Give everyone the rest of the day off

You text the client that something came up and you won’t be able to meet his appointment today, then ask if he’d like to reschedule. A few seconds later, he confirms that he can come again tomorrow. You smile and turn to the girls. “Alright, it’s set,” you tell them.

“Who’s it going to be?” Sabrina asks you, looking at her sisters, then at you again.

“No one. You all have the rest of the day off!” you reveal.

“What?” they gasp in unison.

You shrug. “I figure you’ve all had a hard day. Enjoy the rest of it!”

“So… does that mean we can go?” Katherine asks nervously, already eyeing the door.

“You could,” you nod. “I know you’ll be coming back tomorrow,” you add with confidence. Her eyes furrow but she doesn’t argue. “Or…” you continue, “you could stick around and we can spend some of that money you all earned!”

Emma lights up at the sound of spending money. “Can we get new outfits?!” she asks.

Katherine sighs at her little sister and says. “He’s just going to get us to wear maid uniforms or something.”

“Well, maybe we should go somewhere to eat, somewhere fancy…” Sabrina suggests.

“I could go for a burger…” Emma agrees. She hops over to the side table where the room service menu is and starts to look through it.

“Fancy as in an upscale restaurant,” Sabrina tells her sibling.

“But we’d have to dress up for that,” Emma replies, then reaffirms her first suggestion. “Then we should go shopping after all!”

You look at Katherine and ask, “How about you? What would you like to do? Besides going home?”

Katherine is surprised you’re taking her opinion seriously, so she needs a moment to think about it. “Well…” she says slowly as she thinks. “First thing I’d want to do is take a shower…”

“Oh!” Emma exclaims as if she just thought of something. Everyone turns to her and she darts off the bed and beelines it into the bathroom! She slams the door shut behind her with an audible click of the lock being put in place. Sabrina and Katherine sigh, making it appear like this is a thing in their household.

“Alright,” you say, turning your attention back to Katherine. “Once you’re clean, then where do you want to go?”

Katherine shrugs, “I don’t know. I guess anywhere to take my mind off of today…”

“How about a show or a concert?” you suggest.

“Really, I’d rather just go home…” she admits.

You nod, “That’s fine. You can head off after you clean up.”

Katherine stares at you, waiting for the caveat. You look back, straight faced. She tilts her head and raises an eyebrow. “What?” she asks, “No strings attached? You’re not going to make me do some stunt or take some sort of punishment before I can go?”

“You’re free to go,” you reassure her.

Katherine sits up, not completely sold that she can just leave. She looks around. “Are you going to make me walk home naked, is that it?” she asks.

“That IS my dress!” Sabrina points out.

“I still have your first dress with me here,” you tell her, helpfully pointing to the table where you left it. “You can put it on and head out if that’s what you want to do.”

Katherine is still wary of a trick. She gives you a sidelong glance and reaches for her dress. She clutches it tightly in her fist. “You know what? I think I’ll stay,” she finally decides.

“That’s great!” you smile. You didn’t even have to **** her to do anything this time.

Katherine walks over to the bathroom door and bangs on it. “You better not use up all the hot water, Emma!” she calls out.

“You can use the one in the other room,” Sabrina suggests.

“Oh yeah!” Katherine realizes. “You sure you don’t want to use it first?”

“Nah, I can wait,” Sabrina says with a wave of the hand.

“Thanks, sis!” Katherine smiles before going into the next room.

“That was nice of you,” you tell Sabrina. “I guess you two are making amends now.”

“I want to talk to you about something,” Sabrina tells you in a low, serious tone.