February 1, 1974

One Friday morning, Lorraine Morrison found herself drawing a sketch of the frozen lake while her children played in living room. Lorraine's drawing was still a work in progress - she hadn't even started on the trees and houses on the other side of the lake, but who could blame her when she was constantly being distracted? Even now, Phil was chasing Holly with a plastic dinosaur. "Mom!" Holly whined.

"What is it?" Lorraine asked. Holly didn't explain anything before bursting into tears, but Lorraine comforted her anyways. "It's going to be okay," she said.

"No!" Holly shouted, still sobbing.

"It's not my fault!" Phil said.

"I never said that it was," Lorraine said. "You do need to be nice to your sister though."

"I am!" Phil exclaimed.

Eventually, Holly stopped crying, and she said, "I want to play with toys again." She jumped off of the couch, and Phil and Holly went back to playing with their toys. Now that whatever problem had upset Holly so much was resolved, Lorraine went back to drawing. Something was off though. Her sketch didn't quite reflect the lake, and she wasn't sure what she was missing. Lorraine wished that she was a better artist, but she never had the time to practice with the kids around. She wouldn't trade them for the world though. Lorraine loved Phil and Holly, and she would have time to learn to draw when they were older.

The children entertained themselves for about ten minutes, but they soon needed Lorraine's help again. "Mom!" Holly exclaimed. "I want to watch Sleeping Beauty!"

"I don't!" Phil said.

Lorraine sighed and set her pencil down again. "Maybe it's time for a nap," she suggested.

"No!" Holly said.

"I'm not tired!" Phil added.

"I'll let you two play for a little longer, but it does seem like a nap would be a good idea," Lorraine said, wishing that her husband was here. He was working until seven tonight, and in her opinion, that didn't give the family nearly enough time together. If Edward was here, then he could help resolve the kids' arguments, but he was at work, and it was all up to Lorraine.

Holly and Phil started tossing a ball around, and Lorraine went back to her drawing, which still seemed quite insufficient. It was nearly finished now, but something about it didn't look right at all. Lorraine put in a few finishing touches, giving up on trying to make it any better. However, she was interrupted yet again.

"Mom!" Holly screamed, and Lorraine rushed over to see that Holly had bruised her knee. Lorraine helped her daughter up, but nothing Lorraine did seemed to help. "I want a Band-Aid," Holly complained.

"It's not bleeding," Lorraine said.

"I want a Band-Aid!" Holly shouted, as if increasing the volume would help her case.

Lorraine went into the bathroom and found a Band-Aid with Bert and Ernie on it. "No!" Holly said. "I want Big Bird!" Lorraine, not wanting to argue with Holly, found one with Big Bird on it and stuck it on Holly's knee.

"Is this better?" Lorraine asked.

"Yes," Holly said.

"Excellent," Lorraine said. "I think it's time for both you and Phil to take a nap."

"I want to hear a bedtime story first," Phil said.

Lorraine liked this idea - she actually enjoyed telling stories from her kids. Sometimes, however, she got the sense that her kids didn't like hearing her stories. Lorraine led Phil and Holly into their bedrooms, and while Holly immediately fell asleep, Phil decided to wait for Lorraine to tell a story.

Lorraine sat down next to Phil's bed and started to tell him a story. She decided to tell him one of the stories that her parents had told her as a child - the Creation Story. "Long ago, before there was any land here, there was water all over," Lorraine said. "The only things were the creatures that lived in the water and the birds that flew above the waters. Further above there was land, which was called the Sky World, and there were people living there, but these people had supernatural powers."

"Like Superman?" Phil interrupted.

"We'll go with that," Lorraine said. She sighed and continued her story. "In the middle of the land was a great tree which gave them their light. There were many different fruits on the tree. This is where their light came from, the fruits."

"I thought that light came from the sun," Phil said.

"I'm getting there," Lorraine said. "The rule was that no one could cut into the tree or a great punishment would be given to that person, whoever was caught harming the tree. There was this young couple, and the young woman was going to have a baby. The woman started to crave things and one of the things she craved was the roots and bark from the tree, so she asked her husband to go and gather this for her. He was afraid to get these because he would surely be punished. He waited for the people to go from the tree. As they all left, he went over and started digging."

Phil yawned, but Lorraine went on. "As he was digging, suddenly the ground caved in and it left a big hole in the ground by the tree. The man got very scared of what had happened, so he went back and told his wife what had happened, and she asked if he got what she had wanted. He told her he did not because he got so scared. She got very mad and said she would get it herself. As she got to the tree, she saw the hole, and she went over to get a closer look. As she was looking through, she saw all the water down below. She did not know that her husband followed her. As she was looking through, she fell through the hole."

"Why didn't Superman go and get her?" Phil asked.

Lorraine shook her head and said, "I don't think you understand."

"Superman needs to show up more in this story," Phil said.

