by Trina Solet
Ned figured that being the only guy in there with a kid, he would let Jeff find him. While they stood in line, Mina glanced around expectantly and a little worriedly. Meeting new people wasn't a happy experience for her.
Ned kept an eye out for anyone who looked like they might be searching for him and Mina. When a tall, well-built young man came their way, Ned looked right past him. Then the guy stopped directly in front of them, and Ned couldn't ignore the possibility that this strapping young man might be Jeff Snyder.
"Professor Conway? I'm Jeff Snyder," he said.
Ned offered him his hand while Mina clutched at his other one nervously. "Hi. You can call me Ned. This is Mina, the best kid in the whole world. And, Mina, this is Jeff."
Mina ducked her head then peered up at him shyly.
"Want to say hi to Jeff?" Ned asked her.
"Jeff. Hi, Jeff," Mina said. She seemed to be testing out his name. By the look on her face, she liked the sound of it.
"I don't know about you, but your name is a hit," Ned told him.
"You have a very nice name, Mina," Jeff told her.
She smiled but then looked down at the floor and stuck close to Ned's side.
Seeing her like that, Jeff seemed a little worried by her shyness, so Ned told him, "Most babysitters fail the Mina test. She won't even say hi. You're doing fine as long as she doesn't go to hide under a table."
Mina looked up at Ned with an accusing frown.
"Sorry. I misspoke. She doesn't do that," Ned said and grinned at Mina.
Now they were closer to the front of the line and Mina was standing on her tiptoes to peer into the display cases.
"So, what are we having?" Ned asked her.
"Pie," Mina said right away. She pointed further down where the desserts were.
"You have to have something before pie," Ned told her. He picked her up so she could have a better look at all the food she had to choose from. Instead of looking at the food, she peered at Jeff then turned away as soon as he smiled at her. She didn't seem to be too intimidated by him, maybe because he had a friendly, open expression and good-natured, blue eyes.
Ned was a little intimidated though. Jeff was a really good-looking guy with an amazing body. His shoulders were broad, the muscles of his chest and arms clearly visible under his t-shirt. He was tall, with short, light brown hair and the face of an angel. Sarah could have warned him.
With food on their trays they went to grab a table. Mina had her pie with a side of carrots and peas, but Ned had to confiscate the pie to make sure she actually ate her vegetables. She did, but she didn't take her eyes off the peach pie the whole time.
Since this was actually a job interview, Ned asked about Jeff's experience babysitting Sarah's kids. Jeff spoke of them fondly and told Mina about the stuff they liked to do. He seemed to know just how to engage her. He told her how Sarah's kids had riding lessons. At the mention of horses, her eyes went wide.
"Keep that up and you'll have her asking for a pony," Ned warned him.
When Jeff smiled at his words, Mina almost smiled too then she ducked her head and ate the last of the peach pie filling from inside the crust.
"It looks like you like that pie, or some of it," Jeff said noticing that she was leaving the crust. "Aren't you going to eat the crust?"
Mina shook her head.
Jeff tried again. "You're not gonna eat just a little bit of the crust?"
Mina shook her head again to confirm it.
"But the crust is good too."
Another head shake from Mina.
"She's a hardheaded little pipsqueak," Ned said and Mina looked at him like she wasn't sure if she should get mad or not. He kissed the top of her head, so she decided not to get mad and smiled shyly down at her plate.
"You guys can walk me to my class," Ned said when they were done eating. He was pleased with how things were going so far. Lunch with Jeff was a success. Mina was shy but not scared. Jeff did look a little scared when he saw Ned putting a generous amount of hot sauce on his spaghetti. But the cafeteria spaghetti needed all the help it could get.
When they left the cafeteria and went for a walk around the campus, Mina walked between him and Jeff. Usually she liked to use Ned as a shield between her and people she didn't know well. That was another good sign.
The scent of freshly cut grass was all around. They went by the L-shaped math and science complex with the lab buildings connected to it by walkways on three floors. Mina liked to go up there sometimes. Now they were in view of the Economics Department in the boxy Business Administration building, which wasn't a very interesting sight.
"Professor," Mina said and pointed at the building where Ned's office was located.
"Professor?" Jeff asked since there weren't any professors to be seen over there right now.
"She means me. Most of Mina's babysitters have been students. They all called me professor so that's what Mina started calling me too," Ned told him.
"Is that why you told me to call you Ned?" Jeff wondered.
"I told the others too, but they didn't listen."
"I'll call you Ned," Jeff told him.
They stopped in an open area with grass and tiny flowers. Mina liked to play there. The two of them stood and watched her scamper around, looking for any new flowers that might have poked their heads out of the ground. Then she went to peer into some bushes.
"Is it there?" Ned asked.
Mina shook her head but she still kept looking.
"There was an orange cat there once, and now Mina checks every time to see if it's back. She's tenacious," Ned said proudly.
"She's so quiet," Jeff noted.
"Right now she's feeling shy so she isn't speaking that much, but she speaks English pretty well considering she hasn't been in the country that long. It's thanks to her mom. Her mom taught English in Russia. Mina isn't exactly fluent. But her English is much better than my Russian."
