“Yes. She did a great job picking out some really pretty jewelry for us.”

“Momma did you bring me an angel from New York?”

“You know I always do. But this time I got you something a little different. It does have an angel on it, and it has a lot of really great angel quotes, but this is something to use. It’s not for your collection. I got you a journal so you can start writing about your days, your wishes, your dreams and anything else you want to remember. I kept a journal from the time I was your age and I always loved going back and reading what I wrote years later. I know you like to draw and color so you can do that too in your journal if you want. Do you like it?”

“Momma I love this. It’s so pretty with the pink angels on the pages, and it has a pen with angel wings.”

Angie took the pen and started writing in her childlike print without any hesitation. Bette and Tina didn’t know if they should ask what she was writing since they wanted to provide her with a sense of privacy. Angie was such an open book that they didn’t have to ask. They both got emotional and both hugged her when she told them what she’d written.

“I wrote that I have the best mommies in the world and the best thing that happened today is that I am so happy that momma’s home with us.”

“You are without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me. I hope you know that. Thank you sweetie.”

Tina knows exactly what Bette means when she says that. Angelica truly was a gift. Her love for them was so unconditional that it overwhelmed them sometimes. Angie goes off to her room to write more in her new journal while Bette and Tina clean up and enjoy a glass of wine.

“I bought her something else from New York but I want to surprise her.”

Bette showed Tina the beautiful frosted crystal glass bottle with the engraved three hearts and the words “Eternal Love” encircling them. She’d found it in a little shop in Manhattan and immediately thought of her family; three hearts forever entwined in a love so eternal, and so all-consuming that it scared her sometimes.