The Devine Babysitter Read online

  THE DIVINE BABYSITTER

  By Tonya Ramagos

  One

  Stress was rapidly taking control of her senses. Dominique could feel it in her muscles, in her bones, aching to the core. Never had she dreamed that living on her own, without a husband, without a family member to offer financial support and guidance, would be so difficult. As she sat at the kitchen table in her small two bedroom apartment, surrounded by past due bills, the realization that there was no one to call for help hit her like a physical blow. But it was the way she had wanted it. Well…almost. She hadn’t wanted to lose her father in the process.

  "But you’re not going to think about that now," she said defiantly to herself. "You have other things to worry about."

  Sighing heavily, she snatched up a sheet of paper, almost blank but for three names and corresponding phone numbers listed at the top, and flung herself back in the chair. She couldn’t imagine hiring either of these women, but what choice did she have? The ad had run in the local paper for almost two weeks, and only they had responded and actually kept their interview appointments. Dominique had quickly gained a new respect for employers. She now understood the trials and aggravation they went through when deciding to hire a new employee. No wonder it takes most people so long to find a new job, she had thought time and again.

  In her case of playing the role as the employer, it had now come down to the wire. She had only two choices: hire one of these women, or turn down the opportunity to make a hell of a lot more money than she was making now. Thoughts of being able to take her son to McDonalds more than once in a blue moon, pay her bills on time, and purchase more of the things she and Kalvin desperately needed bounced around in her brain. If she didn’t hire an evening babysitter today, she would be forced to turn down the promotion. Well, it wasn’t a promotion, exactly. It was a move from the day to evening shift. But in a twenty-four hour bar, the customer and tip difference made the move seem like a promotion. Without making the move, she was certain to fall deeper and deeper in debt.

  Her chest heaving again, she glared at the three names on the sheet of paper. There was Monica Finch; a strong headed girl right out of high school. Despite her gaudy appearance--piercings everywhere imaginable, long jet black hair, putrid blue lipstick, and a skirt so short her buttocks showed when she walked--she had struck Dominique as a very sweet girl. But she had made Kalvin uneasy, and if he wasn’t comfortable with his new babysitter, there was no way she would be comfortable leaving him each night.

  Then there was Lucy Pringle. Talk about a real grouch! It had taken all but three minutes of Dominique’s interview with the thirty-something woman to determine she was horrible with children. A woman who was harshly spoken, inconsiderate, and who possessed a temper fuse no longer than the size of pen top was way wrong for babysitting anyone’s child, let alone Dominique’s. She couldn’t possibly hire her.

  She scratched off Lucy’s name, leaving only one candidate. The elderly woman, Elva Noble. Kalvin hadn’t been terribly impressed by her but, out of the three, he had seemed to like her the best. Dominique found her to be a sweet old lady. She lived by herself, not too far from the apartment. She had raised four children of her own and now had twelve grandchildren. Still, there was something about her that just didn’t settle right. Probably the fear that she was just too old to handle a child Kalvin’s age for extended periods of time. He was a fantastic, well-mannered little boy but, like any five-year-old, he had the tendency to get a little rambunctious at times. Despite that little fear, out of the three possibilities Mrs. Noble did seem to be the only likely choice.

  "So we’ll give her a shot." Dominique lifted a shoulder as she picked up the phone and punched in the woman’s telephone number. "And if she doesn’t work out, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

  "Hello," a masculine voice said just as she put the receiver to her ear.

  "Umm…hello. Could I speak with Mrs. Noble, please?" Dominique asked, a bit startled and confused. Not only had the phone never rung on her end of the line, but she could have sworn Elva Noble had said she lived alone. Who was this man answering her phone?

  The voice on the other end of the line laughed awkwardly. "I think we’ve got our lines crossed."

  "Oh, I’m sorry. I must have dialed the wrong number. Thank you."

  "No, wait!" Dominique heard the voice shriek. Her hand stopped stiffly in mid-air.

