Chapter Three
The voice on the other end of the phone as Jaime was getting ready for bed was cheerful and upbeat. "Bonjour!"
"Steve?" Jaime was suddenly not so tired anymore. "Are you in Paris?"
"I'd better be – or Oscar'll have my head on a stick."
Jaime laughed. "Can't be any worse than what he's doin' to me."
"Yeah – I heard about that. You get the milk out of your hair yet?" he teased.
"Oscar has a BIG mouth! And a cruel streak! Some of those kids are monsters! Well, not really, but they're definitely testing my patience. And one of the fathers -!"
"He make a pass at you?" Steve asked too quickly.
"That, I could handle with a swift right to the jaw," Jaime told him. "No, he just gives me....a hinky feeling. I don't even know why, but something doesn't feel right about him...."
"Trust your instincts, Jaime – and keep your eyes open."
"Oh, I will....I miss you, Steve."
"I miss you too, Sweetheart," Steve said softly.
"I'll bet you've got a whole army of beautiful woman swarmed around you...."
"There's only one gorgeous blonde in my life," Steve assured her. "And she's waiting for me to get off the phone right now and buy her a drink."
Jaime chuckled with him. "You're terrible! And I love you."
"I love you too – and I'd better let you rest up for tomorrow. Just wanted to make sure you had happy dreams."
"I will now," Jaime promised, smiling as she hung up the phone.
- - -
Peggy and Jaime decided to be on the safe side – and met for coffee at 6am, so they'd actually have time to talk. "How'd it go with Sadie?" Jaime asked her friend, still trying to pry her own eyes open.
Callahan, as usual, was wide awake...and bubbling. "Oh, she was an angel! You were right; Mr. Goldman's office was perfect -"
"You had her in Oscar's office? I thought you'd take her over by your desk -!"
"And risk having her startled by the elevator? Actually, Mr. Goldman suggested we go in there."
"Really? I guess I'm the only one on his mad-list, then," Jaime said with a fake pout.
"Oh, he's not mad at you..." Callahan began, then quickly grew silent.
"Peggy....you know something – spit it out!"
"No, I don't....I can't!!" Peggy stammered. Jaime stared intently at her, eyebrows raised. "Okay...alright! Mr. Goldman said...."
"Come on!" Jaime insisted. "The kids are gonna be here soon!"
"He says your instincts might even be better than Steve's, but.....you're not so hot on following orders....I'm sorry."
"Is that all? And here I thought it was something serious!"
"Jaime," Peggy whispered, "you can't let him know I told you. I mean....he'd....he'd probably...."
Jaime grinned. "Make you spend two days in the basement with eleven screaming kids....?"
- - -
One by one (or in some cases, two by two), the children began to arrive. Sadie and Andre's mother placed the baby into Peggy's waiting arms, then turned to a surprisingly subdued Andre. "Be good," she instructed. To Jaime, she added "Good luck," and then she was gone.
"I got spanked," Andre offered solemnly.
"Well, what'd you do?" Jaime asked, stooping down to look the boy in the eyes.
Andre snickered. "Said I wasn't gonna listen to no dumb ol' baby-sitter!"
"No," Jaime laughed, picking him up under the armpits and depositing him on the mats, "but you'll listen to this very smart one!" She turned toward Peggy, who was beating a hasty retreat to the elevator. Out of Andre's earshot, she whispered "Hey – trade ya...?"
- - -
Within minutes, nine of her charges had arrived; Jaime was still waiting for the twins. (If Oscar didn't show up and tell her their names, Jaime swore to herself she'd start calling them Thing One and Thing Two!) Her ear picked up the sound of the elevator stopping several floors above them, then making its way down. To Jaime's surprise, when the door opened the three-year-old twins stepped out....alone.
- - - - -