Baby-sitting can be a fun job. You become part of a family for a short while but, and it's a big but, you're in a position of authority where the children are concerned. The parents can be a bit over-bearing at times but that's just one of the things you have to put up with.
On Friday evening I was sitting for Heather and John McKay. They're a nice enough couple, generally reasonable in anything they want you to do, although John could be a bit of a stickler for having his rules followed. I tend to regard rules more as guidelines than the letter of the law.
Heather was a brunette, nice figure, I guess, and a pleasing manner. John was a small man. Well, not actually small. Um, height challenged, maybe? He was only about five foot six tall but he was solid. He looked as though he'd been carved out of a piece of rock, and granite at that. He wasn't as tall as the refrigerator but I was willing to bet that he could pick up that fridge and walk off with it.
It turned out that John and Heather weren't going out together. Heather was attending a baby shower with a group of her friends and John was attending a meeting at the local football club. They eventually departed in separate cars. I'll swear that as John was driving away he was still spouting off about his rules and how I had to make sure the kids obeyed them. It apparently went without saying that I'd obey them. Yeah, like that was going to happen. I'd do what I thought was correct.
For some reason the kids were proving fractious. I finished up letting them bring some toys into the front room so they could play there. (Against the rules. Children should play in the playroom. They're children, for god's sake. Not little soldiers.) For a while they were quite happy with the novelty of playing in the front room and then they became fractious again.
I spoke sharply to Susan and to my surprise she just burst into tears. From previous experience I'd have thought she'd be willing to argue the point but no, instant tears. Brad, her little brother, promptly burst into tears as well.
I sat down on the couch, cuddling them, talking softly while I tried to determine what was wrong. After a while I noticed that even though they had stopped crying they were both slightly flushed.
It turned out that they were both a bit off-colour, probably colds developing or one of those things that kids get. Here today and gone tomorrow. I decided that the best thing for them was an early night and a good sleep to help them throw it off.
The lack of argument when I told them it was time for bed underscored my decision. Apart from Susan pointing out they had to clean their toys up before they could go to bed they had no complaints about doing so. I told them to leave the toys as they were now my responsibility and I would put them away. With that they both went to bed like lambs and fell asleep very fast. I made a mental note to warn Heather that they might be unwell come the morning.
When I was satisfied that they were both dead to the world and unlikely to wake up I returned to the front room and turned on the TV, settling down to watch it for a while. I figured I had ample time to clean up the toys before John or Heather returned.
I figured wrong, didn't I. John returned long before I expected him and there were toys all over the front room.
I knew he was going to complain so I rose to my feet. If we were going to argue at least he wouldn't be towering over me. Maybe I caught being fractious off the kids. Whatever the reason I wasn't going to back down one inch.
"Why are there toys in the room?" John asked. Politely enough, I suppose, but in my mood it came across as a complaint.
"Because the floor in the play room consists of cold tiles. I thought that it would be warmer for them here."
"The house is air conditioned," John pointed out. "Both rooms are the same temperature."
"But it seems warmer in here." I stated.
"You do know that one of our rules is that the children should play in the playroom. That's what it's for."
I shrugged. "Only an idiot blindly follows rules," I said. "I tend to use a little common sense, myself."
That went down like a lead balloon. The man had no sense of humour where his precious rules were concerned. He tried to argue his point and I cheerfully agreed with each point he raised, while at the same time letting him know I was just humouring him. He was starting to get rather irritated.
"All that aside, why are the toys still here in the front room?" he wanted to know. "The children know they have to tidy up their toys as soon as they finish playing with them."
There was that fractious side of me coming out again.
"Why should they?" I asked. "They're just kids."
"It's the household rule," he reminded me, sounding as though he'd like to yell at me.
"Yes, yes," I said. "Ah, can you keep your voice down. I don't want you waking them."
"I was not yelling," he said and I'm sure he was gritting his teeth.
"If you say so," I agreed, doubt plain in my voice.
"You're avoiding the question," he pointed out. "Why didn't they pick up their toys?"
"Because I told them not to," I explained, quite forgetting to mention that the kids had been a little off-colour. "I told them I'd pick them up."
"So why haven't they been picked up?"
"Because I haven't done it yet," I said, speaking slowly, the word 'der' unspoken but easy to hear.
"The house rules," he started but I interrupted.
"Yes, yes, I know," I pointed out. "You've been all through that."
"Several times," I added thoughtfully.