Author's Note: Sorry for the (very) long delay in getting this chapter up- I was on vacation for two weeks, and came home to a healthy case of writer's block. But it's finally here, and hopefully the next few chapters will come a little more quickly. As far as the next few chapters go, I think there will probably be two chapters that deal with "When Night Meets Day" and then one that takes place afterwards as a conclusion. And that's it. So we're getting close to the end…
Anyway, this chapter is about Robert's adventure in babysitting. Enjoy!
***
It was 5:30 on Saturday morning. Robert's house was silent- even Gretel was asleep at the foot of the bed. Robert lay in his bed, snoring softly, with one arm propped up on a pillow next to him. Suddenly, the silence of the early morning was broken…with the ring of the telephone.
Robert was jolted awake. His eyes still blurry with sleep, he fumbled for the phone in the darkness. Finally, he found it and slowly brought it up to meet his ear.
"Hello?" he said groggily. He wasn't good with early-morning phone calls.
"Robert? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
Robert exhaled, and tucking the phone between his head and shoulder, rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Good morning, Elizabeth. I didn't realize my babysitting adventures would be starting quite this early."
Elizabeth laughed. "I'm sorry, did I forget to mention that my shift starts at 7?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, you did. Minor oversight on your part."
"Well, are you still up for watching Ella today?"
"Absolutely. You know kids love me."
"I'm sure they do, Robert, but do they love you this early in the morning?"
Robert laughed. "I'm surprised that you are so witty at this hour, Elizabeth."
"It's the coffee talking." There was a pause as Robert and Elizabeth each chuckled to themselves. "So, I know this is early, but I'm going to be leaving in an hour. Do you want me to drop Ella off at your house on the way to work, or do you want to come and watch her here?"
Robert sat up in bed and thought for a moment. "Why don't I come over there," he said. "I'm sure your house is toddler-proofed, and besides, I don't have very many toys around here."
"Okay. Can you get here in an hour? I can leave some cereal and coffee out for you."
"Sure. I'll be there."
"Thank you, Robert."
"Don't worry about it," he said, and hung up. 'What did I get myself into?' he wondered as he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.
***
An hour later, Elizabeth opened the door of her house to find a very sleepy-looking Robert standing on the front step. "Come in, come in," she said, holding the door for him. Robert smiled and stepped inside.
"Looks like it's shaping up to be another warm day," Robert said between yawns.
Elizabeth laughed. "Can I get you some coffee, Robert?"
"Is it that obvious?" Elizabeth smiled. "Coffee would be great, thanks."
Elizabeth began to walk towards the kitchen, and Robert followed her. Elizabeth poured him a cup of coffee, and began to give instructions for the day.
"Ella's not up yet, but she usually wakes up between 7 and 7:30. If you turn left at the top of the stairs, her room is the first one on the right. You can't miss it. Anyway, she likes Cheerios for breakfast, and milk. Her sippy cups are above the sink. We usually have lunch around noon- there's some leftover macaroni and cheese in the fridge. She usually goes down for a nap around 1:30 or 2. My shift ends at 4, so I'll be home around 4:30. Page me or call my office if you need anything." Robert nodded.
"Okay, then," Elizabeth said, "I've got a meeting with Kerry first thing, so I can't be late. And thank you so much again, Robert. I really appreciate it."
"No problem, Lizzie. Now get to work. I'm a living, breathing example of what could happen to you when you get on Kerry Weaver's bad side."
Elizabeth laughed and grabbed her purse and keys from the table in the hall. "Bye!"
"Bye," Robert shouted back, somewhat less enthusiastically. Elizabeth opened the door and walked out to her car, trying not to disturb the neighbors.
***
An hour and three cups of coffee later, Robert was feeling awake and a bit nervous. Of course, this was not the first time he had cared for a toddler, but it was not something he did often. And if anything happened to Ella while he was responsible for her…well, the relationship he had with Elizabeth would be gone.
"Mommy! Mommy!" came the shout from the second floor. Robert set down his coffee cup and followed the constant sound into Ella's bedroom.
"Where's my mommy?" she asked when she saw Robert walk through the door.
"Your mommy left for work already, Ella. I'm going to hang out and play with you today, okay?" Ella looked at him, but didn't say a word. "Do you remember me, Ella?" She shook her head. "I'm your mommy's friend, Robert. I spent the night here a few weeks ago, remember?"
"Yeah!" Ella shouted. Robert laughed. "Let's get you some breakfast, huh?" Ella threw up her arms and Robert easily lifted her out of the crib with his good arm and carried her downstairs.
***
As soon as Robert opened the door, the phone began to ring. It was 11:30, and in need of some fresh air, he had just taken Ella for a walk down to the park a few blocks over. Robert quickly walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Robert? How's it going?"
"Hi, Elizabeth."
"Is everything all right?"
"Do you have any faith in my babysitting skills?"
Sitting in her office at work, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I left you alone in a house with my daughter, Robert. Yes, I have some faith in your babysitting skills. I just wanted to make sure-"
"I know, I know, Elizabeth," Robert said. "Frankly, I'm surprised that you hadn't called earlier. But everything's going great."
