Terry Essig - The Baby Magnet

Carolyn munched contentedly on her hot dog pieces, banana chunks, and the scant handful of pretzels her miserly father had provided. She was tucked into a spot between the two adults and continually glanced from one to the other as if in need of reassurance that they were still there.

“More pwetzels? Pweez, Daddy?”

Marie watched in amusement as Luke nudged a small pile of matchstick carrots closer. “First finish your milk and eat some of these yummy carrots. Then we’ll see.”

Marie narrowed her eyes as the ploy worked. Maybe if you got them young enough…hmm. Of course, she’d eat anything Luke prepared for her, too. Even if he just got it out of the bag for you, there was something about Luke that made you want to cooperate. Heck, the average female would be so mesmerized by Luke himself, she probably wouldn’t even realize what she were doing until the deed was done. What a sad, sad commentary on the female of the species—to be so easily duped.

Carolyn seemed happy with the graham cracker she got for dessert—the young were so refreshingly naive and innocent, weren’t they? After cleaning up, they piled into Marie’s car and headed for Kiddie Kingdom. Kiddie Kingdom just happened to be right across the street from Potawatami Zoo, an act of serendipity if ever there was one.

Carolyn chattered the whole way home. “She’s worn me out,” Luke admitted with a groan after releasing Carolyn’s restraints and lifting the child out.

“Me, too,” Marie agreed and laughed when she couldn’t restrain a yawn. “I really have to go now,” she added. “My grandfather’s grass needs cutting. Jason was supposed to do it when he got back from ogling the displays at Media Central. I don’t understand this subwoofer fixation of his, but I suppose it’s better than finding girlie magazines hidden around the house.”

“As far as Jason’s concerned, it’s probably a toss-up between the lingerie catalog, the car magazines and the electronic supply warehouse,” Luke decided after briefly considering the age of the subject involved.

Marie made a mental note to go through the catalogs stacked on the sofa table in their small family room and pull anything involving underwear or lingerie. “You’re probably right. At any rate, I told him I was only going to ask once because I was tired of arguing every time I ask him to do something. If it didn’t get done, I said I’d do it myself but then I wouldn’t take him driving again for at least a week.”

Luke’s eyes widened. “Whoa, we’re talking hardball here.”

Marie was immediately defensive. “Well, I am tired of arguing.”

Luke held up his hands, palms out. “I’m not disagreeing.”

“The thing is, I know he’ll sulk for a while before he caves. At least until after the sun goes down so the neighbors will think I’m mean and evil for making him do it in the dark. I want to get home and cut it first so I have the next week free of experiences similar to the one I shared with you yesterday. My nerves can’t handle a whole lot more. I’m about to lose it, no joke. I need the week off. At the rate things are going, I’ll be twenty-five and look fifty—provided I live to see my next birthday at all.”

Luke stuck his hands in his pants pocket and jiggled his change while he studied her. He had stumbled onto a good thing here. He’d dreaded this afternoon, his first alone with Carolyn. In fact, the anticipation of it had caused him to wake up in a cold sweat around two in the morning. What did he know about entertaining a two-year-old—for the rest of her life? But instead of a nightmare, it had been a dream and—he’d never admit it out loud—mostly due to Marie.

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