When Shane got ready to leave that evening, she told me that she was considering applying to be a foster parent. I’d guessed that she probably would at some point, but it was nice to hear her say it. “I think you’ll be great,” I told her. “Would you still live with Jenny?”

“Don’t start,” Shane warned me, but she smiled. “Yeah. We talked about it, and she thinks it would be great. I’m going to try to talk to Helena when she gets back.”

“I’m supposed to go to lunch with her when she does,” I replied. “Why don’t you come with us?”

Shane agreed, and said that she’d probably be back in a day or so. If she wasn’t, she asked me to tell Helena to call her. I said I would, and as soon as Shane had pulled out of the driveway I heard Kallie calling for me.

“Love!” she said, and ran directly at my legs when I got to the living room door. I pretended to fall over, and Kallie laughed and hugged me. The pump had done nothing to calm her down, and she was really energetic.

“Somebody’s going to have a birthday soon,” I told her. It was only a little over two weeks away, and it amazed me that she was only going to turn two. She seemed so much more advanced than that

“Me?” she asked, and I grinned.

“That’s the one. You’re gonna get so many presents, and you can have cake and ice cream and play with your friends,” I told her. I figured she’d be happy, but instead she looked sad. “It’s okay,” I told her. “You’ll have fun. All your aunts will come, and Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Howie. And Grandma Lenore too.”

“Mommy?” she asked imploringly, and it broke my heart.

“Yeah, sweetie. Mommy will be here for your birthday. She just went away for a little while, remember? That’s a vacation, it’s just for a little bit. She’ll be here for it,” I told her, picking her up and giving her a hug. This seemed to placate her, and a minute later she was running around like a crazy person again.

By the time Alice got home about a week and half after she’d left, I’d gotten pretty good at taking care of Kallie on my own. I missed Alice terribly, but I could get through the day without her. Still, when I heard her cursing quietly at the door on a Wednesday afternoon, and Helena telling her to shush in case Kallie wasn’t down for her nap yet, I was elated. I’m sure it probably showed when I ran through the kitchen to the back door, sweeping Alice up into a hug before she was able to set her suitcase down.