When we came back from our summer vacation thing in Brigantine, Dr. Bonnelly and the Bells where awaiting my arrival to book more time of babysitting for their children. I guess the kids never told the parents what really went on in their homes.

“Oh, no the kids absolutely love ya,” said Mrs. Bells.

“Alexis really admires you, Billy likes you too” said Dr. Bonnelly.

Okay, I must be doing something right. The first one that called me was the Bells. I already noticed, if I keep the kids busy and running around during the morning, they would take nice long naps in the afternoon. And by the time the parents would get home, they were all charged up and ready to go. But that’s the way they want it! This way they could enjoy their hyper, out-of-control, disobedient children when they get home. He he he!

 Dr. Bonnelly called to see if I could do an early evening. He wanted to go to a poker game over at a friend’s house. Okay? I really just did mornings and afternoons, but mom said it was okay as long as I came home by 10 pm and I didn’t have school the next day. What the heck, its money right?

Before I left the house, I made a conscientious decision not to walk on Andy’s side of the block today. Really wasn’t in the mood to run into him. I mean, it’s not like I wouldn’t want to see him, but I kind of really didn’t feel like getting all dolled up. So I didn’t comb my hair, brush my teeth, put any lipstick on, or even combine my clothes so I was kind of like a mess. I haven’t seen much of Andy this summer. I was really hoping I would. But what am I thinking of? I had him in my Biology and Spanish class. Oh, and in lunch where he would hang out with the jock’s of the school than anything else. This is not the type of crowd I could or would hang out with anyway.

Andy’s family was a little more proper and educated then mine. His parents were both in the field of education, both in the colligate level. His mom is an English professor at NYU, and his dad is a professor of Biology at Seton Hall in South Orange, NJ and is also the assistant coach for the football team. So his family could definitely afford to live in this side of the neighborhood were the houses are bigger and more comfortable.

Thinking that he would date me is absurd! I’m just not his type. I could see him with the pretty, petite, slim, too perfect cheerleaders. Or maybe Miss Popularity, overachiever, over doer, teacher’s pet of the school. He plays for the junior football team in our school although he’s a sophomore. He’s that good. His dad noticed he was naturally gifted running back since he was young, (or they wanted him to be naturally gifted) so they started him off early. Mom let me go to some of the games as long as she took me and she picked me up. I always dragged Sam with me, you know for moral support and the fact that her shocking red hair could be easily detected in the stands. I would get a little kink and a smile from Andy on the sidelines whenever he would see us. My parents wouldn’t mind at all if I would hook up with him but come to think about it, I really don’t have special gifts like him or any interest in sports like he does. Everyone else around me has special talents. Ian has fencing, cycling, his guitar and an incredible ability to remember poems, quotes and proverbs and recite them by memory. Sam is a fashion guru. She always looks fantastic in whatever she wears, and could combine any clothes so easily. And even Johnny has special gifts. First, he’s tremendously talented in the funny department, then he really likes to snap pictures, he’s kind of really good with the camera. Me, I have no talents. I have no special abilities. I’m very average looking, and really don’t have any big plans for my future. I mean, I wouldn’t mind at all if me and Andy would hook up but . . . what am I thinking of? What- am- I-thinking?

“Hey Nina!” the voice said startling me. I turned around real fast, lost my balance and fell into the bushes in front of a tall brick house. I heard some footsteps come over to me and look into the bushes. It was kind of dark and I couldn’t see the face, but I recognized the voice a second time. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Oh, hi Andy,” I said trying to get up. I noticed as I fell some leaves and twigs fell on me. Great. “What are you doing here?” I asked him in a nonchalant fashion.

“I live here,” he said pointing over to the other side of the street. Then he reached down to grab my hand and help me up. At first, I didn’t even want to reach for his hand. I was hoping he would just go away and leave me in the bushes, but the temptation of being able to touch his hand was overwhelming. “What’s a-mater?” he asked looking down at me. “Wanna stay down there in the bushes?” Hahaha. Actually, I do. Please go away.

“No, no, no, I-aaaa…I think I hit my head,” trying to think of something sane to say. But that wasn’t it.

He just laughed, “Come on silly girl, let’s get you up for these bushes!”

Yeah, that’s me, silly girl. So I reached out and grabbed his warm, strong, sturdy hand. He gave me a gentle tug towards him and I came up with leaves and twigs hanging off of me.  He helped me remove some of the shrubbery with a subtle chuckle in his throat.

