A Life Less Ordinary by Victoria Bernadine

the
couches.
    “What
does Jackson have to say about all this?” Daisy asked with a thoughtful frown
after they’d fixed their tea and Rebecca had filled her in on Jaime’s visit the
night before.
    “He
doesn’t know.”
    Daisy
stared at her, dismayed.
    “Yet,”
Rebecca clarified.  “He’s out of town on business right now, then he’s taking
the kids on a holiday to Mexico. I won’t even see him before he’s gone again.”
    Daisy
relaxed.  “Ah.  Well, lucky kids – not even teenagers yet and travelling the
world.”
    “Helps
to have a rich dad.”
    “Yeah,
well, I wouldn’t know.”
    “Me,
neither.  Anyway – would Janika or Jakob – or both – like to stay with Tris
after school?  I mean, I still have to make a living, too -”
    “I’m
sure they would.”
    “And
I’ll pay them, of course.”
    “They’ll
be home in a minute or two – you can talk to them yourself.  They’re more than
old enough to make their own decisions – at least in this particular case.”
    Rebecca
chuckled.  “I can’t believe Jakob’s seventeen!”
    Daisy
nodded glumly.  “I can’t believe my baby’s fifteen.  Where does the time go?”
    Rebecca
shook her head.  “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure we’re experiencing lost
time on a regular basis.  Tris is ten.  Ten!  Closer to eleven,
actually.  Damn!”
    They
subsided into depressed silence while they poured more tea and added honey.
    Rebecca
sighed as she took a sip of her tea, then asked with a sudden grin.  “What do
you think Manny’s doing right now?”
    “I
know what she’s not doing,” Daisy replied drily.
    “Zeke?”
    “Exactly.”
    They
snickered.
    Rebecca
shook her head and said, “That girl – she has the self-control of a nun.”
    “If
she can spend six months with a guy like that and she doesn’t make a
pass at him?  She’ll be more than a nun – she’ll be a saint!”
    “I
know I’d be tempted – and I’m happy with Jackson.”
    “Oh?”
Daisy asked archly.  “ How happy?”
    Rebecca
smirked into her cup.  “Very.  Extremely.  Wonderfully.  Pick one.  Pick them
all.”
    They
were laughing conspiratorially when Jakob and Janika walked into the house,
calling greetings to their mother as they opened the door.
    “Hey,”
Daisy said when they came into the living room, “how was your day?”
    “Okay,”
Jakob shrugged and Janika nodded.  They greeted Rebecca with smiles.
    Janika
had her mother’s colouring and her father’s bland good looks, while Jakob was
his grandfather all over again, tall, dark, roguishly handsome with the same
wicked gleam in his eyes.  Who knew that was genetic, Rebecca thought with fond
amusement.
    “Hey,”
she said now, “we were just talking about you. Do you guys have a couple of
minutes?”
    They
both nodded.
    “Great! 
Well, I’m going to be looking after Tris for the next little while, and I was
wondering if one or both of you would be interested in helping me out?”
    Jakob
and Janika exchanged glances and shrugs.
    “Sure,”
said Jakob.  “What do you have in mind?”
    “Well,
definitely after school on those days she isn’t going over to a friend’s
house,” Rebecca said thoughtfully.  “The occasional evening and weekend as
well.”
    Jakob
thought about it.  “Between the two of us, we should be able to manage that,
right, Janika?”
    “Should,”
she agreed.  “We do have games, though, and practices – but Tris can always
come with us if they overlap and if she’d like.”
    “That’s
great!” Rebecca said, rubbing her hands together.  “What’s the going rate for
babysitting these days?”
    Jakob
winced.  “Tris is our friend – and you’re...you know, you , Auntie. 
I...I don’t feel right getting paid to help you out.”
    “Same
here.”  Janika nodded.
    “That’s
really sweet, and ordinarily, I’d take your offer and leave it at that.  But
this isn’t a one-hour deal or even a couple of days.  This is on-going for,
well,