Lights Out! (17 page)
Authors: Laura Dower
“It’s still pouring rain out,” Drew said. “I say we should go to the movies.”
“I can’t,” Chet said. “Dad wants us back home by four.”
“Really?” Egg said, looking over at Fiona. “Bummer.”
“We have to help our parents cook for this church potluck supper thing,” Fiona explained.
“I can go to the movies,” Hart said. “Who else can go?”
He looked right at Madison.
Be home by five.
She could hear Dad’s voice inside her head.
“I have to go home, too,” Madison said. “Double bummer.”
Drew, Egg, and Hart decided to brave the rain and walk over to the Far Hills triplex alone. Aimee got behind the bookstore counter again.
Disappointed, Madison and Fiona packed up their stuff and headed for the door.
In the doorway of Mr. Gillespie’s cyber café, he’d posted an enormous bulletin board with the words
COMMUNITY CHEST
on top. The board was covered in colored file cards with all different kinds of messages and handwriting. People advertised futons, free kittens, and ten ways to make more money at home. There was even a book readers’ classified section of the bulletin board, where people posted their favorite reads in order to get matched up for a date.
Madison didn’t usually read the messages, but today she stopped and glanced at the rainbow of file cards. Fiona looked over the board, too.
“Hey, Maddie,” Fiona said. “Did you see this? You have to read this one.”
Madison looked under the bulletin board section marked
JUST POSTED
. Fiona pointed to a crisp pink file card with neat lettering on it.
Wanted: Mother’s Helper for
2½-year-old boy.
Need someone during the week and some Saturdays to play with my son while I am with my newborn baby girl. Duties: feed lunch, play games, take to Lake Dora pool, and other activities. A parent will always be around to help you. We have 2 cats and live in a safe area near Blueberry Street. Some experience is a plus.
Must be at least 12 years old.
Call Mrs. Sandra Reed anytime.
555-1010
“Maddie, this is so perfect for you!” Fiona said.
“But I don’t have any experience,” Madison said. “How am I supposed to baby-sit? I don’t know. It sounds hard.”
Fiona plucked the card off the board. “Here, you should call her. It’s right down the street from your house! Baby-sitting can be hard—but it can also be a lot of fun. Oh, it’ll be so easy. You’ll get paid for going to the pool. And she has cats! What’s better than that?”
Madison’s head was spinning.
Was this the big summer opportunity she’d been waiting for?
She folded the card and stuffed it into the pocket of her shorts before heading back to Dad’s apartment in the warm rain.
“H
ELLO? IS THIS MRS.
Reed?” Madison’s voice quivered as she spoke into the receiver. She clutched the pink file card in her hand.
“Hello?” a woman answered on the other end of the line. Her voice was soft and deep. “May I help you?”
“I’m calling about the card on the cyber café board,” Madison explained. “About the baby-sitting…er…mother’s helper job.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Reed said. “That’s terrific! What’s your name?”
“Madison Finn,” she answered. “I’m twelve.”
“Very good. Have you ever baby-sat before?”
Madison paused and took a breath. “Um…not really. I pet sit sometimes. I volunteer down at the animal clinic. Does that count?”
Mrs. Reed laughed. “Well, now, pets and kids aren’t exactly the same…but that’s okay. Experience isn’t entirely necessary. I’d like to give someone a chance to get experience. This won’t be a hard job at all.”
“Oh?” Madison said, sounding more intrigued than ever. “What does the job involve…exactly?”
“Well, playtime, really,” Mrs. Reed explained. “Going to the Lake Dora pool, taking Eliot to activities. It depends. It will be fun.”
Madison could feel her pulse race.
It actually sounded fun.
“Tell me a little more about yourself,” Mrs. Reed asked. “Do you have brothers and sisters?”
Madison explained that she was an only child. She told Mrs. Reed all about Phinnie and her laptop computer and her mom, the film producer. Mrs. Reed seemed very happy to “meet Madison by phone.”
“I’d like to meet you in person,” Mrs. Reed suggested. “And I’ll need to speak to your mom or dad, too. Can we arrange that?”
Madison felt her hands shaking a little. She was nervous. Mrs. Reed made everything sound so official right away—like a real job.
“Okay, that’s fine,” Madison said. “I’m sure I can meet you soon….”
“How about tomorrow morning?” Mrs. Reed asked.
“Well, I can ask my dad.”
“Good! Do that!” Mrs. Reed said. “I’ll wait for you two to call me back. Okay? Madison?”
This was all moving so fast, Madison couldn’t believe it.
“Okay,” she answered with a gulp.
“I have a feeling this may work out perfectly,” Mrs. Reed said as Madison said good-bye.
“Thanks,” Madison replied. “I hope it does work out. Perfectly.”
When Madison put down the receiver, she jumped into the air like an acrobat and clicked her heels together.
“I got a jooooobbb!” she cried, running into the dining room. Dad and Stephanie were setting the table for dinner.
“What did you say?” Dad asked.
“I did it, Dad! You are now looking at the possible baby-sitter for the summer!”
“That’s great,” Stephanie said. “Congratulations, Maddie.”
“All I need is for Dad to talk to Mrs. Reed—she’s the woman with the baby. Mrs. Reed says she needs to make sure that you say it’s okay, since I’m twelve. She wants to make sure I’m a good person for the job.”
Madison was talking faster than fast.
“Of course!” Dad said, “isn’t that how these things usually work?” He looked over at Stephanie for reassurance.
“I’m sure you have a few questions, Jeff,” Stephanie said matter-of-factly. “Let’s call Mrs. Reed after we finish eating.”
