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"Oh my gosh, Sharon. Come in, come in. Thank goodness you're here."
"No problem, Mrs. Cardinet. Anything to help out. You've been so nice to me and my family, it's the least I could do."
"You're such a sweetie. Anyway, let me get the kids." Damon's mother turned towards the staircase. "Caleb! Ros! Come downstairs please. Sharon's here!"
A squeal preceded the pounding of footsteps coming down the stairs. "Sharon!" Ros screamed as she ran to the other girl with outstretched arms.
"Hello, Ros," Sharon answered as she swung the little girl into her arms for a hug. "How's the princess doing today?"
"Good. Do you want to play dolls with me?"
"Maybe in a minute. Let me just show Sharon where everything is first, okay Ros?" Maggie suggested.
Ros agreed and hopped down from Sharon's arms. Sharon gave Caleb a quick hello when she passed him upon following Mrs. Cardinet to the kitchen.
"Now the numbers are all posted here on the board behind the phone in case you need anyone. My husband will be at work, I'll be here at the hall for a meeting," she pointed to one number. "And Damon's cell phone number is here in case you can't get a hold of anyone else. Here's their doctor's number as well and the other emergency numbers." She turned back to Sharon. "Now the kids just got in a few minutes before you and I already gave them a snack, so they should be fine until dinner. If they get a little hungry though, there are some crackers in the cupboard. Ros can show those to you. What else…"
Sharon smiled. "I think I've got it, Mrs. Cardinet. You told me everything else last night, and if I really do need anything else, I'll just call. Besides, it's not like I haven't baby-sat before."
"I know, I know. Mothers worry though, you know that," she replied. Then she turned to her kids. "Okay, you two. I'm going to get going now. Be good while I'm gone, all right? Your father and your brother will be here in a few hours and I'll see you a little later tonight, all right?"
Sharon watched from nearby as Mrs. Cardinet kissed the two children on their foreheads while hugging them tight and then rushing out the door with purse and keys in hand. "Come on, you two," Sharon said as she led the way back into the living room. "Now that it's just the three of us, tell me what you usually do at this time."
"Well, our other sitter usually lets us play in the backyard," Caleb replied, smiling hopefully.
"Hmm… I was actually going to mention doing homework first." As expected, Damon's siblings groaned at the concept. Sharon chuckled. "I think your parents would be happier if you at least started it. I'll tell you what though. You guys get all your homework and bring it in here. I can help you both out for half an hour or so and then we can maybe play in the backyard. How does that sound?"
"But I want to play now," Ros whined.
"In a little while, princess. Now go get your things. The more you get done now, the sooner you can go play. We could even start a movie later if you finish it all. We could have popcorn and everything."
"Promise?" Caleb asked.
"I promise," Sharon replied.
That was enough incentive for both to go charging back up the stairs to get their things.
Two hours later, shrieks and laughter were coming from the backyard as the three of them played a game of keep away with the family dog, Shia. The afternoon sun was just beginning to dip lazily from the sky. Sharon had the soft ball in her hands, taunting the golden retriever by always keeping it just out of reach of his face. "Here, Caleb. Catch!"
She threw the ball in his direction and the four-legged one bounded over to try his luck with the boy. As Caleb and Ros threw the ball to each other, much to Shia's frustration, Sharon announced that she was going inside to get some punch for them. She slipped inside and walked over to the counter to get the three juice boxes Ros had taken out, keeping an eye on the younger two at all times.
Sharon stepped back out onto the back porch, sliding the glass door behind her shut. She sat herself down on a step and helped herself to one of the juice boxes while she watched Ros, Caleb, and Shia chase each other around the backyard. Sharon looked down at her watch and noticed that it was nearing 5:30. 'Ahh, I'll just let them play until someone gets home. There's no point in having them come in now to go back to their homework only to be distracted again as soon as someone came home,' she thought. 'Besides, those two were hard at work for two hours.'
Sure enough, the sound of the garage door opening came only a few minutes later. If it had been possible – Sharon couldn't tell herself – the shrieking and barking from the backyard increased as four pairs of feet raced back towards the house. Sharon tossed Ros and Caleb their juice boxes as they raced by her before following them herself.
