A Good Girl's Guide to Happily Ever After

Ten Years Later

"What on earth are you doing?" Pip asked, crossing her arms. Her daughter jumped and a blush spread across her face. Red yarn was draped everywhere. It ran over her bed, bookshelf, and carpet.

"Nothing," Luella murmured.

"It sure looks like it," Pip said, laughing slightly. The eight-year-old hastily began picking up the yarn. "Were you by any chance solving a mystery?"

"No," she replied, her cheeks flushing deeper.

"What are we going to do with you, Lu?" Pip walked over to Luella's bed and before she could hide it, Pip saw her iPad was open to a very familiar site. "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, huh?"

"Mom!" She dropped the partial bundle of yarn and ripped the iPad out of Pip's hands.

"Luella, this isn't really made for kids, you know."

"Yes, it is. And it's amazing! You were so awesome, I–"

"Were?"

"Well you don't really solve mysteries anymore," she shrugged.

"But you do?" Luella nodded shyly. "Want to show me what you've got?" Her eyes lit up.

"Sure! Maybe I have a chance now, maybe we can be on the news! And then I can–"

"Hold your horses there, you've got to start from the beginning and share everything you know, even if it–"

"Seems insignificant, I know." Pip couldn't help but smile. Her daughter was growing up faster each day. It seemed like the world blinked and now her baby was eight years old.

Pip sat on the edge of the bed while Luella scampered around the room collecting trinkets and pieces of paper. A knock sounded from across the room. Pip looked over and her smile grew.

"What's going on in here?" Ravi asked poking his head into the room while carrying Pip's younger daughter, Luna, on his shoulders.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried, wriggling herself in an attempt to escape her father's hands holding her feet securely.

"Hi lovely, did you come to join the party?"

"Mom," Luella complained, as Ravi lowered her sister to the floor.

"Maybe she can help us find clues. You never know."

"I'm good at clues!" Luna boasted, trying to make her entire four-year-old self look as impressive as possible.

"Are you?" Ravi asked. "Then maybe you can tell me who might have drank the sparkling cider in the fridge?" Ravi's eyes sparkled mischievously.

Luna's cheeks blushed red, similar to her sister's, and she shook her head quickly. "No? Well, I found a clue already, a pink stain on your princess shirt that you were wearing earlier."

Pip laughed as her younger daughter's guilt became more and more evident.

A jingling sound came from the doorway, momentarily distracting everyone.

"Barney!" Luna exclaimed, looking relieved that the attention was away from her. Barney Jr. was the family's collie and the newest addition to the family.

"This case isn't closed yet," Ravi said. Luna stuck her bottom lip out as she rubbed Barney's stomach and scratched his ears.

"Barney said it was okay," she pouted. "

Barney isn't your Dad."

"Well he's my best friend."

"Hello?" Luella asked. "Are we gonna solve this mystery or not?"

"Fire away," Pip said. "And make sure to start from the very beginning."

******

"Dad! Dad, you're doing it wrong!" Luna screeched. Ravi put his hands up.

"Hey, your mom is way better at doing hair than I am, cut me some slack, okay? And stop laughing at me, Luella!" Luella was practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

"I guess I need to rescue you," Pip said, looking at the disastrous attempt of a braid on Luna's head.

"By all means," Ravi mumbled. "I taught the girls to ice skate, okay? A guy can only be so talented," he teased. Pip rolled her eyes as she began to fix her daughter's hair.

"If that's what makes you feel special," she replied, smirking in his direction.

"Oh, you're gonna get it," Ravi said, his dimple becoming prominent as he smiled back. He ran over to her and swept her into a kiss.

"EW!" Luna and Luella shrieked at the same, Luna almost falling off of the bed. Pip grinned against his lips.

"I think we should do that one more time, for the girls."

"No! I'm already scarred for life!" Luella yelled dramatically. Ravi snorted.

"You're solving mysteries, sweetheart. And you listened to your mother's murder podcast."

"A good girl's one!" Luella protested. Ravi smirked at Pip.

"I told you that name was perfect." Pip rolled her eyes again. But he was right. It was. And now she could share it with two more people. Her two bursts of sunshine that made her and Ravi a family. And Barney Jr., of course.