Preface:
Well, I decided to start with "Adventures in Babysitting" and see
where it led me. :-) Enjoy.
Overcoming the Past: Chapter 4
Charlyne
charlyne_o@hotmail.com
07/13/03
Mamoru looked down at the curly blond hair of the child standing next to him. She had a grip on his leg that was beginning to cut off circulation. Turning her small face from the hallway that her mother had disappeared down, Nariko looked up at him with bright blue eyes. Her mother's blue eyes. Mamoru could definitely see Usagi in Nariko. The way the little girl was staring up at him wordlessly was making Mamoru nervous. Weren't little kids supposed to scream and cry when their parents left them? Especially when they were left with a stranger.
What do I do now? Mamoru wondered. He looked over at the clock on the wall. The glowing green numbers said 7:00. Didn't children go to bed about now? Maybe Usagi had left some instructions. He half-limped over to the kitchen, Nariko refusing to let go of his leg, and looked down at the sheet of paper there. On top was a list of people he should call in case of an emergency, several phone numbers next to each name. She'd even written the name of the theatre she was going to with the girls, along with the movie title and time it started. She had a note next to it that said "if you can't reach my cell phone, have the theatre page me." What did she think was going to happen in the few hours she'd be gone?
The second half of the paper had what he was looking for. Usagi had listed Nariko's bed time (8:00), snacks she could have ("No sugar" was written in capital letters and underlined several times), appropriate movies and television shows that she could watch ("Nariko has her own shelf of movies, she'll show you where it is"), and she added that Nariko wouldn't need a bath and was always read a bedtime story.
Mamoru was eternally grateful that he wouldn't have to bathe the toddler. He was already dreading having to change her diaper. It'd been too many years since he'd had to change a diaper. When he'd lived in the orphanage he'd had to help out with the younger kids sometimes when all the workers were too busy. His time in the orphanage was a vague memory now, trapped in the back of his mind. It was the way he preferred it.
Shaking his head, Mamoru once again looked down at Nariko. She was still staring up at him with those big blue eyes. Deciding that it would be good to distract her, since they had another hour yet before she went to bed, he asked, "So, Nariko, what should we do?"
"Doll," Nariko replied.
Doll? God, please don't make me play dolls with her, Mamoru thought.
Nariko released his leg and ran off. Mamoru followed her out of the kitchen, through the living room, and into a small bedroom. Stuffed animals were piled on a bed, which was very small and low to the ground. A pink comforter was tucked neatly into the mattress. A changing table was by the bed; a toy chest and bookcase were against one wall, and a doll house and dresser were against another. Wooden blocks littered the floor.
Marching over to her bed, Nariko set down her stuffed bunny and picked up a small baby doll. She cradled it in her arms as she walked back over to him. "Doll," Nariko repeated. "Baby doll."
"It's a very nice doll, Nariko," Mamoru told her. She held the toy out to him, offering it. "Uh, no thanks. You play with it."
"Ho'd," Nariko said, shoving the doll into his hand. She grabbed her bunny and sat on the floor.
Clutching the doll in one hand, Mamoru watched the toddler warily. She was probably too young to demand he play Barbie with her, and he thanked God for that. More memories from the orphanage bubbled up but he shook them away. He wished they would stay buried. It wasn't as if they were bad memories, but it hadn't been the best of times for him and he wanted to put it behind him.
Mamoru felt foolish standing there holding a baby doll. Nariko seemed to be completely ignoring him, wrapped up in her own world. Figuring it would be safe to go into the other room and watch television while the toddler played, he'd only gotten one step out of the door before an ear-splitting shriek rent the air. Whipping around to see what was wrong, he saw the little girl running toward him. When she got over to him, she yanked the doll out of his hand.
"No tatte! My doll!" She shouted.
Mamoru blinked in surprise and muttered an apology. Who knew that such a little thing could be so loud?
Turning her back on him, Nariko returned to where she had left her bunny on the floor and continued playing where she had left off. Mamoru watched her for a few moments, then walked out into the living room and sat on the couch. He turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels, finally stopping on a game show. Unfortunately, he was unable to watch most of it. After only a couple minutes, Nariko joined him in the living room and demanded a snack. She made a mess in the kitchen throwing around cheerios, then told him "Need change diapah." He accomplished that task fairly easily and was grateful that the toddler cooperated. Once her diaper was changed, Nariko ran around the house and made him follow her.
Clambering up onto the couch, Nariko said, "Whanna wat Emmo movie." It took Mamoru a while to figure out what she was talking about, but he finally found the Elmo movie she wanted and he sat next to her on the couch as she watched it. Soon her eyes had begun to droop and halfway through the movie she was asleep.
Thank you, God. Mamoru had no idea how Usagi did this
every day, much less got anything else accomplished. He carried the little girl
into her room and laid her on the bed. He carefully tucked the covers around
her, then retreated to the living room.
"Mommy!"
The scream made Mamoru wince and he quickly entered Nariko's room. He'd been watching TV for about a half an hour with the volume down low and had been expecting Usagi home soon. He'd been hoping that Nariko would sleep through the night.
Hesitantly, Mamoru gently patted Nariko on the back. "Your mom will be home soon."
"Where mommy?"
"She went to the movies, remember?"
"Want mommy!"
"Soon."
"Now!"
Mamoru sighed. He knew there was no reasoning with the sleepy two year old. "How about a book?" he suggested.
"O-tay."
