Babysitting the Player

Chapter 7

My feet hit the welcome mat on Maggie's front steps and I take a deep breath.

Relax, Alex. Bryce isn't even here.

I ring the doorbell and it only takes a second for Maggie to answer.

"Thank you so much for doing this on such short notice."

"Of course," I smile.

Maggie leads me up the stairs and I see Layla sitting on the couch playing on a tablet.

"Layla, that's enough with the tablet for today." Maggie warns.

Layla whines but listens to her mother.

"I should be home around eleven, is that too late?" Maggie asks.

"Not at all." I shake my head.

"Layla's bedtime is eight. She's already had dinner but she may get hungry for a snack around seven. She can have some fruit or a yogurt, or there's granola bars in the pantry she can have, she knows which ones are hers."

"Does she have any food allergies or anything I should be aware of?"

"No, nothing like that. I'm not sure what time Bryce will be home from his grandparents' house but he'll definitely beat me home."

I feel my face get warm at the mention of him.

"Okay."

"I think that's everything. You can help yourself to what's in the fridge. I'll see you later. Layla, I gotta head out now."

Layla scurries over to Maggie who bends down to give her a big hug. I drop my bag down next to the love seat while they say their goodbye.

"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Maggie smiles.

Layla nods. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you too. Be good for Alex."

Layla nods and I'm amazed how well Layla handles Maggie leaving. Most of the little girls I babysit hate watching their mom leave.

The door closes behind Maggie and I'm ready for a sudden screaming fit but it doesn't come.

"Can we play a game?" Layla asks.

"Of course." I smile. "What do you have in mind?"

She shrugs and I laugh.

"Where do you keep the games?" I ask.

"The closet."

I follow her into the hallway and she opens the door she jumped out of the other day and points upward.

"Up there."

I read some of the names to her and it doesn't take long for one to get her attention.

"Sorry!" she cheers. "I want Sorry!"

I grab the box and pull it off the shelf. Layla leads me to the dining room where there's an old card table set up with some folding chairs around it instead of a formal table.

I take the seat next to Layla. "What color do you want to be?"

"Red." She smiles.

"Okay, I'll be blue." I set the box down and open it up.

Layla grabs the board and clumsily unfolds it, whacking herself in the face with it a few times.

"Careful." I laugh.

She finally gets it open and lays it down on the table. I spin it so the red start position is in front of her. She puts our pieces where they belong while I get the cards organized and set up. I let her go first and she's ecstatic.