Loving Miss Libby (13 page)

“No, I mean, yes.  But it’s not that.  They can’t
watch us, and you can’t either.  That’s why I’m sad.  You’re going back to work
too.  Marky and I like having you for a babysitter.  You’re so much fun, and we
like being close to home.”  She dropped her chin to her chest.  “And … I’m not
afraid when I’m with you.”

Libby gathered her tighter against her.  “Honey, it
turns out my boss isn’t coming back to work for awhile and I do need a job.  If
your father needs me to continue watching you kids for awhile, I can do that.”

Kate’s eyes shot up to hers and widened with
relief.  “Really?  If Daddy asks, will you really say ‘yes’?”

“Why wouldn’t I?  I love you guys.”

“Dad too?” she asked eagerly.

When Marky suddenly appeared, announcing someone was
at the front door, Libby had never been so happy for an interruption.   She
wondered, had the intuitive little girl sensed she had feelings for her
father?  She felt sick at the prospect. 

“We’d better answer that door,” she said too
cheerily, and hurried to do just that.

Libby
opened the front door, and to her absolute surprise, found her mother and
sister standing on the porch.  Her mother was grinning like the cat that had
swallowed the canary, and her sister looked equally pleased with herself.

“Mom!  Amanda!” she cried.  “You’re here.”

“We figured if you couldn’t come to us, we’d come to
you,” Amanda announced.

Libby stepped aside to allow her family in.  She
hugged both her mother and sister and then turned toward the children, who were
regarding the adults curiously.

  “Kate, Marky, this is my mother Bessie and my
sister Amanda.”

The kids stood back shyly.  Marky was first to
speak.  “Who’s older, Miss Libby?  You or Amanda?”

“Amanda is older than me,” she told him, and he
moved closer to her and eyed Amanda suspiciously. 

“So you were mean to Miss Libby when you were kids,
huh?” he said angrily.

Amanda’s jaw dropped and she turned toward Libby
with mock-accusing eyes.  “What have you been telling this child?”

Libby spread her hands, her features set in stunned
disbelief.  “I…  I…”  She turned to Marky.  “Honey, I never told you my sister
was mean to me.”

“I know,” he readily agreed.  “But she’s older.”  He
gave a shrug.  “Older sisters are always mean to younger kids.”

“Is that right?” Amanda said, and to Marky’s
surprise, she lunged and scooped him into her arms.  She spun him around and
then hurried to the couch and carefully dropped him onto it.  “Who’s mean now?”

He laughed with delight.  “Spin me again!”

“Yeah, I thought so,” she said, as she scooped him
up and spun him in a circle.

Libby looked on, laughing.  Her sister had always
been good with children.  It was a shame she hadn’t had any of her own.  As the
vice-president of a bank, her life was a whirlwind of work and travel, with
little time left over for a social life.  But she’d chosen her course and
seemed very happy.

Libby, on the other hand, had always wanted a
family.  When she was little, she had always toted around a doll baby,
imagining the day she would have her own children.  She had always imagined
herself married by age thirty, but that milestone had passed a year ago.

“Amanda!” Marky cried eagerly, “we’re making
cookies.  Do you want to help?”

“Do I? 
Yes
!” she answered, as if there was
nothing she wanted to do more.

He grabbed her hand and began tugging her into the
kitchen.  Libby glanced at Kate, who still stood back quietly.

Libby’s mother smiled in her direction.  “Do you
enjoy baking, Kate?”

The little girl nodded.

“I love baking,” Bessie said.  “I think I enjoy
making cookies best.”

“Do you like chocolate chip?” Kate asked her shyly.

“Probably my favorite,” Bessie answered.  “Followed
by peanut butter and macadamia nut.”

Kate frowned.   “I don’t think I’ve had macadamia
nut cookies before.”

“Well, then,” she said, reaching for Kate’s hand. 
“I’m going to have to give Libby my recipe, so she can pass it along to you.” 
The two walked into the kitchen together. 

