The Sitter



Heather Halliday had never really had much contact with children, so when she offered to baby-sit for her neighbours, she surprised herself as much as anyone else.

“We do appreaciate this Miss Halliday,” fawned the mother.

They’d been let down at the very last moment and it was their anniversary and they were so looking forward to an evening out, naturally a saviour was sought and Heather fitted the bill.

“No trouble at all dear, you go off and enjoy yourself, Freddie and I will be just fine.”

The child’s big blue eyes widened even more, until they resembled startled lollipops on sticks.

Freddie was unusually quiet that night, he made a point of picking up all his Lego just in case someone, not mentioning any names should step on a piece and howl with pain until her face turned purple. He ate up all his supper and brushed his teeth without being asked.

“No, I’m fine.” He shouted when she asked if he wanted tucking in.

But Heather couldn’t resist, just as little Freddie was dropping off to sleep with his snug Spiderman duvet enveloping him like a soft snails shell she opened his door and tip toed in.

“How about a bedtime story?” she asked.

Freddie shrugged too tired to decline.

Now Heather didn’t have any children of her own and her memories of fairytales from her youth were rather rusty, but she began all the same.

“Once upon a time there was an old lady and she lived in a cottage in the woods and she had very very long fingernails and she used to knit with them. She could knit jumpers and socks and scarves and she was very very good at it. So the man who owned the jumper shop got very very cross because no one was buying his scarves and socks and jumpers, so he broke into her house at midnight and chopped off all her fingers, chop chop chop- so then she had to knit with her toenails.

But when he found out she was still knitting he was so angry he came to house in the dead of night and cut off all her toes, slice, slice, slice. So then she started knitting with her teeth but when he found out he was furious, so he broke down her front door, sneaked into her room and pulled out all her teeth , yank, yank, yank so she gave up knitting and had a baby instead, the end.”

Freddie’s parents don’t go out of the evening and leave him with a sitter anymore, he simply won’t allow them to and throws the most dreadful tantrums if they even suggest it. Heather Halliday no longer baby-sits, it doesn’t really suit her character, and she finds relating to the very young a difficult task and one she’s not quite prepared for. Freddie sleeps with the light on now, in his parent’s room, right beside his mother, nestling in her arms, her breasts are his pillow. His father sleeps in his son's narrow bed, cold and angry and dreaming of his secretary. Soon he will move out and Freddie’s mother will become another statistic and Heather Halliday will be left wondering why?