Closed Holding Down the Fort

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy had been confident in her decision to take a year off before starting university. She felt like she needed the time to figure out exactly what she wanted to do and how she was going to get there. But she wasn't about to spend a year doing nothing. In the end she had thrown herself into a variety of volunteer work and her favorite, by a wide margin, was the Phoenix Scouts. For the first time in her life she felt like she was a natural at something. Today they were just about to wrap up an afternoon of plant identification and she was grateful. While it wasn't too hot, being out in the sun all day was tiring and her freckles were out in full force like they normally were in the summer. Poppy waved to a group of kids leaving with their parents and stifled a yawn. There were only a few left at this point but she needed to be watchful until they were all accounted for.

 

[Tessa Whitlock]

Tessa was running a bit behind and she knew it. Having Tate and the twins in tow, she hurried to pick up the girls. Tanith and Tullia were playing with the other kids when she arrived, and the twins toddled over to their sisters. Tessa ran a hand through her hair, looking around and spotting the person in charge. The diaper bag slung across her torso and Tate sleeping in his carrier, she walked over. "Hello, hi, sorry I'm late! I'm here to pick up Tanith and Tullia?" She stopped by the woman, slightly out of breath. Tessa pushed her hair back from her tired eyes, giving the woman her best shaky smile.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy scanned around the park to make sure no one was getting into trouble. She saw one kid put something in their mouth and she was about to say something but realized it was at least an edible plant so she let them be. But she turned quickly when she heard someone else approaching. She had seen the other girl before but had never actually spoken to her. “Oh it’s alright!” Poppy said quickly and waved off her apology. The other girl looked exhausted and she felt a pang of sympathy. “Right, I should have guessed that.” she said with a laugh. All the red hair should have given that away. “And you’re their….” Poppy began but trailed off, hoping she'd fill in the blank. She was far too young to be their mother but she didn't want to assume their exact relation.

 

[Tessa Whitlock]

Tessa smiled softly. "Sister." She replied, setting Tate down. "Did everything go well today? They behaved?" She asked, mostly out of habit. She was used to being the responsible one, especially while Twila took on overtime at her job to help take care of all of them. Remembering her manners a little late, she held out her hand with a shy smile. "Tessa, my name is Tessa. This is Tate, and the twins are Tiernan and Turlough," She introduced the rest of the herd.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy continued to smile as she confirmed that she was in fact their sister. “Oh right, of course.” she laughed. “I can see the resemblance.” she added lightly and pointed at her own red hair for added emphasis. She wasn’t sure if the other girl thought it was as amusing as she did so she quickly jumped to answer her question. “Yes. They did great today.” she said quickly. “We learned a lot about different plants.” she explained.

“Nice to meet you. It’s nice to have a name for a somewhat familiar face.” Poppy said when Tessa held out her hand and she reached out to take it. “And I’m Poppy.” she said, introducing herself as well. Her eyes widened a bit when she realized they had been joined by the rest of Tessa’s family. “Wow, all of you are siblings? How exciting!” she said with a mixture of surprise and genuine excitement. She had grown up an only child in the country and while she wouldn’t change anything about how she was raised she did have to wonder if things might have been different if she had a brother or sister around to have shared it all with.

 

[Tessa Whitlock]

Tessa let out a tired laugh. This girl had a fun sense of humor, at least. She ran a hand through her hair. She smiled when she heard her siblings did well, looking to them fondly. She turned her attention back to Poppy, smiling softly. "Twila is at home, but the rest of us are here. She's the eldest." She set the baby carrier down, letting the twins wonder a bit. "So you like working with kids?" She asked, curious.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy felt relieved when Tessa laughed at her joke and smiled. She listened as the other girl clarified how many siblings she actually had. “So that makes…” she began to say and quickly counted on her fingers. “Seven of you?” Poppy asked, unsure if she had done the math correctly. “Your parents must have their hands full. I’m sure they’re glad to have you helping out.” she said with a laugh. She couldn’t imagine how hard that must be.

But she nodded quickly when Tessa asked if she liked working with kids. “Oh yeah they’re great.” Poppy said honestly. It wasn’t exactly where she had expected to end up, even if it was temporary until she started university. “They’re more straightforward than anyone our age.” she said with a laugh. Some people didn’t like how direct and honest kids could be but she actually loved it.

 

[Tessa Whitlock]

Tessa nodded. "Yes, seven-" She agreed, though her expression darkened at the mention of their parents. Immediately she looked over to her siblings, relieved none of them were close enough. She let it slide a moment, nodding absentmindedly as Poppy answered her questions, before stepping closer to the woman and lowering her voice. "Listen, don't mention our parents around the kids," She asked, her eyes darting back to make sure none of her siblings could hear. "Our parents left us- Twila and I are doing what we can, but I don't think the kids really understand it completely right now," She turned her tired eyes back to Poppy. "Twila is putting herself through college while we both work, I kinda showed up unannounced on her doorstep with the whole brood- we've moved countries, its been a lot of change." She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I- I'll talk to them, when they're a bit older, just... I need some more time, please?" She pleaded.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy quickly grew serious when Tessa lowered her voice. She instantly felt horrible for bringing up the subject even though there was no way she could have known. "Oh!" she said quietly and shook her head. "Of course not." she added and held up her hands to accentuate her point. All she could do was stand there stunned as Tessa explained their situation. Poppy couldn't imagine parents just abandoning their kids. Her parent's acted like she would never return every time she left for school and were so eager to pick her up when it was over. "That sounds...very hard." she said finally, and had to search for her words carefully. "You seem to be doing a good job." Poppy said sincerely. They kids did seem great as far as she knew but she gave Tessa a look. "But are you ok?" she asked tentatively. That kind of pressure on someone who couldn't have been any older than her, was something she didn't think she could handle.

 

[Tessa Whitlock]

Tessa relaxed, immediately relieved when Poppy agreed to her request. She sighed, a little bit of tension slipping out. "It's- It's fine, Twila makes a bit already, thankfully she got somewhere big enough for all of us and she didn't turn us away." Tessa spoke quietly, so the kids couldn't overhear. "I work overnights, and stay with the kids during the day. Its not ideal but its working." She looked to Poppy, giving her a tired smile. "Thank you for this, the kids love these groups," She spoke sincerely. Anything Tessa could do to make her siblings happy, she would.