“You’ve already seen their bedrooms. The kitchen is just through that door on your left, the bathroom on your right. And you can obviously see the living room.” Janet Burge explained, gesturing nervously towards doors around the room. Dark hair swirled around her face, a black dress echoing the movement, as she moved around the room. She was panicking, exuding the frantic worry of a mother about to leave her children.

Danielle Turnbeau could not help but smile. The teenager waited patiently in the living room, half listening to Janet. With the way she worried, it was not surprising that there were already swirls of gray in her hair. Danielle’s eyes wandered around the living room, taking in the scene. It looked as though the parents had already left their children with a baby sitter. Well-stuffed couches were cluttered with toys, children’s CDs stacked high on shelves, board games falling out of a cabinet. Every inch of space left over was covered with pictures of the Burge family, and even those were knocked askew.

A tiny four year old girl was buzzing around Janet’s legs, threatening pizza sauce dangerously close to her mother’s black dress Red smears were already wiped through her blonde hair. A boy of about seven was sitting on the couch, watching his sister with a smile of glee. Janet continued her explanation while trying to fend off her daughter. “Bedtime is at eight o’clock, but Katie’ll probably get tired before then. Dylan’s normally really good about going to bed, but if-ah, Katie, no!”

Janet sighed angrily and stalked out of the room towards the kitchen. As she left, Christopher Burge entered the living room in a crisp suit. He was ten years his wife’s senior, and it showed in his graying curls and the defined lines sagging around his face. He greeted Danielle with a warm smile, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“It’s great to meet you Danielle. Better than that it’s great to have someone else look after our kids!” Christopher joked, laughing as Dylan rushed him and jumped into his arms.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Danielle smiled her reply.

“Ok,” Janet resumed smoothly, reentering the living room with a wet spot on her dress. “I’m sure you’ve noticed we don’t have a TV down here, that’s up in our bedroom. So, if you or the kids want to watch it, that’s fine. There’s a DVD player up there, too. If for some reason they fall asleep up there, just let them sleep.”

Danielle laughed. She had already heard this part of the speech. “Mrs. Burge, I promise we’ll be fine.”

“I know, I know.” Janet bent down to fold Katie in a tight, motherly hug.

“And don’t worry about them missing you,” Danielle continued. “They can’t wait for you to leave so I can teach them all kinds of bad things. We’ll jump on the sofa and write on the walls. Everything that kids love.”

Janet smiled, grateful for Danielle’s good natured humor.

“You mean all that stuff I teach them now? That’s why they love me the best, didn’t you know?” Christopher joked.

Still, nothing was going to dissuade the frantic mother. “They’ve already eaten. I’ve put a list of telephone numbers on the counter. There’s a fire extinguisher in the pantry, just in case.” This time Christopher and Danielle laughed. Janet ignored them. “So, I think that’s pretty much it,” she finished lamely.

With Janet finally satisfied, Christopher turned to address Danielle. For once there was serious tone in his voice. “If anything happens, or if you have a question about anything at all, always feel free to call us. Seriously, I don’t care if you need to know how to work the DVD player, anything at all. These kids are my life; I love them more than anything.” He reached down to tousle Dylan’s hair. “You don’t hesitate to call us for any reason.”

“I promise everything will be fine,” Danielle repeated, brushing her dark hair out of her face.

“It’s not that we doubt you,” Janet cut in, “it’s just that we haven’t been out since your sister was here a year ago. How is she doing, by the way? And what about your parents, are they alright? You know, we haven’t seen them lately at any swim team practices.”

Danielle groaned inwardly. They were just stalling now. “She’s fine, but you’re going to miss your reservation.”

“Ok, ok. Now, we’re just going out to dinner so we shouldn’t be long, maybe nine, ten o’clock at the very latest.” Janet hugged and kissed her two children, cooing little affectionate terms and good-byes. When she stood to move towards the door, she bent swiftly to give them another hug and kiss. Christopher was just as bad. It took several more minutes before they finally left the house and left Danielle in charge. As he was about to leave, he reached out to shake Danielle’s hand once more. The girl looked into his eyes and hesitated. There was no longer a sparkle there. Finally the door snapped shut.

The smile slid from her face slightly. Her eyes shifted to the pictures of the happy Burge family cluttering up the shelves. Behind her she could hear Katie and Dylan laughing madly as they spun around the room. Reluctantly fitting back into the role of baby sitter, Danielle smiled and turned to face the excited children. “So, what are we going to play first?”

۞

The house was silent hours later. Katie and Dylan lay tucked safely in their parent’s large bed. They were sleeping soundly, lost between the folds of blankets. The flat screen television projected silent images, illuminating the room in different colored lights. A clock on the nightstand read ten-thirty in harsh red numbers.

Danielle observed the children silently from the bed. They had insisted that she join them, so she sat in the middle. Now that they could not protest, she slid off the bed as quietly as possible, feeling uncomfortable in another person’s bed. When she was satisfied that Katie and Dylan were sound asleep, Danielle slipped from the room and wandered downstairs for a glass of water.

