Loving Miss Libby (12 page)

“You should have taken Dan’s mother up on her offer
to pad your pay,” she said chuckling.  “How’s her husband doing, by the way?”

“I haven’t heard anything lately.  Originally I was
told they were taking three weeks off from babysitting, so that means they’ll
be back on the job Monday.”

She gasped.  “This coming Monday.”

“Yes.”

“So you may be looking for a job.”

“I may.”

“If there’s anything I can do, will you let me
know?”

“Yes, Mom.  And thank you.”

“Oh, Libby, I did call for a reason.  Honey, I know
this is short notice, but your sister just surprised me by coming home
unannounced.  She plans on staying for the weekend.  We’re contemplating taking
a drive along the coast.  We were hoping you could join us.”

Libby considered the offer.  Her mother only lived
an hour away, so getting there wasn’t a problem.  “Mom, that sounds…” 

She suddenly heard a beeping sound in her ear,
indicating a call waiting.  “Mom, I have another call.  Can you hold on a
second…?”

“Sure.”

Libby switched calls.  “Hello.”

“Libby!”

“Yes?”

“It’s me, Dan’s Mom.  I just wanted to call and
check in with you.  It happens I just spoke to my friend … Doc Mason’s wife… 
Anyway, she tells me he’s taking the whole summer off from work.”

“I’m afraid so,” Libby answered.

“I’m sorry.  I know that puts you in a tough spot.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine.  I’ll probably start
looking for work Monday.  I know you plan on resuming watching the kids then.”

Libby sensed her hesitation.  “That’s why I’m
calling actually.  I haven’t spoken to Dan yet, but I’m afraid my husband’s
surgeon has decided it’s time for his surgery.  He’s scheduled to have the
aneurysm repair on Tuesday.”

“This Tuesday?”

“Yes.”  She drew silent and once again, Libby sensed
her hesitation.  “Libby, I hope I’m not overstepping, but do you think you
could postpone your job search and continue watching the kids for awhile?  The
surgeon assures me that Luther will make a relatively quick recovery.  I’m
fairly confident we should be able to resume watching the kids within a month
or
so.  I just hate the idea of them having to acclimate to a new babysitter,
particularly when they absolutely adore you.”

“I love them too,” she said, smiling softly.

“Will you be able to…”  Her words trailed off
hopefully.

“Well, if Dan is agreeable, then yes, I’ll continue
watching the kids.  But it’s really up to him.”

“Oh, he’ll be great with you watching the children. 
He thinks you’re wonderful.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear,” she said, struggling to
keep any hopeful inflection from her voice. 

She had spent the last week attempting to steer
clear of her handsome neighbor.  The instant he’d arrived home from work each
evening, she’d practically bolted from the house.  Often, he invited her to
join them for dinner, and as much as she enjoyed spending the time with the
entire family, she feared she might be drawn into an illusion—one in which she
saw herself becoming a member of the family.  Of becoming Dan’s wife.

The truth was, being around Dan and his children
made her yearn for a family of her own.  But they didn’t belong to her and
never would.  It was imperative she keep her boundaries sharp and decisive,
never wavering.  If she allowed her romantic musings to get away from her, she
knew it would signal it was time for her to stop babysitting for Dan’s kids and
get on with her own life.

“Libby, are you still there?” Mary asked. 

“I’m sorry.  Yes.  I’m here.  Mary, please give your
husband my best.  I promise to keep you all in my prayers.”

“Thank you.  I’m grateful for that.”

Libby hung up the phone and immediately heard the
beeping of a call waiting.  She gasped.  She had forgotten her mother.  She
clicked over.  “Mom, I’m so sorry!”

“…Forgot your own mother,” she teased.

“I didn’t…  Okay, I did.  That was Dan’s mom.  I’m
afraid her husband is having a surgery early next week and she asked if I could
continue watching the kids.”

“Do you want to?”

“I do enjoy watching them.  They’re both great
kids.”

