Tiffani and her daughters slowly made their way up to the front. When they were nearly there, Tiffani heard a familiar voice say, “Well, the competition doesn’t look that challenging this year, sweetheart. You’re sure to win.”

A familiar-looking black-haired woman was walking in Tiffani’s direction. Holding one of her hands was an adorable little girl, and holding the other was an attractive and equally familiar woman. When they saw Tiffani, they glanced uncomfortably at each other.

“Sawyer, Heather, good to see you again,” Tiffani greeted them, smiling warmly.

“Hi, Tiffani,” Sawyer responded, albeit less enthusiastically.

“Been a while, huh?” Heather added.

“It sure has. What a cute little girl! What’s your name, sweetheart?” Tiffani asked, addressing the little girl.

“Natalie,” the child replied, smiling broadly.

“You are just so precious,” Tiffani gushed. “Natalie, these are my daughters Eva, Jane, and Leah.” Then, addressing the women, she added, “So, is she…?”

“She’s ours,” Sawyer replied, an edge to her voice. “We adopted her.”

“I see. Well, I’m sure you’re both great parents to her and raising her right. You know, Ophelia and Cy are doing a great job of raising their friend‘s daughter, so--”

“We are,” Heather snapped. To Natalie, she added, “Come on, let’s go. We have stuff to take care of.”


Tiffani and her daughters watched them leave. Eva nudged her mother and whispered, “What was that all about?”

“Way back when we were younger, they made fun of Ms. Lia for being in a relationship with Ms. C. I wanted them to know that I didn’t forget that.”

“But I thought you and Ms. Lia didn’t like each other,” Jane replied.

Tiffani sighed. “It’s complicated,” she responded slowly. “Maybe when you’re older, you’ll understand.”

“You say that all the time,” Jane grumbled.

“Next!” a voice called out.

“That’s us!” Leah crowed, grinning.


She, her sisters, and her mother stepped forward and found themselves face to face with Calyx Summers, a local celebrity. Calyx had appeared as a minor character in several television shows, but her main source of publicity was the amount of charity work she did in her free time. The young woman smiled warmly at the group.

“Well, hello there,” she greeted them.

“Hi!” Leah chirped back.

“Nice to meet you,” Eva added.

Jane stared in amazement and whispered, “Oh my God, it’s really her!”

Calyx smiled benevolently at Jane, and then, to the whole group, said, “I’ll need you to fill out and sign these forms. If you need help, I’ll be able to help, or else your mom will.” Calyx tilted her head slightly, then added, “I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before, ma’am.”

Tiffani shifted a little and responded, “Well, I am part of the local news team…”

“Oh my God, you’re Tiffani Royale-Desjardin!” Calyx cried out. “You’ve been my hero for years. It’s such an honor to meet you!”

Tiffani chuckled and replied, “Well, it’s nice to know that I have fans. I didn’t think anyone cared much about me.”

“Are you kidding? You’re a great role model for women and girls.”

Jane looked up from the application and over at her mother. “You mean you’re such a big deal that Calyx Summers looks up to you?!” she asked in astonishment.

“You’d better believe it, honey. Your mom is a really big deal,” Calyx declared.

“Wow.”

Calyx collected the forms and looked through them to make sure that they were filled out properly. “Which one of you is Leah?” she asked.

“Me!” Leah replied, bouncing up and down.

“That’s a pretty interesting thing that you’ve put down for your talent, Leah. I don’t remember anyone doing that before… although I will say, it sounds a lot better to watch than some of the other acts I’ve had to see. I hope all of you do well in the show!”

“We will!” Jane replied with a grin.