"Oh, good. You're sure she's not too much trouble?"
"No, she's been the perfect little angel. I don't know where she gets it from."
"Ha, ha, ha."
"Hey, Elizabeth, do you want me to bring her by the hospital? We could pick up some sandwiches or something on the way. That way you won't have to worry."
Elizabeth thought for a second. After her meeting with Kerry, she had done a difficult three-hour procedure. She was ready for a break, and she didn't have anything scheduled for the rest of the day. "Actually, Robert, that would be wonderful. Not that I don't trust you or anything, but I could use some company for lunch."
"I thought so. Ella's all ready to go, because we just got back from the park, so we'll be there in twenty minutes or so."
"Sounds great."
"Oh, one more thing. Do you have an extra car seat somewhere? Because I'd really prefer to drive over there- that is, if you don't mind."
Elizabeth was stunned at his thoughtfulness. "There's an extra seat in the closet in the front hall. See you in a bit!"
"Bye," Robert said, and hung up the phone. He walked back into the hall, where Ella was sitting on the stairs, playing with her shoelaces. "Hey Ella, how would you like to go eat lunch at the hospital with your mommy?"
"Cool!" she squealed. Robert grabbed the car seat from the closet and followed Ella out to his car.
***
"Well, Mrs. Wilson, I will talk to my colleagues this afternoon, but it looks like we should be able to schedule the surgery for late next week," Elizabeth said into the telephone. There was a knock at the door. Elizabeth cupped her hand over the phone and shouted, "Come in!" The door opened, and Ella ran into the office carrying a bag of sandwiches.
"Mommy!" she squealed, throwing the sandwiches on a chair. Elizabeth waved to her daughter, and Ella jumped into her lap. Robert, carrying a tray of drinks, kicked the door shut with his foot. He set the drinks down on Elizabeth's desk, and moving the sandwiches, sat down.
"Mrs. Wilson, I'm going to have to call you back later this afternoon, okay?" There was a pause as Mrs. Wilson answered. "Okay, talk to you later. Bye." Elizabeth hung up the phone and greeted Robert.
"We got sandwiches from the sub shop down the street. Do you want turkey or roast beef?" Robert asked sliding the bag towards Elizabeth.
"Turkey would be great, thanks," Elizabeth said. She turned her attention towards her daughter. "So Ella, did you have fun with Robert this morning?" Ella nodded emphatically. "What did you two do?"
"Well, we played dolls, and blocks, and we went to the park and swung on the swings," Ella said. Robert nodded in approval.
"Sounds like a lot of fun!" Elizabeth reached into the bag and pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Here you go, darling," she said, unwrapping the sandwich. Robert stuck a straw in Ella's carton of milk and gave it to her.
"Well, Robert, did you have fun with Ella this morning?" Elizabeth asked, taking her sandwich out of the bag.
"I had a fantastic time, actually. I never knew playing with dolls could be so much fun."
Elizabeth laughed, and took a bite of her sandwich. A bit of mayonnaise squirted out and landed on her cheek, but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice. After she had taken a few more bites, she noticed that Robert was staring at her. "What? What?" she asked.
"Oh, it's nothing, really," he said, but his voice gave him away. Elizabeth gave him a pointed look, and he gave in. "You have some mayonnaise on your cheek."
Embarrassed, Elizabeth tried to get it with her tongue with no success. Robert laughed and stood up. Reaching over the desk, he wiped the mayonnaise off her cheek. "Got it," he said, looking into her eyes. For a few seconds, their eyes remained locked on each other. Neither one wanted to turn away.
Right on cue, Ella began to chatter. "Mommy, I want to play some more."
Abruptly, Elizabeth turned away. For those few seconds, the world had seemed to stop in its tracks. Everything was…well, everything was perfect.
A smile crept across Robert's face as Elizabeth diverted her attention to her daughter. 'She didn't look away,' he thought.
***
Just before 5, Elizabeth opened the door to her house. "I'm home!" she shouted brightly.
Robert emerged from the living room. "Ella's still asleep upstairs," he said quietly. "She was exhausted."
"I bet," Elizabeth said. "She had quite an exciting day, and she really seemed to enjoy it."
"I thought so. I had a great time, too."
"Good, I'm glad," Elizabeth said. She smiled sheepishly. "Thanks so much again for watching her today, Robert. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome. And any time you need a babysitter, well, you know my number."
"Thanks," Elizabeth said. 'Now what do I do?' she thought. 'Should I invite him to stay for coffee? Dinner? Or should I let him go now?'
"Well, I should go," said Robert. "Gretel can't last much longer, and I'm not in the mood to clean up any dog crap today."
"All right," Elizabeth said. Impulsively, she gave Robert a hug. He hugged back, although he wasn't quite sure what had just happened.
Elizabeth took a deep breath in, inhaling his smell. Then she let go.
"Wow," she said, shocked at her own spontaneity. "I, er, um…wow."
Robert smiled, and walked toward the door. "I don't know about you," he said, "but I enjoyed that." He winked and shut the door behind him.
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, I enjoyed that too," she whispered to the closed door.
***