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After pickingthe girls up from school, Kiera went through the well-worn motions of their afternoon routine. Shoes scattered in the entryway, backpacks unzipped and emptied onto the kitchen table, snack requests flying at her from both sides. Eliza, ever the chatterbox, launched into a story about how she and her best friend had started a “detective agency” at recess, while Quinn sat on the counter, munching on an apple, solemnly nodding along.

“Mommy, can we have a tea party after dinner?” Eliza asked, swinging her legs under her chair.

Kiera pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Of course. You want the real tea set or the plastic one?”

“The real one,” Eliza said, grinning. “Butnotthe Sleepytime tea. That one is yucky.”

Kiera laughed. “Noted.”

Eliza paused swinging her legs and looked up at her with wide eyes. “Mama, are we gonna live with Grandma and Grandpa forever?”

Kiera’s heart clenched. She glanced at Quinn, who was also watching her with interest, then back to Eliza. “No, baby. Just for a little while. We’ll have our own place again soon. I promise.”

Eliza asked softly, “Why don’t we see Daddy anymore?”

Kiera swallowed hard. “Daddy works a lot, so you get to live with Mama and visit Daddy. Like a vacation. Isn’t that fun?”

Eliza seemed to think about that response, nodding after a beat. “Okay. As long as Daddy still loves me too.”

“He does,” Kiera assured her. “So, so much.”

Quinn, still silently eating her apple, reached over and grabbed Kiera’s hand with her tiny fingers. Kiera squeezed back, trying to anchor herself in that simple, pure connection. “I don’t mind living with Grandma and Grandpa and the chickens and you, Mama.”

“Me too, Mama. But you first, then the chickens,” Eliza said.

Kiera smiled, her heart still tight in her chest. The fear of the unknown was still there — pressing in from all sides — but for now, she had her daughters. And perhaps she was finally piecing herself back together.

5 Oppossums in a Trench Coat

Maggie

Okay, here’s a good one. Would you rather never be able to eat cheese ever again or never be able to receive oral sex ever again?

Danica

I’d give up cheese.

Pete

definitely cheese

Izzy

You guys answered that way too fast.

Kiera

…Is it weird that I need to think about this?

Danica named the conversation, “The Grate Debate”.

Maggie

Kiera, I think you’re telling on yourself.

Danica

Yeah, Kiera, are you about to choose cheese over THAT?