Nineteen-year-old Ben Kleeb was carrying the baby, his little brother Cliff. Ben often carried the baby for his mother when they were out. Ben and his three siblings, the aforementioned Cliff, his little eleven-year-old sister Jeanne and his fifteen-year-old brother Tom were with Helen their mother.

Helen was taking Jeanne out to buy some new clothes. Helene wanted to buy some new dresses for Church on Sunday for Jeanne. She already had the accessories that would go with them: shoes, tights, purses, and hair ribbons.

Jeanne is Helen's only girl and she treated her like a princess. Helen liked her daughter dressed in pretty clothes, not just on Sunday but all the time. Helen liked dresses and skirts on her daughter. She spoiled her rotten when it came to those types of things.

Helen didn't know that Jeanne was a tomboy at heart. Jeanne preferred to wear jeans and t-shirts, although Helen didn't really allow her to wear such things very often, certainly not to school. Jeanne was always dressed in a dress or a skirt with a pretty top on school days. Jeanne didn't have the strength of will to tell her mother that she didn't like those types of things. She was only eleven years old. Not all the time at least. She had to wear dresses as her mother wanted and expected.

Helen took her whole family with her because she had to. Cliff the baby and Jeanne for obvious reasons. Tom was autistic. Even at fifteen, he couldn't be left home alone. His condition made him extremely nervous about being alone. What was euphemistically called 'behavioral disturbances' would happen when Tom was left alone for long periods of time. He had other signs of autism too, such as an abnormal tone to his voice, repeating phrases, and other problems involving social interaction with others, including family.

Ben didn't have problems such as Tom. But he had a different father than his three other siblings. Ben's dad died when Ben was very young. This caused separation anxiety within him. Always afraid that his mother would leave him as his dad had, Ben formed an unnatural attachment to his mother. He needed to know where she was at all times and be with her as much as possible. Ben dropped out of college due to this problem. Ben was handsome and smart, but he was also a Mommas Boy.

Helen tried to help Ben, but when Cliff was born, she found that he was helpful with the baby in many ways. Plus, soon after giving birth to her fourth child, Helen entered into menopause and found the symptoms somewhat debilitating. When she was having her hot flashes or other symptoms, Helen was glad that Ben was around to help. Ben also could keep an eye on Cliff. It wasn't healthy for Ben to be with his mother so much, but she needed him, so she didn't complain.

Little Cliff was a happy, healthy baby who preferred to run off than to sit in a stroller. That is why Cliff was holding him at this time. The smart little tyke who was only twenty-months old had just started potty training.

The troop had arrived at the girl's section. Helen had found a pretty dress for Jeanne. It was a harlyn knit dress in rose. It had a scoop-neck back with criss-cross ties and pockets in the front. Its double-layered skirt had a white underlay that could be seen a full four inches under the overlay. It was very pretty.

"What do you think of this?" Helen asked Jeanne.

"It's OK," Jeanne said without enthusiasm. She wished she didn't have to wear such things. She wished she could tell her mother, but she couldn't.

The Trait Swapper was watching the family. It knew all about them. Each in the family had their own problems. Problems that were going to be fixed. The Trait Swapper would make sure of that. One person would swap out his good traits for the family's bad ones. The Trait Swapper would cut him to pieces like a Thanksgiving Turkey or a Christmas Ham.

Stephen Arnold happened by the family with his girlfriend Frances Watson. His confident self was leading Frances through the store. This unlucky guy was what The Trait Swapper was looking for.

Stephen stopped in his tracks. He was sweating.