Above Water ✔️

18 - child's play

Let me reiterate.

I didn't really like kids. When they're chill and kind of funny for short periods, it's fine, but once the whining starts and suddenly they act like fresh spawned demons from Hell, I'm good. I don't need that kind of energy in my life.

So why did I agree to babysit while all of the other adults in the house went out for a night on the town?

There was no conclusive answer for that. I was feeling uncharacteristically chipper when they brought it up. No one asked me to, I just offered. I don't know why. I really don't.

And nobody was really sold on the idea since I had little to know experience with children, let alone Grace's one year old baby. Grace trusted me with her life, but maybe not so much her small children's. Understandable. I knew I could handle one, maybe two Aubrey-aged kids, but four was pushing it.

But then Dallas, savior of the universe, God's gift to mankind, stepped in. He offered to stay back with me to watch the kiddos.

Everyone was on board. What was it with this guy?

"So Lilly is easy. You just have to warm up a bottle of milk and put some soft music on and she'll fall right asleep. But Bryce will give you trouble. You have to wear him out before bed, run around or something."

"You know Aubrey. Put on Moana and she'll fall asleep halfway through."

"Jeremiah is . . . Good luck."

I ushered everyone out of the house after they kissed the kids goodbye. Bryce was crying because he didn't understand why his parents were leaving, but Dallas distracted him with ice cream. Once everyone was out the front door and the parental chaos was over, I took a deep breath.

This would be fine. Totally. Kids were just tiny people.

"How about sprinkles?"

"Yes!"

I followed the sound of very excited kid voices and found Dallas making five bowls of ice cream. I leaned against the island, much like the very excited young ones. He looked at me and gave me a crooked smile, making my heart skip a beat.

We all gathered around the table with bowls of ice cream. Dallas held Lilly and spoon fed her tiny bites from his own bowl. I took subtle appreciative glances of the sight while I ate from my own bowl, smiling to myself when he wasn't looking. While I was grateful he didn't have kids, he did make the Dad look work.

"Whose up for a good old fashioned game of hide and seek?" I asked when the kids were done with their ice cream. They all cheered and scrambled to get up from the table. Dallas gave me a look and I just grinned back. "You keep the baby. I'm gonna wear them down."

I purposefully lost the 'nose-goes' and faced the wall, counting to twenty to give the little ones ample time to find a good hiding spot. In the kitchen, I could hear Dallas singing the Lion Hunt song in a low tone, making Lilly giggle every time he made the sound effects.

To my left, I could hear some shuffling behind the couch. I also heard little feet run down the hallway and up the stairs.

I decided to pretend like I didn't know that someone was crouched behind the couch three feet away whispering the somehow incorrect words to Baby Shark. I went down the hall where there was only one bedroom, which was Erick and Phoebe's. I assumed only Aubrey would be brave enough to hide in her parents room, so I went for her first.

"Hmm," I said aloud, looking around the room tentatively. "I wonder if anyone is in here."

Silence.