“Ah, here we go mama! I found one! I found a really good one.” Giggling happily Ester pulled her large black and silver prize free of the stack where it had been resting and ran up to her mother quickly as she could, offering it up to Lillian eagerly. “See? Nice strong rivets, flat surface and sturdy handle. I bet this would be a great egg pan huh?” The small mouse watched intently as her mother scooped up the pan, rolling it around a few times with a critical eye. Though she was fully aware of her mothers vocation, actually seeing those skills put to use always carried some strange sense of awe for her. She watched her mother going over the pan, getting a feel for its weight and construction, considering factors that most casual home cooks would never understand even if they watched ‘Good eats’ As obsessively as Ester did. This was the kind of care and consideration only a skilled craftswoman would put in selecting her tools.

Naturally the real estimation was actually quite simple, and far more subjective than most people would think. “Well dear, I will admit that it’s a very nice pan. They certainly built it properly, especially the handle. But here, why don’t you tell me how it feels?” Lillian handed the pan back to her daughter and smiled softly giving her a pat on the head.

Ester took the tool and spent a few moments trying to move the pan around, imagining herself on a foot stool before the stove, trying to fry up some hash browns or work on learning grilled cheese. “Well it may just be me Mommy, but I think the thing is a bit too heavy for the handle, it doesn’t feel right… but my hand is smaller than yours, and most peoples guess…”

“Now none of that.“ Lil chuckled kissing her girls forehead. “That is an excellent assessment. The most important thing for any tool is that it works for the chef. Even a cheap knife, well a cheap yet proper knife, is far better if its one you want to use. Take mamas knife for example. She’s seen plenty of more expensive ones around here. But mama has no desire to trade up since she likes how her knife feels. That’s why you can‘t really buy tools off the internet. ‘9 out of 10‘ chefs approving something doesn’t really matter if you are the tenth chef.”

Lillian looked around the rows of pots, pans and flat plates until she found the large stack where Ester found the pan. She set the object down and turned a critical glance to the stores other offerings, dozens of similar pans and skillets arrayed on simple wire shelves. Finally she bent down and carefully plucked a nice wide bottomed pan from one of the lower shelves being careful not to cause an avalanche of cookware in the process. “Now you see sweetie this is a really good pan. Its not very expensive, but since mama cooks alit the nonstick surface is going to end up coming off anyways. Its more important that the handle is comfortable, and I can slip a spatula in there when making omelets or French toast… not to mention Mommies special grilled cheese.”

Ester giggled happily and clapped her hands together “ohhh Mamas special Grilled cheese. That’s the best.” she murred all but melting at the thought of the almost transcendent little sandwich.

“alright then.” Lillian chuckled “How about a tougher one? Hmm mommy needs…. Oh I know” she chuckled pointing towards the leftmost aisles of the store “Mama needs something to help her dry things off so she doesn’t have to let washed veggies sit around. Lets try that one.” She smirked, watching her daughter run off quick as she could towards the far wall.

It took a few minutes of rummaging, Ester pushing away several different plastic bowls and baskets off to the side before finally finding what she was looking for. She snatched it up and dashed quickly towards her mother once more. “I think I found something mama!” Ester called out louder than was probably prudent.


“Hmmm well that is a salad spinner.” Lil chuckled “And Its a lot like the one we have at home actually. You know I end up having to use that thing a lot when you are around. Between hash browns and salad and all the other things like that. If you are a vegetarian this can be an extremely useful tool, especially if you like crunchy crisp food like my mousie.” The woman smiled and ruffled her daughters ears. She took a few moments to look down at the girl proudly before reaching over and selecting a pair of offset spatulas from the shelf. One with a white handle and one with a red. “Now how about this sweetie? If you were going to purchase one of these spatulas to use right now, which one would it be and why?”

She glanced at the two items for a moment and scratched behind her ear curiously, whimpering a little bit. “Well the red one should be heat resistant right? I mean we want to get one that isn’t going to melt at high heat. That means you don’t need two of the same thing just so one doesn’t melt, right?”

