A week ago, Taylor wouldn’t have given single parents any more respect than she afforded to anyone else. Sure they had to deal with kids on their own, but that wasn’t a big deal. She even planned on maybe being a mom one day.

She was reconsidering her position on the matter.

In fact, Taylor decided that if she died a virgin matron, stuck knitting on her own in the dark corner of an old folks’ home with no children to visit her, then that would be a perfectly acceptable way to go.

“Cheshire, I swear to all the gods, all of them, that if you don’t put that chocolate bar back right now I will... find some creative way to make your life miserable.”

Cheshire oh so slowly put the bar back on the rack and pulled her hand back. Next to her, Crochet was wearing an absolutely flat look, accentuated by the pile of cloth she held in one hand and the plush rabbit hanging around her neck.

At least Pop was quiet.

She blinked and started looking around, getting onto the tips of her toes to try and spot her Asian little sister. The Dollar and Less store was pretty empty. Probably normal for a Sunday afternoon, so she should have been able to find her.

“Are you looking for something, Onee-sama?” came a smooth voice from right behind her.

Taylor spun around and placed a hand over her beating heart. “Holy- Pop, you scared me. How did you get behind me without me noticing?”

“I am a ninja.”

“Right,” Taylor said. “Right, ninja stuff.” Shaking her head, she made sure the other two were not committing any major felonies, then moved towards the checkout. The pitying look she got from the boy behind the till had her holding back tears.

“Babysitting?” the guy behind the cash register asked.

“Yeah,” Taylor said. Her hand shot out and caught Cheshire’s wrist inches away from a display of bubblegum. “Do you know if hanging a kid by their ankles is a crime or not?” she asked.

The guy smiled, and despite his acne and the fact that he was maybe two or three years older than her and working in a store that made their employees wear green vests, it made him look cute. “I don’t think that’ll fly. But I know a few tricks I use on my cousins when they come over to visit,” he said.

“Oh, do tell,” she said while leaning onto the counter. Her feet were killing her.

“Distractions. The bigger and louder, the better. Video games work, but my cousins are all little dudes. Maybe a movie? Or just keep threatening to hang them upside-down.” He smiled some more. “Though I prefer to just give them vague threats, usually with something dangerous looking around.”

“That’s some sound parenting advice,” Taylor said. She felt her own smile growing to match his.

“Big Sis, are you flirting with that weirdo?” Crochet asked with the same tone she would use if Taylor had picked up dog droppings with her bare hands.

Taylor felt the blood rushing to her face and she noticed the guy she had been talking to pull back and look at the display of his cash register, suddenly the picture of professionalism. “N-no, I wasn’t flirting,” Taylor denied.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Uh huh,” Crochet said.

“But it sounds like you're flirting with getting a time-out,” Taylor muttered under her breath.

“That’ll be thirty-two sixty,” the guy said. He still wasn’t meeting Taylor’s eyes. She slid the money across the counter, the back of her mind counting what was left of her cash. It wasn’t much.

She grabbed the two nearest small hands and tugged them along after her as she left, bags wrapped around her wrists. “Okay, now where?” she asked as soon as they were outside. The sun was hidden behind a thin layer of greyish clouds and the air was a little bit chilly, as if still fighting with the last vestige of winter.

The streets were mostly clear, only a few groups walking here and there. No one that Taylor gave more than a moment’s attention to.

“Ice cream?” Cheshire asked.

“Can’t afford that,” Taylor was quick to point out. “And dad bought a box yesterday.”

Pop shook her head. “There is no more ice cream, Onee-sama. It has disappeared.”

“Disappeared how?” she asked.

Pop looked away from her, finding the asphalt very interesting all of a sudden. “Bandits?” she tried.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Taylor muttered. “Alright, come on,” she told her flock of little sisters before starting down the road. They were only a block away from the Boardwalk, in a part of the city that generally safe. It was the kind of place that the Wards patrolled and where a police car could be seen every few minutes. “Did you get everything you needed, Crochet?”

“Yes, Big Sis,” the girl said. She beamed up at Taylor. “I might have to use some old clothes to make you a proper costume though.”

“And for your sisters?” she asked. “If you guys insist on going out, you all need to protect your identities.”

“Do we get cape names? I want a cape name,” Cheshire said. “Can I be the Ravisher?”

“Do you even know what that means?” Taylor asked.

“It means I’m fu- uh, frickin’ awesome?” Cheshire asked.

Taylor shook her head. “We’ll find something for you.”

“I am a little girl,” Pop asserted with an odd level of conviction for that sort of statement. “I will be Lollipop.”

“We’ll find something for you too,” Taylor said.

Taylor let them keep talking, as long as they were arguing over names, they weren’t causing trouble. She could veto the more horrific ideas later. Arriving at the next intersection, Taylor did a quick headcount. One, two, three, four little sisters.

She continued, aiming away from the Boardwalk and towards the nearest bus station. She was halfway there when something felt wrong and she looked around. There was less traffic on the street they were on, only a van idling nearby and a few sedans trying to parallel park in the spots between other cars. That wasn’t it. She counted her sisters again. One, two, three, four little sisters.

She paused at the last one, taking in the short brown haired girl standing next to Crochet. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Ah, hi,” the girl said with a rather timid smile. “I’m Dinah.”