“You’ll be able to postpone the work search for
awhile.  So…  Regarding what we were talking about before the interruption, can
you come…?”

Once again, Libby heard the sound indicating a call
was waiting.  “Mom, forgive me.  Can you hold a minute?”

“Sure,” she said, laughing lightly.

“Hello.”

“Libby, it’s Dan.  I’m so sorry, but…”  She heard
him sigh defeatedly.

“What is it, Dan?”

“Libby, I was just called into work.  I was on the
phone with my mom, and she was telling me about my dad’s upcoming surgery,
and…”

“Work called, and you need a sitter.”

“Yes.”

Libby could sense the frustration in his voice.  She
sensed he was worried about his father.  She understood he was in a difficult
position.  He had a demanding job and had counted on his folks but they were no
longer in a position to help. 

“Libby, never mind.  You’ve done enough.  I’ll…”

“No, no, that’s okay.  Why don’t you send the kids
over?  I’m not going anywhere.”

The instant she said the words, she remembered her
mother on the other line.  “Dan, I have to let you go.  My mom is on the other
line…”

“Oh, okay.  I’m sorry.  But Libby, thank you.  I owe
you.”

She clicked over.  “Mom, I’m so sorry…”

“Uh huh,” she said dubiously, but then laughed. 
“That’s all right.  But back to what we were discussing…”

“Oh, Mom.  I’m sorry.  I just agreed to babysit my
neighbor’s children.  He’s bringing them right over.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to plan a girls’ getaway
for another time.”

“I’m really sorry,” she said.  “I was going to say
‘yes,’ of course, but then Dan called, and…”

“You forgot all about your poor ol’ mother.”

“No, I mean, yes!”  Her eyes widened.  “I mean,
no
!”

Her mother laughed delightedly.  “Libby, it’s okay. 
We’ll get together another time soon.  Well, I should probably get moving. 
Call me when you can.”

Libby hung up the phone.  She felt awful for
disappointing her mother.  It had been a couple months since they’d spent time
together, and she hated that she was neglecting her.  Thankfully, her mother
was relatively young and had a large circle of friends, but still…

She hadn’t seen her sister for months, since she
lived out of the area.  She missed her and wished she could see her today.

She had little time to beat herself up, however,
since she heard the kids tumble onto her porch, followed by the ringing of the
doorbell.  She also heard the sound of a small hand knocking in conjunction
with the bell.  She couldn’t help smiling.

She hurried to open the door.  “Hi, Miss Libby,”
Marky cried, throwing his arms around her waist.

“Hi, Sweetie,” she said, smiling into his upturned
face and smoothing his hair back off his forehead.  “It’s nice to see you.”

“Yeah!” he cried, and then released her and dashed
into her living room.

Kate remained on the porch, glancing over her
shoulder at her father, who was in his patrol car and watching to assure the
kids arrived at Libby’s safely.  The little girl gave a sad wave.  Dan waved in
return and smiled reassuringly.

“Kate!” Libby said excitedly, in an attempt to
distract the girl from her worries, “I was thinking we should make chocolate
chip cookies for your dad.  I bet he’d love some when he gets off work.”

The little girl gave a tentative smile, but began
nodding.  “He does love cookies.”

Libby pulled her into a quick hug, and then glanced
past her.  Dan nodded at her, mouthing a ‘Thank you.’

She smiled, waved, and urged Kate into the house.  She
closed the door just as Dan drove away.

***

An hour after the kids’ arrival, Libby had an
assortment of ingredients spread all over her kitchen.  Marky was sitting on
his knees on a stool at the island and staring at a package of chocolate chips.

“Do you think we’ll need all of them for the
cookies?” he asked, angling a glance at her.

She smiled and opened the package.  She counted out
five for him and five for Kate.

“Ahh, is that all?” Marky cried.

“We need them for the cookies,” Kate said, sending
him a warning glance.

To Libby’s surprise, he didn’t argue, but sat
quietly in the chair.  Kate sent a nod his way.  Libby suspected they had been
warned to be on their best behavior.

