Chapter 3: Prologue 3 - Babysitting

[November 2370 – April 2371 AD – POV Timotheus Sinterguth – Erlangen, Bayern]

After we had met in the park in Erlangen and I had been invited to their apartment a couple of times, the Madison family and I met more frequently, and we also spent quite a lot of time on the playground together, whenever the weather allowed for that, with me more frequently playing with Rue and Lily than talking to one of their parents. I also used the opportunity to show the apartment I lived in. Due to my status as Sinterguth family member, my place was not a small and simple standard student quarter, but I had a nice two bedroom apartment with separate study, fireplace and all kind of amenities, and once I invited them for dinner and got a chance to show off with my cooking skills.

As I was still a student, though for not much longer, my work and study times were very flexible, and it could happen that I'd meet Mrs. Madison and her two daughters during the afternoon on the playground, on nice days at least. Occasionally she'd ask me then to watch her girls while she went shopping. Although this did not allow me to really focus on my work, that was alright and a welcome distraction. After all, I was a morning person and had my most productive work time before noon, so that I could easily afford to 'waste' an hour or two in the afternoon. Besides, the time was not really wasted at all. Rue sometimes needed my help getting up to or down from some of the structures on the playground, and Lily frequently had her homework with her. From time to time she asked me some questions, and she was happy that I could answer almost all of them. Those questions were not all related to the homework, though. For instance, when she watched her younger sister on the swing and compared her movement to that of older and heavier kids on other swings, and she asked why Rue would swing faster than the others. I tried to explain, but I realized that it was not so easy to explain laws of physics to a young girl without overtaxing her understanding; I could not assume that a kid in elementary school knew about mass inertia. On the other hand, Lily was very smart, and she seemed to like my explanation nonetheless. In some areas, at least, she appeared to be more advanced than most kids of her age.

With the season slowly turning into winter, we also found other things to do together. A museum would be boring for the little girls, but the city had an indoor playground and a small botanical garden, and we visited both together. The latter was a place I frequented anyway on a regular basis, and in winter the greenhouses were a very nice place, warm and humid, to stay for sometime and enjoy the scenery with tropical plants. Naturally, my glasses got fogged all of the time, and I wondered, not for the first time, if I should get my eyes fixed like my cousin had done some time ago. On the other hand, wearing glasses helped to sustain my nerd image, and somehow I did not want to lose it, as it also helped to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Christmas was just around the corner now. The Madison family had actually asked what my plans were for the holidays, and I replied truthfully that I was going to share them with my family as every year. Our extended family had a habit to alternate Christmas celebrations between Rainbow Valley in Panem and Riesenwald in Greater Bavaria, and this year it was Riesenwald՚s turn. Riesenwald was the town our European company headquarter was part of; our family had a huge private residence there, north of the city of Nürnberg and right in the scenic area which was called 'Fränkische Schweiz' (Franconian Switzerland). As every year, my cousin and his family were also going to come, and I was very much looking forward to seeing them. It would have been nice, too, to spend some time with the Madison family, but of course my own family had priority. I did plan, though, to be back for New Year's Eve, and I asked the Madison if they had plans for that time. They did not, and we agreed that we would meet in the afternoon of December 31st, spend the evening together, and watch the fireworks at midnight.

Just before I left, though, we spent a nice afternoon together at the city's Christmas market. Such a Christmas market was a long standing tradition in almost all Bavarian cities, and not only here. Depending on city size, the market was only open a for a day or a weekend in small cities or for the entire Advent time in large cities, like the nearby Nürnberg. Erlangen was in between, with an opening time of nine days, from weekend to weekend.

The market stands were located in a large square close to the city's castle, and one could slowly walk around and browser what was offered. Wares for sale were mostly limited to articles related to the season, like toys, candles, decorations, craftsmanship, and similar. I had made it a habit to visit the place every year, and going there with the Madisons was even nicer than going alone. Naturally, the two girls pulled their parents from stall to stall and wanted them to buy all kinds of things, and the two adults had a hard time resisting all of those requests. In this situation, I took advantage of the fact that is wasn't me they bothered, and I could also find some time to look at some merchandise I was interested in, which was at this time mostly a few candles and a gingerbread selection. The latter was something the Madisons were not familiar with, and I quickly bought another small set in a box and handed it over as a small pre-Christmas present.

