Undying Love

I put the girls on the floor and put the stroller back in the car. I took the diaper bag upstairs and started unpacking it when the phone rang. I ran downstairs, “Hello,”
“Hi, Mr. Evans, it’s Kelsey. I was wondering if I could come over now and meet the girls. I have a family obligation tomorrow but I would really like to meet you and the girls.”
“Yeah, it’s no problem. You can just come over any time.”
“Thank you, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Sounds good; see you then.” We hung up and I quickly went to finish unpacking the diaper bag. I was walking down the stairs when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find a sixteen year old girl.
“Hi, I’m Kelsey.”
“Hey, Kelsey, I’m Mikal. Please come in.”
“Thanks.” She stepped inside and looked around.
“The girls are in here.” I led her into the living room. The twins looked up and smiled at me. “Hi, baby girls.” I walked over to them. I picked them up and turned to Kelsey. “This is Ella and Amara. Girls this is Kelsey, she is going to watch you while Daddy’s at work.” They smiled at her.
“Hi, girls; how are you guys doing today?” Kelsey smiled at them. Amara reached for her and Kelsey looked to me and I nodded. She took her and Amara laid her head down on Kelsey’s shoulder.
“Well, I think this is going to work. I have never seen Amara warm up to somebody that quickly.” I stared at Amara for a few seconds before looking at Kelsey. “Well, why don’t I show you where everything is? My sister might be here when you come to watch the girls and if not it will most likely be me and then I’ll go into the office to work.” She nodded and we walked into the kitchen still holding the girls. I showed her how to mix the food and how to use the fresh fruits and vegetables. I took her upstairs and showed her the girls’ rooms. “One of the reasons why we use all the fresh things is because Ella has leukemia. You don’t need to be worried; you just need to make sure she doesn’t fall. Which isn’t that hard, she doesn’t do very much; the chemo wipes her out.”
“I know how everything works; I’ve been in remission for almost five years now.”
“Okay, so you know the warning signs and everything?”
“Yup. She’ll be perfectly safe with me.”
“Okay, that’s good. You won’t be working on Wednesdays because Ella has chemo so the firm gave me the day off. On Thursdays Ella sleeps a lot; well you know how it goes.” She nodded and shifted Amara’s weight. “If you want me to take her, just let me know.” I looked around Ella’s room. “Oh and if you need to change them its fine just make sure the outfits match and Ella is always in pink and Amara in purple.” I led her down to the living room and we sat down. “In about four months my wife is having another baby; and while my wife is taking a break from being a parent, I can’t. So there will be another baby for you to watch. Is that going to be a problem? I can’t pay you anymore once you do start watching all three. Twins cost a lot and I’m splitting my paycheck five ways.”
“It’s fine. I’m only sixteen and fifty dollars a week is really nice. It pays for gas and a movie with some left over for my college fund. Thank you so much for this job. My parents have been riding me to get a job.”
“Thank you I’d be screwed if you couldn’t watch these girls. Oh and um, they are missing their Mother so they might call you Mama. You can just correct them, they may not understand right now but they’ll get it eventually.”
“It’s okay, I know the feeling. My mom was gone a lot when I was younger and I called all of my sitters Mommy. I should get going; dinner is in a few minutes. Amara’s asleep do you want me to lay her down?”
“Yeah, Ella’s out too.” We walked upstairs and lay the girls down. Before she left we exchanged cell phone numbers and I gave her my work number and Kristine’s parents home phone number. I walked her to the front door and shook her hand. “Thank you again.”
“No problem, thank you for hiring me and I’ll see you on Monday.” I watched her walk to her car and drive away before shutting the door.