Lorraine tucked her son in and said, "I'll save this story for another time. Goodnight, Phil."

Phil yawned again and said, "Goodnight, Mom," before he fell asleep. Lorraine wished that she had a better story to tell Phil, but out of all of the stories that her parents had told her as a child, this was the only one that she could remember. She could read from a book like every other parent, but Edward could do that if he wished. Lorraine wanted to pass on her culture, but sometimes, that seemed impossible.

Lorraine wished that her mother was here. She would know what to do. Lorraine left Phil's room, picked up the phone, and dialed Mom's number. After a brief conversation, mostly consisting of Mom asking if Lorraine was okay, she agreed to let Lorraine come over. Just as Lorraine was getting ready to leave, Edward arrived. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to visit my mother," Lorraine said.

"Couldn't you wait until tomorrow?" Edward asked as he stumbled into the house.

"I'd like to see her tonight," Lorraine said. "I miss her."

"I thought that you were going to make dinner for me," Edward said.

"There's dinner in the fridge," Lorraine said. Edward walked towards the fridge with his cane, while Lorraine threw on her jacket and left. "I'll see you later, Edward," she said.

Edward was too busy searching around in the fridge to respond. Lorraine hopped into the driver's seat of the car and drove around the lake, observing the way that the moonlight reflected off of the ice on the lake. It was the moonlight, she now realized, that she had failed to capture. She would have to revise her drawing when she got home.

Lorraine drove to the east side of town, where her mom lived. Her house was on the edge of the Oneida reservation where Lorraine grew up, and driving through this part of Clearwater Lake always made Lorraine a little bit nostalgic. It was nowhere near the lake itself, and in some ways, it was like a different town altogether, but Lorraine loved both the lake and the town that surrounded it.

After a few minutes of driving, she pulled into Mom's driveway, got out of the car, and knocked on the door. "Hi Lorraine," Mom said when she opened the door. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, and that's the problem," Lorraine said.

"Come inside," Mom said, and Lorraine did. "How are the kids?" Mom asked.

"They're doing fine," Lorraine said. As much as she normally loved talking about Phil and Holly, she wasn't in the mood for small talk right now.

"You should bring them next time you come over here," Mom said. "I want to see my grandchildren."

"I'll bring them next time," Lorraine said. "I just feel like I'm being a bad mother."

"I'm sure that's not the case," Mom said. "Why do you feel like you're a bad mother?"

"I tried to tell Phil the creation story, but he just doesn't understand," Lorraine said. "He thinks that Superman is involved somehow. I know that you told me not to marry a white boy, and now I'm paying for it."

"Lorraine, I know that you and Edward love each other," Mom said. "I may not have seen that when you two first got together, but I can see that now. This isn't your fault."

"How is it not my fault?" Lorraine asked. As far as she could tell, everything was her fault.

"Think about it," Mom said. "So much of our culture is disappearing. Only a few people these days speak the language that my grandmother spoke. It's not just you, Lorraine."

"Then shouldn't I make sure that my children learn our culture?" Lorraine said. It would only make sense.

"Yes, but I wouldn't panic if you face a few obstacles along the way," Mom said. "You're doing the right thing, and if problems come your way, it's not your fault or Edward's."

"Thanks, Mom," Lorraine said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Lorraine," Mom said. "Would you like some cookies for the road? I made a batch yesterday."

"Why not?" Lorraine said, knowing that Phil and Holly would appreciate it. Mom handed her a box filled with cookies, and Lorraine thanked her and returned home.

When Lorraine got home, she put the cookies in the refrigerator and went back to her drawing. She erased most of it and started again, but this time, she accounted for the moonlight, and when she was done, it looked much better.

"That looks beautiful, Lorraine," Edward said as he walked by.

"Thank you," Lorraine said.

"How's your mom doing?" Edward asked as he sat down next to her.

"She's doing fine," Lorraine said. "Seeing her helped me a lot."

"I'm glad," Edward said. "I wish that I could have gotten home earlier today. Work's just been a hassle lately."

"What's been going on?" Lorraine asked.

"You remember my coworker Lester, right?" Edward said. "You won't believe what he did today..."

Edward went on for nearly fifteen minutes about Lester, and Lorraine did her best to listen. Lorraine clearly wasn't the only one who was suffering, but she was certain that she and Edward would make it through. When Edward was finally done ranting, Lorraine held him close and said, "I'm really sorry that all of that happened to you."

"It's okay, Lorraine," Edward said. "I just wish that I could have come home earlier to see the kids."

"Maybe you'll get to spend more time with them tomorrow," Lorraine said.

"I hope so," Edward said.

At that moment, Lorraine realized just how much she cared about Edward. Their relationship certainly wasn't the easiest one in the world, but in the end, Lorraine's mom was right. They did love each other, and that was what mattered most.