That meant counting on him to want a pie baking waitress to babysit his child, but he had seemed like he was anxious to resolve the childcare situation. I didn’t wanna say desperate because that didn’t make me sound great, but he was. He seemed desperate, so I probably had a shot of pitching the idea to him and not getting an automatic no.
The next day, when Laura came in for coffee and to show me pictures of Brenna with her cute messy bedhead hair, I told her my plan.
“You’re gonna babysit for extra money?”
“If I can get the job, yeah. I need another income stream so I can buy this place. It’s my dream.”
“No margarita nights for a few months then,” she said.
“No social life of any kind, but it’ll be worth it. And you can come in here and see me, leave a big tip,” I said.
“I think my husband and I will have to start bringing Brenna in for supper once a week so she can see you.”
“Oh, please bring her! I can’t miss out on seeing my munchkin all the time.”
“I will,” she said. “And the thing is, it’s worth a shot. You’ve got to try everything you can to get this place. If there’s any way I can help, let me know.”
“I don’t know. If you see him in town, casually mention that you always thought being a nanny was my real calling,” I shrugged.
“Anyone who’s had your pie knows your calling. And it ain’t babysitting. But if I see him, I promise to scare the shit out of him and be pushy and awkward and make him hire you.”
“I knew I could count on you,” I laughed.
“You realize he’s never in town, so I won’t run into him.”
“Yeah, I figured it was a safe bet.”
“So, you really don’t want me to try and put in a good word for you?”
“You’d probably threaten him with your taser, Laura,” I said. “So please leave him alone.”
“All right. I’ll bring the family in tomorrow night. Brenna will want pancakes.”
“Good deal,” I said.
All that day I thought about scheduling and how to manage everything and save the money for a down payment. I was putting a fresh lemon icebox pie in the case when I saw Max walk in with Sadie. It felt like a sign. This wasn’t their usual night to come in for supper and it was early yet, too. This was my opportunity to pitch the idea to him. I shut the cooler door and hurried to their table.
“Can you believe there’s already azaleas and peonies blooming? Spring sure happened fast this time,” I said to Sadie.
“I waited forever for those yellow ones and then, boom!” she said. “Flowers everywhere!”
“Exactly. Spring just exploded on us. Now what brings you in early?”
“I forgot my lunchbox and it was fish on the tray,” she said, making a face. “Daddy said we could come here as a treat, and he said, ‘member my lunch next time.”
“Good advice,” I said. Then I supplied her with crayons and the coloring book I keep tucked away for her. “What can I get you for supper?”
Max looked at me, “I may need a minute.”
“Okay. Could I speak to you for a second?” I asked.
He looked startled, but he checked in with his daughter and said he’d be right over by the counter. We both watched her color for a second and then stepped away.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I had an idea, and it could solve your problem with childcare and my problem with—money.”
“You have a problem with money?”
“That’s not the point. You told me the other day that your sitter was quitting. I know summer vacation’s coming up, and that’s gonna be a problem for you with no childcare lined up. That’s also the time of year when our high school and college kids like the day shift, and I could adjust my schedule to work here evenings and weekends while I watched Sadie during the day.”
“You want to watch Sadie?”
“Yes. I do. You’ve seen how we get along, and she’s a really fun kid. We could have a great time this summer, and besides the fact that I’d love to watch her for you, I could use the cash. Hugh is going to retire and sell this place, and I want him to sell it to me. Which means I need a down payment. I’ve got most of it saved because I’ve been working toward this for years, but it came up sooner than I expected. I have to raise a lot of money in a short time, and a second job is the most logical way to do that,” I told him.
“Okay, well, I don’t know your qualifications. I’m not saying no, exactly, I just don’t know what to think. I can’t say I expected to come in here for supper and for you to offer to babysit my daughter all summer. I’ll consider it and speak to you soon.” He was stiff, formal, and hurried back to the table.