Lil smirked and nodded once more “Exactly right. That’s the one thing you should always remember sweetheart, A lot of kitchen things may look fancy or useful, especially the stuff you see in retail stores. But you want something comfortable and functional, and you don’t want to have your first kitchen overflowing with a sea of junk you only got for a single application.”

“Well yeah Mama but what if I get a big kitchen? I mean you never know that’s a long way off. Maybe by then I can afford a bigger kitchen or a bigger place? You know, when I finally move out.” Ester said with a decided lack of enthusiasm to her tone.

“Its not as far off as you might think.” Lil sighed. A melancholy smile granced the felines lips and she rubbed her little ones hair, realizing just how much she had to bend her elbow now. She could remember with an almost painful clarity a time, seemingly not so long ago, when she could almost hold her arm straight and stroke the girls hair while standing. It was a sweet memory, and one that Lillian almost wished she could forget, almost. “

“Believe it or not Ester, its only going to be a few short years before you are out on your own. I mean lets face it, you are probably going to end up going to a very large and prestigious college, which rules out most everything here.” Lil walked down a short ways and began looking over some of the large coffee grinders, knowing her kitchen needed another one for spices to help keep up with the pace of prep. “My little mouseling is a brilliant young woman. I’ve worked very hard to nurture that up until now, and I plan to make sure you keep at it after graduation no matter what you decide to do.”

Ester nodded at that, looking at the large, shiny, industrial looking grinders along side her mother. Checking how they were made and tipping them up to check wattage like they had in one episode of ‘Good eats‘. “So Mommy, I was wondering. How old were you when you decided that you wanted to be a chef? I mean were you in grade school or middle school, did you decide to do it right out of high school?”

Lil simply smiled at that question and ruffled the mousettes hair a little, purring gently as she wrapped her arms around her young daughter. “To be perfectly honest dear I hadn’t fully made my mind up even when I decided to adopt you.” For a moment the feline tried to lift the mouse girl up, instinctively trying to perch the girl on her hip as she had done since their first shopping trip, when she was worried the girl would run off. Thankfully reason overtook habit moments before she tried to fully stand, and probably just avoiding a rather nasty back pull. Her little girl may have been small for her age, but she was no longer small enough to carry, at least not without some risk of back injury. “You see when Mama first adopted you she was a prep cook because it was what she knew. As you know Grandma Kitteh and Grandpa Kitteh both work in food, just like your uncle. So with just about every member of your Mamas family being a foodie, it was an easy way to make a living while I decided if I wanted to become a biologist or an engineer or an astronomer or something like that.”

“Wow, those could have all been really interesting jobs mama. Not that cooking isn’t of course.” Ester quickly corrected herself looking bashfully to the side in the hopes that some odd utensil would catch her eye and let her justify the embarrassment. “So what made you decide to stick with cooking then? I mean after you got me you still had the option to…” she blinked and squeaked loudly, clasping her hands over her mouth for a moment. “S-sorry mama. I mean I know you love cooking, and I didn’t mean to imply that you got stuck with it or that you had other stuff or…”

“Now that’s enough of that young lady.” Lillian could tell just what Ester was thinking, and she didn’t like it one bit. “You did absolutely nothing wrong, and it is in no way because of you. I still love food, and I decided it was what made me happy. I can say though that you are the reason I decided to make one other big decision.” Lil crouched down and took that tawny little muzzle in one hand, steering her young girls emerald green eyes to hers own. “I did decide that you needed the best life you could get, one that I couldn’t give you on a Sous chefs salary. So finally I went out for a loan, bought up an old abandoned restraint cheap, and before you know it I opened Freya's. It was the second best decision I have ever made.”

“You really mean that Mommy?” the young girl asked, biting her lip hard and sniffling. She knew her mother loved her of course, knew deep down just how much she meant. Still hearing that, and suddenly feeling the overwhelming love and pride in her mothers voice made it very to hold back just a couple of joyful tears.