Two days later I left the city and traveled to Riesenwald to attend the yearly Christmas family time as planned. As always, spending the holidays with family was very nice. Grandfather, the family patriarch, had made sure that there was plenty of food, but we also did not neglect outdoor activities. There was quite some snow on the higher elevations, and a toboggan run was set up. For the first ride, even Grandpa participated, and for the next few hours we younger ones had a lot of fun, sometimes riding alone, sometimes two on a sled. During the following days there were plenty of opportunities to talk to each other and to exchange news, but I stuck together with my twin cousin most of the time, and together with the Heidecker kids, three teenager children who were very good friends of the family, and some others, we went for walks and played some games. In addition, I also spent time with my cousin Daniela, of course. Eventually I was glad to leave again, as I needed a couple of days to recover from all of the outdoor and socializing activities.

I was back in Erlangen on December 29th, and, as agreed before, came to visit the Madison family in the afternoon of December 31st. For dinner, they had set up their raclette grill, a nice device of Swiss origin, and I had brought some additional food. Little Rue was on my lap once more, and we worked nicely together preparing the small pans to push into the device. As the grill was hot, Rue was not allowed to get close, but I filled her small pans with whatever she wanted and pushed the heated content on her plate later on, so that she could eat from there.

While we enjoyed taking our time, my heart was feeling very warm. Being part of a small family like this must be very nice, and I was very thankful to be integrated like I was. Christmas with my own family had been great, but this here was something different.

I must have shown a dreamy look on my face, as Mrs. Madison asked me:

"Is something wrong? You look like you are a thousand miles away."

"Oh, no nothing is wrong at all, rather the contrary. You know that I spent Christmas with my family, and it was really great. I do love my family and my cousin's family and our friends, but sometimes I ache for having a small family of my own, in particular a girl who is very special to me. I have not found such a girl yet, but with your Rue so close to me my heart jumps a little, and I get a little bit of an idea how it probably feels like to have a young woman at my side to love and to cherish and to found my own family with. That is quite a new feeling I need to get used to."

Mr. Madison beamed at me:

"I know what you are talking about, my young friend, and believe me, if one of our daughters were in marrying age, we would like nothing better than to find a prospective husband for them who feels about her just like you do."

With a smirk his wife added:

"Of course, young ladies nowadays are quite unlikely and unwilling to get their husbands chosen by their parents!"

"And, of course" Mr. Madison just had to say, "once my girls get into that age and a boy pursues one of them, I will break most of his bones before he gets too close!"

I laughed when I had heard that, but the man explained:

"Mr. Sinterguth, you may see this as a joke, but believe me, once you have girls growing into young ladies, you will understand!"

I was not so sure about that, but of course I wouldn't know about that kind of experience yet.

In the new year, 2372, we continued to meet occasionally, and a few weeks later, in early February, I got an unexpected call from Mrs. Madison:

"Mr. Sinterguth, sorry to bother you, but I need to ask a favor. Are you free on Friday evening?"

I quickly checked my calendar and confirmed: "Yes, I am; what can I do for you?"

"My husband and I have an important appointment, and we need to leave our two daughters at home in the evening. Lily is old enough to get to bed on her own, but Rue is not. Our usual babysitter has called in sick, and we seem to have trouble finding a replacement on short notice. Would you mind to step in, as Rue behaves so nicely with you?"

"Actually, this will be a pleasure for me. Which time would you like me to be there`"

"No later than 19:00 would be great – thank you!

Well, on Friday evening I arrived there right on time, looking forward to the evening. To be on the safe side I had brought a bag with a few essentials, like clothes to change and a toothbrush and such. The Madisons promised to back around 23:00 and left in a hurry after they had told me that Lily would know where things were.

"Well, girls, what's the plan to do tonight?"

