Babysitting on a Tuesday
By
Gemsong

Author's Notes: This was a challenge on the Yahoo Little Danny List. Babysit LDs from other writers.

*****
What was I thinking? I mean, how bad could it be? It's not the first time I've babysat 3 children. I mean really. I'm an adult. My own son is an adult and none the worse for wear. I mean.... How bad could it be?

I got my first hint when I found myself standing in my living room, and infant in my arms and two small boys eyeing each other. My little Jack sizing up the intruder in his world. Karen's little Daniel wondering if he's about to get beat up by the scowling 6-year-old. And my adult Daniel? No where to be found.

Baby Daniel coo then promptly burped, christening my black teashirt. I wasn't going to sigh. I wasn't going to panic. Just one day. I can deal with it.

"Jack?"

"Yes, Aunt Mandy?"

"Do you remember what we talked about?"

"Yes, Aunt Mandy?"

"I mean it, Jack."

"I know you do, Aunt Mandy."

Snarky little..... (insert descriptor here)

Jack looked Daniel up and down and then removed the scowl. "Would you like to see me room?" he asked. Little Daniel nodded cautiously and followed his host down the hall.

I took a deep breath then let it out. Baby Daniel cooed and burped again. I sighed at the fast changing state of my shirt. What was I thinking? Better yet, I need to plan revenge on Karen. I owe her big time. Then the smell assaulted my nose and the adorable infant started whining.

"This is going to be a very long day," I said to him. What the hell were they feeding this kid? Well... there is a pothole out front that needs filling.

***

The backyard was huge. Along the west side of the fence was a jungle that only minor effort was given to. It was a morass of ivy and wisteria. The scent of the purple and white blooms filled the warm air with their heady scent. In a corner a lilac bush was just beginning to bud ready to add to the sweet scent.

A convoluted path led among the bush to the main purple bloomed wisteria. Beneath it's many overhanging branches and shoot was a cave. Just big enough for two small boys. The ground was covered with moss and ivy, a soft cushion as two very focused explorers opened the box that had been hidden there earlier by forward thinking adult.

Jack lifted the wooden lid, not knowing what he would find. The contents were subject to change without notice. This time, there were two hats, one for each.

"Explorer hats," Jack said in a hushed whisper.

"What does that mean?" Daniel asked his voice equally hushed.

"That means that something has been hidden in the jungle and we must find it," Jack replied. He loved this game.

Daniel's eyes brightened. This sounded like fun. "What do we have to find?" he asked.

Jack pulled out the slip of paper that lay beneath the hats and read aloud.

"Still I am on haunches seen
Gray and brown against the sky
Hear my call and track me down
Not living but with spirit lie."

"What could that mean?" Daniel asked completely confused. "It doesn't even rhyme."

Jack shrugged at that minor detail. His face twisted in thought, then his eyes brightened. "The statue," he crowed in triumph. "Aunt Mandy has a wolf statue she keeps on a shelf. That's what we have to find out here!"

Little Daniel grinned. The adventure had begun.

*****
I had worried about nothing. The sounds of laughter from my two little explorers echoed through the yard and they hunted for the statue that was actually hidden within the rock garden. They would find it. The yard was only so big after all.

I leaned back in my chair, my computer on my lap as I typed in a desultory fashion. Beside me on the blanket I had laid on the grass was baby Daniel. My dog, Shadow and slinked up to take advantage of laying on something soft. Baby Daniel had other ideas. Shadow was now his personal jungle gym. Baby toys forgotten as he climb on and over the patient dog.

I smiled. This turned out to be a very nice day.

Finis