Joy hopped out and slid open the minivan door so Sara could help her boy inside. She had a big car-seat for him in her free hand and she and Joy set about placing it in the back row. Rachel could see there was no real need for such seats. After all the world hadn’t gotten any larger, the normal seatbelts would fit them as well as their parents. No, the purpose of the seats was to keep the ‘child’ constrained and unable to undo the seat-belt.

“There we go! Okay big guy, come to Mommy,” Joy beckoned once the seat was in place.

Without a word Brian let Mommy strap him into the car-seat, leaving him sitting high enough so his bare toes just brushed the floor of the car. “Good boy!” Mommy praised, leaning in and pecking a kiss on his cheek.

Sara and Rachel stepped outside and the door slid shut with a bang. While the two mommies chatted Rachel twisted around as best she could and looked back at Brian. “So, where’s the book?”

Brian frowned and shrugged, looking defeated.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rachel demanded.

“It means I looked everywhere last night and the book is gone. After Mommy went to sleep I snuck all over the house but there was no sign of it.”

“So you just gave up?” Rachel snapped.

“Well what else could I do?”

“Keep looking! This is our lives we’re talking about Brian! Nothing is more important than finding that book.”

“Well did you search your place?”

“Of course I did! It wasn’t there of course. We left it at your place after all.”