Rochdale | LGBTQ+

.Five.

I shouldered open the door and nearly tripped over Wynnie as she ran to hug my legs. "Woah! Calm down Wynnie, I've got stuff in my hands. Let me set it down first..."

I walked over to the kitchen table and place my grocery bags on the table, then bent down to scoop Wynnie up, tousling her hair with one hand while the other held her against my chest. Wynnie leaned against my neck, picking at the stubble forming on my chin. I needed to shave again soon. 

Libby ran out of the living room, just in her frilly little underwear. "Woah Libs! Where are your clothes at?" I asked, setting Wynnie down on the table. She swung her legs over the edge. Penny hurried in after the curly haired speedster, holding a small pajama set in her hands. 

She panted. "I've been chasing her all around the house..." she said breathily. "Won't put her damn... PJs on..." she wheezed out. 

Wynnie was already in her fuzzy pajamas. "How come Wynnie cooperated and you didn't?" I asked Libby, who was hiding behind my leg to avoid her older sister.

Libby looked up at me with her big eyes. She shrugged.

"Yeah... put your stupid PJ's on," I said, gesturing at Penny. Libby sighed and dragged her feet over to our sister, who scooped her up and stood her up on the counter so that she could slip the shirt over her head and then the shorts on one foot at a time. Once Libby was dressed, Penny swung her up and off the counter and back onto the floor. Libby rushed back over to me.

"How was work? Did you have fun? Did you get shot at?" 

I frowned. "Why would I  have gotten... hey, did you watch those crime shows again?" I asked accusingly.

Penny groaned. "She knows the channels by heart now. She just flips to it whenever I leave the room to take care of Wynnie. You're such a little hooligan," Penny said, wrinkling her nose and sticking out her tongue at the little girl.

Libby giggled. "I like crime shows. I like when the cops get the bad guy."

"Well that's good at least," I said with a shrug. "Root for the good guy, not the robber."

Penny nodded. I noticed then the bags under her eyes. "Hey, have you been sleeping lately?" I asked her, narrowing my eyes. 

Penny shrugged. "You know Wynnie. She gets such bad nightmares, and my room's the closest so she comes to sleep in there, and I can't really fall asleep when she's kicking and flailing. She only stops when I sing, and then I'm up half the night singing to her."

I frowned. "Okay. Hey Wyn, do you want to sleep with your big brother tonight?" I asked. 

Penny opened her mouth to protest but I held up my hand to cut her off. Wynnie held up her hands for me to pick her up. I scooped her off the table and swung her around. "How about you sleep in my room tonight. We can make a fort on the bottom bunk, and it'll be just like a sleepover!"

"I want a sleepover!" complained Libby, stamping her foot. "I! Want! A! Sleepover!" Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! 

I smiled. "Of course Libby can come. Right Wyn?"

Wynnie nodded. "Uh-huh. Wibby tan tum."

"Hear that Libs? It'll be a big sleepover. We better head up and start making the fort." I hoisted the girls up, one in each arm, and headed for the staircase. Penny's lips moved as she mouthed 'thank you' out of the corner of my eye. I winked at her, and hurried up the stairs, jiggling the girls in my arms to make them giggle.

***

It was a slow day at the Bargain Mart. I had been flipping through the pages of a catalog, and maybe I had spent too long on the picture of a handsome man with white teeth advertising a shiny gold watch, but that didn't mean my daydream needed to be ended so abruptly. The door slammed open, and in walked Lucas. No cousins this time. I thought he might've come to pay me, but the look on his face was not one you wanted to see.