  Putting the receiver back to her ear, Dominique huffed in aggravation. She was in no mood to carry on a conversation with some strange man.

  "I was calling you at the same time you were dialing out," the voice quickly explained. "Talk about timing, huh?" He chuckled.

  "Oh…well, I guess so," Dominique stammered. Now she was really consumed with confusion. She wanted to ask, "Who are you, you strange man, and why are you calling me?" Instead, she cleared her throat and, in the nicest tone she could muster, asked, "Can I help you?"

  "I hope so. I was calling about the ad in the paper," the voice informed her. It was evident his nervousness was beginning to wear off a bit as he now sounded more self-assured, in control…almost sexy. "The one about the in-home babysitting job," he added after a few seconds when Dominique didn’t respond.

  This guy is calling about a babysitting job! Her jaw nearly hit the table. So much for the almost sexy theory. Her heart sank in disappointment. Men don’t babysit. He’s got to be some kind of high school nerd or something.

  "Oh, I get it. You’re calling for your wife," she finally said when she thought she had it figured out.

  Again, the man chuckled. "Uh…no."

  "Girlfriend?" Dominique guessed again. She was grasping at straws, but there had to be a reasonable explanation. The thought that he could be calling for himself was inconceivable.

  "Wrong again," he said.

  There was a trace of amusement in his voice. She shuffled her feet uneasily, crossing one arm under her breast.

  "I’m calling for myself," he said. "Is the job still open?"

  Dominique slowly eased back down into the chair. Her body stiffened as her confusion deepened. Why would a man want to apply for a babysitting job? The concept was practically unheard of! Girls, women, old ladies…yes, those were the people who babysat children. Men…no!

  She nervously twisted a strand of hair around her index finger. It was a waste of time. She would agree to meet this guy and he wouldn’t even show up. Besides, did she really need some off-the-wall man in her house taking care of her son? Hot-headed testosterone was the last thing she needed interrupting her boring, stress-filled life.

  "That position has already been filled," Dominique said abruptly. She picked up her pencil and drew circles around Elva Noble’s name on the sheet of paper. "I was attempting to call the woman I’ve decided to hire when our lines got crossed, as you put it."

  "So you haven’t contacted the woman yet?"

  "Well…" She hesitated, the pencil stopping in mid-circle. "No." Dammit! Open mouth, insert foot. She had eaten her foot so many times in her life, it was a wonder she still had two of them! Why was it she could never answer a simple question with a simple answer? If she had told him the position had been filled and left it at that, she could have hung up the phone and this crazed occurrence would be over with. Instead, she had to continue babbling.

  "But there’s no chance I could talk you into an interview before you do?" His hopeful voice filled the line. "I would really like the job. I come from a big family and I love children. If you would at least talk--"

  "I have to fill this position today. Preferably as soon as possible, Mr. Uh…" Dominique stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly realizing she had been on the phone with this strange man for nearly five minutes and had neglecte
d to get his name.

  "Joshua…just call me Joshua."

  "Well, Joshua, as I said, I have to fill this position today and my new hire will have to be ready to start tomorrow afternoon," She informed him, sure that her urgency in the matter would send him away if nothing else would.

  "No problem. I can meet with you in an hour."

  She hesitated. Oh, why did she have to be so kind-hearted? Granted, she wasn’t all that excited over hiring Elva Noble or anyone else on her list. Dreading the final outcome of her decision was more like it. But did she really want to prolong her agony another hour just to talk to this dweeb?

  "Okay." The word spilled from her mouth before she had a chance to stop it. Why was she saying ok! Amazing how her big mouth could continue to get her in deeper, even with two feet shoved down her throat. Ugh, now she was really losing her mind. "But if you’re not here in exactly one hour I’m calling Mrs. Noble. What was your name again?"

  “Joshua…Joshua Divine."

  Yeah, I bet you are, she snickered silently, jotting down his name. And I’m Cinderella.

