Surprise Offer 2: is a direct continuation of the story about Lily and her ‘brother’ Lance. Can she find acceptance and her place in the world as Lily instead of Lance? Emotions run high as Lily’s new best friend and ‘adoptive’ family members move things forward at lightning speed. Can she handle it all? How will a surprise just before Thanksgiving change everything? Lily and Sammie are back, ready to take on the world with pigtails and dancing, in a way only ten-year-old little girls can do.

On Sunday morning, Lily walked into church wearing a pink long-sleeved velvet dress. She walked up to where Kelly and Stacy were talking.

Kelly mentioned, “Lily, you’re not wearing your wig today.”

“The wig is annoying when Lauren pulls on it, so I thought I would just go with my short hair. Is it terrible?”

“Of course not. You don’t really have enough yet for braids, but we can still do something cute,” Kelly said while looking at Lily’s hair and handing her purse off to Stacy. “You don’t have enough hair to do braided pigtails like Diana did last week, but we could still do pigtails, just little baby pigtails.”

Stacy passed over a couple elastics and some white ribbons which Kelly tied into bows.

The three preteens talked quietly among themselves before Lily felt her waist being hugged. “Lily!” came out in a tiny lisp.

“Hello, Lauren. How is my favorite Kane?” Lily noticed Aunty Hanna faking hurt nearby. “You know I love you, Aunty. But I double love Lauren.”

“Before you dig yourself in a deeper hole, Sweetie, how about taking your cousin to the nursery?”

Lily brought Lauren to the nursery, where the toddler brought her over to the toy shelf to show off a Fisher-Price Little People Noah’s Ark. The two got the toy off the shelf, sitting down on the floor to play with it. Lily was talking about how God asked Noah to take two of each animal onto the ark when Aunty entered the nursery looking for Lily.

Mrs. Kester went up to Mrs. Kane, “Hi Hanna. She’s really good with Lauren, isn’t she?”

“Hi Robin. Yeah, she is, but she was just supposed to drop Lauren off and then join us in the sanctuary for the service.”

“Let her stay today and play with the babies. We could always use a good helper in the nursery,” Mrs. Kester smiled at the ten-year-old giving a bible lesson to 18-month-old Lauren. “I’ll introduce her to the Fisher-Price Nativity Set and see what she can teach the babies with it.”

“Are you serious? She’s ten.” Hanna lowered her voice slightly, “She can’t spend the service in the nursery.”

“My daughter Stacy does occasionally. I don’t see any reason why Lily can’t stay today. It’s a great way to give the tweens some pre-babysitting experience.”

Aunty also thought about how it might help a certain face-painting clown get some experience with a variety of toddlers before she is hired to work a toddler birthday party.

“Go, Hanna, the service is about to begin,” Robin said as she picked up a toddler who had come up to her. “Lily will be fine here.”

Lily had been playing for a while with a few different kids when she remembered church was about to begin. Looking up at the clock, the young girl panicked. ‘Oh no. I’m going to get in trouble.’ Church service had started about 20 minutes ago. “Mrs. Kester, I’ve got to go. I’m late.”
“Your Aunt came to get you, but I sent her away. You are an honorary helper today. … Unless you would rather be an honorary toddler, instead.”

Lily’s blush switch broke at the second option, “I … I … I … guess the first option.” The ten-year-old girl seriously thought about the toddler option. ‘Why does that sound… nice?’

Mrs. Kester patted Lily on the head, “It is ok to act younger than your actual age. I do it a lot here.” … “Boys and Girls, it is snack time.”

The nursery attendant proceeded to hand out an Oreo cookie to each boy and girl.

“No, David. You are allergic. Here are the apple slices your Mommie gave me.” … “Now, Lily, your guardian forgot to fill out your nursery information sheet when they dropped you off today for the first time. Are you allowed to have a cookie?”

“Yes, ma’am, I should be.”

“Any allergies?”

“No, Ma'am.”

Mrs. Kester handed the preteen her own cookie.

Hanna Kane came back to the nursery after the service. Looking in, she noticed “Lauren was with another toddler, playing with the dolls. Lily was sitting on the rocking chair with the Drew’s baby girl Angela on her lap. Hanna watched her niece gently rock the six-month-old.

