Curtain Call by Liz Botts Page A

can.”
    Britney did a little wave, opening and closing her fist enthusiastically while sing-songing, “Bye-bye.”
    When the door shut behind Harlow, Britney stared at it for a moment, like she expected Harlow to pop back in and surprise her. I assumed they played that game a lot. When Harlow didn’t reappear, Britney’s lip started to quiver and she turned big, watery eyes toward me. This was not an auspicious start to our little babysitting adventure.
    â€œPoor, Britty,” I said in a soft, cooing voice. “You’ve never been to Auntie Hannah’s house, have you? How about I show you around?”
    I scooped her up, and we walked slowly through the apartment gazing at pictures and knickknacks. We found a package of frozen cookies and each munched on one as we went into Hayley’s room. I set Britney on the bed as I rummaged through Hayley’s closet. On the floor, behind myriad piles of shoes, I found a feather boa and a tiara Hayley had gotten on her last birthday.
    Placing the tiara precariously on Britney’s head, and wrapping the boa around her shoulders, I bowed and said, “Welcome to Auntie Hayley’s room, Princess Britney. Do you know what I like to do in here?” Britney shook her head all the while looking up at me with big eyes full of wonder. “Well, let me tell you.” I grabbed the little girl’s hands and climbed onto Hayley’s bed. We caught our balance and I said, “I love to jump on her bed.”
    I held Britney’s hands as we bounced up and down. The springs creaked and groaned under my weight. Even though I knew I should be jumping on my own bed, I didn’t want to mess it up. And Hayley never made her bed. The covers snaked around our feet as we jumped. Suddenly a shrill screech broke the air, and Britney and I fell as the bed thumped to the floor.
    Immediately Britney started to cry. I checked to make sure she wasn’t hurt before we climbed off the bed. The end of Hayley’s bed sagged. My weight and jumping must have caused the frame to break. Oops . If Britney settled down, I could dig out the toolbox and try to fix it. I reasoned that it wouldn’t be so hard. I’d seen Dad put them together.
    But Britney didn’t want to stop crying. The tears poured out of her eyes, soaking my shoulder, as her nose started to run. With a sigh, I headed for the bathroom where I wiped away the snot with a wad of toilet paper. This was not how I had envisioned my afternoon. Thank goodness I didn’t have any classes.
    Britney’s sniffles subsided when we settled down on the sofa. I flipped the TV on and found a kid-friendly show with a singing cat that seemed to be in love with a duck. We vegged out to that for a good half an hour. As the credits rolled, I felt my stomach rumble. Even though it was only four-thirty, I was famished.
    â€œHey, Britty, want to go get something to eat?” I asked, a plan fast forming in my head.
    Britney looked at me with interest. “Me eat?” she asked.
    I nodded. “But you have to get your coat on and be good for Auntie Hannah,” I said. “We’ll go get milkshakes and French fries.”
    With a tip of her head, Britney studied me. As I hustled her into her coat, I couldn’t help but think how stinkin’ cute she looked. She had thin pigtail braids sticking out from under her hat, and the smattering of freckles on her nose was just visible over the edge of her scarf. Her mischievous blue eyes twinkled up at me. The weather had been cold lately, but the few blocks it would take to walk to Crossroads wouldn’t give us frostbite or hypothermia. Besides, Hayley and I hadn’t been grocery shopping in over a week, and our refrigerator was woefully empty.
    I sent Harlow a quick text letting her know where we were going. I wrapped an extra scarf around Britney, donned my own coat, and slung the diaper bag over my shoulder. Holding a twenty-five