On her way to the kitchen, she stopped in the living room. A hall light cast shadows and reflections into odd corners of the room. Unable to resist, Danielle walked over to a row of pictures on a shelf. They were mainly scenes of the Burge children, shots of them playing happily on a sunny beach, running through the neighborhood park, and smiling in awe at elephants in the zoo.

Her eyes lingered on a picture in a sliver frame. It portrayed Dylan sitting before a blue and green cake. Eight candles were dispersed through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that decorated the cake. The boy was wearing a cone shaped hat and a goofy smile. Christopher Burge was kneeling behind him. The older man’s arm was wrapped lovingly around his son’s shoulder, his hand dropping to Dylan’s midsection.

Danielle scowled. She suddenly caught her reflection in the silver of the frame. Her dark hair was a mess, sticking out from a messy bun in every direction. Agitated, she ripped the ponytail holder form her hair and ran her fingers through it in a vain attempt to calm its wildness. Then she meticulously smoothed out the wrinkles in her t-shirt, instantly hating the attire she wore to baby sit in. Before moving on to the kitchen, Danielle gently touched the silver frame, pushing the picture back into a straight line with the others.

Once in the kitchen, Danielle searched the cupboards for a cup. She brought out a tall glass, set it on the counter, and extracted a small towel from another cabinet. Without thinking, Danielle filled the glass with water, dumped it out, wiped it clean with the towel, and repeated the process before finally filling the cup halfway with water and taking a small drink.

Danielle was satisfied to simply stand in the kitchen, her mind faraway, glass in hand.

Several minutes later, the garage door lurched open with the squeals of malfunctioning technology. When the door leading out to garage opened, Danielle placed her glass on a napkin on the counter and fixed herself with a smile as Janet and Christopher Burge reentered their home.

Janet was instantly frantic again. “How are they? Were they good for you? Where are they now?”

Danielle laughed softly and replied in a low voice. “They were perfect. They’re upstairs sleeping in your room watching a movie. They’re so cute.” Janet made a soft cooing sound at the thought of her children and instantly went upstairs to check on them.

Christopher regarded Danielle with a smile. “If you give me just another minute, I’ll take you home. How much is it you charge, again? Three dollars an hour?” he joked as he walked out of the room. After a brief moment of silence and the flushing of a toilet he returned, wallet in hand. “Your parents do know I’m taking you home, right?”

“Yes,” Danielle replied somewhat stiffly.

“Thank you for coming over, Danielle,” Janet smiled from the doorway of the living room. “We could always use you again, if you don’t mind. The kids love you. They told me so just a minute ago when I was moving them into their bedrooms.”

“It’s no problem. They’re great kids.”

“Alright, then, how about the end of March?” Christopher asked enthusiastically.

“It sounds good to me.” Danielle’s reply was getting short, but a smile held firmly in place.

“We’ll call you and set up a time. It’s getting late and Chris needs to get you home.” Janet ushered them out the door towards the garage. “Thanks again for coming, sweetie. Oh, and tell your parents we should get together some time.”

“I will,” Danielle assured Janet, and then climbed into the passenger side of a dark maroon SUV. It was, she decided, far larger than necessary for a family of four. Sitting up straight, her back not touching the seat, Danielle fixed her dark eyes on the window and watched as houses passed.

“Where is it you live, again?” Christopher asked, trying to break the silence.

“Blue Creek Meadows, about ten minutes away.” Danielle did not turn to look at him.

“That’s right. I remember now. I took your sister home once before. You never said, how is Lauren doing?” He tried to coax a response.

“Not too bad. She’s a senior this year, busy thinking about colleges and not getting into trouble.”

“Wow. A senior. I still remember her from last year. And you’re how old now, about fifteen, sixteen?” Christopher’s voice lowered slightly.

Danielle finally looked over at him, her voice pleasantly conversational. “I’ll be seventeen in two months.”

Christopher had spent too much time speaking to children. “Wow. You’re getting pretty old, now. That would make you what?”

“A junior.” The teenager returned her gaze to the window. She watched calmly as the vehicle passed by the local shopping center that divided the Burge’s subdivision from hers. The lights of fast food chains and gas stations momentarily illuminated her face.

“Not a big talker, are you?” He switched on a turning signal and steered the SUV down an adjacent street.

“When the mood hits.” She watched as they turned again. The lights from the shopping center were already fading from sight.

“I know what you mean. It’s late at night and you’ve just dealt with a couple of monsters.” Christopher tried another joke. Danielle smiled in reply. Finally, undisputed silence fell over them. It was only interrupted by the clicking of the turn signal. He turned down another road, then another. He cleared his throat, his fingers tapped the steering wheel randomly.

Christopher made one final turn. They were on a back road, so rarely used by Danielle that she did not recognize it. Trees grew thickly, tangling with the shadows. There were no headlights or taillights of any fellow drivers. He pulled the vehicle to a stop on the side of the road.

Danielle’s heart contracted, her eyes narrowed. “I think you’ve made a wrong turn somewhere,” she observed impassively.

“How much do I owe you again?” Christopher drew his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket. His hand closed around hard metal. Danielle turned to look at him. The sparkle in his eyes was gone.