Maybe this was not a smart question to ask, as I was offered many choices. I denied watching a movie which was intended for teenagers and older, but we played with some dolls and also found a simple board game. Eventually, though, Rue started to yawn. Lily and Rue shared a bedroom, with Lily's bed being a full size one and Rue in a smaller child bed. Lily showed me where to find Rue's stuff in the bathroom, and I helped Rue to brush her teeth properly and change into her night clothes.

When I had her in the bed, I was asked to sing a lullaby and pray with her, and apparently I managed both to her satisfaction, as she beamed at me when we were done. Lily was sitting in her bed reading a book, and sometimes she was looking over at me, kind of verifying that I handled her sister properly, I guessed.

Once Rue was sound asleep, I asked Lily if she also needed a lullaby, but she just looked at me: "I am a big girl, you know!"

Was she? Was there a clear distinction between a little girl and a big girl? I did not have a clue, but that was good enough for me, and the rest of the evening was quiet. I checked and listened a few times to make sure that the girls were alright, but it appeared that they did not need anything, but were both asleep.

As this evening had worked out well and the Madison's former babysitter had given up entirely because she was getting too busy in her studies, I got asked again from time to time to look after the two young girls, and when I was not otherwise occupied, gladly accepted. On one of those evenings Rue was very tired and got to be sleep early, while her sister was still doing some homework at the table in the living room. I looked over her shoulder and noticed her doing mathematics with a skill I would not have expected to see from a seven year old. When I asked her about that, she told me that she was best in class in mathematics, reading and writing at least, not so good in sports, social studies, and memorizing things.

In April, I was there once again, on a Friday evening, and the Madison parents had told me that they'd come back home very late, after midnight most likely. "If you want, make yourself comfortable on the couch" they had told me; I'd think about it. When Rue and Lily were both in their beds, I kept the door open, sat down on the couch and continued to read the book I had brought with me. When I looked up, I could see a thunderstorm approaching, with the lightning clearly visible in the distance. A few minutes later also the thunder could be heard, and I started to enjoy the atmosphere, as it nicely matched the events in my book. Mr. and Mrs. Madison were not back home yet and I had just decided to stay here for the night and came back from the bathroom where I had brushed my teeth and changed into more comfortable clothes, when I heard some whimpering from the kids' room. Hm, maybe Rue was afraid of the thunderstorm, I thought. Well, my assumption was wrong. Rue was happily sleeping in a totally cute toddler like position, but Lily was sitting in her bed and looking very uneasy.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

"Sorry, I just can't help it, but I am totally scared of thunderstorms."

The next thunder hit, and she squeaked.

"What do your parents usually do about it?"

"They let me sleep in their bed and I cuddle up to them until it's over."

"Well, their bed is empty, and your parents aren't home yet. Would you like to join me on the couch? I am afraid that's all I can offer."

She nodded timidly, and I moved back to the couch, once I had verified that Rue was still asleep. I found a nice and comfortable position and expected her to get down next to me, but she climbed right on my chest and wrapped her blanket around her body and head. Comforting little children was not something I was really experienced in, but I had helped to take care of Ruth a few times when I had been over at my cousins place. Comforting my cousin Ruth was something I had done successfully a few times, and I had also spent much time with my cousin Daniela, who was ten years my junior. Ruth was now at about the same age as Lily was, so that I could do about the same with Lily as with Ruth when she needed comforting, I thought.

Thus, I carefully wrapped my arms around Lily, and this seemed to help. The whimpering stopped, and she appeared to be all right again. Half an hour later the thunderstorm had passed, and I wanted to bring Lily back into her bed, but she had wrapped her arms so tightly around me that I was afraid to wake her if I tried to move. As our current position on the couch was not uncomfortable at all for me, I decided to just stay like this, and before I even noticed I also fell asleep.

Sunlight woke me up on the next morning and I heard voices talking. Sleepily I opened my eyes, not realizing at first where I was, but when I attempted to move and felt a light load on my chest, I noticed a bundle wrapped in a blanket on me and recalled what had happened last night and that Lily had decided to sleep on me rather than in her own bed during and after the thunderstorm.

