“I’ll be in the living room if you
need me.”
Brayden scooped his bowl off the counter and headed to
wherever his video games were.
“Have you ever seen The Little Mermaid ?” Payton asked
me, her eyes large and excited. “I haven’t. This is my first time ever. I love
mermaids!”
“I have. It was one of my favorites growing up,” I said.
“Who’s your favorite Disney princess?” Payton asked me as
she popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
I felt like she was testing me in some way, because she
continued to stare at me as she chewed, waiting for my answer. I’d never been
interrogated by a little girl before. It took all I had to keep my face
serious.
“Belle, from Beauty and the Beast ,” I finally
answered after a little thought.
We started toward what I presumed to be the living room.
Payton walked beside me with her big bowl of popcorn in her little hands.
“Why?” she asked me.
I glanced at Callie and noticed her large grin. My smile
practically mirrored it.
“Umm, well, because she was the only princess with brown
hair like mine, and she loved to read as much as I do,” I said, hoping my
answer would suffice and the questions would stop.
Payton smiled. She was missing one of her bottom teeth, and
stuck her tongue through the little gap when she grinned.
“I like Belle too. And I like to read,” she said. “Come on.
Let’s go watch. You can sit by me too.” She raced ahead of us and plopped down
in the center of the couch, spilling a little of her popcorn from the bowl and
scurrying to toss it back in.
Callie turned the DVD player and TV on. I sat on the couch
beside Payton, not thinking that this was how I was going to be spending my
babysitting time with Callie.
“We don’t really have to watch the whole movie,” Callie said
to me as she sat down on Payton’s other side.
“Yes you do,” Payton said. “My mama says girls need romance
in their lives.”
Callie and I laughed at the same time.
“Romance, huh?” Callie asked. “And when does your mama say
that to you?”
“When she’s mad at my daddy for forgettin’ one of her
special days, and she has to see Miss Carrie at the bank gettin’ flowers from
her new boyfriends all the time for no reason,” Payton said around a mouthful
of popcorn. “She tells me that then.”
“Oh,” Callie said with a laugh.
Kids were so funny. No wonder she babysat these two; they
were entertainment.
Callie and I ended up sitting through the entire Little
Mermaid movie and then Beauty and the Beast , because I had said it
was my favorite. “All right, time to go play outside,” Callie said to Payton as
she turned the TV off. “Go tell Brayden nicely that I said he has to
turn off the video games and play outside too, please.”
“Okay,” she said as she ran down the hall.
I followed Callie back to the kitchen.
“Did you enjoy the Disney movie marathon?” Callie asked as
she set Payton’s empty popcorn bowl in the sink.
“Honestly, I can’t believe the message in them targeted
toward little girls. I mean, in one she gives up everything about her—everything
she loves most—to be with some guy she barely knows. And in the other, she
falls in love with a complete jerk who treats her like crap. I don’t know what
I ever saw in those movies,” I said.
Callie chuckled. “That’s not what they’re about. They’re
about sacrificing everything you have for that one chance at true love and
finding love in a person who has lived without it for so long.”
I scrunched up my face. I could see her point, but still,
the Beast locked her in her bedroom!
“I don’t know. I think we might have to agree to disagree on
this one,” I said.
“I can do that,” Callie agreed. “So, are we still on for
shopping?”
“Absolutely. I have no clue what to wear to this,” I
admitted.
Tightness entered my stomach as indecision squirmed through
my mind about the initiation. I’d been making a mental list of
need me.”
Brayden scooped his bowl off the counter and headed to
wherever his video games were.
“Have you ever seen The Little Mermaid ?” Payton asked
me, her eyes large and excited. “I haven’t. This is my first time ever. I love
mermaids!”
“I have. It was one of my favorites growing up,” I said.
“Who’s your favorite Disney princess?” Payton asked me as
she popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
I felt like she was testing me in some way, because she
continued to stare at me as she chewed, waiting for my answer. I’d never been
interrogated by a little girl before. It took all I had to keep my face
serious.
“Belle, from Beauty and the Beast ,” I finally
answered after a little thought.
We started toward what I presumed to be the living room.
Payton walked beside me with her big bowl of popcorn in her little hands.
“Why?” she asked me.
I glanced at Callie and noticed her large grin. My smile
practically mirrored it.
“Umm, well, because she was the only princess with brown
hair like mine, and she loved to read as much as I do,” I said, hoping my
answer would suffice and the questions would stop.
Payton smiled. She was missing one of her bottom teeth, and
stuck her tongue through the little gap when she grinned.
“I like Belle too. And I like to read,” she said. “Come on.
Let’s go watch. You can sit by me too.” She raced ahead of us and plopped down
in the center of the couch, spilling a little of her popcorn from the bowl and
scurrying to toss it back in.
Callie turned the DVD player and TV on. I sat on the couch
beside Payton, not thinking that this was how I was going to be spending my
babysitting time with Callie.
“We don’t really have to watch the whole movie,” Callie said
to me as she sat down on Payton’s other side.
“Yes you do,” Payton said. “My mama says girls need romance
in their lives.”
Callie and I laughed at the same time.
“Romance, huh?” Callie asked. “And when does your mama say
that to you?”
“When she’s mad at my daddy for forgettin’ one of her
special days, and she has to see Miss Carrie at the bank gettin’ flowers from
her new boyfriends all the time for no reason,” Payton said around a mouthful
of popcorn. “She tells me that then.”
“Oh,” Callie said with a laugh.
Kids were so funny. No wonder she babysat these two; they
were entertainment.
Callie and I ended up sitting through the entire Little
Mermaid movie and then Beauty and the Beast , because I had said it
was my favorite. “All right, time to go play outside,” Callie said to Payton as
she turned the TV off. “Go tell Brayden nicely that I said he has to
turn off the video games and play outside too, please.”
“Okay,” she said as she ran down the hall.
I followed Callie back to the kitchen.
“Did you enjoy the Disney movie marathon?” Callie asked as
she set Payton’s empty popcorn bowl in the sink.
“Honestly, I can’t believe the message in them targeted
toward little girls. I mean, in one she gives up everything about her—everything
she loves most—to be with some guy she barely knows. And in the other, she
falls in love with a complete jerk who treats her like crap. I don’t know what
I ever saw in those movies,” I said.
Callie chuckled. “That’s not what they’re about. They’re
about sacrificing everything you have for that one chance at true love and
finding love in a person who has lived without it for so long.”
I scrunched up my face. I could see her point, but still,
the Beast locked her in her bedroom!
“I don’t know. I think we might have to agree to disagree on
this one,” I said.
“I can do that,” Callie agreed. “So, are we still on for
shopping?”
“Absolutely. I have no clue what to wear to this,” I
admitted.
Tightness entered my stomach as indecision squirmed through
my mind about the initiation. I’d been making a mental list of
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