Libby checked to assure the front door was closed
behind them and joined the group in the kitchen.  When she entered, Amanda
said, “It appears you were about to add the chocolate chips…”

Libby nodded.  “You’re exactly right.”

“We don’t have enough chocolate chips,” Kate said
accusingly, glancing at Libby’s mother as if she’d found any ally.  “Marky ate
a lot of them.”

Bessie smiled.  “It looks like we have enough.”  She
made a guilty face.  “I have to admit, I sometimes dip into the chocolate chips
too.  But my cookies always turn out okay.”

Marky grinned and stuck his tongue out at his
sister.

“Hey,” Amanda scolded, trying not to laugh.  “Don’t
be mean to your sister.”  Her eyes widened, as if she’d just made an amazing
discovery.

“What?” Marky said, grinning.

She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. 
“Aren’t you the kid who just accused me of being mean to my sister when we were
little?”

He nodded eagerly.

“And did I just see you stick out your tongue at
Kate?”

He nodded again, grinning from ear to ear.

“Well?” she prompted.

“I’m mean!” he cried, delighted with himself.

Amanda began tickling him.  “I’ll show you mean!”

“Children!” Bessie scolded.  “We’re in a kitchen,
making cookies.  Behave yourselves.”

Amanda immediately straightened up, and Marky
followed her example.  They both settled onto the stools at the island. 

Libby stirred in the chocolate chips.  “Who wants to
roll the cookie dough into balls?” she asked.

Both kids called out, “Me!”

Bessie checked her watch.  “Amanda and I were hoping
we could take you three out for pizza.  We can always make the cookies when we
get home.”

Libby sent a glance at the children.  She wasn’t
sure how they were going to feel about aborting their baking before they’d
actually tasted their efforts.  But both kids seemed agreeable to the change of
plans.

“I love pizza!” Marky cried.  “Do you like pizza,
Amanda?”

“Pizza is my favorite,” she told him.  “Especially
pepperoni.”

His eyes widened.  “Really?  It’s my favorite too.”

“What kind of pizza do you like, Kate?” Bessie
asked, determined to include the quiet little girl in the conversation.

“I like Hawaiian,” she said.

Bessie gasped.  “That’s my favorite.”

“Libby likes both kinds,” Marky volunteered. 

Soon, they arrived at the pizza parlor and selected
a booth large enough to accommodate the group.  Marky was a chatterbox,
commenting on several features of the pizzeria, while Kate sat quietly beside
Libby.  When their server arrived, Bessie ordered a medium pepperoni pizza, as
well as a medium Hawaiian.  She also selected a vegetarian pizza for the
adults.

The adults visited, catching each other up on their
lives.  Amanda filled Libby in on her job.  She talked about a recent trip
she’d taken, and told her she was scheduled for another.  “I’m trying to talk
Mom into going with me.”

“You’ll be in meetings all day,” Bessie said.  “What
will I do with myself when you’re gone?”

“Mom, it’s Hawaii.  You can sit poolside with a good
book or do some sightseeing.”

Bessie considered the suggestion.  “You know, I just
might take you up on it.”

“Well, let me know so I can be sure to get you an
airline ticket.  The hotel room I’ve booked will work for both of us, since
there are two queen beds.”

Libby suddenly felt a stab of envy.  Not because she
couldn’t go on the trip, but because she couldn’t afford to send her mother to
some far off locale for a little rest and relaxation. 

It was as if her mother read her thoughts.  “Poor
Libby gave up her vacation time nursing her ol’ mom back to health.”

Amanda perked up.  “Libby, you should come too!  On
me!”

Libby smiled at her sister, truly grateful for the
offer.  But she doubted she could go.  The trip was scheduled the following
month and she was unsure what her schedule looked like.  She might very well
still be babysitting the kids.

“Thank you, Amanda.  But I don’t think I can get
away.”

