Jeanna cradled her cell phone between her ear and shoulder as she brushed Risa's hair back into a French braid. She spoke to her friend, Quinn, “Are you sure he can come? I don't want to take time away from your guys' family day...”

“Nonsense! It'll give me and the hubby some alone time,” Quinn laughed on the other end. “I'll drop him by in about half an hour?”

“Sounds good,” Jeanna smiled. “I'll see you guys then.” She juggled her phone and Risa's braid, but finally managed to end the call and put the phone down. “Quinn said Ryan can come, but you know what that means, Reese. Be nice. Don't try to hurt him.” She tied the end of the braid off with a clear elastic. “Now scoot. Go find your daddy and tell him Ry's coming.”

Jeanna laughed as she saw Risa run towards the kitchen. Ryan was her best friend, but Risa had the tendency to tackle him and horseplay with him a lot. Last time, she had made him cry with a poke in the eye.

After changing out of her pajamas and into a pair of denim shorts and a bright green tank top, she followed after her daughter into the kitchen. “How're the sandwiches coming along, Daddy?”

Aaron stood in front of the microwave. He had bread laid out all over the counter tops, some slices with jelly and some with peanut butter covering them. A complete mess of sticky substances and bread crumbs. “Fine?” he said, his voice unsure.

“Why do I feel like this is a challenge for you, Top Chef?” she teased, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms, surveying the mess. “Do you want some help?”

“That'd be great,” he said, finally turning his head to look at her. He looked like he had tears in his eyes.

“Whoa, bro.” She lowered her voice. “Are you okay?”

He laughed and nodded. “If you must know, I've been chopping onions.”

Jeanna raised her eyebrows. “What for?”

“Dinner? Are we not planning on eating tonight?” He smiled, moving his way over to the refrigerator and pulling out a large bowl full of some kind of red tomato sauce. “I was going to wait and surprise you with dinner later... but what the heck? I'm making pasta à la Tveit.”

Jeanna laughed and pushed a lock of his hair away from his forehead. “Is that why there're half peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all over my kitchen?”

“Precisely,” he smirked, leaning in for a quick peck on the lips.

“Well if Quinn is bringing Ryan over here in a few minutes, we better get this finished,” she said, stepping over to the bread and starting the finishing touches on the sandwiches.

Aaron was helping Jeanna pack the icebox when her cellphone vibrated on the counter. “Hello?”

No response.

“Hello?” she said again, growing irritated. When there wasn't a response the second time, she hung up and tossed her phone back to the counter.

“Wrong number?” Aaron questioned as he placed a couple bottles of water in the icebox.

She shook her head. “No answer. Some stupid shit thinking a prank phone call is funny.”

“Mommy! Ryan's here!” Risa's excitement floated into the kitchen from the foyer. A few seconds later, Risa and Ryan appeared in the kitchen doorway with Quinn behind them. Wait. That meant that Risa had opened the door... boy was she going to be in trouble later.

Jeanna looked up and smiled at Quinn. “I'll have him back by four o'clock?”

Quinn smiled, pushing her red framed glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose. “That sounds perfect.” She stooped down to Ryan and Risa's level. “I'll see you later, Baby. Love you. Have fun today with Reese!”

“Okay!” he said, flinging his arms around his mother's neck. “Bye, Mama!”

Aaron bumped Jeanna with his hip, getting her attention to hand her the packed icebox while he cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. Today is going to be fun.

~*~

“Oh my God! Aaron Tveit!”

Jeanna faceplamed. The day had started off nicely. The temperature wasn't too hot despite it being the peak of the summer, and the two children hadn't been fighting or whiny. But now that “Aaron Tveit, Broadway's Dreamboat” had been spotted, she regretted the idea of a picnic in Central Park. Two tween girls shyly approached the blanket Jeanna and Aaron were perched upon as they watched Ryan and Risa play in the grass a few feet away.

“Hey, guy. How are you?” Aaron said awkwardly. He looked at Jeanna sideways. “Sorry,” he mouthed apologetically.

“We're such huge fans!” the blonde said, rummaging around in the shoulder bag she wore around her neck.

“You're like the best Fiyero ever. Well, besides Norbert Leo Butz,” the friend said, smoothing her blue plaid skirt down. She held out her iPhone and sharpie to Aaron. “Will you sign my phone case?”

“And my notebook?” the blonde interjected. “Oh! Is this your girlfriend? It makes sense... she's a pretty redhead. Would you ever date a blonde?”

Jeanna fought the urge to roll her eyes. They were talking about her while they could have been talking to her. But they were Aaron's fans, and it was nice to see how much people appreciated his work. She tore her attention away from the trio of musical fans as she heard Risa cry out.

“I'm sorry, Reese!” Ryan was saying, kneeling beside where she lay crying in the grass.

Alarmed, Jeanna stood up from her spot on the blanket and walked over to the two youngsters. “What happened?” she asked, bending down to scoop Risa up into her arms. Risa screamed as Jeanna moved her and tears started to pour down Risa's cheeks as she wailed. Jeanna looked at Ryan. “What happened?”

“We were just playing! I was 'it' and I tagged her and she fell,” he said, innocently. His green eyes were wide with worry.

Oh, God, Jeanna thought. Hospital, here we come. Please don't have broken anything. “Hey, Aaron,” Jeanna said, carrying Risa gingerly back to their picnic blanket. “I'm sorry to cut this little powwow short, but I need to take Risa to the hospital. I think she may have broken her wrist.”

