"I can't believe you're abandoning me like this!" 4-year-old Olive St. James cried. Her parents, Rachel and Jesse, 31 and 33 respectively, looked at each other and sighed. This was exactly the type of reaction they were expecting.
"We're not abandoning you, honey!" Jesse said, scooping Olive up and setting her on his lap.
"We would never do that!" Rachel added.
Rachel and Jesse had just told Olive she was going to be babysat on Saturday evening. They were going to try for a bimonthly date night and had recently hired a 21-year-old woman named Lexi to do the job.
This wouldn't be the first time Olive had had a babysitter. She'd been babysat many times by Rachel's biological mother Shelby and/or Shelby's daughter, Beth. She'd also been babysat by Kurt and Blaine, the fathers of Rachel's surrogate baby Maya, now 5, as well as by Jesse's sister, Annie. But given everybody's busy schedules, Rachel and Jesse had wanted to find a person who could do it consistently - which meant finding someone Olive didn't know.
Olive actually had met Lexi. After Rachel and Jesse had interviewed her one morning while Olive was at preschool, Jesse had picked Olive up after the school day ended and she'd been introduced to Lexi, who played with Olive for a while as Rachel and Jesse supervised. Rachel and Jesse had been debating whether or not to tell Olive why exactly Lexi was there, but they were worried about her throwing a fit in front of Lexi or misunderstanding and thinking Rachel and Jesse were leaving right at that moment. So they waited.
"We're just going out to dinner while you play with Lexi, and then we'll be home to tuck you in," Rachel said. "We're going to try to have a date night two times a month - that's it."
"Why?" Olive asked suspiciously.
"Because sometimes we need Mommy and Daddy time," Jesse said.
"But you guys need Olive time, too!" Olive protested.
"Of course," Rachel said. "We love our Olive time. But we also need time as a couple - and it's good for you to have time away from us too, sometimes."
Olive frowned. She didn't fully understand but was starting to calm down.
"We always come back when Grandma Shelby or Aunt Annie babysit you, right?" Jesse asked.
Olive nodded, smiling slightly. "I guess."
"We're gonna come back when Lexi babysits you, too," Rachel said. "And you had so much fun playing with her the other day, didn't you?"
Olive sighed. "I guess so."
"You guess so? She had you laughing so hard!" Jesse said.
Olive shrugged. "I laugh all the time, Daddy."
Jesse chuckled. "Okay, well I think you're going to have so much fun and we won't be gone long at all."
"Will you bring me some leftovers?" Olive asked.
"Sure thing," Rachel laughed.
Saturday evening arrived, and Olive was sitting on Rachel's lap in the family room. The doorbell rang and Jesse went to answer it.
Olive heard him greet the person at the door and soon he entered the family room with Lexi.
"Hi Lexi!" Rachel greeted the woman excitedly. "Olive, say hello to Lexi!"
"Hi Lexi," Olive said unenthusiastically.
"Hi Rachel! Hi Olive!" Lexi said.
"You can put your bag on that chair right over there," Jesse said, pointing to an armchair.
"Okay, thanks!" Lexi smiled and set her bag down.
"So, we'll be back a little after 8:00," Rachel began. "Normally, that's Olive's bedtime, but we told her we'd tuck her in, so if you could just read to her and have her put on pajamas and brush her teeth - we'll take care of the rest when we get home."
"Sounds good!" Lexi replied.
"And she already had dinner, so you guys can just play until it's time for a book and pajamas," Jesse said. "She had a bath last night so she doesn't need one tonight…Rach, am I missing anything?"
"She can have a snack maybe like an hour before she gets ready for bed - she likes granola, she likes yogurt - we have both dairy and non-dairy. Now, I would prefer she has non-dairy, but she hasn't had a whole lot of dairy this week, so if she wants dairy yogurt - so be it," Rachel said.
"How about technology?" Lexi asked.
"She's already had plenty of iPad time today," Jesse said. "But if she wants to watch a little TV later, that's fine. She knows how to work Netflix by herself and she also has her DVD collection."
"Okay, perfect," Lexi said.
"Do you have any other questions for us?" Rachel asked.
Before Lexi could respond, Olive piped up:
"I do! Is it too late for me to come with you?"
"Olive," Rachel began, as Lexi laughed.
"You're going to be just fine," Jesse said. "Alright, honey - should we get going?" He asked Rachel, figuring that delaying things much longer would make it harder for Olive.
"Yes. Goodbye, Olive. Please be good for Lexi and I'll see you soon," Rachel gave Olive a hug, as did Jesse and soon the couple departed.
After her parents left, Olive stared at Lexi for the longest time before Lexi finally spoke.
"What would you like to do first?" Lexi asked. Maybe Olive thought she was being intimidating, but more than anything, the intense look in her eyes made Lexi want to burst out laughing.
"Is Lexi your real name?" Olive asked. "I call my friend at playgroup Lexi but her real name is Alexis."