“Just the Hanna I wanted to see,” Robin said, coming up to Mrs. Kane. “You forgot to fill out Lily's Nursery Information when you dropped her off earlier today.”

“What!? Lily doesn't need that.”

“Humor me, just do it anyway. I had to take her word for it that she wasn’t allergic to anything,” Robin held out a note card as she laughed. “And she absolutely refused to let me check her diaper. I admit to only doing that to make her embarrassed. She is so cute when she is embarrassed.”

Shaking her head, Hanna accepted the preprinted note card.

Name: “Lily Vanderbilt.”

Guardian(s): “Susan and Tom Vanderbilt, Hanna and Eric Kane.”

Hanna checked the girl box before doing the mental math for the next questions.

Birth date: “3/27/2005.”

Months old… Hanna paused, then just wrote “10 yrs.”

As of (Today's Date): “12/20/2015.”

The adult checked the potty trained box before writing ‘none known’ on the allergy line. The rest of the note card was just labeled notes.

“Here you are Robin. I'm still not sure why I filled that out.”

Robin Kester's eyes went directly to the allergy line before filing it with the rest of the boys and girls information cards. “Lauren, your Mommie is here. Lily, your aunt is here. I will take Angela.”

Lily waited until the six month old was taken off her lap before walking to where the Fisher-Price toys had been left. The honorary helper put them away before joining her cousin by the door.

“Lily, after you put your jacket on, please help Lauren with hers. Your Uncle and I are taking you over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house.”

“But the river is in the wrong direction, and we would have to leave town to find woods.”

Hanna decided to just ignore those statements.

“There is my daughter. I missed you in church.” Mommie mentioned when Lily walked into Granny's house.

Nervously the girl tried to talk herself out of the trouble she feared she was in, “Mrs. Kester said that she talked Aunty into allowing me to stay in the nursery.”

“She did. Relax, Princess, I was just teasing you.”

“Robin made me fill out a Nursery Information card on Lily before she would release Lily.” Aunty stated. “She even mentioned that Lily wouldn't let Robin check Lily’s diaper.”

“You wearing a diaper, Sweetie?” Daddie asked, tilting his head and looking closely at Lily.

Lily blushed bright red, “Of course not, Daddie.”

“How did this come up?” Granny asked from the kitchen.

“Someone stunk up the nursery, and Mrs. Kester just went around the room checking diapers. When she got to me she didn't skip me, she just asked to check mine. I told her there was no diaper to check.”

“Robin mentioned doing it just to see an embarrassed Lily.”

“Who had the soiled diaper?” Mommie inquired.

“I believe it was Angela. Mrs. Kester ended up changing a few of them, but Angela was the first to be changed. How can someone so small make such a large smell?”

“Smells have nothing to do with size. Just look at you, Sweetie,” Daddie mentioned. “You’re little but you often stink up the bathroom way more than Mommie and me. How long were you rocking Angela?”

“About 15 minutes, Daddie.”

As the adults switched to talk about more grown-up things, Lily headed over to play with Lauren. Sitting down on the floor, Lily wondered if she would have automatically been treated like an honorary toddler today, instead of a helper, if she had been wearing the red and white Christmas dress that makes her look like a six-year-old.

After another excellent supper, which was pot roast this time, Mommie addressed her daughter. “Now that the meal is over, follow me upstairs Lily.”

Lily, with great confusion, followed her Mommie into her bedroom upstairs, where she was greeted with the sight of the red 6X dress laying on the bed.

Mommie lost no time undressing her soon to be regressed daughter. Like at the mall, Lily didn’t complain at all.

“A petticoat?” She questioned as a pile of fluff went over her head. ‘This dress is already a bit short on me.’

“Yes, it makes your dress stand out a bit.” Mommie mentioned as she did up the white buttons on her daughters back. The last thing the older lady did before leaving the room was switch the white bows to red bows on the little girls pigtails. She then left the room to head downstairs.

Lily followed her out of the room but paused at Granny’s room. She looked at the floor length mirror through the open door. Walking in the room to the mirror she turned this way and that, studying herself with a big smile on her face.

“Where is my granddaughter?”

“What? She is right behind me.” Susan Vanderbilt pointed at the empty spot that should be her daughter. “Maybe she is too nervous to be seen.”

