“Stop calling me Aunty Alice in front of her” Alice had squealed one day to Tina.  I don’t want her calling me that.  It’s bad enough that I’m single, if I’m out with her and she calls me that, people are going to think I’m the spinster aunt that’s been left on the shelf.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous Al” Tina had replied.  “Who’s ever going to think that?  None of the others seem to mind? I think Aunty Al has a good ring to it to tell you the truth.  If she doesn’t call you that what do you want her to call you?”

“Can’t she just call me by my name like the rest of the world?” Alice had asked.

“I suppose, Earth-mother is probably beyond her speech abilities at the moment” Tina quipped.

“I don’t know Tina, I’m not sure you give your daughter enough credit, she’s pretty smart aren’t you E.D.?” Alice asked as she swung a gleeful Angelica in her arms.

“E.D.?” Tina queried raising her eyebrows to convey her disapproval.

 “What?” asked Alice innocently.  “I can’t exactly call her Earth-daughter every time I want to talk to her, firstly it’s too long and secondly when we are out in public people will think I’m some kind of weird freaky hippy and that’s not helpful to my image either”

“I refer you back to your own logic…what’s wrong with her name?”

“Nothing I suppose, I just thought it would be cute to have a nickname for her.”

“Well, come up with a better one than an abbreviation” Tina implored as she left, wondering as always, what new mischief her daughter would have acquired when she picked her up after a few hours in Alice’s company.

“Hey watch this” Alice yelped excitedly as she opened the door to Tina a few hours later.  Tina felt a slight panic building as she wondered what on earth the writer might have taught her daughter in the short time they had together.

“Who’s this?” Alice asked a smiling Angie pointing dramatically at herself.  “Ummer” cried the child happily looking to her mother for approval. “That’s right” reassured Alice scooping the little girl up in her arms. “I’m Ummer” she said proudly.  “Angie and I sorted it out while you were out.  It turns out you were right Earth-mother is a little beyond her for the moment but every time I got her to try and say it she just shortened it to Ummer, has a nice ring to it don’t you think?”