She only came over to Cory's house to work on school projects (or, for a short time, admire Eric from afar), so she was surprised to get a call from Amy asking her to stop by one afternoon.
"Cory and Eric both need new sneakers, and Alan's at work. I know it's short notice, but-"
"It's perfectly fine, Mrs. Matthews. Jebediah and Chloe say maturity is in the eye of the beholder and seldom linked with one's physical age." Topanga smiled. "I'm honored you chose me to babysit Morgan and I promise not to do anything to disgrace the position."
"Don't worry, you couldn't do worse than Cory," Morgan said with a giggle. Topanga stifled her own amusement, not wanting to seem shallow or mean by laughing at Cory behind his back. Amy shook her head and picked up her purse.
"I'll be back in about an hour. Now Morgan, not too much TV, no candy, and no jumping on Mommy and Daddy's bed. You can have a snack, though, but nothing too big," she said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "Topanga, if there's an emergency Mr. Feeny is right next door." She left, and Morgan smiled.
"I'm glad you're babysitting. Cory wouldn't play with me when he did it and he can't put pretty braids in my hair," she said. "Can you do it again? And can I do yours?"
"Of course!" Topanga took out the canvas bag she always carried with her, full of beads and ribbons and feathers. "I'll even do two this time, if you want."
"Yay! Come on, I have a comb and brush in my room." She grabbed Topanga's hand and led her upstairs to that same messy room she'd seen the last time she was there. Barbies and stuffed animals lay everywhere, and Topanga had to step carefully around several. Her only doll growing up had been a Raggedy Ann she'd had since she was two, her mother thought Barbie was shallow and materialistic and that all those plastic accessories were bad for the environment.
She did three braids in Morgan's hair without realizing, but Morgan was so happy when she looked in the mirror that she didn't bother to count it as a mistake. And though Topanga tried to avoid putting emphasis on appearance, she thought Morgan looked lovely. She was going to grow up to be a natural beauty, if her mother was any indication.
"Cory's gonna freak when he sees me!" the little girl said, a bit too gleefully. Topanga laughed and shook her head as she pictured Cory running into the classroom tomorrow, complaining about "hair monsters spawning".
"Your brother needs to have a more open mind."
"But then his brain might fall out!" Again, Topanga laughed. Kindergarten logic at its finest. Morgan jumped up and patted the bed.
"Now let me do you!"
Morgan was clumsy and her hands were tiny, and more than once Topanga had to bite back a wince when the girl pulled too hard. When she was finished, Topanga had a twisty clump of hair and ribbons dangling next to her left ear.
"It's beautiful," she said. "Because you worked so hard on it." Morgan's face lit up.
"Yay!"
"Now, how about a snack?" Topanga stood up. "Your mother said no candy, but I can make something that's just as good."
"Really? Then let's go, what're we waiting for?" Again, the little girl grabbed her hand and practically dragged her into the kitchen. Topanga checked to make sure all the ingredients were present...whipping cream, sugar, strawberries, whole wheat bread. Granted, store brand whole wheat wasn't as good as the kind her parents bought, but it would work in a pinch. Taking a bowl, a cutting board, a butter knife and a wisk, she set them down on the counter.
"I'm going to toast the bread first, since that will take a few minutes. And it will have plenty of time to cool while we're preparing everything else," she said, sliding two pieces of bread into the toaster and setting it to light. "Now, the whipped cream. Morgan, would you like to pour the cream into the bowl?"
"Coming!" Again, they talked while Topanga whipped up the cream and sliced the berries, and while they both waited for the bread to toast and then cool. Morgan was smart for her age, Topanga realized, or at least easier to talk to than Cory. It was as if she had a little sister for an afternoon...or at least an hour.
Once the toast felt cool enough not to melt the cream, Topanga spooned a generous dollop onto each slice and topped it with strawberries.
"Wowww! It's just like strawberry shortcake!" Morgan squealed as Topanga passed her one of the plates. She giggled as Morgan took a big bite, smearing cream all over her nose. "Tastes like it too!"
"Jebediah and Chloe make this at home sometimes," Topanga explained after a bite of her own slice. "Chloe recently taught me how to make it, and now I've taught you."
"Really?" Morgan licked a smear of cream from her hand. "Wow! Mommy said I have to wait till I'm older to start cooking." Topanga paused in the middle of a bite.
"She won't be upset, will she? It's still early in the afternoon, but..." Morgan gave her a strawberry-tinted grin.
"She said no candy. Does this look like candy to you?"
"Well...no, not really!" They both laughed, and Morgan leaned across the table to hug her for a moment.
"Thanks, Topanga. You're the best babysitter I ever had in the whole wide world!"
"Oh..." A warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout her chest. "I'm glad, Morgan."
They finished their snack and Morgan helped her wash the dishes. Afterwards, they curled up on the couch under a big blanket to watch the Care Bears movie on TV, one of Morgan's favorites.
Topanga had come to accept long ago that she would never have her own little sibling, as her parents had decided two children were enough for one family living in the suburbs. But today, she'd had a taste of what it would be like.
She hoped Amy would ask her to babysit again.