Ann Martin - Mary Anne And Too Many Boys

Life was almost perfect, she decided, munching on an avocado salad that Mrs. Bruen had prepared for lunch. There was only one nagging problem that wouldn't go away, and her name was Carol. Carol was her father's girlfriend, and she rubbed Dawn the wrong way. Dawn couldn't say exactly why she didn't like Carol, but there was something about her that was very annoying. For one thing, she was always there. She spent so much time at the house, you'd think she was part of the family. And Dawn didn't like it one bit.

The doorbell rang later that afternoon, just as Dawn was heading inside to take a shower.

She had spent the whole day soaking up the rays in her bikini, and she was covered in baby oil.

"Sunshine, get the door, will you?" Dawn's father called from the kitchen. Sunshine was his nickname for her.

Dawn threw open the front door and felt like someone had doused her with cold water. Her good mood vanished as she tied her cover-up around her.

"Hi there!" Carol said brightly. "Look what I brought!" She was holding a baby in her arms, and a solemn-looking little girl clung to her leg.

Dawn's father hurried into the foyer.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Dawn knew he was surprised but was trying hard not to show it.

"Aren't they adorable?" Carol said in a gushy voice that Dawn hated. "This is Gregory. He's only eight months old. And this is his sister, Julie." She pulled Julie out from the folds of her sundress. "Julie's three."

"But who are they?" Dawn said pointedly. She knew they weren't Carol's children.

"That's a long story," Carol said as they made their way into the living room. She tossed a diaper bag on the floor and settled

Gregory on her lap. "One of my old friends from college is visiting California with her husband. They couldn't get a sitter, so I told her I'd watch her kids tonight so they can go out."

"That was very nice of you," Mr. Schafer said slowly, "but it complicates things a little."

"What things?"

Mr. Schafer sat down next to her. "Do you remember that musical you wanted to see at the Playhouse?"

"The one that's sold out?"

"Well, it's not completely sold out." Mr. Schafer reached into his pocket and pulled out two tickets. "One of my clients got me two of the best seats in the house for tonight."

"Oh, no!" Carol wailed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Dawn stood watching this scene, wondering how she could make a polite escape. She was sorry if her father was disappointed, but it didn't affect her, did it?

A moment later, she realized it did.

"Say, I've got an idea," her father said suddenly. He turned around and stared at Dawn as if he were seeing her for the first time. "What are you and Jeff doing tonight?"

Dawn licked her lips nervously. She knew

what was coming. "We're, uh . . . going to rent a video, I think."

"Perfect!" Mr. Schafer clapped his hands. "You and the kids can all watch the video together."

Dawn looked at him. The idea of a little baby watching a video was so ridiculous she didn't know what to say. "You mean you want me to baby-sit the kids?" she said tightly.

"Well, you're not doing anything anyway," Mr. Schafer said, looking very pleased.

"Oh, could you?" Carol said, jumping to her feet. "That would be wonderful!"

"And I'll pay you," Mr. Schafer said.

"Well ..."

"Then it's all settled." Mr. Schafer reached for Carol's hand. "Wait till you see what we're cooking on the grill tonight. . . ."

"This is not my idea of a great evening," Jeff said a few hours later. He was trying to watch an Indiana Jones movie, but Gregory was crying. He was making more noise than the soundtrack. "What do you think is wrong with him, anyway?"

"Carol said he has colic," Dawn replied. She really felt sorry for Gregory, because she knew he was in pain. His legs were doubled up and

he seemed to howl no matter what she did. She had tried even/thing, rocking him, singing to him, but he cried louder than ever. The only thing that really worked was pacing up and down the floor with him.

It was a baby-sitter's nightmare, and she knew she wasn't being fair to Julie, who was wandering around the living room with nothing to do.

"Oh, let's watch this tomorrow," Jeff said, rewinding the video. He looked at Julie, who was staring blankly out the window. "Hey, Julie," he said suddenly. "How about a game?"

"We don't have any kiddie games," Dawn reminded him. Naturally Carol hadn't brought any toys for the kids.

"We have a deck of cards," Jeff answered.

"She's too young for cards."

"Cards," Julie repeated, walking over to him.

"We're not going to play cards, we're going to build a house of cards," Jeff told Dawn.

For the next hour, Julie was fascinated as Jeff showed her how to place the cards on top of each other to make a house. "Gently, gently," he warned, as she laid the top card in place. "If you even breathe on it, it will all

fall down." When they finished playing with the cards, Jeff made up a story about a cowardly dragon who wanted to be friends with a lion, and Julie giggled when he made funny faces. Then he showed her how to make shadow puppets on the white stucco walls, and invented animal voices to go with the shapes. Finally, a happy, tired Julie fell asleep on the rug.

Dawn was amazed. "You were great," she whispered. "I had no idea you were so good with kids."

"What can I say?" Jeff laughed. He put a blanket over Julie and looked at Gregory. "He's asleep, too."

"Can you believe it?" Dawn said wearily. "Let's try carrying them upstairs and putting them both in my bed."

"So far, so good," Jeff said a few minutes later when they'd returned to the living room. He looked up at the ceiling, as if he expected to hear crying any minute.

"What do you think is going to happen with Dad and Carol?" Dawn said. She curled up on the sofa, hugging a throw pillow to her chest.

Jeff shrugged. He minded Carol just as much as Dawn did, but he felt a little uncom-

fortable talking about her. "He likes her, that's all."

"Are you sure it's not serious? She's over here all the time."

"That doesn't mean anything. Dad's not going to go off the deep end and marry her or anything like that."

"How can you be so sure?"

Jeff shrugged. "I just know he's not. You worry too much."

Dawn was about to say something else, but Jeff reached for the remote control. In a moment, Harrison Ford's face filled the screen, and Dawn tried to put all her fears behind her.

"You did a great job tonight," Mr. Schafer said a couple of hours later. He handed Dawn a wad of bills, and Dawn stifled a yawn. This had been one of the toughest baby-sitting jobs she had ever had.

"Thanks," she mumbled, heading for the stairs. She was halfway to the landing when she stopped and walked back to the kitchen. Jeff was at the counter, making himself an enormous sandwich of Swiss cheese and sprouts. "Here," she said, offering him half of the money. "This is for you."

"That's okay." He grinned and waved his hand.

"No way," she said, tucking the bills into his shirt pocket. "You earned every penny of it." As she headed for bed, a funny thought crossed her mind: Maybe someday Jeff would be a baby-sitter, too!

Chapter 10.

Talk about a guilty conscience! I had a terrible time trying to figure out what to say to Logan, because I was afraid he would read between the lines. I finally decided that the less said, the better. You'll notice I didn't mention Alex. How could I? I felt silly leaving him out, but I didn't dare tell Logan what was really going on. ...

I was so excited Saturday afternoon, I was practically floating. This is what happened. When I called Alex to explain that I wouldn't be able to see him Friday night (all because of Stacey), he immediately asked me out for Saturday. We were going to have dinner at a seafood place, and I spent half an hour trying on every single outfit I had brought with me. Nothing looked right. I had plenty of casual clothes, but we were going to a "real" restaurant (unlike Burger Garden), and I wanted to be dressed up.