„Hello, Millie!", she gave the little girl a beaming smile, „Welcome, welcome! Did you have a great time with your friend and her family?"
The four-year old who was hugging her plush bunny tight nodded eagerly. „Yeah!"
„Thank you so much for brining her by", Lana said to what must have been her friend's mother, a friendly woman with chubby cheeks and fiery red hair who now let go of Millie's hand as she timidly stepped into Lana's house, instantly being sniffed up and down by a very curious Levi.
„Of course! Thanks so much for taking her."
„I'll let her father know that she arrived safely. Thanks again!"
After they had said their goodbyes, Lana went to rescue Millie.
„Levi! Stop it, I know you're excited that we have a guest, but leave her alone for a bit, will you? She's almost smaller than you!", turning to the little girl she added, „Don't be scared of him, sweetheart, he's big and clumsy, but he couldn't hurt a fly."
„It's okay", she replied, „I love doggies."
„Oh, you do? That's great! Maybe we can take Lola and Levi out for a walk later on, would that be fun?"
„YEAH!"
„Awesome!", she took the little girl by the hand and her suitcase in the other, surprisingly big for such a little girl, „Alright, but first, I'm gonna show you your room for the next few nights, you wanna see?"
„Yeah!"
„Okay, so let's go upstairs... your room will be right next to mine. Here we are... Nice and bright, and there's already someone waiting for you, Millie, look!"
She had bought her a little plush horse since she knew from Colin that his daughter absolutely ADORED horses. Naturally, the little girl's eyes lit up right away.
„Woooow, horsey!!"
„That's right, a little horsey for you", she put down the suitcase, „How about we unpack your things quickly and then we can think about what we wanna do today? You wanna help me open your suitcase?"
Possibly to no surprise there were more toys in the suitcase than anything else, next to some clothes and a few toiletries, so it didn't take them long to unpack.
Soon, they were back sitting in the kitchen and Lana was pouring both of them a glass of homemade lemonade. And while she was doing so, her hand was shaking ever so slightly. She couldn't really hide the fact that she was nervous like hell. Why? She didn't even know... Millie was four years old, she was already in love with her, as far as she could tell, and Lana herself was well aware that she was a natural with children. And yet... she felt like she was auditioning for one of the most important roles of her life, and it nearly made her wanna throw up.
„Alright, sweetie", she sat down opposite of her as she started slurping her lemonade, „What do you feel like doing today? I have no plans at all, the day is wide open!"
That was only partially true. She didn't have anything concrete planned, yes, but she did have options, boy oh boy, and how many options... The reality was that since that damn call from her boyfriend less than 24 hours ago, she had barely slept and spent every waking moment preparing and getting everything ready for the most epic sleepover Millie had ever had, as if the little girl would be staying for at least an entire week. She already knew that about 80% of all her efforts would be in vain, but that was okay. At least it made her feel slightly better prepared and a little more at ease with the whole situation.
„We can go to the beach", she started listing her options, „I know it's not bathing weather because it's winter now, but we can still take a walk with the doggies and play in the sand for a bit. Or we can go up to the hills instead. Or the playground, there's a rrrreally cool one close by. We can also go to the aquarium or the zoo... Or to a fun park! Or we just stay home, we can make some arts and crafts I got lots of supplies here!"
From the little girl's big blue eyes that were looking back at her in disbelief she could tell right away that she had already overdone it. Clearly Millie had no clue which one of all those amazing options to pick, and Lana was facing an over-stimulated pre-schooler just waiting to snap.
In the end, she smiled at her little guest and reached for her hand. „Come on! I know where we're going first."
She put Millie in the car seat she had borrowed from a friend and drove them to the edge of town where LA slowly started to turn into a natural paradise.
„You wanna listen to some music?"
„Yeah!"
„What do you wanna listen to? Which music do you like?"
The little girl seemed puzzled, but – of course – Lana was prepared.
„How about a Disney playlist, huh? You like the Disney princesses?"
„YEEEEAH!"
Bulls eye!
„Alright, coming up!"
Both singing along to Aladdin's ‚A Whole New World' they eventually arrived and parked the car in front on a spacious petting zoo farm where decommissioned livestock like goats, sheep, some pigs, rabbits and other rodents, even a few cows and horses got to live out the rest of their days in peace. She'd been coming here for a good fifteen years, her nephews and niece had loved this place when they were little, whenever they had come to visit her in California.
And Millie was no different! Evidently her father, at least, never took her to a place like this one, and Lana wasn't surprised. She could very well see one of the goats giving the Irishman a run for his money, quite literally.
Smirking at the thought of him, she watched Millie be completely in love with all the little bunnies hopping around her and she sure hoped that she wouldn't ask to be allowed to take one home – because she might not have been able to refuse, and she was pretty sure her father wouldn't care too much for that.