When I finally got out, I didn’t want to let go of his hand and I didn’t want to look straight at him as he continued to slowly remove leaves and twigs from my hair and clothes. I must have been a vision of loveliness. 

Andy was around half a foot taller than me with a medium built. He had this curly brown hair that he just kept short enough to be preppy and long enough to be hippy. And he had a killer smile, with perfectly straight white teeth, full lips and dimples to accentuate his perfect face. His eyes were deep set so you would think they were dark, until you looked into his eyes and noticed they were sky blue. He was the personification of the male specie in my opinion.

“So, what are you doing out here this time of night?” he said in a low and slow voice. Oh, did I tell you about his voice…It would put you in a trance.

I stayed silent for what seemed to be forever, and then finally opened my mouth.  “I, I, am sitting babies…” He chuckled. “I mean, I’m sitting on babies.” Laugh some more. I took a deep breath, and put myself together. “I-am-a-baby-sit-ter,” I said very slowly.

 He smiled his perfect smile with all his white, perfect teeth, and tilted his head just slightly that enhanced even more his face features especially under the light as the sun was almost about to set. I felt my head very slowly tilt like his and my heart raced…then I realized what I was doing and stopped. Nina, you have to pull yourself together, I said to myself.

 “You’re cute when you’re goofy!” he said to me.

“Yeah, that’s me, a regular Disney character, ha.”

“So, you’re babysitting for Dr. Bonnelly?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, I’m babysitting Dr. Bonnelly.”  Huh, did I say that? “What I meant was, for Dr. Bonnelly’s children.”

“Yeah, I know what you meant” And he did a little laugh but sounded way to masculine to be a giggle, it was more like a miggle. “I’ve ah… seen you going over there often lately and wondered what you were up too. Making some money this summer?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m doing. Ah, making some money.”

“That’s real cool.”

“Yeah, it is real cool.” Giggle.

“Hey, maybe I’ll see you around before school starts.” 

 “Sure, sure, I mean, maybe, possibly. I mean you never know.” I need to be quiet right now.

“Yeah, I’m guessing you have to go,” he did the little tilted head thing with a half smile. Uhhhhhhhh!

“Yeah, I have to go.”

“So, I’ll catch you later . . .  take care.”

“Yeah, see ya later, take care.”

Catch you later, take care. Catch you later, take care! CATCH-YOU-LATER…TAKE CARE! What did he mean by that?

I started walking over to Dr. Bonnelly’s house and it wasn’t until I passed the third house that I noticed I was going the wrong way. Why do we let guys effect us so much? I remember the good ol’ days that I hated boys. The shear thought of them or having them close by was enough to make me barf.

The evening over Dr. Bonnelly’s house was uneventful. Their dad left the minute I got there and the children stayed up almost until their father arrived home. We watched TV… some vampire shows, then a little bit of reality TV. Then we watched a stupid cartoon about some sponge with that lives in a fruit under the sea. Very Odd! I wasn’t really concentrating. The only thing that swirled through my head was, “See you later, take care. Take care, see you later.” What does this mean?

“What do you think he meant by that?” I asked Sam while I was over the Bonnelly’s house. I couldn’t help it, I had to call her. “So is this like Biology classes and instead of dissecting a frog, we’re dissecting his words?” she asked.

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what we’re doing!” I said excitedly. “Hey, you wouldn’t be able to come over here would ya?”

“Oh I can’t, I have to stay home with my little sister Patty.”

“Rats.”

“Who are you talking to?” Billy asked.

“Ah, I’m talking to my mom,” I said quickly. “Yes, mom, I will call you when I’m done here so you can pick me up.”

“What?” Sam asked.

“This is a private conversation,” I told fat face.

“This is my house and you’re using my phone,” he told me very boldly.                                            

“Yeah, but your dad left me in charge and I’m having a private conversation with my mom!” So I got up from the loveseat and left. I went outside to the patio.

“Sorry, I had to tell Billy who I was talking to on the phone.”                                                                                                                         

“Oh, really,” she said. “You have to explain to a 7 year old why you’re on the phone?”                                                                                                    

“Actually, he’s 10! And no, no I don’t have to, I just wanted to.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight, he told you, ‘see you later and to take care of yourself?’”

“Yeap.”

“Okay, so this means that he wants to see you on a later date and that he wants you to take care until he see’s you again.”

