Chapter 12: THE BABYSITTER
God's Little Drop of Water
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The next morning, Taliya entered the kitchen to find Yair already dressed, ready for school, and eating his breakfast. It was Shishi, and a short day at school. Abba was preparing sandwiches. Taliya began to eat her breakfast.
In the other room, Yaroni and Ima were having an energetic discussion of matching two different shades of plaid.
“Abba,” Taliya asked, “are you and Ima going out tonight?”
“We’re meeting friends at the port in Tel Aviv. But don’t worry, we have a very nice babysitter coming over to be with you.”
“She’d better not fall asleep like the last one,” said Taliya.
♦♦♦
“WAKE UP!!!” Taliya was perched atop the babysitter, who was asleep on the sofa. The girl had raided the kitchen, devoured an entire package of wafflim cookies, half of a container of chocolate milk, and had promptly fallen asleep.
Despite Taliya’s best efforts, jumping on the girl was producing little result.
The children had watched Little House on the Prairie and The Love Boat on the family’s new television. They had been most impressed upon seeing the great white luxury ocean liner sailing on the vast blue sea, both of which were as vibrant and beautiful as were the fields of grass and great green oak trees where the Ingles family lived.
“Is she alive?” said Yaroni.
“Maybe she’s in a coma from the sugar,” said Yair.
Yaroni’s comment terrified Taliya.
Taliya sat beside her brothers on the other side of the room, as far as possible from the babysitter, who may, or may not, merely have been sleeping.
“How can we find out?” Taliya asked.
“We need a mirror,” said Yair.
Taliya didn’t know what role a mirror would play in determining the state of the prone and unresponsive babysitter, but Yair was very smart so she knew her brother must have had a good reason for wanting one.
“Why?” asked Yaroni.
“We can put it under her nose,” said Yair.
“Why?” asked Yaroni.
“If she is alive and is still breathing, her breath will fog up the mirror,” said Yair.
“Really?” Yaroni asked.
“Yes,” said Yair. “It’s the same way you can check to see if someone is a vampire. Because vampires don’t breathe air. They also don’t cast a reflection.”
“A vampire?!” exclaimed Yaroni, who was quite frightened. He promptly began eating Kit-Kat chocolate bars from the dish on the coffee table, hurriedly unwrapping them and cramming them into his mouth.
The possibility that the babysitter had expired upon the sofa was bad enough; Taliya did not want to consider the notion that the girl was also a vampire.
She went to her bedroom and retrieved a small square mirror.
But no one wanted to approach the unconscious babysitter.
Yair scurried about the apartment, gathering items seemingly at random and assembling them: a broom, rubber bands, clothespins, and an old magazine. He quickly assembled the items, attaching the mirror to the magazine with the clothespins, and attaching the magazine to the broom handle with the rubber bands. Taliya was confident Yair would grow up to be an engineer, just like their father.
With the device assembled, it was time to begin.
Yair carefully extended the broom, with the mirror attached to its end. He maneuvered it closer, and then closer still, very carefully, until the mirror was just beneath the nose of the babysitter.
“Is she alive?” Yaroni asked.
“I don’t know,” said Yair, “it’s too far away. Tali, go and look.”
“No! No way!” said Taliya. She was not about to do any such thing.
“You go look, Yaron,” said Yair.
Yaroni unwrapped an additional Kit-Kat and ate it quickly, using it to steel himself.
Very slowly, Yaroni crept toward the girl.
Taliya thought him very brave.
Yaroni leaned closer, then closer still, until at last he was close enough to see the small mirror.
There was moisture on it, appearing and disappearing in time with the girl’s imperceptible breathing.
“She’s alive!” Yaroni exclaimed.
This startled the girl and she woke up, screaming and sitting upright at once. All the children screamed.
At that very moment, the front door opened and in walked Ima and Abba, home from their evening out with friends.
“What is going on in here?” Ima demanded.
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