Kyle, Sharon and Carol sat by the dining table. ‘What’s up with mum?’ Carol asked, stirring the chocolate powder in her cup of milk.

It was nighttime and Karen had already gone to sleep. The three children were lit by the flashlight feature on their phones, unwilling to turn on the kitchen lights and risk awakening their mother. The room still reeked of lavender and honey, which would be nice if it wasn’t so potent. Karen had a habit of leaving the oil diffuser on for hours.

‘It’s that dumb business she’s started,’ Kyle answered, slamming his fist against the table.

Sharon nodded. ‘She tried to put oil in my ear last night. Claimed it could help me get to sleep. As if I could sleep if I’m worried about getting shit poured in my ear.’

‘So… what do we do?’ Kyle asked. The other two shrugged, then Carol took a sip of her homemade chocolate milk. Sharon absentmindedly tapped the placemat in front of her. They collectively sighed.

The next day, Karen came home from work with bags under her eyes. She collapsed on her bed but forced herself to take out her phone and check her WonderLiving page on Friendful. 

Kyle, Sharon and Carol burst through the doorway to her bedroom and Kyle stood in front of the door to block Karen from leaving. Carol and Sharon swooped to Karen’s side.

‘What are you guys doing?’

Sharon ‘Well… you see, we’re concerned about-’

‘Your new business sucks,’ Carol interjected.

Sharon slapped Carol’s shoulder. ‘Carol!’

‘What? It’s true. Mum, you keep saying you can’t buy us stuff because you’re trying to get your business off the ground. Why do you even need it? What are you even selling?’

Karen started her rehearsed spiel about the benefits of WonderLiving essential oils. Kyle’s eyelids quickly began to lower.

‘Are you making any money from these oils?’ Sharon asked.

Karen paused, then shook her head. ‘But I’m sure soon the money will start pouring in!’

Carol groaned. ‘Why did you need the extra money? We were fine before you joined this Wonder… whatever.’

‘Well, you know how expensive groceries are now, since I had to change where I shop.’

‘Just apologise to the supermarket,’ Sharon suggested. ‘That was ages ago.’

Karen crossed her arms and was silent for a moment, her face a blank slate. ‘I may or may not have had another… outburst… in front of the same manager.’

‘Then apologise to that manager.’

‘No way am I talking to that temptress Frema again!’

Carol raised an eyebrow, noting the redness of Karen’s cheeks. ‘Temptress?’ The memory of Karen’s behaviour upon first meeting Frema lit up like a lightbulb in her mind. She held in her laughter and looked at her siblings to see if they had any clue what was going on. 

That question brought Karen to her feet. ‘Get out of my room,’ she said as she reached past Kyle to grab the doorknob. Kyle stood resolute, not budging an inch.

‘It’s okay,’ Carol said to Kyle, who moved on command. Despite Karen telling her children to leave, she was the one who exited the room.

Sharon sat down on the bed. ‘What was that all about?’

Carol paused to think. Was she crazy? ‘Temptress… did this manager tempt mum? Into what, exactly?’ She looked to her siblings to see if they picked up on her cues.

Sharon lifted her legs until she was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Her eyes grew three sizes and her jaw hit the floor.

‘But Mum’s not a lesbian!’

‘I never said she was.’

‘Wait, Mum’s a lesbian?’ Kyle asked with the face of an F-grade student given the Mensa test.

‘Either way, we need to talk to this manager,’ Carol said, her eyebrows low with determination.

Sharon pointed out, ‘And get her to do what? Even if Mum goes back to the supermarket, she might still want to stay in that company.’

Kyle looked at his hands like they were fading away. ‘Woah, woah, woah. But if Mum’s a lesbian, then how was I born?’ He patted down his body to check it was still there.

Carol ignored him to continue discussing with Sharon. ‘Well, if my deduction’s right, then this manager might be the last person left who can talk some sense into her. She might listen. Or hell. She could be tempted to leave Wonder-whatever.’