"You speak Russian?"
"Not so that anyone can tell. I learned a few things. Or tried. Apparently my Russian is only good for laughs," Ned said, but languages were just not his thing.
Since they were so close to the Economics Department, Ned got down to business. "If you'd like to babysit for us, I'd like to hire you."
"Thank you," Jeff said and smiled.
"It's not a lot of hours, mostly when I'm in class or get really busy. I like to keep Mina with me whenever I can. We're still bonding and she's been through a lot," Ned told him.
"OK."
"And if you have time you can start right now."
"Really?" Jeff was surprised but he quickly agreed. "I have time."
"I was going to leave her with Mariah. She used to babysit for her all the time, but her schedule this term clashes with mine most days. Right now she's buried in research. She was going to keep Mina with her in that study area outside the library. Mina is so quiet, she wouldn't have bothered her, but if you could watch her that would be better."
"I can do it, no problem."
"Don't take her anywhere where it's crowded," Ned warned him. "If she has a bad reaction, just bring her to me right away."
"OK," Jeff said, looking a little worried.
"If anything happens, you can just text me or call me and I'll talk you through it. We'll exchange numbers, and I'll text you every two minutes to check on her. I might or might not be kidding about that. You can just take her on a walk around campus. She likes that." They got each other's phone numbers. Then Ned put away his phone and got some money from his wallet and handed the bills to Jeff. "This isn't for babysitting. This is just your walking around money."
"Am I going to a strip club?" he asked seeing that they were all singles.
No but you could work in one, Ned wanted to say. Bad, dirty brain. Instead he explained the singles to Jeff. "You know the vending machines that are all over the campus, I believe every ten feet or so?" he exaggerated, but only by a little.
"I might have seen them," Jeff deadpanne
d.
"Mina can't pass up one of those monstrosities without wanting to press those glowing buttons with her tiny, grabby fingers. That's what the singles are for." Ned figured that it was a good way to help her and Jeff bond.
Jeff looked from Ned to the singles in his hand. "So my job is to help her spoil her dinner and rot her teeth?"
"You are not to let her eat the stuff the vending machine spews out."
"She'll be OK with that?" Jeff asked.
"You will be the one in charge," Ned said then he relented a little. "Maybe let her eat one thing, something semi healthy. One of those snack mixes with dried fruit and yogurt raisins. You can help yourself to whatever you want. Bring the rest back here. I'll feed it to Glen, Professor Swensen. He'll eat anything. Sometimes even the wrappers."
"OK," Jeff said and stuffed the stack of bills in the pocket of his jeans. As he did, Ned couldn't help picturing sticking the bills down the front of his jeans instead. It was really hard to rein in his imagination around him.
Chapter 4
Jin's description didn't quite do him justice. Ned Conway was very professorly with his beard and suit, all he was missing was a pipe. Though Jeff tried to keep those kinds of thoughts out of his head, he couldn't help but notice that Ned was attractive, with a strong build and those kind but mischievous hazel eyes. A guy like Ned had no right to have such an adorable kid too. It was too much. And the way he was with his daughter, the guy was born to be a dad.
Now that he had this babysitting job, it was time for Jeff to take charge of Mina. He was worried about how she would react when Ned left her alone with him, but she seemed fine. Jeff was more nervous than she was.
She looked up at him expectantly. When he didn't move, she took his hand but wouldn't raise her eyes from the ground. They went on a walk heading for the Humanities Department.
A circle of metal benches stood in the courtyard of the three-sided building with a fountain in the center. Sometimes outdoor classes were conducted there and even a few plays and recitals performed. Only a handful of students sat there reading, so Mina was free to play around the fountain.
After what Professor Conway told him about Mina's fear of crowds, Jeff was extra watchful, but she seemed all right. Of course they never passed more than a couple of people as they walked around campus. Mina was pretty much leading the way, her eyes getting big every time they spotted another vending machine.
Mina chose just a thing or two from each machine, but it all added up. Soon Jeff was loaded down with every kind of snack. As Mina fished out a candy bar from yet another vending machine slot, she looked from the candy bar up at Jeff.
"Are you hungry?" he asked her.
She nodded.
"That's what happens when you don't eat the crust," Jeff lectured her then picked a granola bar for her to eat. She was still eyeing the chocolate bar as she ate the granola, but Jeff had his instructions.
They moved on and raided more vending machines. This was some weird babysitting he was doing. Mina was having a lot of fun though.
"Mariah," she said suddenly and held up a bag of pretzels.
He was a little surprised to hear her speak. "She likes those?" he asked.
Mina nodded then she looked toward the library. Obviously she knew her way around.
"You think she might need a snack break? You want to take that to her?" Jeff asked and Mina nodded again.
Just as he was ready to take Mina over to the library, he decided he better ask Ned if it was OK. It seemed harmless, but on his first day, he would rather ask permission, not forgiveness. Jeff texted him and got the go-ahead. Mina was happy that he said yes.
When they got to the outdoor study area next to the library, it was up to Mina to find Mariah. Jeff didn't know what she looked like and he couldn't exactly walk around yelling her name. Mina was such a quiet kid. Even when they found Mariah sitting at one of the tables, Mina only pointed at her. Jeff was surprised she could spot her at all. She was nearly obscured behind a stack of books and hunched over a laptop as well.
