Emma Bug

Big brown eyes revealed a mischievous glimmer, a gap-toothed grin peeked out from beneath lavender star-patterned sheets, and that was when James knew that he was never going to be able to talk Emma into going to sleep on her own. His only hope was to wait it out, to match his will against that of a four-year-old. It proved to be a more difficult task than he ever could have imagined.

But she had to fall asleep sometime, right?

Though he was affectionately known as Uncle James amongst the three young children, James had never spent any time alone with them. He hadn’t had much experience with kids in general, and though he adored his best friend Logan’s children, the thought of babysitting them all on his own terrified him. Despite his fear of screwing up, James had accepted the offer to babysit them while their parents went out for their weekly date night. They weren’t bad kids, and since their parents had already bathed them, dressed them in their pajamas, and brushed their teeth, all James really had to do was put them to bed.

Obviously, James hadn’t known what he was getting himself into.

He ran a hand haphazardly through his tousled chestnut locks as hazel eyes returned the little girl’s determined stare.

It had been relatively easy to persuade Eben to go to bed. He was at an age where he wanted to act like a grown-up, so it was easy for James to reason with him and get him to go to bed like a big boy. He was the big brother, he wanted to set a good example for his two little sisters. It didn’t hurt that Eben was also worn out from a game of football with James and Logan in the backyard earlier, but he’d never admit that fact.

Surprisingly, the baby wasn’t too fussy either. All James had to do was tuck her snugly into her crib and turn on the spinning mobile above. The slowly rotating giraffes, lions, and parrots and the accompanying upbeat but soothing tune quickly lulled her into her dreams.

It was the middle child that refused to go to sleep once the hands on the clock reached her bedtime. She scrunched her freckled nose in a gesture of defiance as she wriggled incessantly beneath the covers.

“Will you read me a bedtime story, Uncle Jamie?” her voice trembled over the request as her eyes widened to form puppy-like pleas. “Daddy always reads me a story.”

“Oh, alright,” he gave in, eyes skimming the spines of the books in the bookshelf beneath her nightstand. When his stare fell on a book of nursery rhymes, he quickly fished it free, letting the colorfully illustrated pages fall open in his lap.

“So Emma, what’s your favorite bedtime story?” he asked softly, hoping to speed the process along.

The angelic blonde flashed him a proud beam as her eyes flickered up to the ceiling. “Daddy usually tells me the one about the prince. I like that one.”

“Hmm, a prince,” James muttered to himself as he flipped through the pages in search of the story the little girl was referring to. He found nothing about a prince, but he did find The Princess and the Pea, and he figured that was close enough. Plus, if he recalled correctly, the princess actually fell asleep, so hopefully that would convince Emma to do the same.

As he began to read, James watched Emma from above the pages as she scrunched towards the edge of the bed, her eyes wide with intrigue as she listened to each syllable that fell from James’s lips. Curls the same shade as corn silk fell in her eyes, causing her to continuously brush the pesky strands away with the back of her hand. James had never read aloud to a child before, so it took a few sentences for his voice to become adjusted to the awkward phrasing of the story. Emma didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t have the same story telling expertise as her dad. She was just happy to have all of the attention on herself for once.

But James knew that the story was coming a close, and the little girl showed no trace of exhaustion in her expression. If anything, the story had only stirred her imagination more, chasing any hints of sleep away. When the story was finished, the inexperienced babysitter gave in to her request for another story, but when she didn’t fall asleep after hearing two more stories, James began to grow tired of hearing his own voice.

A sigh pushed past his lips as James reached the last page of the book, his back sinking into the chair as a sign of sure defeat. Luckily, a blur of yellow caught his eye. Planted on the inside back cover of the book was a crumpled sticky note, and James immediately recognized Logan’s slanted script.

”If you run out of nursery rhymes, the theme from ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ works well.”

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place perfectly.

Without hesitation, James began to mimic the opening beat of the theme song, his body bobbing in time with the music that played in his head. He knew he wasn’t as good at beat boxing as Logan, but he was certainly good enough to get by.

There was a simple sense of satisfaction in the way her face lit up once she recognized the tune. Her small hands came together in a clap, and her shoulders shimmied along with the beat.

“Now this is a story all about how my life got flip-turned upside down, and I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there, I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air.”

Emma’s head bobbed to the beat before James continued to rap again, her lips pursed so adorably in typical hip-hop fashion. No doubt it was an expression she’d picked up from her father.

“In West Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days. Chilling out, maxing, relaxing, all cool, and shooting some b-ball outside of the school. Then a couple of guys who were up to no good started making trouble in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight, and my mom got scared. She said, ‘You’re moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.’”

James’s voice mimicked the swagger and tone of Will Smith’s effortlessly, and he realized that he was actually having fun. The smile on the little girl’s face was priceless.

“I whistled for a cab, and when it came near, the license plate said ‘fresh’ and there was dice in the mirror. If anything, I could say that this cab was rare, and I thought, “Man, forget it.” Yo homes, to Bel-Air.”

“I got to the house around seven or eight, and I yelled to the cabbie, ‘Yo homes, smell ya later.’ I looked to my kingdom, and I was finally there to sit on my throne as the prince of Bel-Air.”

As the song came to a close, Emma sank into the mattress, snuggling up underneath her blanket with a satisfied smile. “I love you, Uncle Jamie.”

A faint smile formed on his lips, and he reached to turn off her bedside lamp before leaning over the bed, planting a soft peck on her cheek. “I love you too, Em. Good night, sleep tight.”

Once he was sure the little girl was sound asleep, James tip-toed into the living room, spending the next couple of hours in typical bachelor fashion: texting various girls in his phone and rummaging through the fridge.

When Logan and Kandi returned, just as he was heading out the door, James flashed his friend a knowing smile before tacking on smugly, “I didn’t know you rapped your kids to sleep.”

Logan’s lips curved into a smile as he patted his friend on the back. “It’s the only thing that works every time.”