Lorraine woke up before her alarm that morning. This wasn't so unusual, but it wasn't her habit. It would happen maybe two or three times a month. It was something that used to happen a lot more when Jennifer was little.
So she didn't think much of it as muscle memory got her showered and dressed and walking down the hallway towards a different door than she usually walked to.
"Biff, time to get up," she called as she knocked on the door.
Then she paused. Biff? Well, this was his room, but she usually didn't have to get him up. What was she doing here?
But the thought left her as Biff's body began to stir. "Five more minutes."
"Five more minutes and we'll be late. Come on, get up." The words came out like instinct. "Do you need my help?"
"Yes, please." The words were very quiet.
Once again as if on autopilot, Lorraine turned to open Biff's closet and began rifling through the hangers. The action brought to mind a time she'd thought long gone, when she used to pick out outfits for Jennifer. But her daughter had long since outgrown the need for her mom to pick out her outfit. And it was probably just as well. Lorraine could recall a particular toddler-sized T-shirt with a large unicorn on the front that she'd always have Jennifer wear with rainbow colored leggings. Jennifer tolerated the outfit, but didn't like it nearly as much as Lorraine did. If Jennifer had never developed her own sense of style, she might still be wearing that unicorn T-shirt to this day.
Her mind distracted in thought, Lorraine pulled a hanger out of the closet and gasped. A unicorn. It was like an adult-sized replica of Jennifer's old unicorn shirt. Lorraine looked back at the closet in wonder, only to see a pair of rainbow leggins hanging right next to the spot she'd taken the shirt from.
Lorraine recalled a meme she once saw of Bilbo Baggins, where the first panel's dialog was "after all, why not?" Lorraine's mind filled the second panel in: "why shouldn't I dress Biff in this adorable outfit?"
And so, with surprisingly little protest on the part of Biff, Lorraine helped the teenager into an outfit that would look a lot more appropriate on a little girl. Once Biff was fully clothed, Lorraine beamed. "Come on," she held out her hand for Biff to take it, "let's go down to breakfast."