“You dressed her in that childish dress?”

“Guilty as charged.” Screaming up the stairs, “Lily come on downstairs.”

Hearing her name, Lily quickly stopped twirling and ran down the hall. She skittered to a halt at the top of the steps. She had to snatch the banister so she didn’t slip and go flying down the stairs on her white tights. Looking at the stair rail, she wondered 'How much trouble would I be in if I slid down that?’ The first problem was figuring out how to get up there considering how small she was. Deciding against it, she instead briskly walked down the stairs making her skirt bounce with each step.

“Aww, aren't you a cutie.” Uncle Eric expressed.

Aunty laughed, “I like that dress on you sweetheart. Though you look like you should be in Daisies not Juniors.”

“I like this dress too Aunty, but a change of girl scout troop isn't necessary.”

“Were you hiding upstairs, Princess?”

“No Granny, I was admiring myself in front of the mirror in your room.”

“What is the story of that dress?”

As Lily put her shoes on, she explained to her Grandma the whole story including the fact that while she is wearing it she is treated like she is six.

‘Hmmm,’ Granny pondered to herself. ‘I bet she would look adorable in the Shirley Temple costume we have at the shop.’

“Here is your coat, Princess,” Mommie held Lily’s coat open so she could just slip her arms in the sleeves.

“Coat? Are we leaving already?”

“You think you would get away wearing that in the privacy of Grandma’s house? That is made to be seen.”

Blushing right up, Lily accepted the pink coat.

Granny spoke, “There are seven of us. How about Hanna and Eric take the girls, and I will join Tom and Susan.”

“Remember, Hanna, Lily is six when she is wearing that dress.”

Grinning, “Six it is.”

Lily found her hand being grabbed as they walked out the door.

“Lily!” Lauren exclaimed.

“Apparently six or ten you need to provide finger service.”

Lily held her finger out for the toddler to grab hold of. They went towards the Kane car. As Aunty opened Lauren's door. The preteen started to head to her side of the car.

“Where are you going young girl?”

“My seat?”

“Not without an adult, little girl, especially on the traffic side.”

Lily waited patiently while Aunty strapped in Lauren.

Closing the door Aunty grabbed her niece's hand.

“In you go Sweetie,” Once the dressed young girl was sitting down on the pink booster seat, they were seatbelted in. Aunty headed for the front passenger side seat.

‘What is taking my husband so long?’ Hanna thought, looking towards her mother's house.

Five minutes later Uncle casually opened the car door, “Sorry I had to use the bathroom. Everyone buckled?”

“Yes, Uncle.” … “Yeth, Dada.” Came from the back seat.

Taking a break from the coloring book on her lap, Lily tried to figure out where they were going. The girl in red returned to the picture she was improving using the broken red crayon. Lauren had already made her mark on every page with scribbles in this coloring book. She sighed—there wasn’t a single clean page left. The older girl made a mental note to try to teach her cousin how to color in a coloring book. Seeing that Lauren was a toddler, try was the key word.

Lily felt the car slowing down so she looked out the window. There was a fence made out of bamboo next to the road. She paused to put Lauren’s toys away before continuing watching out the window. Uncle had stopped to make a left turn right next to a sign that said Susquehanna Valley Zoo.

“Parking is seven dollars,” the guy in the booth said.

After paying for parking, Uncle parked right next to Daddie’s very familiar car. Lily put her hand on the seatbelt to release it.

“Don’t you dare, little girl,” came from the front passenger seat.

Lily's hand shot off the belt as if it was hot. After a bit, Aunty came to her door and released her seatbelt. Before closing the door, Aunty made sure the child lock was engaged on Lily’s door.

While standing next to Aunty as she dealt with Lauren, Lily felt someone put their hands on her shoulder. Looking behind her Lily noticed it was Granny. Taking the offered hand, the two of them led the family towards the zoo entrance.

As Lily walked towards the zoo she took in the sight of all the Christmas lights. It wasn't even dark yet but the lights still looked pretty. On the buildings and fencing around the ticket booths, there were even Christmas decorations of different animals with Santa hats on which were at Lily’s level, like they’d been hung right at her height.

Grandma addressed the lady in one of the ticket booths, “Hello Ma’am. We have five adults and two kids.”

“How old are the girls?”