Mr. and Mrs. Madison stood next to me, and Lily's mother asked with a smirk:

"Is this bundle here by chance our daughter Lily?"

I was feeling a little bit embarrassed, and I replied:

"Well, it should be. Last night, she seemed to have trouble coping with the thunderstorm, and this was the only approach I could think off to calm her down. I guess that it worked."

We carefully unwrapped the bundle and Lily also woke up. She looked around and showed some embarrassment herself when finding herself on me rather than in her own bed, but she explained to her parents that she really had been scared and that she had needed the body contact to calm down.

"I am really surprised that this worked with you," Mrs. Madison told me, "as she normally is quite shy with non family and avoids body contact with other people. I should have thought about the thunderstorm, as the weather forecast had mentioned it, but I am happy to see that you coped."

I had to admit to myself that I had actually slept very well with the 'bundle' on my chest, which was also somewhat surprising – usually, I only allowed one of my teddy bears to share my bed, and I had never ever brought a girlfriend home and into my bed. Of course, to be honest, except for one attempt a couple of years ago which failed badly after only a few months, I had never really had a girlfriend. Even as Lily was way too young to be a girlfriend and I had not been able to feel much of her as she had been wrapped in her large blanket, my feelings told me that was something to look forward to, when or rather if I ever managed to find a girlfriend to take home into my bed.

When I wrote my next letter to my cousin and friend, Timotheus Mellark, I had a lot to write about. Sure, there was email available, too, but both of us believed that a handwritten letter was more personal, and we both wrote to each other a few times a year to tell about personal things. There had been some incidents with electronic traffic being intercepted and confidential information being leaked to the press, and despite the option to use encryption, we kept the habit of writing real letters.

I wrote more about the Madison family and their two cute girls, and I told my twin cousin that I really liked to spend time with them. Timotheus Mellark was the only person I knew to share very personal thoughts with, specifically regarding my love life, or rather lack thereof. Our mothers were identical twins, and when my cousin and I were born on the same day, but in different locations, both mothers had decided on the name Timotheus, spelled exactly like that like in the Holy Bible in the book of 'Acts', rather than the anglicized version 'Timothy'. I mean, a lot of English language Bibles used 'Timothy', actually, but that was not authentic; at that time, most of the known world had adopted Roman culture and language, and 'Timotheus' was much more likely to be the authentic name of the companion to Paulus – again, rather than 'Paul' as most English language Bibles had it.

Our mothers had married into two different families. My cousin's mother had found my uncle, co-owner of the Mellark bakery chain in District Twelve in Panem. My uncle Albert was quite good in organization and finances, while my other uncle, his younger brother Peter, was a gifted baker. The two of them ran the company in harmony, as far as I knew. My cousin had three younger siblings, a brother and two sisters, and he was the oldest of all four.

My own mother had married into the Sinterguth clan, and I was their only child. Both of our mothers were kind of workaholics and dedicated to their work. My aunt had, though, decided to split her efforts between family and job, and with the help of a maid managed to do that reasonably well. My own parents, on the other hand, had decided that one child was good enough, and since I had been old enough to get along, they had both returned to full time work in Rainbow Valley in District Sixteen in Panem, where I had gone to school. This was much less of a problem than it might look like, as our big family building in Rainbow Valley housed hundreds of people, and there was always some aunt or uncle available to talk to and get assistance from when needed. I had not felt alone or discarded or so at all, and my childhood had been a happy one, specifically after my cousin Daniela had been born; she and I had bonded already when she was barely a toddler, and I had spent lots of time helping her to do her first steps, giving her a ride on my shoulders when we went for a walk, spending time with her on the playground, getting her ready for kindergarten and later elementary school and all that, specifically after her father had died when she had been only three years old.

In addition to that, I had my cousin's family as extended family, although we did not manage to meet more than once or twice a year. I had some more extended family in the larger area around the city, at and around the family site 'Riesenwald', but here in Erlangen I was all alone, and so far I really enjoyed being with the Madisons.

[Author's Notes: I imagine Rue Madison in Erlangen to look like a younger version of the Rue in the 74th Hunger Games.]