“Now none of that.” Lillian said firmly as she slumped down onto the ground, pulling Ester in with her and kissing her daughters cheek. The feline then proceeded to slowly groom her little ones ear tips, licking slowly and lovingly at them with no regard to how embarrassing this might be should a sales person or another customer stumble upon them. “You are the greatest decision I have ever made, and I could not possibly love you more. You are my child, my little Ester, and I don’t want you to ever forget that.” Lil smiled and kissed her child’s forehead softly giving her a hard, loving hug. “So no crying, ok?”

“I won’t Mommy” Ester said as she dove against her Mothers neck, simply losing herself in the warmth and love of the moment.

--

Walking into Hoardraider games was always a treat for Ester. The idea of walking into a game shop owned by a family member and just browsing was just about as close to an ideal situation as a gamer could get. Walking in this time though Ester found herself particularly impressed with just how much the little shop had changed since she managed to get in last week. Along with the normal dioramas sitting out in the windows a bit of custom terrain now stood on a table in the middle of the room littered with pieces for that Bettletech game Diana had been raving about. Taped to one side of the table was a large piece of stiff cardstock with various homemade pictures of guns firing and mech feet surrounding the words “Game of the month: Battletech. Try it now before its too late!” Naturally Ester made a bee line for the table with that very prompting in mind, scooping up the manual and flipping though it intently.

“Well, looks like that’s one way to get the customers attention.” Lillian laughed walking in a few moments behind her daugter and still seemingly unable to keep up with her activities. Turning her attention to the shop itself Lil chuckled to herself and sauntered slowly to the counter. It was difficult to remind herself that half of the things in here were hers, at least in theory. True she didn’t worry too much about the money, and really didn’t even think of this as much of a business investment considering Jimmy was technically family and honestly Lillian had no interest in the actual running of a game shop. There was a noticeable change though, and now she found it rather hard to ignore the strange little twinge of pride that came from being a part of this little place. “Oh shop keep. Shop keep are you there?” Lil chuckled as she leaned over the counter and tried to peer into Jimmy’s office. “I was wondering if you had a black lotus or two for sale. I’d be willing to pay twice the market value for it… unless you don’t think that’s a fair price.”

As if on cue the office door was flung open and Jimmy slowly maneuvered his way though it holding on to a wide, flat box that seemed to be giving him a considerable bit of trouble. “Well I don’t know. They always undervalue those Black lotuses, especially the older ones. You know there aren’t too many of those anymore. Double might not be enough…” He chuckled to himself at the rather poor excuse for a joke and continued to worm around the maze of boxes and cases that littered the back side of the counter area. “Hay aunt Lil! Don’t see you in here much. Ester finally convince you to run something more than just one D&D game a week?”

“Oh come on now Jimmy you know I don’t have time for that. What with the important task of counting the money of all my other businesses, and of course my weekly trips to Cancoon.” The little joke brought a broad smile to the felines face as she leaned up and glanced over curiously, watching her spiritual nephew slowly working open the box. “So what do you have there? Another one of those obscure TV show tie in games that we adults just can’t understand no matter how hard we try?”

Jimmy shook his head and smiled back at her as he slowly worked away the last of the tape and pulled open the cardboard flap. He reached into the box and carefully began to extract a large, shield shaped plank of wood, covered in a verity of clear and striking colors. Without a moments pause to explain himself Jimmy tucked the large item under his arm and climbed up onto a step ladder that had apparently been set up amidst the clutter of his work space. The next few moments were a comical ballet of motion as Jimmy tried desperately to keep the unwieldy plank from falling while at the same time maneuvering a screw driver and set of wood screws he had been storing in his pocket towards the back wall.

“Would you like some help with that?” Lillian chuckled as she watched the poor boy struggling to get the screws situated on his driver while still holding his strange item up by the armpit in a vicelike grip that simply looked far too painful to maintain.

