“If you’re both girls, why are you married?” Lizzy asked innocently.

“Huh?” Lisha and Beatrice asked in unison.

“In school they told us that when a boy and a girl like each other, they get married. They didn’t say that about two girls.” Beatrice narrowed her eyes.

“Wait, what-”

“I’ve got this!” Lisha shouted, disappearing for a second and coming back with a book. It was obviously hand written and bound. The front read The Lesbian Manuel in big red letters. “It’s time for some education!” she said enthusiastically.

Beatrice quickly snatched the book, took one look at it, and threw it as far as she could so the child didn’t have to bear witness to whatever Lisha, in all her amazing penmanship, had to say. Lisha panicked and ran after it as if the book was some great piece of literature.

“Listen kid,” Bea said, kneeling down. “Love isn’t limited to boy and girl, got it?” Lizzy nodded and Beatrice ruffled her hair. “Good girl. Now go run off before she comes back and tries to make you read.”

“One more thing.” Lizzy added. “How did you know you and mama were in love?”

“Probably when we first met.” Beatrice recounted. “From the first time I called her fat and she called me a twig, I think we both knew we were meant for each other.” Lizzy tilted her head in confusion.

“That doesn’t sound like love.”

“Oh well, you know.” Bea shrugged with a smile. “Her lips tasted like cherry, so I’m sure that helped too.”

“Cherry lips?”

“Enough questions from you!” Beatrice said, playfully pushing her. “You go play now and when you’re… 13 I’ll tell you about what me and your mom did for fun to show our love.”

“Really?” she asked, excited. “Why so long away though?”

“Because when you’re 13 you’ll be a teenager, and that’s when you learn about adult stuff.”

“Adult stuff…” Lizzy whispered.

“Yeah, adult stuff. Now go! Have some fun with Sausage.”

“We already are!” she exclaimed. Sausage slithered out from the inside of Lizzy’s sleeve on her shirt.

“Looks like someone still doesn’t like to leave their cage.” Beatrice taunted. “All you did was choose a mobile enclosure that gives you chin scratches.”

Sausage spitefully stuck out her tongue before retreating back into Lizzy’s shirt. Beatrice laughed and made a motion to shoo her away.

“Then go play somewhere else. Your mother and I have some adult stuff to do.”

“What adult stuff?” the girl asked excitedly.

“Taxes.” Bea said, pulling out a calculator. “I’m not going to ask you again to go do something more exciting than this, you little gremlin.”

Lizzy giggled and ran down a hallway while Lisha still panicked on finding where her homemade book went.

“Mommy, what does mama do for her job?” Lizzy asked.

“Eh, that’s hard to explain until you’re older.” Beatrice said. “Too many things you wouldn’t understand yet.”

“Did you and mama do any work together?” she questioned.

“Like in modeling?”

“Sure!”

“Well…” Beatrice peaked her head outside the bedroom door, then closed and locked it. She crawled under the bed, removed a floorboard, and took out a box with three magazines in it. They had Beatrice posing with a much different-looking Lisha.

“Why is mama so skinny?” Lizzy asked when Beatrice handed her the pictures. “And have such long legs?”

“That’s the industry, baby.” Beatrice sighed. “Any body she could want and she chooses the one she’s got naturally. Wish she showed that one more for me though.”

“I like mama how she is.” Lizzy said.

“I mean, me too.” Bea said reasonably. “But you know, she’s got all these fat pictures of me somewhere and I dunno why she thinks me in them looks better than her in this.”

“Mommy? Fat?” the girl asked, not quite able to imagine it. “Mommy’s nowhere close to fat! Mommy’s perfect!”

“Thanks kid,” she said, ruffling Lizzy’s hair. “I wish everyone felt the same about me.”

“BEATRICE!” shouted Lisha, pounding on the door and shaking the handle, making them both jump. “I know you have those magazines in there! I thought you said you burned them!”

“I thought you said you burned the ones of me when I was fat!” Beatrice shouted back, opening the window and getting ready to jump out with the magazines. Lizzy was utterly lost.