In the evening, after Olive woke up, Cynthia still made her a soft, pale yellow omelette. The mother and daughter shared a meal, and after some playful teasing, Cynthia finally cuddled with Olive under the covers, softly talking about how they would live with Albert in the future.
She gently caressed Olive's smooth little bottom and said,
"Mommy will be very busy with work, and I won't have time to cook for you or take care of you, Olive. So for now, you'll stay at Uncle's house. But I will visit you after work in the evenings and on weekends, okay?"
Olive blinked her big eyes and thought for a long time before nodding vigorously. Then, in a sweet voice, she asked,
"Mommy, Uncle told me to call him Daddy. Should I call him that?"
Cynthia's chest tightened, and she hoarsely asked,
"Do you want to call him that, Olive?"
Olive snuggled closer to her, pouting and playing with her chubby little fingers.
