Sofia

The Man

I felt like the man as soon as I stepped into the Johnsons household. Infant and toddler clothing scattered all along the shiny hardwood floors, a wailing child in the distance, and a very pleasant smell of pancakes fill my nostrils on today's bright Saturday morning. Today was my 3rd time babysitting my neighbors 2 children, Beckett and Clementine. But it was my first time doing a full-day shift. "Ah! Sofia, thank you again for arriving early!" Mrs. Johnson huffs holding 1 year old Beckett in her left arm. She blows a string of blonde hair out of her face.

"No problem! Here" I take Beckett from her arms "not like I live right down the street." She chuckles and notices the clothing along the floor. That's when I notice its princess dresses, Cinderella on the couch, Jasmine on the stove, Rya on the baby chair, and Snow White, Aurora, and Moana along the hallway. Mrs Beckett runs toward picking them up but I hold my arm out to her. "Please Mrs. Johnson, go have your day, I've got this.'' She smiles sweetly and stands upright.

"Alright! Clemme! I'm leaving!" She yells behind her.

"GOOD!" Says Clementine in a distance.

"CLEMENTINE JOHNSON KISS YOUR MAMA GOODBYE BEFORE I TOSS THE TANGLED DVD!" I hear stomping from the 2nd floor above me. Clemme stomps down the stars as if she's in a marching band, her blonde pigtails flowing over her orange overalls. Mrs. Johnson bends down waiting. Clemme tosses her hands around her mom for a solid 5 seconds before running back upstairs.

Mrs Johnson brushes her hands on her white sun dress. "I don't know why she's acting like this. Honestly. She'll loosen up soon though." She stares off into the distance before shaking her head. "Alright bye bye." She kisses a silent observant Beckett and touches my arm. "Same thing, everything's on the paper in the cabinet, only 1 movie, and sleep at 7." I nod my head, hair styled in 2 dutch braids, (I knew today was gonna be hands on) "Got it." She smiles again, saying 'thank you' with her eyes before shutting the front door.

"Alright bud, you want some honey pancakes? Yeah? Yeah!" I set Beckett down on the feeding chair prepare 3 plates of freshly made pancakes "Clemme pancakes!"

"No!......AND DON'T CALL ME CLEMME! YOU CAN CALL ME CLEMENTINE!" I turn the corner and find Clemme sulking on the stairs of the staircase.

"Com'on Clementine, your younger brother is waiting patiently for your arrival at the nook." She just crosses her arms and turns her head. I sigh to myself, finding an idea in my head. I connect my phone to the kitchen bluetooth speaker and play 'I See The Light' from Tangled. I sing out the first few words, "All those days, watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in." I hear soft thumps from the stairs... "...Just how blind i've beeeen." She finally appears with a little grin on her round face, arms still crossed. "Com'on. Don't let me sing alone!" I say in a sing-song voice, twirling in my peachy color romper. "...Where I'm meant to beee" It isn't long until she finally joins me by twirling around Beckett's feeding chair. "At last I see the lighttt." She yells, I laugh along as I take her hand and twirl her even more. We both sing and dance in the kitchen more with Beckett clapping his hands together and stomping his feet on his own chair until Clemme tires out.

6 hours later, I'm tucking Clemme into bed after I put Beckett to sleep.

"Today was fun." She says snuggling with her pig stuffed animal.

"You think?"

"Yes."

"What was your absolute most favorite part of the day?"

"Eumm...maybe when we went looking for fairies in the backyard."

"Ohh that was fun"

"Yeah! And you almost got stung by a bee!" She giggles.

"Yeah that was fun too." I shrug, shaking off the feeling of the insect on me. "So are you going to tell me why you've been causing some trouble with your mama?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's very private."

"Very private huh. What if I told you that I could keep a secret..."

"Can you?" She asks eagerly, now sitting upright.

"I could, if you promise to behave."

"I promise only if you never tell mama what I'm about to tell you.'' 

I hold up my pinky, "Pinky promise" She hesitates before intertwining my finger with mine.

"I'm angry."

"Why are you angry?"

She pouts. "Because Asher didn't like the Rose I gave him."

"Who's Asher?"

"A boy in my Pre-K class."

"Ohhh.." But on the inside, I'm laughing internally.

"Our class was gardening and I found a rose by the fence. So I gave it to him, but he laughed in my face." Her face falls and it looks as if she might cry. I purse my lips together.

"Boys are jerks." I say as I tuck a loose strand of her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, but...I don't want Asher to be a jerk."

"Oh, I know, but you have to move on and ignore it."

"I'll try" There's a silence afterward, her hugging her pig, me staring off into space.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have an Asher?"

I chuckle, "No I don't have an Asher...But I do have someone opposite Asher." As soon as it flies off my mouth I wonder why I thought about it in the first place.

"WHO?" She's eager again now.

"Just some boy."

"Uhuh- And what's this boys name?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Because I wanna know. Duh." And there was the sarcasm I've been missing.

"His name is Ralph."

Clemme flinches backward, eyes widening. "What kinda name is that? It sounds so old." I shrug and shift my weight.

"Why is he the opposite from Asher?"

"You're a very nosy 4 year old arent you?" I say jokingly. She stares at me blankly, waiting for an answer. I sign and shake my head. Why am I telling this to a 4 year old?

"He... He's nice, and respectful, he listens to me when speak, and accepts the flowers I give him." 

"Really?"

"Really. And He's fun to be around, and he makes the funniest jokes, and laughs when I laugh-"

"You like Ralph don't youuu." She teases.

I considered it for a moment, didn't I? Nope, I just like him. Him. Wait what. He's a great friend, and yeah sometimes I admire his warm, comforting brown eyes when he looks at me, or when his cheeks slightly turn pink when I laugh at his corny jokes. And yeah, sure, I notice when his fingertips touch my back when he guides me to our table when people are around.

"No. He's a great person, not for me.''

She snickers, tugging her blanket higher.

"Whatever you sayyy."