When the kids got home from school, Molly stormed straight off to her room.  I looked at Cam for a clue.

"Someone cut her violin strings," she reported.  "I think we can guess who."

I sighed and shook my head.  Just when I thought they couldn't get any lower.  "Unbelievable."

The twins were hungry for a snack as usual so I got them some cheese, crackers and juice and set them up in front of the TV so I could go talk to Molly.  I knocked on her bedroom door and she was laying on her side, crying.  I slowly walked to her bed and sat down on the edge.

Tentatively, I put my hand on her upper arm.  "Cam told me what happened," I said gently.  "Do you wanna talk about it?"

She turned onto her back and looked up at me, angry.  "Since you put a restraining order on her for Cam, I guess she's coming after me now.  How am I supposed to practice tonight?"

Molly had gotten pretty intense recently about her violin.  She practiced for at least an hour every night.

"We can go out and buy you some new strings," I offered.

"But then they have to get tuned," she pointed out.  "And they have to be cut to the right length.  It takes forever.  And what's to say she won't do it again?"

Molly seemed to be thinking worst case scenario.  "It may take some time, but one day without practice won't hurt you.  Maybe you can relax tonight."

"Relax?" she asked, exasperated.  "How am I supposed to relax with those she-wolves living down the hall?"

She had a point.  I decided to take a different approach.  "What would make you feel better?"

She thought for a moment. "Maybe I should give live with my dad."

I wasn't expecting that one.

"In Japan?" I asked.  She nodded.  "Because of one bad incident?"

"No," she told me.  "I've been thinking about it a lot lately.  I'm with Mom all the time.  With Dad, there aren't any other kids around and I get tons of attention from my relatives.  They love me.  They miss me."

I knew we had four kids, but Pip and I did our best to make sure they all got attention and felt loved.  It broke my heart that Molly was feeling this way.  "Sweetheart, your mother and I love you.  Do you feel like you're not getting enough attention?"

She shrugged and studied her nail beds. 

"Well, moving across the world is a pretty big step," I pointed out.  "Don't you like visiting your dad over the summer?"

"Yes," she said.  "I like it a lot.  Which is why I wanna be with Dad."

I looked away, knowing this would kill Pippa.  Her children were everything to her.  To have Molly live on another continent would devastate her.  It would devastate me too.

"Well, I can tell you've been thinking a lot about this," I went on, acknowledging her feelings.  "And if it's something you're serious, we should all talk about it.  But Molly – this would kill your mother."

"Why does it always have to be about her?" she demanded.  "What about what I want?  And don't you think my dad misses me as much as she'd miss me?"

She had good points.  The kid was almost twelve now; old enough to decide what she wanted in terms of living arrangements.  I promised her I'd think about it, but not to bring it up to Pippa yet.

I left the room, letting out a long breath through my mouth.  Was Molly really that unhappy?  If Molly moved to Japan permanently, I didn't want to think about what it would do to my wife.  It would be like part of her was missing.

I went back to the living room to check on the twins.  They could watch one show after school, then no more screen time.  They'd both decided to use the cheese they were given to stick all over their faces.  Both were laughing hysterically as they placed the cheese over their eyes and on their noses.

"Guys, don't play with your food," I told them, but chuckled.

"Daddy, look!" Felix told me, showing how he'd replaced his eyebrows with cheese instead.

"Very funny," he said.  "Now eat."

I texted Pip to ask her to go buy some new violin strings for Molly.  She was appalled that America had done it, though we couldn't exactly prove it.  There was no one else who had it in for our family.  When she got home, she went straight to Molly's room to try to smooth things over.  A while later I heard the sound of strings being plucked and tuned.  Pippa came out, looking relieved.

"Crisis averted," she told me, then walked up to give me a kiss.

"Well done," I praised her.  Pippa began to unpack a couple grocery items she'd gotten on the way home.

"Raina has a follow-up appointment tomorrow," she reminded me as she put things away.  I breathed out.  We were both nervous about it.  Raina was showing no symptoms of her cancer, so we knew she'd probably check out fine but we still worried.

"What time?"

"Nine a.m.," she said.  "Are you able to come?"

"Of course," I told her.  I wouldn't miss it.

___

The next morning, Cam took Felix to school, along with Molly, and Raina had Pip and I all to herself for a good hour.  Since it would be a hard morning, we let her come lay in bed with us after the other kids had left.  I'd made her a bagel and we just sat there watching a cartoon.  When she giggled it warmed my heart.

