E.B.-sitter 2

Once again, the adults decided to all go out together. That meant, once again, E.B. was being trusted to watch all the kids. And this time, she had five to maintain.

She had her paper and crayons ready for Terry. She had cartoons ready for Junior and Molly. But Jenny and Mikaela were new, so what kept them entertained would take trial and error.

So far, the only upside involving Mikaela was that she's still too little to play any games. E.B. was told by Melanie that Mikaela usually rests all day and the most she'd do is coo or giggle; maybe even ask for a hug.

-

"If Mikaela asks for a hug, make sure you give it to her. Otherwise she'll be really upset", Melanie warned.

"I get it. My brother used to be that way", E.B. says.

"At least you have a precedent set. Good luck, E.B."

-

Terry sat at the coffee table drawing pictures. He definitely improved from the discernible scribbles he used to make. E.B. was genuinely impressed with how much better he'd gotten.

Guy Jr. was also really happy that he had so many playmates at his house. He wanted to make the most out of their visit. So, he jumped off the couch.

"Junior!", E.B. exclaimed in shock. "Be careful!"

"Yes, Sissy!", he replied. And he continued to walk away.

In the meantime, Molly was still seated next to E.B. Seeing Junior running around, she giggled loudly. Then she reached forward.

"Come on, Molly", E.B. groaned. "At least watch TV with me!"

Little Molly had her own agenda though. She reached forward, in Junior's direction. So far forward that she rolled off the couch, her ribbon falling off her head, and landed on her bottom.

So many things raced through the little girl's head when that happened: Oh, the humiliation!, Owie!, Junior, I just wanted to play with you! and Why didn't you save me, E.B.?! The poor thing started crying. Mikaela instinctively began to mimic her older cousin. Jenny swiftly joined in.

E.B. groaned and put her head in her hands. "Please don't cry, everyone! I'm sorry, Molly!" She picked her up, holding her close. "Please stop crying", the teen requested calmly, "or your mom and dad won't let me look after you anymore." Still supporting her with one hand, the teen slipped Molly's headband back on.

Jenny tapped E.B.'s knee, her own eyes bloodshot. "It's okay, Jenny. I see you too."

Surprisingly, Terry and Junior didn't lose their cool when the girls started crying; maybe because they were the older ones. Instead, Junior jumped back onto the couch and hugged Molly along with E.B. Terry was finishing up his drawing, which consisted of himself, Mikaela, their parents and their grandfather standing in a meadow on a sunny day.

"Mm-hm", he muttered.

"What'chu got there, Terry?", E.B. asked. She puts Molly back on the couch and walks over to the coffee table. She picks up his drawing and takes a good look at it. "Wow! Looks great!" Although she had to ask: "What about Grandma Pam and Grandpa Grinch?" The boy shrugged, muttering something like 'I dunno'.

On the couch, Junior and Molly were looking at Mikaela, still in her carrier. She had her eyes open very lazily. She barely perked up upon seeing the other two. At the opposite end of the couch, Jenny looked envious.

"Hello, Mikaela!", Junior greeted her. He waved too; Molly mimicked his action.

"Umm, Junior?", his sister targeted him with her question, "I think she's getting tired." Then spared a cursory glance at Jenny. She laughed a little at how envious she was being. It reminded her of how Junior would behave whenever he saw her show affection for anyone else. "Why don't you and Molly hang out with Jenny?"

"Okay, Sissy!" He slowly hobbled across the couch to Jenny, Molly crawling right after him.

Mikaela, noticing that they left, whimpered sadly. At first, E.B. didn't notice. Then, Mikaela reached upwards. She still went unnoticed. She flailed her arms vigorously. Her whimpering got a hair louder. Finally, E.B. looked at what was going on.

"Oh! Mikaela! Your mom told me this would happen! Don't worry!" She stood up and picked the infant up, hugging her. "See? I'm here for you!"

Junior was too preoccupied to notice his sister's empathy for another, so he didn't complain this time.

Despite sitting and watching TV, Jenny wasn't quite entertained enough. She promptly slid off the couch and crawled over to E.B., tugging the hem of her skirt.

The teen looks down. "One sec, Jenny."

Literally one second later, the magenta child tugged her skirt again.

"Hold on. At least let me set Mikaela down again." And she does so. Then she squats to be eye level with Jenny. "What do you want?" Jenny puts her hands up. "You want a hug too? I got you!"

"And me!", Terry demanded. That was the loudest and most expressive he'd ever been as far as E.B. knew him.

E.B. felt like she was a witch and her hugs were how she used magic. And her signature spell seemed to be happiness for the children. Perhaps she should make this a regular job...

Nah. This would be too much for her to handle if it was twenty or so kids and not five.

And so, she did what she did last time: turned the radio on and played a fun song. This time: All Shook Up.

The boys danced on their own. Molly excitedly hit her palms against the couch cushion. Jenny clapped. Mikaela giggled. Just like last time, E.B. took turns dancing with each of them. Many more laughs were shared.

They later chilled out with a jigsaw puzzle. It was a custom one made by Michellee and Guy as a birthday present: the picture was a Chickeraffe; Mr. Jenkins to be exact, with E.B. herself on his back, Guy and Sam on one side and Michellee on the other (everyone else had their heads pasted on the borders). When Junior had his face filled in, he exclaimed "That's me!"

Before the last pieces were added, E.B. grew drowsy and passed out.

Not too long after, the adults finally got back. They saw E.B. asleep on the floor again, the kids all around her.

"Looks like she did it again", Michellee complimented quietly.

Pam and Grinch scooped up Jenny. Sam and Gluntz took Molly. Melanie and Jack grabbed Terry and Mikaela, as well as Terry's drawings.

Finally, Michellee picked up Junior and carried him to his room. Guy took E.B. and carried her to her room.

"You did a good job again, sweetie", he whispered to her.