“He lives in a house in another part of town.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s his house.”

“How come you don’t live in his house?”

“Because this is my house. Vince and I are married and this is our house.”

Haley thought about that and ate some more soup. “I would live in my daddy’s house.”

“Would you?” Anne asked. “Where is your daddy’s house?”

“I don’t know.”

“What does your daddy look like?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is he a big guy like Vince?”

“No.”

“Does he have a mustache?”

“No.”

“Does he have orange hair?”

Haley laughed. “No! That’s silly!”

“Does he have blue hair like a Smurf?”

“No!”

“Does he have no hair at all?”

The little girl fell into a fit of giggles, flopping down onto the cushion. Anne scooped her back up.

“Come on, silly, eat your lunch before it gets cold.”

Haley took a few more spoons of soup. Anne knew her well enough by now to see the little wheels of her mind turning as she thought hard about something.

“Anne?” she said at last.

“What?”

“Would you be my mommy until my mommy stops being an angel?”

Tears stung her eyes as Anne hugged Haley tight and kissed the top of head. “I’ll be your mommy for as long as I can be,” she whispered. “How about that?”

Haley nodded and squirmed around onto Anne’s lap, and stuck her thumb in her mouth, suddenly tired.

“Are you ready for a nap, sweetie?” Anne asked softly.

“No.”

“No? You look pretty sleepy.”

“No!” she whined.

“Why not?”

“Bad Daddy will come!”

“What if I stay right with you so Bad Daddy can’t get you?”

The tears started with two big drops. “No! Bad Daddy will get you too!”

“No, baby, that won’t happen. We’re safe here. Remember?”

Haley was unconvinced, sniffling and crying a little, all around her thumb.

“You know what?” Anne said. “We’re not going to think about Bad Daddy now. We’re going to play a game. Do you want to play a game?”

“W-w-w-hat game?”

“We’re going to play Imagine That. Do you know that game?”

Haley shook her head.

“You know what Bad Daddy looks like,” Anne said. “What color are his clothes?”

“B-b-b-black.”

“Not anymore,” Anne said. “We’re going to make them white. White with big pink polka dots. Can you imagine that?”

Haley hiccupped and nodded.

“And he has big huge floppy clown shoes on. Can you imagine that?”

She nodded a little quicker this time.

“And does he have a big round red nose?”

Another nod.

“And it honks like a horn when you pinch it. Can you imagine that?”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s not Bad Daddy anymore. He’s just a silly clown. Can you imagine that?”

No answer this time. Anne peeked down. Sound asleep.