Aaron's face paled and he jumped up from his spot on the blanket, not bothering to fold it and just cramming it in the now empty icebox. “It was nice to meet you two,” he said politely to the girls who were smiling like cheshire cats.

“Can we have a picture really quickly?” one asked, holding her phone up.

“I'm sorry.” He shook his head. “I don't really have time. My daughter just broke her arm.”

“Daughter?!” they questioned simultaneously.

Fuck.

~*~

Risa waved her hot pink cast about the next morning at the breakfast table. “Is Grandma going to like me even if I have a broken arm?” she asked Aaron seriously.

“What kind of question is that!” Aaron protested, kissing her cheek. “Of course she's going to love you!”

Jeanna picked up the dirty breakfast dishes from the table and began scrubbing them clean. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night with Risa's broken wrist and the upcoming lunch with Aaron's parents. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. She repeated her mantra over and over in her head. Things are going to be just fine. It'll be just like old times.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked in her ear, making her jump. She hadn't realized that she had been scrubbing the same plate for ten minutes or that Aaron had dismissed Risa to get dressed.

“Fine,” she choked out. “Just peachy. Why?”

Aaron chuckled. “Don't think you can fool me, Red.” He sighed, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on top of her head. “Everything's going to be okay. Just relax.”

I wish it were that easy, Aaron, she wanted to say. Instead, she said, “I know.”

“Why don't you let me finished the dishes while you get ready? We'll need to leave in a little bit to get my car.”

Jeanna nodded, dropping the sponge in the sink and washing her hands. “Yeah. I need to shower, too. I won't be long.”

The hot water proved to be refreshing and therapeutic. Jeanna stepped out of the shower, clad in a large, white towel, feeling confident. She hummed a random song as she looked through her closet and settled on a pair of denim capris and an peach colored blouse. She sat down on her bed to slip on a pair of white Keds, still singing. She stopped a moment later to realize the lyrics to her song as she quickly fixed her hair:

You are my world, my darling.

What a wonderful world I see.

You are the song I'm singing.

You're my beautiful melody.

She was startled when her bedroom door opened unexpectedly and Aaron sang back to her: “Darling we better be going.” He motioned towards Risa, asking if what he had dressed her in was okay: a striped skirt and jean jacket (x).

Jeanna smiled and nodded her approval of Risa's outfit. She sang back, “Look at her! Isn't she glowing?”

“She looks divine, and you look exquisite, but look at the time!”

“It couldn't be is it?” Jeanna laughed and shook her head. “What's the matter with us?” she asked.

“What? I'm a musical professional!” he defended.

Jeanna laughed and rolled her eyes. “No, we have a daughter who watches too much of the Little Mermaid (x).”

“You're right,” Aaron chuckled, but we really do need to go.”

“Okay, I'm ready,” Jeanna said as she stood up from the bed and grabbed her purse. This was it.

The car ride to Middletown consisted of high-pitched singing and giggling from the backseat. After Risa's incident yesterday, Jeanna didn't think she would ever see her little girl's smile or hear her laugh again. The hours of wailing and crying had scared her to the core. She had never broken a bone before, and it hurt her to see her baby in pain that she couldn't comprehend.

As they got closer to Aaron's family home, Jeanna found herself recognizing the familiar street names and houses. Her heart began to leap out of her chest and her palms started to form nervous sweat. Could she really do this? She looked back at Risa who sat with her head against the window, napping. She had to. For Risa.

Jeanna instantly recognized the white two-story house with black shutters. Memories of college and the times spent at that house came flooding back and Jeanna choked on nostalgic tears. They pulled up beside and unfamiliar car in Aaron's parents' driveway.

“Did Jon get a new car?” Jeanna asked, raising her eyebrows.

“No, I don't think so...” Aaron said, jumping out. He didn't want to tell Jeanna, but he thought he recognized the silver BMW. “Okay, Reese-Cup. We're here,” he said softly, unbuckling Risa's carseat and picking her up.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily. “When do I get to see Grandma and Grandpa?”

“In two seconds,” Aaron said, grinning. “Are you ready?” Risa nodded eagerly as she wrapped her good arm around Aaron's neck. They walked up onto the front porch, adorned with hanging ferns and flowers, a trait of Posie's talent. “Do you want to ring the doorbell?”

Risa's tiny finger reached out and pressed the button next to the door. Immediately the door flung open, almost making Risa jump out of Aaron's arms.

“Aaron!” his mother exclaimed. “And you must be Risa.” She kissed the little girl on the cheek. “My, you're so beautiful. Look at you red hair! Can I have it?”

“No!” Risa shrieked, placing her arms over her head to protect her hair. “It's mine!”

Posie looked startled. “Oh, Honey. I was just teasing. It's okay. I'm not going to take your hair.” She seemed to realize Jeanna standing behind Aaron awkwardly. “Oh, Jeanna! It's so good to see you again! How have you been, Baby?” she asked, pulling Jeanna in for a hug.

Still unsure, Jeanna hugged back loosely. “I'm okay. How are you?”

“I'm great! Even better now! But come in, come in! We're not going to stand on the porch all evening. Oh, and Aaron someone popped by today for a moment. She's waiting in the kitchen.”

Aaron raised his eyebrows, setting Risa down for her to walk by herself. He cast Jeanna a sideways glace. The sound of someone shuffling around in the hallway leading to the kitchen caught their attention. A moment later, a woman in a yellow sundress and heels stepped out from the kitchen, her red hair in a high ponytail.

“Hello, Aaron.” Her focus shifted to Jeanna. “Twat.” Jacqui.