“No no, I got it.” the young mouse called back, nearly falling backwards into the display case in the process. After a few more moments, in which Lil had considered a dozen times to go back there and help anyways, Jimmy finally managed to put himself in the rather odd yet surprisingly effective position of pinning the plank to the wall with one knee and installing the wood screws with his now freed arms. Once they were in he quickly contorted his body down with the knee as his center of gravity and scooped up the shield, setting it firmly against the wall and letting it slide down until it hung neatly and surprisingly level on its own. “Ahh, and there we go.” He laughed, taking a step back to admire his work. “That wasn’t too bad at all. Maybe I should have gone studied to be a Master carpenter or something.” he chuckled shoving the screw driver into the pocket of his jeans with an audible rip.

Lil quickly slapped a paw over her mouth to avoid the inevitable fit of laughter at this little display. “Yeah… who knows. With a few years practice you could be a regular Tim Taylor.

By this time Ester had broken off from the admittedly wonderful game book and was perched at her mothers side, straining to gaze over the counter, studying the bright green background with the picture of a harp super imposed over an array of six crossed oak and blackthorn Banches. Something that looked like a salmon was done in black and blue on one side, with a raven of the same colors on the other. “So, what is this exactly?” she asked with ears perking. Even more curious though was when Esters eyes went down a bit lower, catching the drawing of a scroll at the very bottom with the words ‘Neirt is gra tri suil’. “I mean its obviously a coat of arms but I don’t think I’ve seen it in any games or settings before. Is it something new?”

Jimmy smirked and tried quite hard not to chuckle, failing utterly as he walked over and patted her on the head. “Nope, in fact its very old. That’s our coat of arms, the Mac Roi Family Heraldry. Well, ok it’s a plaquard I had a friend from back home make up and send to me for the shop so its not that old itself. But still the coat of arms is accurate. I just thought it would look nice in the shop here.”

“Mind if I… take a look?” The nervousness in Esters voice was a bit strange. She was usually a bit wary of breaking other peoples property, especially considering the last few times she had dared to handle a particularly impressive mini. This time though it seemed there was something more. She looked at the wooden plaquard for a few moments and gently reached a paw towards it, not touching it yet but tracing in the air where some of the features were. She started to unconsciously commit them to memory even as a thousand questions ran though her head at once, her face melting into that gaze of curiosity her family would know all too well.

“Oh come on its not like its some sort of ancient artifact. Yes having a coat of arms is a point of pride, but you won’t wreck anything if you just look, you could hack it into firewood if you want. Granted you owe me sixty bucks if you do” he chuckled. Dragging the still stunned mousette up to the wooden shield he started to run her hand over the well lacquered surface, letting her fingers run just under the painted on parchment. “Now granted I haven’t read into it that much. But I do know that everything on here is important. The saying on the bottom of course is our family motto, and the colors-”

“Green is For Hope, right?” Ester piped up much to the surprise of the adults. “The Green is Hope and fidelity, and then the Blue is loyalty and strength?” she blushed a little bit and ran a paw over the animals next, the salmon and the raven flanking either side of the harp. “I don’t really know what it all means, I did read a book on the subject once a few years ago. But I also know each coat of arms is individualized, and until today I had no idea our family had one. It’s… kinda cool.”

A proud murr escaped Lillian’s lips as she heard that, reaching over to pat her daughter on the head from the other side of the counter. “You know its times like this I always wished I could sit and read those books you checked out more often dear. I had no idea you were so well versed in medieval stuff..” She giggled softly and turned her attention back to the plaque on the wall giving it a quick once over. “So tell me Jimmy, do you know what all of this is supposed to mean?”