After she pointed her out, Mina stayed put, not going any closer. It seemed like she didn't want to disturb her at all. She just hung back and watched Mariah while she typed into a laptop and read from a book almost simultaneously. Jeff had to take the initiative and take Mina over to Mariah's table.
"Hi, Mariah," Jeff said. "Mina has something for you."
A girl with black-rimmed glasses and cornrows looked up at Jeff blankly then she spotted Mina and smiled. "Pretzels. Girl, you know me. Hand those over."
Mina couldn't have looked more pleased as she gave the little bag of pretzels to her.
"And who's this tall guy?" Mariah asked as she looked up at Jeff again.
"Jeff," Mina said in that cute way she had of saying his name.
"It's my first day babysitting," Jeff told her.
Mariah gobbled up the small bag of pretzels pretty fast so Jeff told her, "You want to lighten my load a little more?" He leaned down to let her choose something else from all those snacks he was carrying.
"You got a drink there?" Mariah asked.
Mina gasped and looked alarmed.
"Don't worry. We're not done yet," Jeff reassured her. "We still have money. We'll get some drinks too."
"Oh, you don't have to," Mariah said.
"It's no problem. We're just supposed to kill some time and burn through some singles," Jeff said then he looked at Mina's eager expression. "And it will make Mina happy," he added.
"You're getting the hang of this babysitting pretty fast for your first day," Mariah told him and grabbed some peanut butter cups from the armful of snacks he carried and thanked him and Mina.
After they got an assortment of drinks, they headed back to the library. Mina was so happy, she was ready to run over there.
"Hold up. I can't run with all these. I would drop them," Jeff told her.
"Don't drop," she warned him, looking very serious. She was carrying two sodas and she held them protectively.
"I won't. I'll be careful," he promised her, but he felt like he was promising her a lot more. He was telling her that he would take good care of her.
After they delivered the sodas to Mariah, who downed one of them practically in one go, they hung around inside the library for a while. Jeff even got a chance to find some books for an anthropology paper. He couldn't believe how close it was to the end of the term. Still, without a real job, he didn't know what he was going to do after that.
Going to stay with his mom and crowd her, her new husband and his three girls in their little two bedroom house was something he wanted to avoid as long as he could. They were still practically newlyweds, and he really wanted his mom to be happy.
For now he had this babysitting gig. So far it was a breeze, but the money wouldn't go far. As they were walking out of the library, Jeff got a text from Ned. Since all his texts today had been from Ned, Mina perked up as soon as she heard that he was getting a new message.
"Yes, it's your dad," Jeff told her. "He said I can take you over to his office now."
As soon as Ned saw them approaching, he opened his arms wide and Mina ran over to him. "Were you good?" he said, looking down at her mock sternly.
She turned her face up to Jeff with a big-eyed, questioning look.
"Yes, you were good. You were very good," Jeff told her.
She turned and nodded at her dad.
"I'm so relieved. I thought you might have been out there causing trouble," Ned teased her.
She shook her head.
"Did you have fun?"
"I go everywhere with Jeff," she said excitedly.
"Everywhere?" Ned said.
"We didn't even cover half the campus," Jeff told him.
"The world looks big when you're so small," Ned said.
"Jeff and Mariah made friends," Mina said.
"They're friends now. That's nice."
Jeff smiled. "I'm glad we went over to take Mariah some snacks. I'm not sure how
long she went without eating."
"That's Mariah. Once her nose is buried in books, she hardly even comes up for air. She was a good babysitter though, and she still pitches in when she can." Ned then turned to Mina. "You want to take some snacks to Glen? He has class now, but you can put them in his office."
She nodded and started taking snacks from Jeff and lining them up on the desk in the office with Professor Swensen's name on it.
"Now that your hands are free, I can pay you," Ned said. He got out his wallet and then proceeded to overpay Jeff. "Signing bonus," he said when Jeff pointed out that it was too much.
"Thanks."
"You're probably busy, but do you want to come home with us for dinner?" Ned asked just when Jeff was about to say goodbye to Mina and leave. "You can get to know Mina a little better. You'd still be on the clock, of course."
"Sure."
"You don't have plans do you? If you're busy..."
"No. I'm free."
"Good. I just wish I knew what was on the menu," Ned said and scratched at his beard.
When Mina came back, he told her that Jeff was going over for dinner. She turned to Jeff with a big smile. She was a sweet kid and Ned was so casual and easygoing. It was weird that Jeff was going to get paid to have dinner with them, but he could really use the money and the free meal too.
Chapter 5
Ned had invited Jeff over on an impulse. But once he had time to think it over, he decided it was a good idea for him to familiarize himself with the house and spend more time with Mina as well. He was surprised that Jeff wasn't busy. A guy who looked like that, Ned couldn't imagine how he had even one second of free time.
When they arrived in front of the house, Ned pointed at the yellow house across the street and to the right. "Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence live there. I sometimes leave Mina with them. They are really nice, but also really old."