  ~ * ~

  Joshua took down the woman’s address, hung up the phone and leaned back on the over-stuffed emerald green sofa. A satisfied grin spread across his lips. It had taken some fast talking, but he had gotten her to agree to meet with him. Now all he had to do was convince her that he was the man for the job. With the impression he had gathered from talking to the woman--despite the fact that she didn’t sound all that excited about hiring whomever it was she had been attempting to call--he had a feeling she would be a hell of a challenge. A challenge he fully intended not to back down from.

  Running his fingers through his hair, he picked up the day’s edition of the newspaper and read through the ad for what must have been the fiftieth time since he had spotted it that morning over coffee. The first thing that had caught his eye about the job was the hours. The ones listed in the ad couldn’t be more perfect--three-thirty to twelve-thirty, five to six nights a week. He would be home every night by one, one-thirty at the latest, sleep until nine, and still make it to his classes on time.

  Rising from the sofa, Joshua found himself wondering what kind of job the woman had that would require a babysitter at such odd hours. Working at one of the casinos across the bridge would be his first guess. Just the thought made his insides cringe.

  He stopped in front of the hall closet to get his shoes and shivered. If he was right, that would mean she was either a bartender or a cocktail waitress. No other position with those hours paid enough for a woman and child to live on. Still, neither one was really an admirable career. Sure, the required dress code was sexy, especially for the cocktail servers, but it was so degrading to the women who had to wear the short, short skirts and extremely low-cut blouses. There was barely enough material in the uniforms to cover their most private parts! And the reputation that followed female bartenders and cocktail servers--trashy, low self-esteem flirts--was not one someone could be proud of, and most definitely not a good influence on a young child. He should know. During the years between high school and college, after Margot died, he had been with more of that type of woman than he cared to admit. He had put those years behind him and intended to leave them there.

  Shaking off the memories that were suddenly so insistent on ruining his day, he retrieved his black loafers from the closet and slipped his size ten feet into them. No matter what the woman did for a living, it was just the job he had been looking for. Although he doubted it paid much, it wasn’t the money he was after. He had plenty of that. It was the time with the child. His instructor had suggested he find a way to spend more one-on-one time with children--children who weren’t his brothers or sisters, that is.

  Striding to the refrigerator for a can of soda, he was hit by another realization. Heather wasn’t going to like it much if he got the job. It certainly wouldn’t leave a lot of time for them. They would see each other at the college. After all, they had a couple of classes together. That’s how they had met. And he wouldn’t be working every night. They could still squeeze in some time here and there.

  As he stood in the middle of the kitchen floor and downed a soda, Joshua had to admit, he would never have allowed his schedule to become so congested if Margot were still alive. Time with her had been precious, to say the least. Of course, a lot of things in his life would be different had she lived. But there was no use dwelling on the past. Beating himself up for the rest of his life because he had not insisted that she quit that damn job was not going to bring her back. Margot was gone, and Heather was in his life now.

  Heather was the first woman he had dated exclusively since Margot’s passing, and they had only been together for about six weeks. So, did he love her? Who knew what was truly in his heart? Did he care if she got mad at him for taking the job? Yeah, of course he cared. But if she got mad, she would get over it, he decided with a lift of his shoulders. She knows how important children are to me. She knows how much my future as a child psychologist means to me. Surely she’ll understand. Won’t she?

  ~ * ~

  “I can’t believe you agreed to this. What were you thinking!" Dominique scolded herself through clenched teeth.

  The apartment was a wreck. Of course, keeping a spotless home was not one of her fortes. She hated cleaning!

  Stealing a glance at the large red numbers on the microwave clock, she saw it was nearing one o’clock and she was still walking around in her sleep clothes--a pair of tight spandex shorts and an oversized solid black T-shirt--and her unwanted visitor would be gracing her with his presence in less than an hour!