“I don’t really.” the young mouse replied shaking his head and patting his young cousin on hers “Ester here seems to know a bit more than I do honestly, but I know its been added to over the years. Apparently our family stretches back quite a long way. I remember in college actually I got to take a genealogy class as an elective for history. You find out some pretty interesting stuff.” Turning his attention away from the other two for a moment Jimmy started to rifle though a few more of the boxes until finding one with fragile stickers all over it and popping it open. “For example. There was this, which my folks seemed to think was some gnarly old walking stick and were actually set to throw out. I figured it was just best for them to send it to me, which is why I had the stand made.” He held up the thorny old branch to Ester with quite a bit of care, letting those bright green eyes slowly scan over the three foot long bit of wood. She put a paw on it, and he nodded for her to continue, gladly allowing her to pick the item up and give it a nice close examination.

Ester glanced from the stick up to her cousin and lowered an ear nervously. “I don’t really understand. What is this exactly?” she asked holding the stick up again and feeling its weight. The large knot at the top seemed quite a bit heavier than the rest, but as close as she could tell it was a walking stick and so that did make a bit of sense.

“You know that spell ‘shillelagh’ in D&D? Well they are really talking about this. Its not a magical weapon naturally, but it is a traditional weapon and walking stick. This one is supposed to be an important family heirloom, going all the way back to the seventeen hundreds… or at least that’s what Grandpa said. Gotta take anything he says.”

That little bit of information seemed to catch both Lil and Ester quite off guard. The feline woman picking up the rather simple walking stick and looking it over curiously for a few moments. “So this is three hundred years old? But wouldn’t wood just deteriorate if you didn’t treat it or something? Granted I don’t know too much about this kind of thing, but I seems like a walking stick wouldn’t hold up that long.”

“Well normally stuff like this was treated though, right Jimmy?” Ester piped up “I mean things like spear hafts and the wood on sword hilts usually had some kind of treatment to make it harder and more durable in a fight… right?”

A small chuckle passed Jimmy’s lips as he shook his head and took the stick back carefully. “Well I don’t know the details on that one. But like I said I took a genealogy class, and had to interview Grandpa to do it. From what he told me this originally belonged to Captain Sean MacRoi, a famous pirate hunter in the Caribbean. I actually looked him up, and apparently he was known for turning the pirates tactics back on them, flying flags of merchant ships with torn sails rigged up and then letting loose on them when they tried to come along side and board. By the time he came home to Ireland, his crew were commended by George the first himself… which is kinda funny really considering the fact that our family have usually been staunch Irish loyalists.”

“Irish Loyalists? You mean like those IRA people?” she asked brow furrowed

“Not really like that, per say. Sorry I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression. For example Orin MacRoi fought in the Irish Rebellion, Actually ended up leading quite a few men, before he got wounded and sent home in one of the last battles.” Jimmy took the Shillelagh and put it up on two simple hooks that protruded from the coat of arms making sure it sat securely in place. “It was more like the American Revolution or the French Revolution. Hell they even got backing from the French.”

Ester perked up at this and looked up to her older cousin, stepping out from under her mothers paw. “But then how did it start? why did they lose? Why was it fought, And how? I mean if it was like the American revolution… What were the political ramifications? Did they at least get some of the things they were demanding? What were they asking for anyways? Come on Jimmy, tell me, please!” She squeaked, bouncing up and down as the what ifs and whys of the possible history fluttered around in her head.

Even for the naturally inquisitive young mousette this little outburst shocked both adults into stunned silence. Lillian looked at Jimmy who just scratched his head nervously and looked away quickly. “I… heh I don’t know Est. Sorry but most of this stuff I got off of Grandpa or books at the college library. Really I was just trying to avoid a boring world history class and still get the credits. This is the kinda stuff You’d have to look up on your own.”

“I agree.” Lillian chuckled as she pulled her little one back towards her and smiled. “But we can discuss that later I think. For now why don’t we take a look at this battletech game Ester seems so interested in. I think her last report card has earned her a starter set.”

