***
She has to pull up Mommy's pants in order to get the shoes on. The shoes are turquoise high heels that don't really go with the jeans, but they're so pretty she just had to try them on. She lets the pants go, the excess material pooling around her feet. She toddles forward a step in the heels; she holds out her arms to steady herself. The denim jacket is much too big as well, her arms ending about halfway through the sleeves. She flaps these as she takes another step in the heels.
Somehow she makes it all the way over to the mirror. In the glass she sees herself in Mommy's jacket and pants, the heels almost obscured by the pant legs. She's still wearing her pink Disneyland T-shirt and her black hair is split into pigtails instead of a ponytail like Mommy's, but still she smiles at her reflection.
The door opens and she sees Daddy in his suit and tie from work. "Daddy!" she squeals. She starts to run towards him, but in the heels she can't get very far before she trips.
Daddy catches her before she can hit the floor. He lifts her into the air, the heels falling away from her feet to clatter to the floor. "What are you up to, young lady?"
"I look like Mommy!"
Her father brushes hair away from her forehead and then smiles. "You sure do look like your mom."
"When I grow up, am I going to be as pretty as Mommy?"
"Of course you are, sweetheart." Daddy carries over to their bed and sets her down. He sits down next to her and then puts an arm around her shoulders. "But right now you're my pretty little girl."
He emphasizes this by tickling her tummy until she giggles. She swats at him with the empty sleeves of the jacket, but it doesn't do any good. Finally she has to squeal through her laughter, "Daddy, stop it!"
He helps her sit back up. "You want to go out and show your mom?"
"Yes."
"OK, but let's leave the shoes, all right?"
"But they're so pretty."
"They are, aren't they? Did you get those out of Mommy's closet?"
"Yes."
"You know Mommy doesn't like you playing in there. It's not safe for little girls."
"Sorry, Daddy."
"That's all right, sweetie. We'll just put the shoes back so she doesn't know." Daddy gets off the bed and retrieves the shoes. He tosses them back into the closet from which she got them. Then he turns back to scoop her from the bed.
She wraps her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he carries her down the hallway. Mommy is in the kitchen, making dinner. She's bent over the stove, her back to them so only her back and glossy black hair are visible. She stops what she's doing as she must hear them. She starts to turn around-