  Bolting up from the table, she walked briskly to the stereo in the living room and slid in her favorite 80’s heavy metal compact disk. The blaring sound of screeching guitars and fast beating drums blasted through the once tranquil air of the apartment. Heavy metal music--the best trigger around for a much needed energy rush.

  It worked, too. Within seconds, she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, willing her to get moving. Bouncing back to the kitchen table, swaying her hips to the beat of the music, she sang, "Don’t need nothin’ but a g-o-o-d time. How can I re-si-st?" Spinning on her heels, she cleared the table of all the clutter and placed her dishes that remained from breakfast and lunch in the sink. She was so lost in the music that she didn’t hear her son enter the room.

  "Mommy." Kalvin tugged on her shirt tail. "I wanna watch a movie. Can I watch a movie?"

  Dominique looked down. Instantly, she smiled. All it took was one look at her five year old son and her heart filled with a sense of love and happiness powerful enough to fight off any nasty demon that showed his ugly face. Life with the boy’s father may not have been a bed of roses, but the end result--her handsome little boy--made it all worth everything she had gone through.

  Still smiling, she bent her knees to make eye contact with her son. "Can we wait a few minutes on the movie?" she asked with a tilt of her head. She ran the palm of her hand over his soft, unruly, dark hair. "Mommy needs you to help her right now. Will you do that? We need to clean up the house. There’s someone coming over and we don’t want them to walk into a nasty apartment, do we?"

  "Oh, no, ma’am." Kalvin shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide and serious. "But who’s coming over, Mommy?"

  "His name is Joshua. Joshua Divine." She felt an unexpected ripple in the pit of her stomach as his name rolled from her lips. He may be a nerd. She was certain he was. What other kind of man applied for a babysitting job? But, nerd or not, he had a beautiful name, and that was important. A first name like Joshua symbolized responsibility, professionalism. As for Divine, well, unfortunately she seriously doubted there was a chance of the man in question living up to that name.

  "Is Joshua your new boyfriend, Mommy?"

  "Heavens, no! And you will call him Mr. Divine, Kalvin, not Joshua. We have to remember our manners," Dominique corrected kindly. She stood upright and returned to her chores. "He wants to be your new b
abysitter," she explained, cleaning off the scattered items on the counter top.

  "My babysitter! Cool!" Kalvin jumped up and down in excitement. "I was hoping you wouldn’t decide to hire that old lady or that creepy teenager." He faked a shiver.

  Uh oh. Dominique bit her bottom lip. "I need you to pick up all your toys and take them to your room," she instructed, turning from the sink. "Then you can put in one of your movies."

  In a flash, Kalvin was gone. Dominique stood at the sink, shaking her head and laughing to herself. Enthusiasm was definitely a trait Kalvin did not lack. A great thing to have at times. Although this was one of those times when she wished he didn’t possess so much of it. She was afraid there was a disagreement approaching. This Joshua guy was not going to get the job. He wasn’t suited for taking care of a five year old. She was sure of it. But her subconscious would never let her rest if she didn’t at least talk to the man.

  Her fears subsided a bit when she thought of how smart little Kalvin was. Even at his young age, he was a great judge of character. Surely he would realize that Joshua wasn’t the man for the job, too, probably the instant he saw the man. Then there would be no need for concern over Kalvin being disappointed when she told him she was hiring Elva Noble instead.

  Forty-five minutes later, Dominique walked out of her bedroom wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans and a low-cut navy blue pull-over blouse. The apartment was clean--as clean as it got, at least--and Kalvin had entertained himself in front of the television with The Lion King.

  Humming softly to a song from Kalvin’s movie, she made a detour into the bathroom in the hall for a quick check. Just as she turned to leave the room, a loud, thundering knock at the door announced her visitor had arrived.

  "Geez! Knock my door down, why don’t you?" she mumbled under her breath as she made her way down the hallway to the living room. She glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes early for a babysitting interview! She hadn’t even met the guy and already he was getting stranger by the minute. Punctuality was desired--even expected. Being so early for what most considered to be a piddly job was downright silly.