“Not dumb!” Laura protested. Kaitlin opened her mouth to continue arguing, but froze at the sound of footsteps behind them.
“Hang on, you two are the little girls from the play area, aren’t you?” a voice said. Kaitlin and Laura turned. The man that had given Laura her pacifier stood there, holding a carrier containing a sleeping infant. The man looked around. “Where are your parents?”
“No know,” Laura mumbled. The man’s eyes widened.
“You don’t know where your parents are? It’s dark out!”
“We’re fine, they’re probably inthide thtill,” Kaitlin said quickly. The man set down the carrier and crouched to Kaitlin’s eye-height.
“Sweetie, the mall’s closed. No one’s in there.” He stood to his full height again. “You’re coming with me.”
“No!” Kaitlin protested. The man shook his head.
“I won’t leave two kids out all on their own like this. When we get to my house, I’ll call the police, and they can help figure this out.” He turned his head. “Linda!” A woman walked over. Kaitlin recognized her as working in the office’s daycare. She was still on her maternity leave after having her second child.
“What’s going on, Tim?” Linda asked.
“These girls don’t know where their parents are. We’re bringing them home so that they’ll be safe.”
“That’s a good idea,” Linda said, nodding. She walked over to Laura and picked her up. “Can you cuties tell us your names?”
“I’m Kaitlin and the’th Laura,” Kaitlin said. Stuck in Linda’s hold, Laura began to squirm and fuss. Linda spotted the pacifier still in Laura’s hand and popped it into her mouth, quieting her.
“Come on then, little ones,” Linda said. Tim picked up the baby carrier and walked away. Reluctantly, Kaitlin followed. She didn’t want to come, but she wasn’t going to leave Laura all alone.
At the car, Tim buckled the carrier in, then instructed Kaitlin to hop in. She did as she was told, sitting next to Tim and Linda’s six-year-old, a boy that stared at her with immense interest the whole ride. As they didn’t have a car seat for Laura, Laura spent the ride sitting in Linda’s lap up front.
“All right, unload,” Tim said as they pulled into the driveway of a modest suburban home. Tim and Linda’s oldest son quickly got out, but Kaitlin stayed in, dread building. “That means you, too, Kaitlin.” Kaitlin got out of the car and followed everyone inside.
Once inside, Laura was quickly placed in a playpen. She got to her feet unsteadily and grasped the bars of the playpen.
“Out,” she whined.
“In a minute, sweetie,” Linda said. “Kaitlin, why don’t you entertain your little sister? I need to change Dustin.” Linda took her infant son somewhere else and Kaitlin walked over to the couch by the playpen and sat down. In the adjacent kitchen, Tim was making a phone call.
“Yes, two abandoned little girls. At the mall. Their names are Laura and Kaitlin. Their ages?” Tim looked over. “Kaitlin, how old are you and your sister?”
“I’m five,” Kaitlin said. She grimaced at how automatic the answer was. Still standing in the playpen, Laura held up two fingers.
“I two,” she replied. Tim smiled.
“Wow, what a baby genius.” He turned his attention back to the phone call. “Laura is two, Kaitlin is five. Yes, we can watch them while you track down their parents. Thanks.” Linda returned without the infant Dustin.
“All right, poopy diapers are done with for the day!” Linda said brightly. She looked over at the playpen. “Oops. I may have spoken too soon.” Laura was confused by what Linda said, until she realized that she was squatting in the playpen. In a panic, she tried to stop, but a loud fart came out. Giving in, she began to grunt. A large log entered her diaper.
“Ew!” Kaitlin said, scooting away from the playpen.
“Don’t be mean to your little sister, Kaitlin. Babies poop,” Linda scolded, walking over to the playpen and picking Laura up. “Before I clean up this little stinker, Tim, did you contact the authorities?”
“Yes. They said that it might take a while to locate their family, and in the meantime, we should supervise them.”
“Sounds good to me. Kaitlin, why don’t you come with me. We can get you ready for bed and put down.” Kaitlin followed Laura to the nursery. Linda quickly changed Laura’s diaper and put her into a footed onesie, then gave Kaitlin some pajamas to wear as well. Before they knew it, Laura had been placed in Dustin’s crib and Kaitlin was in a sleeping bag on the floor.
Sleep came quickly.