She had thought about Rooster that morning. Of course, he was their brother, another sibling, but he had not been left. She would not wish that on a toddler, and it’s not like any of them had known their father would abandon them at some point. And then she realized that even if their father wouldn’t leave him for another family, he would die. Rooster would lose his father, though perhaps it would be more certain, a finality none of them had received. But when their father was gone, left this world for whatever was next, Mad would hold on to Rooster. That’s when he would need all of them.
