Alone

Chapter 9

I open my tired eyes, stretching. Usually I would have slept in, but I have a job now. Sigh. Swinging my legs over the bed, I stood up, clutching my sides and groaning. This nausea is probably worse than labor itself.

I peeled off my pajamas and changed into a simple outfit of skinny jeans and a black long sleeved shirt. Throwing my hair back into a messy ponytail, and decided to skip breakfast, as it would probably come right back up. I brushed my teeth, did my makeup, threw on my black converse and walked out the door.

...

I pulled the heavy door open, stepping into the daycare. Here we go.

Immediately I heard Jenna's welcoming voice. "Kate! You're early!" She smiled.

"I didn't want to be late." I replied nervously.

"Well it's no problem. It's only me and Jeremy right now, but the other kids should be here soon. Come with me."

I followed her past the front desk and further into the daycare. "Really, your here to help with whatever we need. But your main job will be watching over the kids, changing diapers, keeping them entertained, and so on."

I nodded. Changing diapers? I'd never done that before. She must have sensed my hesitation. "Don't worry!" She assured me. "You'll learn as you go. It really isn't a difficult job. I think you'll enjoy it!" She smiled kindly.

I felt slightly better, more relaxed. The bell on the door ringed. I turned, seeing a young woman carrying a small toddler in. She stepped up to the counter as Jenna ran over, helping her sign in. She signaled for me to come over. "Kate, can you take little Jessica here? She'll be staying with us weekdays now. I'm going to show her mother around."

I gulped, taking a deep breath. The woman smiled nervously at me, handing over the tiny, blond haired child. I held her on my hip, the way Jenna had showed me. Holding Jessica a little too tightly, I walked over to the toddler-sized table and put her down. She wasn't a baby. She was slightly older than Jeremy, maybe one or two. Her curly, blonde pigtails bounced as she looked around with her big, blue eyes. She was wearing a pink, lacy shirt that matched her teeny little blue jeans.

"What's your name?" Her squeaky voice asked me.

"Uh, I'm Kate." I replied.

"I'm Jez-ig-a." She said, fiddling with her fingers.

I looked around, trying to find something for her to do. "Do you like to paint?" I asked her.

She nodded her head vigorously, seeing the little finger paint stand and running over. "Will you paint with me?" She asked excitedly. "Uhm, sure."

I opened the little colored paints, holding them out. "Which color?" I asked.

"Pink!!" She squealed, jumping up and down. I smiled. "Give me your hand." I scooped my fingers into the cold, pink paint, spreading it all over her soft hand. She squealed loudly, and I laughed along with her. "I wanna do it!" She exclaimed, shoving her fingers into the blue paint and smearing it on my hand. She giggled as I took her hand, pressing it firmly on the paper along with mine. We peeled our messy hands away, and I grinned as her eyes widened from seeing our two hand prints side by side. "Let's do it again!" She yelled, jumping up and down. I laughed, dipping her hand in the yellow. We made flowers, butterflies, a tree, the sun, even grass. By the end of it I was covered from head to toe in paint.

I looked around, seeing that Jessica's mother had left. Jenna stood over us, holding Jeremy. "I knew you'd be good for this job." She laughed. Standing next to her was a shy little boy with big, brown eyes. "Kate, this is Luke. He comes here several times a week. Luke, this is Kate. She's here to play with you!" She explained to the shy little boy. He scurried past me, sitting down with another little boy by the building blocks. I was so busy painting I hadn't noticed all the new kids that had come in. Even a small baby sat in a crib against the wall.