The Babysitter and the Sisterly Trio/ChapterX/Downstairs
I go back downstairs and wait patiently for the girls to come. Riley arrives first, tumbling down the stairs as she tries to simultaneously pull a t-shirt on over her swimsuit. Steadying her, I help her get her shirt on as I hear Tera's much quieter descent down the stairs. Finally, Evy totters down to join us.
I usher all three girls out the door and towards my car. Opening the doors for them, I get them all situated in the back before sliding into the driver's seat. Starting up the car, I back out of the driveway and head for the YMCA. It's not that far away - maybe 5 minutes or so.
Pulling up, I notice that the place is packed! It takes me some time to locate a free parking space, but I finally manage to find one. The girls fight over who gets to hold my hands on the walk from the parking lot. Being bigger, Tera and Riley easily win the struggle over Evy.
"No fair!" Evy pouts. "Just cuz you're bigger doesn't mean you can do that!"
"It's a short walk, Evy." I tell her. "Why don't you hold Riley's hand this time, and you can hold my hand next time. Alright?"
Evy nods reluctantly and takes Riley's hand. I make a mental note to make it up to her later somehow. Being the smallest can't be fun for her...
The parking lot did not lie - the place was packed! Even the lobby had a decently long line to get in. We waited patiently for our turn. The woman behind the counter grins when she sees three girls hanging off me.
"Hello, and welcome to the YMCA!" she says. "It's $25 for an adult, and $10 for each kid." She winks at me.
"Actually I've got prepaid passes." I hand the women the vouchers my mom gave me.
"Ah! Gotcha. You're all set - have a good time!" She winks at me again. I blink - was she trying to flirt with me?
Right then I notice Riley shooting the woman an ugly glare and I quickly toe her away before she notices.
"Riley! What was that for?" I mutter to her as we head towards the changing rooms.
"I know that look she was giving you - it's that thing adults do when they're interested in someone!" Riley scowls.
"Um, you mean 'flirting'..?" I ask.
"Yeah! That!" Riley says. "You're mine - she can find her own boyfriend!"
I laugh at this. "What about your sisters?" I ask her wickedly.
"But that's different!" Riley insists. "I don't mind sharing you with them... We're family - she's not!"
Riley's scowl just makes me laugh. "So serious!" I pat her on the head. "Don't you worry - you three are already a handful. I'm not looking to add anymore complications to my life!"
Though as I say this out loud, my mind flickers back to that little girl Nadia I helped earlier today. I hope she's doing alright!
"Good!" Riley drops her frown and smiles, trying to run ahead and ending up toeing the rest of us along as a result.
When we get to the changing rooms, I pause, unsure how to proceed. There's three choices - Men, Women, and Family.
I scratch my head. "Which changing room would you guys feel most comfortable going into?" I ask them. "Do you want to use the women's changing room by yourselves, come with me into the men's changing room, or use the family changing room together?"
[Uh... which did they choose?] * Family Room * Men's Room * Women's Room