What to do

 "She's just being so weird," Amy winced. She didn't know how to explain it to Em. They were busy working on some Christmas Sweaters for the Barbies out of Christmas socks. Actually, Em was doing all the sewing and Amy watched her hand-sewing wizardry. She knew she should be asking how Em got so good at this, but there were thoughts of her mom Jen, instead.

"What do you mean?" Em took a break with the needle and thread and looked at Amy.

"She comes over all the time," Amy told her. "That's never happened. Never." Finally, Amy looked a little sad when she explained how she thought how close they (Jen and Amy) used to be when she was little before she started school. "And then, everything changed when I started second grade. She didn't want to be there, for anything."

Em nodded as if she did understand her frustrations. "Moms are hard to figure out. It could have been a lot of things. Maybe..maybe she just decided you were better off with your dad. Maybe..maybe she was going through a bad time."

Amy nodded. "It's just so hard to know what to do now. She watches me like a hawk."

"Oh, she is a momma bird, after all," Em winced with a smile as she went back to sewing. She'd modified another Barbie for Amy. It was one of Amy's old Barbies that now had a new body. Suddenly, Em got an idea. "I could make a mini-me of you and one for your mom too."

"But why?" Amy practically cracked up.

"Um, you could maybe say some things to each other through playing Barbies that you couldn't say to her face to face," Em reminded her how they didn't really talk to each other, even if she was over at her Dad's all the time. "You don't think they'll ever get back together?"

"No." It was a mute subject to Amy.

"What can we do? I don't know what to do?" Jen woke up to the idea that Christmas was almost here.

"I'm sure whatever you do, it'll be fine," Yuki told her while they were in the kitchen while Em was with Amy. 

Yuki made some green tea and brought Jen a cup at the dining table.

"No, it won't." Jen swelled a frown. She couldn't explain it. She felt she was on a train to nowhere, coming to Stan's so often. She pressed her lips, at the thought he'd suggested. "Stan says he'll get the guestroom ready for me and..and I can stay for Christmas."

"That's so sweet," Yuki smiled.

"Oh, don't go getting any ideas about us," she shook her head no as she played with the teabag in her cup.

"I didn't think anything-" Yuki smiled as if she hadn't meant to step on her toes.

"Maybe we could just make it a girls' day out," Yuki nodded. "We could see Wonka."

"I heard it was no good," Jen informed her. "Besides, Eli might go and Amy would want her friend Junie and that Darry to go too."

"Would that be so awful?" Yuki looked at her as if Jen just wanted to nix everything she suggested.

"Right," Jen nodded. "You are probably so right. I can't be this way. It's just..my little girl has a boyfriend." She almost bit tears. How was this possible?

"Well, she can't stay little forever," Yukie told her as she cradled her cup of tea. Jen nodded as she took a sip of her hot tea.

"I was never close to my own mother," Jen sounded sad about that. "It's like I..I never wanted her to know who I truly was..so..so.." She looked to Yuki. "Is it too late for Amy and me?" Her right eye started to flinch. Yes, she'd been working so much on the computer. She knew she needed to take a break from work. But she wasn't sure if this is what the break should be.

"It's never too late," Yuki promised her. She got out a list and started to write down a few things that came to mind. "How about making Christmas cookies?"

Jen couldn't remember the last time she made anything with flour.