JOJO:

My day off ended before I knew it. That morning, I intentionally woke up beside Valerie and placed her head on my lap. She nuzzled against me for a while, before she slowly opened her eyes, revealing her beautiful oval eyes. We had a short heart-to-heart talk, where she let me know all that had been going on in her young life. I couldn't help but smile. Once she was done, I made breakfast of pancakes and toast. We ate together, alone, since Mel was asleep - ahead of her later afternoon shift.

After that, we got dressed and went shopping again. This time, I took her to the...