Tiffany rolled over in bed, brushed her curly, dark brown hair from her face, and looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock in the morning, but she had nowhere to go now that she had gotten laid off from her job.
Despite her young age of only 23, she really enjoyed her marketing manager job. In this prestigious role, she spearheaded various clients and projects, wrote copy for advertisements, ran online promotional campaigns, and so much more. She was upwardly mobile that is until she got the axe. One day she was working and happy. The next, she was home hiding under the covers or scouring the web for her next opportunity.
She finally got up and walked into her living room, and there it was staring at her from the table--her checkbook. Numbers ran through her head, most of them subtractions from her bank account to pay bills. With the little amount she made from unemployment, she knew that she couldn't keep on paying them for long.
What was she going to do? She remembered back when she was in college, she used to babysit and made a small fortune because she was so good with the little ones. She loved kids and one day hoped she would have some of her own, though she still hadn't met the right person yet.
She briefly thought about jumping into babysitting again, but that would be going backward in life, not forward. And that wasn't right. But she needed the money in order to stay in her apartment. The last thing she wanted to do was move back in with her parents. She decided to continue looking for another job in marketing, but babysitting as a stopgap couldn't hurt.
Tiffany rummaged through her paper mess and pulled out her old black address book. She started to flip through the crinkled pages, using her delicate fingers to jump from entry to entry. With a sigh, she picked up the phone and started to make some calls. The phone line rang. A man picked up the phone and answered.
"Hello, is this Mark?"
"Yes, it is."
"Mark! It's so great to speak with you again. It's Tiffany. You remember me, right? Your old babysitter!"
"Oh! Hi there. I thought you would be conquering the corporate world by now."
"Yeah, well. My circumstances have changed a bit recently. I was just calling to... uh... ask if you needed a babysitter for your little one this weekend."
"She was just a little peanut when you babysat before, but she still needs some supervision. Why don't you come by on Saturday night? Say, eight o'clock?"
"Sure! That would be great. I'll see you then."
Tiffany hung up the phone, delighted that if she had to go back to babysitting that at least it would be for a family she liked and a little girl she enjoyed spending time with.
If this gig went well, she'd reach out to her other customers and see if they needed her babysitting services.
***
Saturday came around quickly and Tiffany took the time to get herself ready. She hadn't seen this family for the past five years or so and wanted to make a good impression. She put on one of her pretty polka-dot sundresses, carefully applied a light dusting of makeup, just for the sake of appearances, and hopped into her car.
As she was driving, her hands became clammy. She didn't think she'd be so nervous to babysit again, but her body was telling her otherwise. At the next stoplight, she found a tissue in her car and wiped her hands. Practicing some breathing exercises, she was able to calm herself down.
Arriving at the house, she parked in the driveway just like she did all those years ago, got out, locked the car, and headed to the front door. When she arrived, Mark was already standing there waiting for her.
"You look pretty tonight," Mark said, getting lost in her bright blue eyes and taking in her dainty dress.
"Thank you," Tiffany replied, blushing. "Where is Anna? I'd like to say hello to her."
"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Mark replied, a frown creeping onto his five o'clock shadow face. "Anna and I broke up about a year ago."
"I didn't know!" Tiffany exclaimed, putting her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry to hear that, and I'm also sorry for bringing it up." Secretly, she wanted to know why they had broken up, but she didn't dare ask. It really wasn't any of her business.
"You didn't know. Don't worry about it. Why don't you come in?" Mark looked down at the floor as she entered the house.
Tiffany wanted to make a good impression and she hadn't started off very well. She was just trying to make small talk and it backfired. OK, so she wouldn't talk about anything unless it had to do with the little girl. That way she wouldn't cause any more commotion.
Mark led her to the living room where his daughter, Kayla, was watching TV. "Kayla, look who's here!" he said.
"Tiffany!" Kayla exclaimed, running over to the babysitter.
"Hey there, kiddo! It's so good to see you again!" Tiffany picked her up and gave her a big bear hug.
"You two be good tonight," Mark said, walking back to the front door and grabbing his coat. "I shouldn't be later than midnight. It's just a boys' night out."
