Dancing with the Player | Book #1

Babysitting Brooklyn

"Thank you so much for being able to babysit Brooklyn for us. Milton and I have been wanting to go to this play for so long, but we didn't have anyone to babysit her."

I smiled,"It's not a problem Shannon."

"Now remember, her bedtime is 8:30pm. There's dinner in the fridge and I left the list of foods to make her lunch for school tomorrow in the kitchen. Also, make sure she takes a bath with her dolls because she won't take one without them by her side."

I nodded,"Got it."

Shannon picked up with her purse while Milton put on his coat. Shannon called Brooklyn down. In a minute Brooklyn ran down the stairs and hugged Milton and Shannon goodbye. Shannon knelt down to her height.

"Remember to be on your best behaviour tonight while Stella takes care of you."

"I will mommy," Brooklyn smiled.

Shannon stood back up and said goodbye to us. Milton waved goodbye as the door shut behind him. I look down at Brooklyn to see her smiling up at me.

"Since when is your name Brooklyn?" I questioned her.

"It's my real name but the name Brooke is the shorter version of my name. Sometimes I'm called Brooke but if I'm around any relatives they call me Brooklyn," she explained.

"So which do I call you?"

"Brooke. Now follow me so we can play dollhouse!"She beamed and ran up stairs.

I followed after her up the stairs and took a left to her room. I opened her door to see all of her dolls already scattered on the floor. She's fast. I walked into her room and joined her on the floor. My eyes zoomed in on her three story house. She glanced at me and put all of her 8 dolls in a line in front of me.

"These are my 8 dolls; Mandy, Mel, Sandy, Ray-ray, Kelly, Jasmine, Ingrid, and Daniela."

"They're beautiful."

I admired all of her barbie dolls that are dressed in stylish outfits. When I was younger I only had one doll named Ginger and the strange thing was, she wasn't a red head. I would carry Ginger wherever I went until one day I lost her and never saw her again. Seeing as how Brooke has 8 dolls and hasn't lost one yet, shocked me.

"Pick one to play with," she tells me.

I scanned the dolls left to right then pick Kelly. Kelly has tan skin, long wavy brown hair, and brown eyes. She's dressed in a blue checkered mini skirt, white top, a matching blue cropped jacket, and white heels. By the way she dressed, she reminded me of Clueless.

Brooke nodded her head,"Good pick."

"She is your favourite out of all of them."

She gasped,"You remember."

"Of course I do, you practically took Kelly with you wherever," I laughed, remembering the memories of Shannon telling Brooke to put away Kelly and Brooke throwing tantrums.

For almost two hours Brooke and I played dollhouse. It was pretty fun playing with Brooke. We decided for the dolls to have a sleepover together and do fun activities. During the sleepover Brooke would make me laugh whenever she switched her voice between the dolls. When the sleepover was finished Brooke decided to sing a lullaby for them to fall asleep to.

I was surprised that Brooke could sing good. I remember when she was young she would always sing to anyone and everyone, whenever and wherever. Although James would tell her to be quiet down she never did. Brooke stopped singing and gave a goodnight kiss to each of her dolls.

"Your singing improved, it sounds pretty," I complimented.

"Well that's what happens when you take singing lessons," she smiled.

"Since when were you allowed to take singing lessons?" I asked.

I remembered when 7 year old Brooke told Shannon and Milton that she wanted to be a singer Milton automatically turned it down. Shannon was more supportive but told Brooke that there's other options. Milton wanted Brooke to get away from the musical side and play sports or act in a play for now then take over the company. Milton didn't want James to make a career out of dance and he doesn't want Brooke to follow the path of him. Brooke was upset when her father wouldn't allow her to sing, to do something she loved.

"Since last year, dad finally allowed me. I would sing everyday outside of his office so I think he got tired of hearing it," she answered as she crossed her legs.

"Well that's great! I'm happy for you," I smiled.

She frowned,"It won't last for long, I might have to take over the company when I get older."

"Singing is what you want to do forever, right?" I asked and Brooke nodded her head.

"Then do it. When you do what you love, it's not work anymore. I can guarantee that if you take over the company you'll always question yourself what if you chose singing or what if you never took over the company. If you're not doing what you love, you're wasting time."

"I really missed your advice."

"And I missed giving you advice."

"I'm getting bored," she whined.

"We can watch a movie," I suggested.

Brooke cheered while I chuckled. She brought her favourite doll, Kelly with her as she stood up. I walked to her closet and took out a big fuzzy blanket for us to share. Brooke walked to the living room while I went to the kitchen. I opened the cupboard that was labeled 'movie snacks' and took out caramel popcorn, pretzels, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I warmed up the bag of popcorn and filled two cups of sprite for us to drink. Once the popcorn was ready I poured it out in one big bowl. I put all the food on one big tray and walked into the living room to see that Brooke picked a movie.

I smiled as I read the screen,"Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus."

Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus was the movie that Brooke and I would always watch. We could recite majority of the lines in the movie. It was one of our favourite Barbie movies to watch but it was tied with Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar.

"Duh," Brooke said.

I sat down beside her on the couch, threw the blanket over us, and put the tray near us. I started the movie and began munching on the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups while Brooke ate the caramel popcorn.

"Brooke look it's our favourite part!" I beamed in excitement.

Brooke didn't make any noise. I turned my head to the left to see her fast asleep. I turned off the movie, gently and quietly picked her up, and walked up the stairs to her room. I placed her on her bed and covered her body with her blanket, then I put Kelly right beside her. I sat on the edge of her bed and ran my fingers through her head then leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. I plugged in her night light and walked towards her door.

Before I shut the door I turned my head around and whispered,"Goodnight Brooklyn."