Mama Madeline Beiste

“Im not sure who will be more excited there- me or here. Probably me, really,” Kyla kept talking while Lily wrote the letters in the air with her finger to figure it out. “At least their personalities haven’t changed since they were little. Oh, school productions were so fun! I bet she really enjoyed herself.”

Madeline laughed. “I’m sure your excitement will be contagious,” she pointed out. “And hers will be contagious too, and then it’s just going to be the two of you feeding into each other’s excitement. It’ll be a force to be reckoned with.” She grinned at her. “We’ll have to find time for you to see the twins while you’re here. I know they’ll both be really happy to see you.”

“LA is far,” she whined, wishing Madeline lived closer so they could see each other more. “I’d love to come though. LA is fun. And someone happens to like Disney princesses a lot.” Lily wiggled with excitement in Madeline’s arms; the prospect of seeing Tiana and Elsa being very fun to her. “Well thank you,” Kyla grinned. “Do the twins do any sports or clubs?”

“If we made it out here, you could totally make it out to California,” Madeline teased. When Lily began to wiggle, she held onto her for a few seconds and then set her back down onto the ground. “You know you all would be more than welcome to stay with us, and we’re not that far from D-I-S-N-E-Y.” She was pretty sure Lily would be able to understand her even with the letters spelled out, but she knew that it would make her feel like such a grown up to figure it out. “They’re both still exploring. Jack takes after his dad and likes quieter activities, but Dot likes acting a lot. She’s been in a few of her school’s shows so far.”

“They did most the filming in Boston. Lily didn’t love it there; she said the accents are weird. But it was slightly less cold than Vermont so I didn’t mind it. I ate a lot more pizza than I should have,” she chuckled, remembering how Boston’s pizza was almost to the degree of New York’s, which she had discovered in college. “The teen years are weird ones,” she nodded. “Plus they’re old enough now that I can’t get them cool toys anymore. Makes my job as a cool aunt a lot harder.”

Madeline laughed softly at Lily’s thoughts on Boston accents. “You’re going to have to bring her with you the next time you come out to LA. I bet she’d enjoy our accents much more than the Boston ones.” She winked at the little girl. “You know Dot and Jack will love whatever you get them, just because you are the cool aunt.”

“Thank you,” Lilly said still giggling a little as her mother talked. “Oh I almost didn’t. But Miss Annabeth talked to..I don’t know- some important person- and got filming to wrap last week instead of this week.” “My mom’s pretending to be on Netflix,” Lily told Madeline what she was pretty sure was true. “She obviously doesn’t believe that Im cool enough for a Netflix show,” Kyla explained. “How are Dot and Jack doing? Are they tired of high school yet?”

“Maybe one of these days she’ll surprise you and it won’t just be pretending, hm?” Madeline suggested to Lily, giving her a goofy grin before setting her back on the ground. “Where have you been filming?” she asked. “The twins are good. Excited to be back in Ohio to see where they spent their first few years. But let me tell you, no one prepares you for what the teenage years are like! And these two are only 14.”

“Miss Madeline!” Kyla had video chatted with Madeline and he family several times of course, but in-person was much better. “Im so happy to see you!” She turned around to her daughter, who had earlier said she wanted to meet everyone. “Lily this is-“ The small blonde ran to Madeline immediately and hugged her. “She studied an old yearbook, and Im sure she’s heard your name a bunch of times by now,” Kyla explained. “Mama! You’re right! She gives the best hugs,” Lily said cheerfully

Madeline scooped Lily up into a hug, shifting to get the young girl’s legs comfortably around her body. “Why hello there!” she said brightly. “You’re just as pretty as in all of the photos your mom sends to me.” She grinned at her and turned back to Kyla. “It’s so good to see you! I’m glad you were able to make it.”