The days leading up to Christmas were magical. Melody had once scoffed at their sister for using that word to describe something as dumb as a holiday, but Briana was right. Waking up every morning next to Rosa and being tenderly cared for by her was magical. Snowball fights in the morning with Briana were …
Monserrat dropped her diaper bag in the closet and rolled her shoulders until her back popped. She was getting home from another successful babysitting session, for another cute baby girl, with another big payout. It’d been Amira’s third time requesting Monserrat as a babysitter. The familiarity had made for a sweet session, but left Monserrat …
After everything that had happened the day before, sleeping in would have been ideal. Unfortunately, Sarita’s roommate objected to that plan. After the fourth horrible yowl, Sarita threw a pillow at her bedroom door. “Nero, have mercy!” Nero, merciless as his namesake, managed a skull-piercing meow. It was a grumpy girl and a contented cat …
The wind was blustering against the house, driving needles of frozen snow and ice into the windows. Everyone in the house was busy getting cozy. Melody was glad that Rosa had agreed to snuggle up in their bedroom. Getting a surprise grandma the night before had been amazing but confusing. Briana was in full hyper-baby …
Camila hung her head as she sat in front of the Heathers. Wearing shorts that barely covered the pink diaper she was wearing, she felt like a naughty kid. Even with Betty next to her, stroking her back, Camila was so embarrassed she felt dizzy. It had been bad enough to wake up in an …
In a little New England city that was notable for it’s toy stores, unusual Greek societies, and sturdy changing tables in public restrooms; Sarita Castro was having a terrible day in the fakest clothing store in the world. GrrlPower advertised itself as selling clothes for women of every shape. What they actually did was carry …
Briana sat on the floor and watched Mom put her war paint on. It was the serious stuff this time. Same black eyeliner as always, but the black eyeshadow was dusting with blue on top. Lipstick and nail polish were both dark blue, like an angry sea. Briana had only seen Mom with blue makeup …
It was cold in Dr. Sienna’s study. Cold enough to have frost on the inside of the windows and for her to have to run a dehumidifier to keep the books from getting damp. The professor kept telling her grad-students that she would use some of her next grant money to put in insulation. Dr. …
When she’d run out of tears, Mariah had been laid in a patch of soft moss and grass. Long strands of grass rose over her and curved inward, making an effective sun shade. Still naked except for a makeshift diaper, she appreciated the shade. Mariah didn’t know if she could get a sunburn in Faerie, …
It was so weird to be babysat by Briana. Weird that their ultra-Little sister was really good at babysitting. Melody would have said that Briana was just doing whatever she wanted her babysitters to do, but she’d been too responsible for it to be wish-fulfillment. Christmas shopping was fun, but coming home from it was …