Her heart suddenly went out to Dan  He had likely
planned an outing with them today, being as it was Saturday, and once again,
his plans had been waylaid.  It was a shame he was always at the mercy of that
pager. 

Libby began reading the cookie recipe aloud to the
children, and assigned each a task to do.  She directed Kate to fill a
measuring cup with sugar, while directing Marky to get the chocolate chips
ready, by measuring out two cups.

The little boy worked on the chocolate chips during
the entire time Libby and Kate prepared both the wet and dry ingredients. 
After they’d combined them, Libby glanced over at Marky.  His mouth was covered
in chocolate.

“Sweetie,” she said pointedly, “did you eat some of
the chocolate chips?”

He averted his eyes.  “You gave me five, remember?”

She folded her arms across her chest.  “Marky…”

He abruptly made a sad face.  “Miss Libby, I’m
sorry!  I love chocolate chips.  I couldn’t stop myself.”

Libby couldn’t help chuckling, but Kate was
indignant.  “Did you leave enough for the cookies?”  She reached for the two
plastic measuring cups and noted that neither was filled to the brim with the
chips, and there wasn’t any more in the bag.  “Marky!  You’re such a brat!  You
ruin everything!”  She spun on her heel and ran out of the kitchen and into the
back yard.

Marky’s eyes began to tear up and his lips began to
tremble.  “I’m sorry, Miss Libby,” he sniffled.  “Do you hate me now?”

She gasped, and hurried to gather him in a hug.  “I
could never hate you, honey.  I love you.”  She held him for a moment, and then
pulled back and searched his face.  “Sweetie, I’m going outside to talk to
Kate.  Will you sit here like a good boy?”

He nodded his head vigorously.  “I will.  I
promise.  I won’t eat any more chocolate chips.”

Libby hurried outside to find Kate.  The little girl
was sitting on the back porch steps, staring out at the lawn.  Libby sat down
beside her.

“Are you all right, Kate?” she asked.

The little girl nodded.

“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“Marky’s bothering me,” she cried.  “He ruins
everything!”

“Honey, he’s only five years old.  He’s just a
little boy.”

Kate considered her words.  “I know,” she said
finally.  “I guess he doesn’t ruin everything.”  She turned to Libby with
earnest eyes.  “But everything does get ruined.”

Libby draped an arm over her shoulders and gave a
squeeze.  “What gets ruined, honey?”

“Everything!  We were supposed to go to the movies
with my dad today.  We were going to invite you,” she added.  “But Daddy got
called into work.  He always does.”

“I know it’s frustrating when you have fun plans and
those plans change,” Libby commiserated.

“But, it’s more than that…”

“Kate, you can talk to me,” Libby urged.

The little girl turned toward her.  “Libby, I had a
mom, and she’s gone.  Just like that!  She’s gone.  Everything was ruined
then.  And now Grandpa is sick, and he could die.”

“Kate, your grandpa will probably be just fine.”

“But he might not.  He could die.  And Grandma is
old.  Something could happen to her.  And Daddy has a dangerous job.  Something
could happen to him.”  She threw her hands in the air.  “Something probably
will happen to him, because everything always gets RUINED!”

“Oh, honey,” Libby said soothingly, wrapping her in
a hug.  “I know you’ve been through a lot, and you’ve had to deal with more
than any eight-year-old should, but sweetie, your mama wouldn’t want you living
in fear.  She wouldn’t want you tip-toeing around, afraid of life.  She would
want you to live your life and be happy.”

Kate considered her words.  “But Miss Libby, nothing
goes right.  It really doesn’t.  Like on Monday, Grandma and Grandpa were
supposed to start watching us again and now Grandpa is going to have surgery…”

Libby felt a stab of disappointment.  She had
believed the kids enjoyed being with her.  She took a deep breath.  “I know you
were looking forward to them watching you again, and you’re disappointed they
won’t be…”