Dad grinned. “Maddie, I am so proud of you.” He leaned over and lifted Madison right up off her feet. “To think that I was giving you such a hard time about finding something to do this summer,” he gushed. “I only wanted you to get out of the house so you wouldn’t be stuck inside all day. But a job—with responsibilities—that’s impressive.”
Stephanie’s taco dinner was deliciously spicy, but all Madison could think about was baby-sitting. Her stomach flip-flopped. She could barely make dinner conversation. It was a big deal—especially since she’d only just dodged the summer job question with her friends that afternoon. All Madison wanted to do was tell Aimee and Fiona and Mom and everyone else who mattered…NOW.
Immediately following the meal, she bolted into her room to go online—and left Dad to call Mrs. Reed.
The moment she logged on to her laptop, Madison found her keypal Bigwheels online, too.
That was a very good omen.
Monday
“Maddie!” Dad’s voice echoed through the apartment. “I just got off the telephone….”
Madison looked up from the computer monitor. Mrs. Reed and Dad had finished talking—
already
!
“I’ll be right there, Dad!” Madison called out. She typed another message to Bigwheels at the same time.
“That Mrs. Reed is a nice woman…” Dad said as he strolled into Madison’s room, “I think I know her husband—oh, honey, I didn’t realize you were online.”
“I’m not anymore,” Madison said. She clicked the sleep function key and her screen went black. “Dad, tell me. What did you say? What did
she
say? Did she ask you questions about me?”
Dad sat on the edge of Madison’s bed. “We had a very nice chat. I think that you made a good job choice. Her son, Eliot, sounds like a good kid. He’s been struggling a little bit since his sister was born.”
“Struggling?” Madison asked.
“Yeah, it’s hard when there’s a new baby in the family. She wants him to get the right amount of attention this summer. That’s why she needs a helper,” Dad said. “I told her it sounded like the perfect job for you.”
“So what do I do now?” Madison said. Her knee was bouncing up and down. Her arms flapped like wings. Madison couldn’t keep any body parts still.
“Maddie.” Dad laughed. “Just relax. I’ll drive you over there in the morning and you can meet. I’m sure she’s going to offer you the position. She sounded enthusiastic. She just wants to see how you and Eliot get along in person.”
Madison’s skin felt all hot like it did when she ran too fast or when she bumped into Hart in the hallway at school. She was about to get her first job. She had to remember to breathe.
“What if Eliot doesn’t like me?” Madison asked.
Dad shook his head. “That’s impossible,” he said in a booming voice.
The morning ride over to Mrs. Reed’s house took forever. Madison plucked at the seat belt pulled across her chest and kicked at the car floor mat. On the way to the Reed house, she and Dad drove past Madison’s house on Blueberry Street, which seemed weird. As much as she loved staying at Dad’s, she missed her room and the half-full closet of clothes she’d left behind.
Madison turned so she could see the front porch, wishing she were there right now.
“This must be the place,” Dad said as he pulled into a driveway around the corner.
It was the house Madison had guessed it would be. Mrs. Reed lived in a brick, two-story house with rows of black-eyed Susans along her fence. Madison and Phin had passed it on their daily walks before.
Dad walked Madison up to the door and rang the bell. When Mrs. Reed opened it, he reached out to shake her hand, but her arms were full. She was holding her newborn baby girl.
“Hello!” Mrs. Reed said. “You must be Madison Finn!” She juggled the baby girl into one arm and reached out to shake with the free hand.
“She’s so cute,” Madison said softly.
The baby cooed.
“This is Becka,” Mrs. Reed introduced her. She opened the door wider and invited Madison and her father inside. “Please have a seat. I know Eliot will be right down.”
Dad and Madison went into the living room. There were colored plastic toy trucks and trains piled at the side of the room. Madison and her dad took a seat on a long leather couch.
Mrs. Reed called upstairs. “Eliot! Eliot! We have guests! Come downstairs, please.”
Madison squirmed in her seat. She couldn’t wait to see her new friend. She hoped he wouldn’t spit in her face or run screaming from the room as soon as he saw her sitting there.
Eliot loped down the stairs slowly, clinging to the banister rails. “What, Mama?”
“I’d like you to meet our new friend, Madison. She’s going to be helping Mama this summer. Remember I told you that we would have a friend take you to the pool and play in the water?”
Eliot nodded. He jumped off the bottom step and ran right for his mother’s left leg. He clung so hard his fingers left white marks on Mrs. Reed’s sunburned skin.
“Okay, now, Eliot. I want you to say hello to Madison. Can you do that?” Mrs. Reed pushed him gently off her leg, and he let out a little scream.
Dad leaned over to Madison. “He’s a cutie,” Dad said. “He’ll warm up to you in no time.”
Eliot stared at Madison without moving. She was beginning to panic.
“Go ahead and say hello,” Mrs. Reed said, encouraging him. “Why don’t you show Madison your new blue truck?”
Madison searched the floor for the truck. She lifted it into the air. “Is this yours?” she asked aloud. “Should we play with it?”
Eliot stuck his thumb into his mouth and started to suck hard. He shook his head and murmured. “Mmmmnnnnnn,” he said. Madison didn’t know if that was a yes or a no.
Becka let out a teeny squeal, and Eliot turned around to face his sister. He pointed at her. “My baby,” he said. “My baby sistah.”
Madison nodded. “She’s nice. How old is your sister?” she asked.
Mrs. Reed smiled. “Eliot, why don’t you show Madison your train set in the other room?”
Eliot shook his head. “No,” he said.
Madison blinked. “Oh, well,” she joked. “We can do something else.”
Eliot smiled. “Pee-pee,” he said.
Madison’s face blanched white for a second. “Huh? Um…is that some kind of game?” she asked Mrs. Reed.
