said to her.
“ Actually, we haven’t told her that we contacted the police,” Mitchell said.
“ May I ask why?” he asked.
“ In the past, her mother would just come around eventually so I guess she was hoping that this would be one of those times,” Mitchell said.
“ Yeah, she made so many reports back when she was in high school, the police didn’t want to hear anything about Lydia. To them, she was the girl who cried wolf one too many times,” Natasha said sadly.
“ That explains a lot,” he said.
“ What?” Mitchell asked. “What explains a lot?” he asked again. Cameron took a long deep breath and looked at the two of them.
“ Sergeant Polson, one of the senior guys here, probably one of the oldest guys in this precinct, found me as I was sending the email to Seattle PD. He said that Lydia was probably lying in some strange man’s bed wasted. I didn’t know what he meant by it then. I just thought he was being the usual judgmental ass he always is,” he said.
“ He must have known Rita and Lydia from way back then,” Natasha said.
“ Yeah, probably,” Cameron said. “But don’t worry, I got this covered. I will give you a call if anything comes up,” he said. Natasha smiled and walked toward the door, pushing the stroller in front of her. Mitchell stayed behind and had a few words with Cameron before he finally followed her out.
“ This is the worst thing that could ever happen. But at least she is alive, right? At least I think she is,” Natasha thought as she looked down at Alexis. “What happens if something happens? How will I tell Rita?” she wondered as Mitchell walked towards her.
“ Hey,” he said softly as she strapped Alexis in the car seat once again.
“ Hey,” she said standing up.
“ You okay?” he asked. She nodded and looked into his eyes.
“ You know I am lucky to have you, your family, and my family,” Nathasha told him. “And this beautiful baby here, but Rita, she has no one. As much as her mom messed up, she was Rita’s whole world. She’s always been her whole world and I don’t even know what...” Her words trailed off yet again. He held her face in her hands and smiled.
“ This, right here, is one of the very many reasons I love you,” he said.
“ Me freaking out?” she asked.
“ No, you being caring and concerned. Just the wife and the mother for our baby that I need,” he said before giving her a long kiss. “Everything will be fine,” he said.
“ I hope so,” she said.
“ Don’t hope. It is going to be fine,” he said smiling at her. “What do you say I take my two favorite girls somewhere special?” he asked.
“ Babe, I love you but any time you take me and the baby somewhere, it is usually a place where curly fries and high chairs are the special offers,” Natasha said smiling.
“ Well, how about we do something else?” he asked.
“ Like what?” Natasha asked.
“ The last time we had a picnic was way back before we got married,” he said. She smiled and nodded.
“ Yeah, it has been a while, hasn’t it?” she asked.
“ So, what do you say we introduce the girl to our little tradition?” he asked. She smiled and nodded, then frowned. “What now?” he asked.
“ Well, I know you mean well but we can’t have a picnic without the essentials. Blanket, picnic basket, you know, the usual,” she said.
“ I’ll handle it. I just want to take your mind off things for a few hours,” he said. She smiled and got in the car. She could not wait to see what he had planned.
When Mitchell began driving to the unknown location, Natasha once again found herself thinking about Rita and her misfortunes. She could not help but wonder what her life would have been like if she was the one in Rita’s shoes. She remembered what her father and Nan had told her about her own mother. How she left Natasha because she didn’t think she could give her daughter the life she deserved. And maybe her mother was right to