„Hello there!", she was greeted by an older woman with curly hair and a face full of happy wrinkles, who she knew to be the owner of the farm, „Lana... right?"
„That's right, you remember!"
„Of course! I'm just really bad with names, so I wasn't sure."
„No worries at all, I haven't been here in a minute."
„Right!"
„Glad to see this place survived the lockdowns."
„Yeah, indeed! Luckily, since everything's almost exclusively outdoors, we could stay somewhat operational for the most part. Guess as long as people shouldn't be petting other people, they should at least be allowed to pet animals."
Lana chuckled. „That's very true! My dogs were, once again, my saving grace during that time."
They both watched Millie play for a few moments, then the woman asked: „Is she... I mean, she's not...? I'm sorry, if you don't mind me asking..."
„Mine? No, no worries."
„I thought so... I know you used to come here with your nieces and nephews, but that was a good decade ago."
„Sure was! No, this one... I'm babysitting for the day, she's uhm... daughter of my boyfriend",
it still felt odd to say it out loud, but she felt a warm and fuzzy sensation in her tummy right away as she realized how much she was missing him, „Her father's still out of town."
„Oh, so you're the stepmom then? Kinda..."
She chuckled, somewhat uncomfortably, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, „Yeah, well... kinda. I mean, stepmom is a big word. Her father and I haven't been dating for that long, to be fair. I mean, we've known each other for many, many years and are old friends, but... anyway."
She shut up as she realized that the old lady probably neither needed to know all that nor really cared.
„Anyhow, she's adorable, that one!", the woman said, nodding towards Millie.
„She absolutely is! She's such a sweetheart."
„Well", she took a deep breath, ready to be on her way and continue her chores of the day, „gotta get back to work. Was great seeing you! Let me know if you need anything. And good luck with that new boyfriend..."
„Thank you, appreciate it!"
Soon after, Millie came running back to Lana. „Lana, Lana! Can I ride the horsey now?"
„Nah, I don't think that'll work, sweetie, see, the horseys here aren't for riding anymore, they're old and retired."
When she saw a little pout creep up on the little girl's face, she added: „But maybe next time we can go horseback riding?"
Her eyes lit up. „Yes!!"
„Alright, but first, are you hungry, sweetie? I packed some snack... What do you say, we go find a nice spot and have a little picnic?"
Evidently, she was all in with this idea. After a short drive towards the beach they found a beautiful spot overlooking the ocean, they rolled out the picnic blanket and then started unpacking all the sweet and savory goodies Lana had packed, more salad, veggies, nuts and fruit than anything else, but Millie didn't seem to mind. All the while the little girl became chattier and chattier, telling her about what must have been every single kid she went to pre-school with and every single toy and game they had there. Even though she barely stopped to take a breath, Lana didn't mind one bit, happy and most of all relieved that Colin's daughter seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself and feel so comfortable around her, even without any of her parents around.
„And then... and then there's this boy Tommy, who..."
„Oh my!", Lana had to interrupt her eventually, „Look over there, Millie, look at those dark clouds... that doesn't look good at all, does it?"
„No..."
„I'm afraid there's going to be a thunderstorm coming down real soon. Or at least a heavy rain. I'm sorry, but I think we should start packing together and head home as fast as we can. You help me?"
She nodded eagerly, and together, they started quite literally throwing everything back in the trunk of her car while at the same time trying to whistle back the dogs, one of them coming back to them much more reluctantly than the other.
Barely had they pulled onto the highway when they saw a flash of lightening in the distance and shortly after heard a roaring thunder all around them that made Millie gasp and Levi bark. Then, raindrops the size of hazelnuts came pattering down onto the asphalt and the roof of their car.
„Phew, we got real lucky there, didn't we, Millie? We made it to the car just in time."
„Yeah!", the little girl nodded and dramatically repeated after her, „Phew!"
„I'm really sorry that our day outdoors got cut short by that nasty thunderstorm. But don't worry, we can have just as much fun at home, can't we?"
„Yes, we can!", she cheered, still in good spirits.
She hadn't promised her too much. Back at home, after drying themselves from getting almost soaking wet on the way from her car to the front door alone, Lana brought out her arts and crafts box, and in the end they decided on making a collage together out of pictures they cut out of magazines, little drawings, stickers and stamps, tape and other things they found in Lana's box. When there was not a single inch of space left on the canvas, the result actually didn't look half bad!
„Good job, Millie! It looks amazing, doesn't it? You're a real artist!"
She nodded, proudly. „Yeah! Thank you!, you too"
„You know what I think? I think we should take a picture of it and send it to daddy, he'll love that, what do you think?"
„Yeah, daddy will be impressed!"
She chuckled. „He sure will be!"
