The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

Need A Sitter

#Landon

In his office, Landon fiddled around with his iPod, downloading music for Will's pirate hall. At the last minute, Will decided he needed help pulling off his pirate theme and delegated duties among his residents. Landon had offered to help.

He heard a knock on the door. Looking up, his smile spread across his face when he saw two familiar faces he adored.

"You kids look incredible," said Landon as Lizzie and her children walked into the office. Lizzie was dressed like Princess Leia, Chase a Jedi and Keltie a chubby Ewok.

"Landon!" Chase and Keltie shouted, running up to hug him.

Lizzie did her big sister smile. "Nice costume! It fits you perfectly." Chase and Keltie nodded in agreement. Landon, dressed as Luke Skywalker, pulled out his lightsaber. "We have to make sure we take lots of pictures," she added, a slight giggle in her voice. She reached for the small statue on his desk, the gift Alana gave him. "You should take Hilary up on her offer, a Halloween party with real adults."

Landon gave her a look that ended the conversation before it could begin. He found Hilary about as interesting as wet shoelaces.

"Mom, can we go wait for you in the lobby?" Chase interrupted, tugging on Lizzie's dress.

Lizzie hesitated, her expression uncertain. "Well, I don't know..."

"It should be fine, one of the HDs can keep an eye on them while I finish up," said Landon, clicking a button to download more music. "One of my RAs is telling scary stories by the fireplace, but child-friendly ones," he whispered so that only Lizzie could hear him.

"Oh, okay..." said Lizzie while Landon walked the kids to Lindsey, one of the upperclass HDs.

When he came back to the room, Lizzie held out some papers to Landon.

"What do you have here?" he asked, taking the papers from her hands. They were advertisements seeking a babysitter for Chase and Keltie. "Oh. Why do you need someone to watch the kids all day on Saturdays?"

"Well, since Tim's been back we haven't been able to spend as much time together as we'd like," Lizzie explained, adjusting a bobby pin in one of her buns. "We decided that we'd use Saturdays as a day just for us. I'm home with the kids all the time, I need a break... geez, I need a break. I was hoping that I could post a few here in the building. That way you'll know the applicants, which is the best background check a mother could ask for."

Landon smiled. "You can post them, but my residents' personal life is confidential. If I can't share it with their parents, then..." he started respectfully until Lizzie interrupted.

"Please... if someone is crazy or on drugs, you will let me know. This is your niece and nephew we're talking about."

His clear turquoise eyes narrowed and a smile of defeat graced his face. He loved his sister even though she annoyed him at times. "Of course, Lizzie, I'll let you know. But I am sure you'd figure that information out yourself, you're pretty perceptive."

"True," she said confidently. "So you're not really into Hilary? You're not going to take her on at least one more date?"

Landon looked away, checking an email. "Probably not," he said, then changing the subject to a topic sure to distract Lizzie from his love life. "So... have you talk with Grayson lately?"

Stunned, Lizzie's eyes blinked rapidly. She looked bewildered and searching for a way to respond. "Ah... yes, why? Have you decided to talk with him after all these years?" she murmured.

"Maybe. I wanted to get his number from you," he said, regret in his eyes. Hearing Alana's heartfelt story about the love she had for her parents had him thinking, revaluating the past and his father. Sure, he couldn't call him "dad" or anything close to that. Grayson had never acted much like a dad, lacking every moral and ethical virtue and costing Landon the gift of decent childhood memories.