And Phoebe leaned closer and closer to the screen till Carmen had to haul her back, as the entire parade sang a song around the houses, got to the house of the frog and the pig—Carmen could feel the worried intake of breath in the little body—flung open the door with a gigantic turkey, and there was Tiny Tim, hopping about on his little froggy legs, and Phoebe cheered and just about exploded with joy, and all four of them laughed and gathered together, and when Carmen intoned, “God bless us, every one!” along with the film, they stared at her in disbelief that she knew it.

“It’s a very famous story,” she said. “Lots of different ways to tell it. You’re going to love them all.”

“I want to watch it again,” pronounced Phoebe. “Right now.”

“We’re not allowed too much television,” said Pippa. “It’s bad for your chi.”

“It’s Christmas,” protested Carmen, pointing to the smart advent calendar where Pippa had, with great ceremony, thrown back door number one that very morning. There was no chocolate in the calendar. “I think it will be okay.”

“Yayyy!”

FINALLY GETTING BACK in the kitchen, Carmen found the mood was somber.

“Because the thing with me is,” Skylar was saying sincerely, her blue eyes saucer-round, “that people really underestimate me? Because they don’t think I look like an academic person? And I have to put up with that kind of discrimination, like, every day.”

“Yes, I see how that must be terrible for you,” Blair was saying in a voice that sounded suspiciously like he was trying to pretend to be a doctor on television.

Carmen shot Sofia a “what the fuck?” look. Her sister just looked a bit disappointed. Oh well.

“They’re watching the film again,” said Carmen to Sofia.

“The film that terrified the hell out of them?”

“No, no, they’ll be fine with it now.”

And sure enough, faint voices could be heard attempting to sing along with the animals in perfect happiness and harmony.

Sofia looked surprised. “Do you think?”

“I don’t think any screen time is safe for children usually, don’t you agree, Blair?” said Skylar, looking up at him.

“You can go do constructive play with them now if you like,” said Carmen.

“Actually, it’s my night off—that’s when I normally go to extra lectures at the university,” said Skylar. “Oh, I saw Oke. He says hi.” She leaned flirtatiously over to Blair. “He’s a special friend of Carmen’s.”

“Is this the guy who gets cheated in coffee shops?”

Skylar laughed as if this was hilarious, even though she couldn’t possibly have known what he was talking about.

“So yeah, it’s all right for the boys to be students,” she said. “But when it’s me, they barely take my questions.”