The Enchanted Ones

Babysitting

Everett

"What do you mean I'm the only one you have left?" I ask her, sitting on my chair.

I take a quick look at Winnie with the little boy and smile to myself. Since when does Georgia have a kid?

"Things are hard to explain." She sits opposite me and sighs before looking at me, "I suppose you didn't know I was pregnant back then?"

"No." I stare at Winslow with the baby. She's smiling while talking to him. He's holding a pencil with a unicorn eraser at the top, the one Winslow had decorated her desk with when she wanted to piss me off long ago. She places him on her lap but widens her eyes when the kid almost stabs his eye with it. She takes it from him and I can read her mouth when she tells him, "Okay, lets find something else to do. Do you like video games on the computer?" The kid frowns at her, "I'm three." I chuckle at the sight. Most beautiful thing ever. She would be an amazing mother.

To my kids.

"Are you listening to me?" I turn my attention back to Georgia and nod. "I was pregnant when he died. Three days after, I gave birth."

Oh god. It must have been awful. Loosing your brother when you give birth to your child. To be honest, Georgia never blamed me. She wasn't mad at me for some reason. It was like she knew it wasn't my fault. But it is and I will never stop blaming myself.

"Do you know what my son's name is?" She points behind her, at him in Winslow's lap. When I shake my head she says, "Enzo." And my heart stops for a moment. "It's like when he died, he was reborn as my baby, Levan." She always called me by my last name.

I know what she means. And it makes sense. Loosing a loved one, gaining a new one.

"My mother's dying, Levan. My father's been dead for ten years. My husband is divorcing me. I don't have anyone. I need to be at the hospital for my mother, and I have no one to take care of my son." I get her, I really do. I really wish her life wasn't that difficult. But it's hard for me to babysit Enzo's niece. It would remind me too much of him. Enzo told me his father had died in a car accident when he was five but I didn't know his mother's dying.

"Is your mom sick?"

"Very. She doesn't recognise me or my son anymore. She thinks she's from Spain and her name's Mia." She leans back on the chair and fidges with her pants. "I know it's very sudden and probably hard for you but please just think of it. I will pay you as much as you want and I'll owe you big time."

"Money is not the problem, Georgia." I run a hand through my hair and look at the woman I'm head over heels for with little Enzo. My heart melts. Winslow lifts her head to meet my gaze. I smile at them. She gives me a warm smile where her teeth show and her dimples pop, making me feel something I'm not familiar with. I bite my lip and turn to Georgia again, "Tell me when."

She smiles brightly and asks me, "Is tomorrow evening okay?"

I look behind her, "Is tomorrow evening okay to babysit little Enzo?" I ask Winnie and she looks up at the same time as the kid, looks between me and Georgia and smiles brightly,

"Of course."

***
"Okay, I don't know how to do this thing so I hope you do." I let the kid in the house, while telling Winslow.

"It's not something you need to know, Evy. Just make sure he doesn't get hurt, sick and has a good time." She takes Enzo's hand and leads him to the couch. "What do you usually do when you're home, little man?"

"Play."

"What?" I ask.

The kid shrugs and I look at her, "What do we do now?"