“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, horrified.

“So, what’s goin’ on with you?” Alyssa asked.

I looked to her. “Tonight, the kids and Mickey are all spending the night at my house. Movie night and together night. They live across the street but Mickey feels we’re heading toward that time where they’re gonna have to get used to an us that’s blended, so he’s renting a bunch of movies. We’re having a pig out fest of crappy foods while lazing around the TV. And since I have two guests rooms instead of his one, his kids are staying over.” I paused for the dramatic affect the next words needed. “With Mickey sleeping with me.”

“Oh my,” Josie whispered.

“Big shit, sister,” Alyssa decreed.

It was.

The good news was that it said a lot, Mickey pushing for this (and he’d pushed).

It said a lot in a variety of ways.

It was close to Christmas. The last three weeks had been bumpy, though not for Mickey and me.

It began with what we expected coming true.

Polly had not taken Pippa’s defection well.

She especially didn’t take it well when she learned that Ash and Pippa’s dad and mom were dating, which meant they shared an association.

Thus, her bullying went into overdrive with specific targets, both Aisling and Pippa.

The surprise came when this had the positive effect of Ash and her posse taking Pippa in.

Mickey had been wrong about that. But then again, from reports I demanded from Pip, Polly had not thrown her abuse up a notch, more like fifteen. It was relentless and it was ugly. Ash got it too. Her friends saw it. The whole school saw it. And Auden reported things were “simmering” and about to blow because it was hitting extremes.

Polly was not stupid enough to do this when Auden or his buds were around, for Joe (to Pippa’s delight) had seen the tail end of one episode and waded in, making it clear to Polly he didn’t want to see it again.

This didn’t delight Polly, Joe defending Pippa, and only served to heighten the madness when Polly was safe to let loose.

Polly also had learned not to be stupid enough to do it when Kellan was around.

But she was doing it and my baby girl was shaken. She was holding up but I knew that was taking a lot.

Along with her other reports, Pippa shared that Aisling was taking an interest in certain things, these being dressing better, doing her hair and adding some makeup.

I had a feeling I knew why and I was proved correct for Pippa also reported that Kellan had noticed.

“He’s still into her, Mom,” Pippa had said.

This was also positive.

It would turn out to be a negative when Polly got wind of it and ratcheted things up to full throttle. This meaning my girl came home anxious, jittery, and she was never one to hop out of bed, shouting her joy at having to go to school, but it became a near impossible task to get her going in the mornings.