"Daddy!" Ros shrieked, arms stretched out. "You're home early!"
"I am. I couldn't stand it at work any longer so I just left," he said as he stooped down to give Ros a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Does that mean you have to stay later tomorrow?" Caleb panted slightly, frowning a little.
"Maybe, Caleb, but probably not," father answered, giving him a hug as well. "This case is finally coming to an end, meaning I can actually come home and torment you all again, and yes, that includes you too, Shia," he acknowledged the wriggling dog and gave him a couple of pats on the head.
As Mr. Cardinet stood up, his eyes finally rested on Sharon, who had stood back from the small family reunion. "Hello, Mr. Cardinet," she greeted, finally stepping up and extending a hand.
"Hello…"
"Sharon," she supplied.
"Ahh, Sharon. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he smiled as he shook her offered hand. "The mom got you to baby-sit today, I'm guessing?"
Sharon nodded. "That's why I'm here."
"Board meeting?" Again, she didn't disagree with him. "That means it's my turn to cook then, I see. All right, let's all head on in. Kids, go wash up. You're helping me cook tonight."
As the children rushed inside to do as their father had said, Mr. Cardinet turned to Sharon. "Thanks a lot for looking over the kids today."
"You're welcome, Mr. Cardinet. To be honest, it was fun. These two are really nice, well-behaved kids."
"And Damon's not?" he grinned.
"Damon's not a kid," she grinned back.
"Ahh, too true. It seems we're all growing up faster these days. Well then, I guess it's best for you to get on home now. Here's what we owe for your time here today," he said as he paid Sharon. "Thank you again for helping us out today."
"Again, you're very welcome," she replied with a firm handshake.
"Are you going away now?"
Sharon turned to where Ros was standing at the foot of the staircase.
"Uh huh. You're daddy's here now so I don't have to watch you anymore."
"Will you be back tomorrow?"
Sharon smiled. "I'll be back if your parents want me to come back, okay?"
"Okay," the little girl nodded.
Sharon reached down to give the girl one last hug good-bye. "Bye, Caleb," she called towards the kitchen where the boy was already getting stuff out for dinner. She gathered her backpack and with a final farewell, she was out the door.
The sun had still not quite set by the time she reached her car. She opened the passenger side to place her backpack on the seat before going to the driver's side. She had just turned on the ignition when another car pulled up into the Cardinet driveway. With a grin, she waved to Damon as he jumped out of his car to see who it was.
When he realized it was Sharon, he waved for her to hold on. She took the keys out and opened her window. "What's up, Damon?"
"Just wanted to say hi. What are you doing over here?" he asked, coming to lean by her window.
"Your parents needed a sitter and your mom overheard us talking about it that one time. She called me last night to ask. Didn't you know?"
He shook his head. "I had no clue. I thought our normal sitter would be here."
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just came because your mom asked me to."
"So why are you leaving?"
"Your dad's home. You should go in and say hi."
"Trying to get rid of me now, huh?"
Sharon rolled her eyes but smiled, nonetheless. "As much as I really do enjoy your company, I've got to get home. I've got a lot of homework to get started on, and I'm sure you do too."
Damon grinned and eased himself away from the window. "All right. I see how it is. Your homework is more important than me."
"Damon!" she laughed. "You're not making this any easier for me."
"And why should I be making things easier? You're the one who wants to leave."
'Who said anything about that?' she wondered to herself. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Fine, but you're going to make up for not staying longer tonight."
"Oh? And how am I going to do that?"
"Come early to school tomorrow. Go to the student center, and be there by 7:15. The door closest to the school will be unlocked."
"7:15!" she screeched. "That's a full forty-five minutes before school starts! What the heck am I going to do with all that time?" she demanded.
Damon, however, had already jogged back to his car to get his things from the trunk. With another wave and smile, he turned towards his house.
Seeing as she wasn't going to get an answer from him, Sharon turned the ignition to her car and closed the window, all the while shaking her head. "You just had to pick him huh, Sharon?" she muttered to herself as she finally pulled away from the curb, waving good-bye to Damon as he watched her drive off before he finally stepped inside.