"Is mom home?" Maisie asked, before taking a step forward.

 

"Oh yeah, for sure." After another moment of silent, awe-struck staring, Mitts turned her head and yelled, "Mom!"

 

"What?" a disembodied voice hollered back. "I'm on the toilet."

 

Mitts turned back to Maisie. "Mom's on the throne."

 

"So I heard."

 

Another voice joined the conversation. "Oh my god, Mitts, do not walk by the upstairs bathroom!" It was Maisie's second sister, Kayla, holding her nose as she descended the stairs. "Jesus, the whole hallway reeks to..."

 

As she spoke, Kayla's gaze settled on the open front door.

 

The fingers pinching her nose slid down until her hand covered her embarrassed mouth. "Oops... sorry. I didn't hear the doorbell."

 

"Kayla, it's Mark," Mitts said, then whipped her head around. "Shit, I'm sorry. You don't go by Mark anymore. Do you? Well, obviously you don't. Duh. That was a stupid question. I'm sorry."

 

"It's okay," Maisie said, though Regan could hear the disappointment in her girlfriend's voice. "You don't need to apologize. I understand."

 

Mitts shook her head. "No, I'm an idiot. And I can't for the life of me remember your new name."

 

"It's Maisie." One more voice rang out from behind Kayla. "Maisie, like my mother, your grandmother. It's a beautiful name. It's perfect."

 

When Maisie looked up, Regan could feel the happiness coursing through her body. "Mom!"

 

As Maisie bolted through the front door, her mother ran down the stairs. They met in the hallway and dove into each other's arms. Though Maisie was taller than her mother, something about the nature of their hug dwarfed her, in Regan's eyes, and she appeared as a little child.

 

"Mom..."