The Babysitter (Station 19)

not again

"Get out of my house," Maya heard her mother yell. Maya knew exactly what was going on. Once again, a babysitter was fired. This was now the 5th babysitter in the last 6 months.
Maya walked down the stairs. "What was it this time?" she asked her mother, although she didn't really care.
"I was just putting away the laundry and I see him trying to put your dad's watch away." The words sounded vulnerable.
Maya knew how important the watch was to her mother. It was the only thing she had left of Dad, apart from her children and the consequences of daily abuse.

"I knew I never should have hired that guy" Katherine thought that men shouldn't be babysitters because they might hurt the kids or make a pass at her 16 year old daughter.
"Mom, that was just one time and the guy was really cute" Maya said in a sarcastic tone because she knew exactly what her mother was thinking about.
"He should be watching the kids, not nailing my daughter."
Maya had to laugh for a moment.
"That's not funny" said Katherine.
"Hmm kind of is" mused Maya.
"What's not funny?" asked Steven, who had just gotten home from work.
"Forget it" said Maya and left the kitchen.
"We need a new babysitter. I caught Logan stealing and fired him for it."
"All right, honey. We'll find a new one" Steven gave his wife a kiss on the forehead.

Maya was not happy about having to meet a new babysitter again. All the ones before were really terrible. Except for the cute guy who got fired right after her mom caught her in flagrante delicto.
The first babysitter was an older lady who was very strict and still had the old parenting techniques in her head. Despite this, she was there for the family for some time. That was until Maya's mother got pregnant and her hormones totally overflowed. Suddenly she felt that the educational measures were no longer appropriate enough. Luckily, Maya was finally allowed to go out longer than 9 pm. Maya was only 14 at the time, but all her friends were allowed to stay out much longer.
The next babysitters were no better and were all fired pretty quickly. It was really hard to find a babysitter who was any good.
Maya knew that in the next few days many applicants would come to the house.
At least the pay was very good, because nothing was too expensive for Steven. Often Maya still wonders how her mom got a guy like Steven.
He was rich and attractive while her mom was average looking and had 2 jobs to just feed her kids. She wanted to save up to leave Maya's dad someday. But she didn't have to save after she met Steven and he offered to take her in because he felt sorry for her and the kids. Steven was really a loving guy who was probably too kind for this world. He treated Maya and her 3 siblings as his own. He always wanted to have a big family but never found the right woman until he met Mom. They now have a one year old daughter together, Gabriella, Maya's half sister. Even her 8 year old brother Bennett and 5 year old sister Lily were adopted by Steven. He would have adopted Maya and her older brother Mason, too, but they didn't want to.

"Hey honey" Maya's mom came into her room. "I'm home for the week to pick out a new babysitter. I want to finally find the right person."
"Mom, most people only want the job because of the pay." Maya said annoyed.
"I'm sure the right person will be there."
But will she really?