“Why don’t I send you the itinerary, so you can
decide.  If you could let me know within a couple days, that would be great.”

“Okay.  Thank you.”

“I want to go to Hu-waii with you!” Marky said,
grinning at Amanda.

“You do?”

“Yeah.  I’ve never been to Hu-waii before.”

“You can’t go, Marky,” Kate snapped. 

“Why?”

“You talk too much!” she charged.  “Amanda would
toss you off the plane.”

The adults struggled not to laugh, but to no avail. 
The three women burst out laughing.  Libby was first to pull herself together. 
She feared they might have hurt Marky’s feelings, but to her relief, he was
laughing too.

Their server brought them their pizzas and soon
everyone was digging into their favorite slices.   The kids got along well for
the duration of their lunch, and Libby hated to see it come to an end.

When she checked her watch, she was surprised to see
they had been at the pizzeria for three hours.  By the time they’d eaten, and
Amanda had taken the kids to play an assortment of games, the afternoon had
gotten away from them.

“I’d better get these children home,” Libby
announced.  “Dan didn’t mention when he was getting off.”

“He responded to a fatality collision,” Kate said,
sounding very grown up.  “He could be gone for hours and hours.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Libby said.  “Well, just
the same, we should get back and bake our cookies.”

“Yay, cookies!” Marky cried, and turned to Amanda. 
“Can you stay over at my house tonight?”

She forced back a smile.  “You mean, as in a slumber
party.”

He made a face.  “Girls have slumber parties, boys
have sleepovers.”

“I’m a girl,” she pointed out.

He gave a dismissive wave, unconcerned about
semantics any longer.  “We can stay up late, have pillow fights, and then eat
popcorn and watch movies until we fall asleep.”

“Honey, I really appreciate the offer, and boy, that
sounds like great fun, but I’m afraid I have to go home.”

“I don’t want you to go,” he said, clutching her
hand.  He abruptly perked up.  “If Libby marries my Daddy, will you be my
sister?”

She bit back her laughter and looked over at Libby,
whose jaw had dropped open.  She released a chuckle as she turned back to
Marky.

“No, honey.  If Libby married your daddy, I’d be
your aunt.  You’d be my nephew,” she said brightly.

“That’d be great,” he said.  “If I was your nephew,
you could take me to Hu-waii.”

“I’ll tell you what,” she said with a crisp nod. 
“If my sister marries your father, I will take you to Hu-waii.”

“Can we leave Kate home?”

“Absolutely not,” she said without hesitation. 
“Kate comes too, or none of us go.”

Libby listened to the entire exchange, mortified. 
What if Marky went home and promptly told his father about this particular
conversation?  She glared at her sister, who gave an innocent shrug in return.

“I need to pay for these pizzas,” Amanda announced,
arching her brows.  “Who wants to go with me?”

“I’ll go,” the kids cried in unison and left the
table.

Bessie wrapped an arm around Libby.  “I wonder where
these children are getting these ideas?” she mused.

“I have no idea,” she snapped, and then sighed. 
“I’m sorry, Mom.”  She glanced heavenward and then back to her mother.  “I can
only imagine what they’re going to say to their father later.”

She couldn’t bite back her laughter.  “I suppose
Marky will tell him he’s flying off to Hu-waii.”

***

Later, after her mother and sister had gone, and the
cookies were baked and stored in the cookie jar, and the kids were conked out
on her sofa, Libby sat down to contemplate the day.

It had been wonderful to see her family, and it had
been adorable the way Marky had bonded with Amanda.  Kate had taken to her
mother, who had managed to draw the shy little girl out of her shell.

Libby worried about Dan arriving home and hearing a
version of the conversation Marky had had with Amanda.

What if he somehow got the idea she had designs on
him?  Her face turned bright red at the thought.  She wasn’t pining for a man. 
Absolutely not.  If he somehow got the idea she had feelings for him, she would
be mortified.  Oh, if only Marky hadn’t brought up the possibility of her and
his father marrying.