---

The apartment door slammed wide open and in flew the Tawny furred mouse like a bullet plopping down on the couch with a nice big plastic bag hanging from her wrists. “Finally I get to open up my book and read it!” Ester giggled pulling the starter box open and yanking out the main book for Battletech, throwing it open and laying back on the couch happily. “ohhhh this is going to be so much fun! I can’t wait until Diana gets back from her trip. I’m gonna have such a fun game of this all set up for her.”

“One which you have all tomorrow to work on dear. For now go wash those paws of yours. These calzones aren’t going to stay warm too much longer.” Lil watched her mouseling almost spring off of the couch and dashed into the bathroom, shaking her head and snickering as she opened up the two cardboard boxes housing their fresh warm calzones and arranged them on the small dining room table. The day had not gone quite as Lil had expected, but then few things had. Once upon a time Lil would come home every day from dinner service with her little one sitting on the couch, homework all stacked up and ready to be put in her Pjs and put in bed. Back then talk was always about some book or video game, or if Lil was really lucky some kind of mini-adventure that Jamie and Leon had dragged her on. Now though, now it seemed like her little girl was out in the big scary world and handling it better than Lillian had ever imagined. She had her friends, and a girlfriend, and social interactions both bad and good. Her problems were more complex, her questions deeper. This whole parenting thing had scaled up far faster than she had ever imagined, and for some reason Lil was absolutely thrilled about it.

“All set mama!” the mousette giggled as she ran up beside her mother and looked in at that warm hand rolled crust now oozing warm melted cheese dotted throughout with nice long slices of green bell pepper. “This looks really good mama. Maybe I should try making one some time.” She giggled hopping into her chair at the dining room table and murring softly as she scooped up the pizza and took a nice big bite. Her mouth popped open just as quickly after the hot melty cheese hit her tongue and the roof of her mouth. “Ahhh! Thah ih wayyy too hot” she gasped waving her hand in front of her mouth and groaning softly.

As if on cue a vanilla coke bottle was placed right into the poor mousies field of view, cap already unscrewed to the last thread and waiting to be removed. “Every time sweetheart, every single time. What does mama tell you about eating food when its that hot?”

“That the only thing on my pallet will be owies mommy, and your right.” Ester gasped, having whiled down a quarter bottle of the wonderful brown elixir. “I really couldn’t help it though. It looked so good. I haven’t had a calzone in almost a month.”

“And you always eat too much of it and get a tummy ache too, which is why you don’t get them more often. Besides Andolini’s isn’t in any way shape or form good for you. Mamas food may not be fat free, but you have yet to get a belly from it.” Lil bit into the crust of her own meal, finding it quite difficult to be so judgmental about health when she got something so hardy and flavorful without having to work three hours for it. Watching her daughter slowly take a second attempt at the piping hot pastry. “So speaking things that are good for you, how has school been going lately? Anyone invite you into the chess club yet?”

“No, not really. They said they are still full up. Next semester I might get in though.” Ester squeeked happily “That’s ok though, I mean I have my friends, and I don’t need to make more right now. Besides running games with Diana, Jamie and Leon is probably a lot more fun than Chess. Plus, well, I don‘t think the girls in the Chess Club like me.” She just trailed off slowly and took another swig of coke, curling back into her chair as she glanced at her mother.

“You don‘t? and what gives you that impression sweetheart? Have they said anything to you?” Lil perked an ear and just murred softly running a few fingers though her little girls hair. The complaints about school from Ester had thus far been few and far between. But as a mother Lillian felt it was her responsibility to keep an eye on things, especially since her little one didn’t always understand the nuances of social situations, or rather, didn‘t understand the convoluted mess of high school social situations. It made Lil wonder if her little one wasn‘t learning fast enough, or if she‘d just blown past the petty clique things that high school centered around. Either way she was sure Ester would be ok, given a bit of time.