Mamoru turned on the lamp next to the bed and saw two books stacked there. The one on top was titled Once Upon a Potty. Mamoru set it aside hastily, trying not to show his discomfort. They actually wrote books for kids about that stuff? The next book was Goodnight Moon and seemed to be something he could read without feeling embarrassed.
Re-tucking the covers around Nariko, he started reading. "In the great green room..."
Usagi entered her small apartment and grimaced as she looked around. Cheerios were scattered on the floor, a trail leading into the kitchen, and a collection of movies were piled on top of the TV. A cup lay on its side on the coffee table, a puddle of juice underneath it. Usagi could hear a low voice coming from Nariko's room and wondered if Mamoru had had trouble getting Nariko to sleep. Silently walking down the hallway, Usagi stopped at Nariko's door and peeked inside the room. Mamoru sat on the bed with Nariko curled under the covers clutching her stuffed bunny. The toddler's eyes were closed and the steady rise and fall of her chest told Usagi that she slept. Usagi smiled softly as Mamoru announced "The End."
"Did she give you much trouble?" Usagi whispered.
Mamoru started and looked over at the door. He hadn't thought that anyone was watching him. "Well..." Thinking back over the night, a slight grin lifted Mamoru's lips. "Trouble? From this little angel?" He chuckled softly. "Not at all." Standing, Mamoru exited the bedroom. Usagi followed him out into the living room.
"I really appreciate you watching her for me." Usagi took her purse from the table by the door and removed her wallet. "How much do I owe you?"
Mamoru grinned roguishly. He'd been thinking about this--when he hadn't been chasing the munchkin around, that is--and he'd decided that a date sounded like a good idea. After all, as a single mother he wasn't sure how much she could afford. A high school girl living alone with a child wouldn't have much money, right? He wasn't even sure how she could afford this apartment. It didn't look as if the baby's father was around to help out, or even Usagi's parents. Had they disowned her when she'd become pregnant? For some reason, he felt the need to protect her rise up within him at that thought. It was strange and a bit disconcerting. He knew if he got involved with her she would only interfere with his bachelor existence. There was no such thing as a no-strings-attached relationship when one was dealing with a single mother. He knew that children became attached, and when they did it was either leave and break their little hearts or stick around. He'd had his little heart broken too often as a child not to know the damage that could do.
"I thought we'd agreed on a date," Mamoru responded.
"No, Minako decided that we'd go on a date. Neither of us agreed."
Mamoru shrugged. "Well, I'm agreeing. What time do I pick you up tomorrow?"
Usagi frowned. What game was he playing? In her experience, no young single male got involved with a female he knew to have a child. It was too much commitment too soon in the relationship. Maybe he thought because she had a child she was easy. Usagi's spine stiffened. She'd had a couple of those kinds of men sniffing around her before. The first couple of times she'd been fooled until they'd shown their true colors, but she'd learned to be on the lookout.
"Look, I know what you're after and you're not going to get it," Usagi snapped, angry that she'd been wrong about him. She'd thought that he was a good guy doing a good deed, even if he had been suckered into it. Apparently he'd thought to get more out of it than money. "I want you to get out and leave Nariko and I alone." She took three thousand yen out of her wallet and slapped into into his hand. "Please go."
Mamoru gaped at her. All he'd said was that he wanted a date and she thought he wanted...was trying to get her to have sex with him? He'd known women could get some strange thoughts in their heads, but this was past his comprehension. How did she get him wanting to sleep with her from a simple dinner date invitation? Not that he didn't want to sleep with her--he was a healthy male and she was an attractive female, after all--but he'd never been much for one-night stands.
"Get moving, the door is behind you."
Usagi's voice snapped him out of his stupor. "Listen, Usagi, it's not like that. All I want is a date. I'm safe, I swear. Ask Rei, she knows me about as well as anyone." Which, admittedly, wasn't very well but he didn't like to let people get too close to him.
Usagi eyed him warily. She highly doubted that he was "safe", but the question was: could she trust him? Maybe for one date, she decided. But no further. She'd seen what could happen when a woman put all her trust, and love, into a man. It was not pretty.
She is so frustrating, Mamoru growled to himself. He didn't show his annoyance on his face, though. Why couldn't she just go out on a date with him? The girls had agreed to watch Nariko while they were out, and he'd essentially promised to be a good boy. It was only one date, not a lifetime.
"Fine," Usagi told him after a long silence. "Five o'clock tomorrow evening."
Mamoru grinned. "Sounds good. We'll go somewhere nice, but not too fancy." He handed back the money she'd given him as he headed out the door. "See you then." With a small wave good-bye, he disappeared out into the hall. Usagi heard him enter his apartment.
What have I just gotten myself into? Usagi groaned silently
Author's Note:
Okay, I just want to go over a few things here. First, I would like to cover the
amount Mamoru was paid if you don't know anything about Japanese Yen (¥). Three
thousand yen (¥3,000) is about equal to twenty-five American dollars ($25).
From what I read on a Tokyo Kids babysitting forum, the average rate is about
¥1,000 per hour. So if Usagi was gone about three hours to see a movie, then
you get ¥3,000. :-)
Second, here are some "baby talk" translations (in case they're needed):
Ho'd: Hold
Tatte: Take
Diapah: Diaper
Whanna wat Emmo movie: Want to watch Elmo movie
And, last, I do not own Goodnight Moon or Once Upon a Potty, which are both real children's books.
Chapter 5: The Date. How did I ever let him talk me into this?
Review, please! :-)
Sailor Moon is copyright © 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation copyright © 1995 DiC Entertainment.