As the credits rolled, Raina stood up and started jumping on the bed.  I reached over and grabbed the last little bit of bagel as she landed on her knees and bounced onto my legs.  I tickled her mercilessly as she laughed.

"Alright, jumpasaurus rex," Pippa told our daughter.  "Time to get dressed."

"But I don't wanna!" she said, standing up to jump again.

"I know, but it's time to go to the doctor," she said as we both stood up.  I caught her and pulled her into my arms, then started flying her over my head towards her bedroom.  She held out her arms and then I gently body-slammed her onto her bed.  With the amount of energy this kid had, there was no way she had cancer.

I went to her dresser and pulled out some undies, jeans, and a t-shirt for her to wear.  I tossed it on her bed, which she was now jumping on.

"Alright, kiddo," I told her.  "Time to calm down and get ready."

She landed on her bottom and then began to take off her pajamas. 

"When you're done, go brush your teeth," I told her, leaving the room.  I turned the coffee maker back on for a second cup.  My stomach was in knots.  What if the cancer was back?  What if Molly moved to Japan?  This double blow would absolutely devastate Pippa.

She joined me in the kitchen a minute later, and I could tell she was just as nervous as I was.  She was trying to busy herself to keep her mind off it, but I knew my wife.  She needed some reassurance.  I gently caught her wrist and pulled her to me.

"Hey," I said gently, letting my linked hands rest at the small of her back.

"Hey," she replied softly, looking into my eyes.  I saw fear.

"It's gonna be okay," I tried to reassure her.  "The kid's been bouncing off the walls for weeks."

She sighed and let her forehead rest against mine.  "That doesn't mean anything, Lin."

"There's no point getting worked up until we hear the results," I pointed out.  "Worrying's not gonna do you any good."

She closed her eyes and we just held each other for a minute.  I swayed her back and forth gently.

"No matter what happens, we'll face it together," I reminded her.  She nodded and I kissed her forehead gently.  I prayed the test would come back negative.

Raina was still a ball of energy, and I managed to wrangle her into her shoes and a jacket.  I carried her as we rode the subway to the doctor's office.  Raina's good mood went away when she realized she was going to have to get blood drawn again.  My sweet, bubbly girl was gone as she sat in my lap, face tucked into my chest as we waited.

"Remember what we're doing afterwards?" I reminded her gently.

She nodded.  "Ice cream."

"That's right," I kissed her head.  "It'll just be a little prick, then we'll get ice cream."

"Can I get two scoops?" she asked hopefully.  I chuckled and kissed her head again.

"We'll see," I said.  The nurse walked in with the vial and I readjusted my daughter in my lap.  Raina rubbed at her eyes as the nurse began to talk to us.

"Raina, I've heard you're a very brave girl," she told her.  "You've been through this a lot.  You're a pro."

Raina nodded and seemed to relax just a little bit.  Even though she'd been through it many times, the nurse gently explained what she was doing, starting with cleaning her arm.  I draped my arms around Raina's waist loosely as the nurse prepared her arm.  She held Pippa's hand.

I tightened my grip just a little as the nurse prepared to put in the needle.  Raina whimpered a little and I shooshed her gently.  About fifteen seconds later, it was all over.  The nurse let her pick out a band-aid, and she chose Paw Patrol.  After putting it on, we were told Raina was good to go.  They'd call with the results the next day.

Waiting would be agony, but we didn't have any choice.  Pippa paid the co-pay at the counter, and Raina perked up a bit, knowing it was over and it was now time for ice cream.  We walked out and down the street to the ice cream store.  We let her get two scoops because she'd been so good.

Pippa tucked a couple strands of hair behind Raina's ear as she ate her chocolate ice cream.  Even though it had been for a scary reason, it was nice that both Pippa and I had gotten to spend the morning with our little girl.  I decided we should try to make a point of doing this.  Of going out with each kid alone.  Maybe Molly would decide to stay.

It was almost lunch time when we took Raina to school.  When we reached her classroom, she let go of Pippa's hand and ran over to some of her friends.  She joined in without skipping a beat.  Her teacher saw her, then looked over at the door to see us.  We smiled and waved and she waved back.  As we walked out, I took Pippa's hand.

"Now we need to get your mind off this," I told her, rubbing her hand gently with my thumb.  She smirked a little as we walked out of the school.

"I'm not sure that will be so easy," she said honestly.

"Well, I have something in mind," I told her, kissing her several times behind the ear.  She giggled and squeezed my hand.

"What?  Five minutes of bliss?" she teased.

I scoffed.  "That was one time," I defended myself.  She tilted her head back, laughing, as we made our way to the subway and back home to enjoy some alone time.