“Yes, yes, that’s what it sounds like.” Then I heard a click on the other side of the phone. “Ah, is there someone on the other side of this phone?!”

“No.”

“Billy, hang up!” I said very forcefully.

“Why are you asking your mom that you’ll see her later and for her to take care? Are you going on a trip or something?”

     “Billy-get- off- the- phone, NOW!”

     “Okay, okay.” I waited a few seconds to make sure the little stinker hung up.

            “So, yeah, that’s what I think.” Then I heard some heavy breathing. I just gently place the phone on a table outside on the patio, and quietly opened the patio door. Then I tipped toed to over where Billy was holding the phone in the kitchen. I sneaked up behind him and shouted, “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGG!”

            I scared the ja-jibies out of him. He went running off to I don’t know and I don’t care where. When I went back to the phone Sam was laughing in tears. “I like your method of babysitting, it’s very interesting.”

“And very affective!”

                                                                                                                    

****   ****   ****

So, because of the way he was with me in school and what he said tonight, maybe he does feel something for me. But it’s dug in somewhere deep down inside. Really deep…real, real, real deep! Maybe I do have a chance.

After I got home, I stayed up in bed for a while thinking of the possibilities. I wondered what the girls in school with their social graces would think about me and Andy walking hand in hand in the hallway, into classes and especially into the lunch room. Or in the football games, whenever he would score a touchdown, he would bring the ball over to me while I waited in the seats closer to the field, then he would reach up and give me a kiss on the cheek.  Uh, that would be so sweet!  And when I finally fell asleep, I had wonderful dreams of us two together. I knew I was dreaming of him, because when I walk up I had a smile on my face and perspiration all over my body.

When I finally got myself out of bed, I had to take a cold shower. It felt good. I went downstairs, had breakfast and then gave Sam a quick call. She was getting ready to go with her cousin that drives to the mall to checkout a preview on fall fashion at Bamberger’s, “Wanna come?” she asked curiously. 

“No, no, it’s okay. Not really interested in what I’m not going to wear this fall,” I said kind of as a matter of fact.

“You could try to dress a little more in fashion to school you know. Maybe you’ll be noticed more.”

“Maybe closer to the beginning of school, when I have more money,” I told her. “Just call me when you get back,” I said. I disconnected and was getting ready to go over the Bells’ house. They needed me a few hours this afternoon. Not like I had anything better to do.

My mom went downstairs to the basement to do some laundry and sew. I went upstairs to wash my teeth and brush my hair. Then I came down stairs to grab a bottle of water and hit the road. But when I was coming down the stairs I noticed Prissy in the corner by the TV, very, very still. I went over to inspect.

“Prissy, bad girl,” I said in a low voice. I didn’t want mom to hear me. Why? Well, because Prissy pooped and I’m not a great indoor pooper scooper. So I manually lifted her up and placed her on the couch were she spent most of her crazy life.

“Mom, I’m going to the Bells’ house, see you later!” I yelled from the door entrance.

“You are not going anywhere until you pick up your dogs poop!” she yelled back from down under.

Geez! How in the world did she know Prissy pooped, and how did she know I found it, and how did she know that I ignored it? I’m gonna go for it and play dumb.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about mom! I took Prissy out this morning and she did her business.”

Then my mom opened the basement door and poked her head out. “You’re not going anywhere young lady, until you pick up your dogs poop!”

“Oh, all right!” I said in defeat.

I don’t understand. Sometimes I think mom’s have a special sense that work like radar. They will always know where you are and they will always know if you’re lying.

I picked up the poop, and throw it down the downstairs toilet. Then, when I opened back the door I saw… him. “You, you’re the one that told her!” Ian was leaning by the wall next to the bathroom with a smug look on his face. “Why, why would you do this to your baby sister?”

“Oh, so now I’m the oldest?” There is an ongoing battle of who came out first, being twins. He’s older whenever it’s convenient to him. I’m older whenever I want to make a point.

“Did you really tell mom?”

“Yeap.”

“How petty!” I yelled.

“To get back at you for all the times you’ve maliciously destroyed me in the game.”

“Oh don’t tell me you’re still sour about dad taking away our video games and making us read books? That was weeks ago! And anyway, we got the game back.”

“Some things happen in life that you cannot and will not ever forget.”

“And that was one of them? A game? You need to get a life!” And I left.

Just to think, I was under the impression that mom had some kind of special radar. Mom doesn't have radar, she had more like a son-ar!