She took the picture and sent it over to Ireland with the caption: ‚Getting creative during the thunderstorm. Kisses from us 😘'
„Lana?", Millie was tugging on her sleeve as she was still smiling at her phone, „Can we take a picture of us together and send it to daddy too?"
She smiled down at her. „I think that's a great idea!"
It took them a few attempts, but eventually, they had managed to take a halfway decent selfie where neither of them was smiling too creepily looking like a psychopath.
„You like it?"
„Yeah! It's awesome."
„Woah, love the confidence, girl! Alright, let's send it to daddy..."
She sent the selfie without a caption this time, but afterwards decided to add a quick: ‚Btw, I miss you, asshole 😩❤️🔥💋😚 Love, L'
„Is it dinnertime yet?", asked Millie, hopping on the couch.
„Careful, don't hurt yourself, okay? And... no, not quite. Are you hungry?"
She nodded.
„How about... we order pizza?", she knew she'd hit the jackpot before the little girl could answer her. Of course she rarely, if ever indulged in something like pizza, and Millie shouldn't either, but today was a special day and they had earned themselves a treat.
„Which one you want?"
„Cheese! No wait... ham! No wait... pepperoni!... Mushroom!!!"
„How about we get one with ALL the toppings?"
Her eyes grew wide: „We can??"
„Of course, we can!", then she added, whispering, „But we won't tell your daddy, okay?"
Eagerly she shook her head.
After placing the order, Lana looked around. „Alright, pizza's on the way, it'll be about 45 minutes... Now, what do you say... We can watch a movie tonight, OR... we first build a pillow fort and THEN watch a movie INSIDE the pillow fort?"
In the end, the little girl's choice didn't surprise her one bit. Almost giddy with anticipation, Millie demonstrated a surprising amount of energy left at the end of this already eventful day while building the fort, and Lana couldn't help but feel a little bit excited herself, after all it had been a minute since the last time she had built a pillow fort. She was just hoping that Levi wouldn't end up tearing it all down again...
Finally, they proudly inspected the final result of their work and gave each other a high five concluding a job well done. The pizza arrived and they snuggled up between blankets and pillows underneath a string of fairy lights that Lana had managed to attach to the roof of their fort, and they enjoyed their regal dinner while watching ‚Frozen' on Lana's laptop.
„Can I sleep here in the pillow fort tonight?", the little girl asked once the credits were rolling, barely able to suppress a yawn.
„I don't know, sweetie. I'm not sure that's such a good idea, you don't wanna sleep in your proper bed?"
„It's so nice in here! Please?", she looked at her with her big blue eyes and Lana couldn't help but think of Helen who had the exact same pair of eyes.
„Okay, I'll tell you what... We get you ready for bed, because yes, it's late, young lady... and then when you're ready, we come back here and I'll read you a story if you like. But then I'll take you upstairs to sleep in your bed, how about that?"
„Okay."
„That's okay?"
She nodded.
„Alright, then let's go!"
She had to chuckle when she saw that Millie was wearing Peter Pan pyjamas, and so it was quickly decided from which book she would read to her. She picked her edition of J. M. Barrie's original novel and started reading her the part where Captain Hook first appeared, a story she certainly wasn't hearing for the first time but seemed to appreciate all the more.
The little girl was snuggling up in Lana's arms, against her chest, holding on to both her plush bunny and the horsey Lana had given her, and keeping her eyes open got visibly more and more difficult for her by the minute.
„Lana?", the little girl mumbled, sleepily.
„Yes, sweetie?"
„Do you love my daddy?"
She had to smile with a sweet sigh. „I like your daddy a lot... yes."
„I think my daddy loves you a lot too."
„Yeah, you think so?"
She nodded. „You're really pretty... you look like a princess."
„Awww, that's sweet of you to say, but you know, being pretty alone is not enough to love someone."
„No?"
„No! A person's character is much more important, you know... Whether they're good people... kind, compassionate, smart, maybe... funny! That you make each other laugh."
„Does daddy make you laugh?"
„Oh yeah! Absolutely! Your daddy is a very funny man, isn't he?"
She could see her smirk and nod.
„Lana?", she asked again, yawning.
„What's up, sweetie?"
„Are you my stepmommy now?"
She blacked out for a second and started feeling nauseous right away. „No, sweetheart", she whispered, „but I can be your friend? And that's almost as good, isn't it? Even better, maybe."
She thought about it, then, thankfully, she agreed.
„Would you like me to be your friend?"
She nodded. „I think I'd like you to be my friend. Or my stepmommy. Both are good."
„Exactly right! We'll see, okay, Millie? We'll see. But now, it's time for bed!"
With a heady heart she picked her up to carry her upstairs since she was already falling asleep and she didn't want to risk waking her up again, barely able to see through the veil of her tears.