Sharon shook her head. ‘We don’t even know when this woman’s on her shift. How do we find her and convince her to help?’

‘Listen to me!’ Kyle yelled. Carol and Sharon turned their heads. ‘Is Mum a lesbian?’

The twins shrugged in perfect synchronisation. ‘Anyway,’ Carol said. ‘Time to make a plan.’

Frema pushed the trolleys into each other, struggling to get all of them to fit. A single drop of sweat slid down her forehead. After wiping it away, she smiled at customers and began visiting each aisle to inspect the employees’ recovery work. 

A bland and repetitive but vaguely upbeat pop song played through the speakers. This should have been fine, as Frema was no music snob despite her personal tastes. That being said, hearing it for the fifth time in an hour would turn anyone into a hipster who funnel-chugs lowercase ambient albums.

Sunlight burst through the windows and glass doors but the building was still a little chilly, thanks to the frequently opened but rarely closed fridge doors in the frozen produce section. As she made her way through the aisles, she made sure she closed every single one of those fridge doors.

This was a rather average work day.

The company phone buzzed in Frema’s pant pocket. She immediately took it out. ‘Welcome to Wilco’s. Frema speaking. How may I help you?’

‘Oh, you’re there,’ Carol said. ‘How long will your shift last? We’ll be there as soon as possible.’

Frema’s eyebrows met in confusion. ‘Could I have your name? I’m afraid I don’t recognise your voice.’

‘Oh, you probably don’t remember us.’

Kyle had to butt in the conversation. ‘We’re Karen’s kids.’

‘I see… is there anything you need?’

‘Nope!’ Sharon replied. ‘We’ll see you soon.’ She hung up.

Frema stared at the phone in her hand, dumbfounded. She released a quick chuckle before pushing the phone back into her pocket and continuing her inspection.

It wasn’t long before the three kids arrived. Carol asked a staff member where Frema was. Frema wound up recognising the three pretty quickly. They were the spitting image of Karen.

‘Can I help you?’

Kyle said, ‘Maybe.’ His face was still shocked as he tried to understand what his mother’s sexuality was.

‘Yes!’ Carol yelped, stepping on Kyle’s foot. Kyle yelped even louder at the shoe on his foot. He glared at her but she ignored him. ‘We need you to get Mum to leave a company she keeps spending money on.’

Frema raised a single eyebrow and wore an awkward grin. ‘I’m not sure I’d be much help with that. I doubt she’d-’

‘But you have to try-’

‘I did. I can’t deal with her anymore.’ She pulled a line of items forward on the shelf. ‘She doesn’t listen to reason.’

‘But you’re a temptress!’ Sharon argued a little too loud. She lowered her head as shoppers turned theirs. ‘I mean, that’s what Mum said. Can’t you tempt her to leave the pyramid scheme she’s in? She won’t hear what we have to say.’

That word shot into Frema’s brain like a pinball, bouncing around it faster and faster. Temptress. What a word. Frema’s heart couldn’t help but grow wings and gently fly up. She closed her eyes and thought.

Following half a minute of deliberation, she spoke. ‘Fine. I’ll give it one more shot. Where’s your mum? My shift ends in a few minutes.’

Once her shift was over, she drove the kids to Karen’s home. They walked up to the front door and Carol knocked on it.

When Karen opened it, her face went through the entire spectrum of emotions. She eventually settled on fear and began to close the door. Frema held the edge of the door with the grip of a coconut crab. Karen may have been an unstoppable force, but Frema was an immovable object. The result turned out to be an explosion.

‘Leave me alone!’ Karen screeched.

‘Not until I have a good talk with you!’

‘And what? Judge my life while you live the worst possible lifestyle?’

‘Coming from the woman who called me a temptress!’

Karen gulped. She sighed, looked at her feet and opened the door. A voice unfamiliar to Frema entered her ears from behind Karen.