"So is mine," Lexi smiled.
"My real name is Olive," Olive said slowly. "My dad calls me Oli baby, and a lot of people just call me Oli. People I like, that is. You can just…keep calling me Olive."
"Okay," Lexi laughed. This kid did not mince words, that was for certain m. But they'd had a lot of fun together before, so she was confident she'd win Olive over before Rachel and Jesse got back.
"Do you know Broadway?" Olive asked.
"I love Broadway!" Lexi replied.
Okay, she got brownie points for that at least.
"My parents have been on Broadway," Olive said. "And my mom won a Tony Award."
"I remember that!" Lexi said. "I was watching that year. I'd seen her perform and she definitely deserved the award! I've seen your dad on Broadway, too - they're both very talented. Do you like to sing?"
Olive threw up her arms dramatically. "Hey, Mr. Arnstein - here I am!"
Lexi paused. This kid was only four but had perfect pitch. Dear God, was she babysitting a child prodigy?
Lexi applauded. "Very good, Olive!"
Olive smiled slightly. "Thank you, I'll be here all week!" She gave a dramatic bow. Lexi laughed.
"What kinds of toys do you like to play with?" Lexi asked.
"Dolls, mostly. I have a doll dress up puzzle, I have Barbies, I have Polly Pockets. Daddy was playing with them with me the other day and he called me Oli Pocket," she giggled. Lexi laughed, too.
"Do you like to spend time with your mom and dad?" Lexi asked.
"Yeah, but I don't understand why they have all these rules," she frowned. "Like, so what if I want to jump on my bed? If I jump in the middle, I won't fall off. It's simple!" Olive said.
"I remember my parents having a lot of rules, too," Lexi said.
"Isn't it just ridiculous?" Olive cried dramatically.
Lexi laughed again.
First, the pair played with Olive's Polly Pockets. Keeping with the Broadway theme, Olive decided her Polly Pocket was going to an audition.
"Oh, no! I'm late and I can't find my music!" She lamented, giving her Polly Pocket a high-pitched voice. "I am the best person to play Fanny Brice and if I don't have my music - I'm doomed!"
Lexi walked her Polly Pocket over to Olive's.
"I found your music! It was under the magazines!" Lexi said.
"Oh, thank you! You just saved my life!" Olive said in her high-pitched voice. Both she and Lexi burst out laughing.
After playing for a little while longer, Lexi and Olive watched some TV. Olive had some old episodes of "Arthur" on DVD and she was surprised to find out that Lexi had watched it growing up, too.
"I didn't realize it was that old," Olive said.
Lexi laughed.
After some coloring, Lexi announced it was time for Olive to put on pajamas, brush her teeth, go to the bathroom, and pick a book out to read.
"Okay," Olive sighed. She did these things and chose her Cinderella book for Lexi to read.
The pair made themselves comfortable on the couch and Lexi began to read the book. About halfway through, Lexi realized that Olive had fallen asleep. Around the same time, the garage door opened and Rachel and Jesse soon entered.
"She just fell asleep," Lexi whispered. "We didn't even finish it," she chuckled.
"Aw, she sat on your lap," Rachel said. "How'd it go?"
"Great - she warmed up to me pretty quickly. Also, she's hilarious," Lexi laughed.
"Here, I'll take her from you," Jesse lifted Olive off Lexi's lap.
Olive opened one eye. "Daddy!" She said drowsily.
"Hi, Oli baby. How was it with Lexi?"
"Fun," Olive said.
"Let's put you to bed," Jesse kissed Olive's forehead, as did Rachel.
"Bye Lexi," Olive waved weakly.
"Goodbye Olive. See you soon!" Lexi said.
"Is a check okay?" Rachel asked, taking her checkbook out of her purse.
"Absolutely!" Lexi said. Rachel wrote out the check and handed it to Lexi.
"Thank you," Lexi said.
"No, thank you!" Rachel said. "It's so nice to get out just the two of us. We love being parents, of course, but being able to have adult conversations once in a while is good for one's sanity."
Lexi laughed. "I'll bet. We'll be in touch and I'll be back on the 27th?"
"Yes! Same time, same station," Rachel chuckled.
"Sounds good. Have a great night!" Lexi said.
"You too - thanks again," Rachel said, walking Lexi to the door.
Jesse came back downstairs and was able to wish Lexi good night before she left.
"Well, Olive couldn't stop talking about Lexi despite her exhaustion. Lexi loves Broadway, she loves Arthur, she loves Polly Pockets - she's Oli's dream babysitter," he laughed.
"I'm glad things worked out. I know she was nervous about this change - so were we!" Rachel said.
"So, Mrs. St. James - the kid is in bed, and we've got some more alone time. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
The two headed for their bedroom and started to "get down to business" but underestimated how tired they were and fell asleep themselves before anything actually happened.
At least they had had dinner all to themselves.