The warm familiar feel of a paw on her head worked its eternal magic as all of Esters cares and worries slowly melted away. She murred just a tiny bit and perked up an ear squirming around in the seat and leaning back. “I dunno mama. They seemed ok with me before. But… well ever since I started hanging around with Diana I think they are kinda scared. I wanted to tell em She won‘t hurt them. But last time I did some girl started calling me names.” Ester whimpered a bit and bit her lip. “Diana just chased her off that time! Honest! She told me so herself. But then the girls saw…” Of course the thought of those poor girls was enough to reform just one small knot in the mouse’s back. “Its just frustrating, cause people misunderstand Diana and they misunderstand me, and sometimes if its not one it’s the other.” She went silent there, just closing her eyes and turning back to the calzone taking a big bite of the warm cheese and tender crust, chewing on it slowly.

“Well I can understand their concern dear” The feline said softly, a note of calm reason in her voice. “But sadly this is how life works sometimes. Diana has a reputation, and that won‘t just go away because she spends time with you. They don‘t know about her new living situation, or her mother. No more than the girls who pick on you know about your brilliant mind or kind heart.” Lil murred and pointed right to the middle of Ester’s chest for emphasis. “Maybe they will figure it out one day that she isn’t going to hurt anyone… or at least she had better not. But it is going to take time and patience on your part. Do you understand? It won’t happen overnight.” she murred and went back to her gentle petting feeling very content at the moment.

Ester waited a few moments before responding, still feeling her mothers paw moving slowly and lovingly though her hair. “I guess you‘re right mama. I mean it isn‘t that big a deal. Up until now I‘ve only ever had two friends and I‘ve been fine. I just, I wish people would give her a chance, and me… I wish we would both get a chance to be who we are and be liked for it.” The mousette slumped down in her chair and sighed softly. She continued to pick at the calzone which only moments ago seemed so exciting and wonderful.

Lillian stood without a word. She snatched up her daughters meal in one hand and her own in the other before maneuvering around the old oak dinner table and over to their nice plush leather couch. She set the food down and then turned her attention to Ester, walking over and scooping up the mouse girl with considerable effort. Even though the girl was still smallish for her age, Lil was still quite aware of the increased mass and the havoc it played with her spine. “Come here sweetheart. Why don’t we snuggle up and watch something on the TV, and you cal tell me all about it ok?” Lil smirked as she finally plopped Ester down onto the Couch, both from the motherly joy of spending time with her child and because of the seventy or eighty pounds she no longer had to hold up. Not that she didn’t enjoy it.

“I really don’t know if there is much to tell though mama.” Ester said rather sheepishly. She made the familiar and almost instinctive move from her side of the couch to her mothers, and nestled her head right into the crook between Lillian’s body and her arm. There she simply nuzzled as close as she could before settling in and shutting her eyes, one big round ear perked towards that oh so familiar heartbeat. “Its just… Ever since this semester started things seem to be changing really fast. Diana moved in with Aunt Ruth and Aunt June… Jamie’s photography club demands so much out of her. Plus I think Leon is still kinda mad that Jamie and I both go to the same school now. We’ve been trying to hang out with him more. Its just kinda hard when everything is such a confused mess. It would be nice if just once, one thing was simple. If something like making friends was as easy for me as it was for all the other girls. I don‘t understand why it can‘t be that way for me.”

All of the worry and frustration was met with a simple pat on the back and a kiss on the forehead as Lillian slowly ran her rough feline tongue over her daughters ear, grooming her gently as she had so many times in the past. It was something they both shared, though most might consider Ester far too old. Really it was Lillian’s want just as much as Esters. Rationally she knew that her child was becoming a young woman, with her own opinions interests and sadly with her own problems. It was perhaps that last thought which drove Lillian to hold her child that much tighter, to kiss her cheek slowly and nuzzle her gently. Even if she had not given birth to this little mouse Ester was indeed her baby, and like any mother she would move heaven and earth it meant keeping her child from sadness or harm. “Shhh its ok sweetheart, trust me.” She finally murmured once it became clear that all chance for a crying fit had been diffused. “Just trust me ok sweetheart? I know that its all confusing and frustrating and totally unfair. You have been though a lot of chances this school year and its all piling up. But if you want mamas opinion you are handling it all very well.”

