Izzy looked like her brain was about to explode. "You—you know what, no. I don't want details. This is too much already."
"I'm sorry," Edison said glumly. "We didn't mean to burden you, Mom."
"No, no, you're not a burden! I'm your mom; it's totally natural you would come to me for help. Geez, this is weird...I went from all alone in the world to a mother of three in less than a day. But just because it's weird doesn't mean you're a burden! Promise."
"Really?"
Izzy smiled at him and stood up holding her arms out. "Yeah. Come here."
He immediately jumped up and threw himself into her arms. Nora took that as an invitation to do the same and hugged her tightly around the side of her waist.
Rosalind stood back a bit awkwardly. She wanted to join the hug too but didn't want to intrude.
"Come on, Roz, there's still room," Izzy said warmly.
That was more than enough for her. She rushed forward and buried her face in her mother's shoulder as she shed the first tears she allowed herself to all day.
Everyone was a weepy mess and Izzy didn't seem quite sure how to deal with it but she did her best. Once they calmed down a bit, she suggested they play Go Fish with a generic pack of playing cards that was the only game she had.
Rosalind noticed she seemed a bit freaked out by the information overload earlier and felt guilty for it. She hadn't wanted to be a burden either but having this much-younger version of her mother acknowledge her made the dam break.
"I'm sorry for crying on you. I'm too old for that," she said quietly as the younger kids brushed their teeth with spare toothbrushes Izzy happened to have on hand.
Her mother vehemently shook her head. "There's no such thing as being too old to cry. I'm the adult; it's my job to take care of you. I don't feel like much of an adult yet since I barely graduated...but I won't let you guys down."
"Why? You don't even know us."
"Not yet but you're still my kids and that makes you my responsibility. If nothing else, I'm someone that doesn't abandon her responsibilities."
That was true. Izzy Shea was a very responsible person. She was a wonderful mother, wife, and boss in the future.
Rosalind smiled at her. "Thanks, Mom."
"No problem. Go brush your teeth, alright? I'm beat," she replied as she continued gathering blankets to make Edison a pallet on the floor.
Fifteen minutes later, Nora was happily snuggled up in her mother's arms and everyone else was settling in when she requested a lullaby. "The rainbow one, Mommy."
Izzy had to think about it a moment. "The rainbow one...do I know any songs about rainbows? Oh! I got it!"
She began singing the lyrics to a lullaby she had sung to all of her children. Rosalind closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to the sound of her mother's voice as if the lullaby was for her. On the floor, Edison contentedly did the same.
In the morning, she woke up to the smell of something burning and the sound of grumbled curses. "Ugh, I suck at cooking...sorry, Nora. I think we might have to have cereal for breakfast."
"That's okay, Mommy! You tried."
Rosalind groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What happened?"
"Mommy burned the eggs so we're going to have cereal," Nora informed her.
Their mother was a great cook in the future. She must have not gotten any practice in yet. Cereal was fine though; they had it almost every day at home so the nannies didn't have to make breakfast.
"What do you have?"
"Fruit Loops, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Cocoa Puffs. Are those okay?" Izzy asked with a concerned expression. "I never have people over so I only have what I like."
"Cocoa Puffs are my favorite!" Edison exclaimed. The burning smell must have woken him up too.
"Oh good. Nora, Roz, what do you want?"
"Cheerios please!"
"Fruit Loops are fine. Thanks."
"You got it," Izzy said as she pulled out the cereal boxes and began rummaging in the cupboards for bowls. "I hope I have enough bowls..."
She did but only after washing two of them. She had four bowls total, which was reasonable for someone living alone.
The problem was that there was barely enough milk for everyone to have some. Were they really going to be okay letting her take care of them like this?
"I'll get more milk later," Izzy told them with a dismissive wave of her hand. "What do you need me to do this morning? You wanted to conduct surveillance on your dad, right?"
Ed nodded since his mouth was full and didn't answer until he swallowed. "Uh huh. We need to go to the SheaTech building as soon as we're dressed."
Rosalind had been thinking about it all throughout breakfast. If they wanted to do this properly, having the phone with them would be a huge advantage. Phones were able to do a lot in their time. They practically held the user's entire lives in them.
Granted, a lot of the features wouldn't be so helpful since they required additional smart devices or cell service to work with but that was okay. At this point, anything would help.
Izzy bit her lip in concern. "What if you guys get caught? I won't be able to do anything to help you."
Edison wouldn't let that happen. He knew how to fight people much larger than him and would be able to get his sisters free from restraint if necessary. He had been training for a situation like that specifically.
He smiled somewhat sinisterly and cracked his knuckles. "I'll handle that."
Her eyebrows shot up but she didn't question it. "Okay then. I'll leave it to you three. But just in case, do you want my cell phone number?"
Rosalind grabbed the phone to enter it in and set up a new contact called "Mom" since the one that said "Izzy" with a heart emoji after it had a number that wouldn't be in service for who knew how many years. That was a strange thought.
Once that was done and everyone finished eating, they got dressed in the clothes Izzy bought for them yesterday. They were totally retro but she supposed they were current in this time.
Nora had a pink dress patterned with darker pink, red, and white hearts with a tulle skirt attached and red leggings. Edison had cargo pants made of a heavy, unfamiliar fabric and a blue t-shirt printed with a cartoon joke on it. Rosalind had a pair of too-tight jeans with holes that seemed to be artistically ripped all over them and a blue, white, and purple striped shirt.
The clothes may not be what they were used to but they couldn't afford to be picky. This wasn't their playing field.
Izzy dropped them off in front of the SheaTech building with concern written all over her face. "Be safe, you guys. Come to the library when you're done, okay? Then we can all go home together."
She had already given Rosalind a twenty-dollar bill to buy lunch and bus tickets with and warned them not to get caught by anyone because if social services got involved, she wouldn't be able to get them back. That was all she could do since she had to work.
"Don't worry, Mom. We've got this," Rosalind said with false bravado.
She wasn't actually so sure. They had gotten lucky last time when Nora filched the phone and that took much less time. This would be an all-day stakeout.
But it was too late to back out now. They didn't have any other options if they wanted to fix things and go home. They needed Julian Shea.
"I love you, Mommy! See you later," Nora said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward to kiss her mother's cheek.
Izzy was visibly shocked for a moment before recovering. "I...I love you too. Good luck."
Rosalind internally sighed. They would certainly need it. They all got out and found a stray newspaper—this was even more of a relic than Izzy's phone! They stopped being printed before she was born—and hid behind it like in an old detective movie their mom showed them once waiting to get a glimpse of their father. The real issue would be following him into the building but they could cross that bridge when they got to it.