Ester dared a small shift from her comfortable position in order to see her mother more clearly. She perked up an ear slowly and opened just one eye but found the prospect of opening the other one far too difficult. “You really think so Mama? You don’t think I’m making too many mistakes, or that they don‘t like me cause of something I‘m doing? Your sure that there isn‘t something wrong with me?”

“Not at all” Lillian chuckled “In fact I think you are handling it quite well, given your position. Just remember it is never easy for those girls either. They don‘t see what happens to you but you don‘t see what happens to them.” Lil straightened up in her seat just a bit, and in doing so maneuvered Esters head back into the crook of her arm with a deftness most would not expect of her. “Just try to be patient ok? Try to remember that many things are beyond your control. All we can do in life is be ourselves and care for others. That’s something your Grandpa Kitteh taught me.” she laughed nuzzling against Ester a bit.

Ester looked up at her mother and nodded softly, scooting in a bit more and kissing her cheek “I love you mommy, I really do. I’ll try remember that. I promise”

Lillian nodded softly and kissed her daughter on the forehead “That is all I ask dear. Of course you can still keep me informed, after all

---

After the fourth ring Ester slammed the off button on the phone and sighed, starting to worry if something had happened to her girlfriend and godparents. After all people always kept their cell phones on them and charged at all times. At least that was what the young woman had managed to convince herself of during her own limited years as a cell phone user. She thought of calling again, but considering how expensive it could be decided against it, instead setting the cordless phone by the bedside and reaching for her dog eared copy of ‘a wrinkle in time’. She was just about to have the wicked, evil intellect known as ‘It’ revealed to her for the umpteenth time when the phone finally rang, prompting the overly excited mouse to flail for it on her nightstand and subsequently roll herself out of the bed.

With a precision that normally fell far out of her reach Ester managed to pull the phone up to her ear even as she attempted to avoid causing any of the stands contents to fall on her. “H-hello? Diana? Is that you, are you ok?”

“Hay, Est, you call here?” That all too familiar voice asked, seeming to salve all of the worries and troubles Ester may have had in one fell swoop

“I’m sorry to bother you if your busy. I… I can always call you back later if you want. I mean, if your still trying to.”

“Don’t you dare get off the phone with me.” Diana said firmly “This place is insane. Everyone is even louder and more energetic than Ruth. I don’t know how I’m going to… wait one second.” The phone went muffled, Diana having obviously pulled it away for some reason “No Mrs. Winsto… ok, No grandma Karen, I don’t want any more chicken thank you. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat until Tuesday.” the hand over the receiver left as Diana sighed “Est you have to stay on the line. If you don’t I’m going to be force fed till I fill out a condo!”

Ester stifled a giggle and bit her lip hard “I am sorry, I cannot stay long. I just wanted to call you and make sure you were doing ok.” Ester noted “Its been really lonely here without you, and confusing too. Sometimes I just dun know what to do. I’m just lucky I have you.”

Diana stifled a rather annoyed laugh and grunted her understanding. “Well that is sweet I suppose, even if it doesn’t fix my… No Grandma Karen I don’t think I need to go shopping for a new dress. No my jeans are fine too. I really don’t need any…” Once more the Chipette sighed oh so heavily though the line.

“I am sorry” Ester sighed closing her own eyes tight “I just wanted to let you know I love you, and that we are all ok. We all just miss you lots cause you, well you are.. I mean to say.”

“Heh, don’t worry about it mousie, I have a feeling I know what you are trying to say, and I love you too. So before I have to go, anything interesting happen over there?”

Ester shook her head for a moment, then realized Diana couldn’t see her and thought better of it. “No, not really. Mommy and I just had a nice, normal day out. It was a lot of fun.” she said rather ecstatically “Who knows, maybe I’ll take you out like that some time.” She murred softly, Diana chuckling a bit. “Oh and Diana?”

“Yeah Est?”

“Call your brother.”